When it comes to skagit-style spey casting, we think its safe to say that the Perry Poke is one of the most versatile casts an angler can have in his/her repertoire. That being said, its actually one of the least used casts we tend to see from guests at our lodges. Therefore, when Alaska West…
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casting
Better Backcast Presentations – Roundup
For the last five weeks we’ve been coming at you with some common faults and fixes on one of the most important casts in fly fishing; presenting the fly on the backcast. Today, we thought we’d present you with a handy roundup of all our posts on how to (and how not to) effectively deliver…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 5: Forgotten Fundamentals
Today is our fifth and final post of our tip series on better backcast presentations. So far we’ve touched on techniques for increasing strength and power to the backstroke, the importance of staying square to track straight towards your target, how exaggerating your haul can help bend the rod the necessary amount on the backcast,…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 4: Trajectory
We’re back again with part 4 of our blog series on better backcast presentations. Whether you’re stalking the flats or banging the banks, the ability to deliver the fly effectively on the backcast is a extremely valuable tool in nearly all avenues of fly fishing. Today we’re covering another one of the most common faults…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 3: Haul Big
Today we continue on with our third installment of our Better Backcast Presentations series of posts where we cover some helpful tips and tricks for making more effective presentations, that’s right, on the backcast! Last week we talked about the importance of staying square while presenting the fly on the backcast. Before that, we touched…
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Timeless Tips: Skagit Casting – Keep Your Hands Close
When you’re making spey casts in the Skagit style, try to keep your hands as close to your body as possible! Ed Ward, long-time guide at Alaska West and one of the fathers of Skagit-style spey casting, has been called “the man who can spey cast inside a phone booth”. That’s a bit of an…
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 2: Stay Square
We recently kicked off our series of posts dedicated to improving one of the most important casts on the flats; the ability to present the fly on the backcast. Last week we touched on bracing; a useful technique to add power to your backstroke when casting into heavy winds with big rods and/or wind-resistant flies….
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Better Backcast Presentations – Part 1: Bracing
Presenting the fly on your backcast is one of the most important casts on the flats. Not only does it allow you to make effective casts without the need for the guide to adjust the boat, its also a great option for presenting the fly under one of the most difficult casting scenarios; casting with…
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Fly Casting – Practice with Purpose
Practice makes proficient (there’s no such thing as perfect), but practice without purpose is a long road to improvement. Fly casting is no exception. As most anglers can attest, beautiful casting does not always translate to effective fishing. Therefore, if catching fish is your primary objective (which we have a feeling it might be), tailoring…
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Timeless Tips: 3 Slack-Line Presentations Every Trout Angler Should Know
As most effective trout anglers know, a well executed drift is far more important than a perfect cast. Whether we want our fly to drift naturally in the current, or swing through the water column at a particular depth, this is best achieved by mending – That is, repositioning the line on the water after the…
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