Just a reminder that when fighting big fish, we really like the down and dirty approach – pulling hard, with the rod tip low and to the side, thus bending the rod deep into the butt section. Click on almost any part of the previous sentence for a visual of what we mean. We find…
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fighting fish
The Strip Set – Not Just for Bonefish
“Don’t trout set,” are words nearly every saltwater angler has heard at one time or another. That’s because when it comes to hard mouthed species like bonefish it’s crucial to set the hook by stripping the fly as opposed to raising the rod in typical ‘trout’ fashion. Raising the rod does a great job at…
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Battle
Today we present you with nothing more than a super cool photo of our good friend and long time Deneki guest, Frank Carlton, battling a hefty coho at Alaska West. Good work, Frank! More on Fighting Fish Top 5 Mistakes Made When Fighting Big Fish 6 Tips for Landing Big Fish Landing Fish Without a…
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Fighting Bonefish – Don’t Wrap the Rod Butt
Okay, you made your cast, fooled your fish, and set the hook with a good, long strip-set. Your prized bonefish takes off at lightning speeds in the opposite direction, about to battle the well engineered disc drag of your fancy new fly reel and.. Pop! He’s off. What happened? Odds are your fly line has…
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6 Tips for Landing Big Fish
A while back we ran a post on the top 5 mistakes made fighting big fish, where we highlighted some of the most common mistakes we see at our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia when fighting big fish like steelhead and salmon. However, fighting fish well does not always put the fish in the net. In…
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Landing Fish Without a Net – 6 Tips
The ability to ‘tail’ a fish, that is, the ability to land fish safely and effectively without a net is a skill every angler should posses. After all, we’ve all been on a trip where the net didn’t make it into the back of the pickup. Regardless, the old adage reigns true; if you want to catch…
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Get Bent
Alaska West guest, Gary Silverberg, putting the steam on a chrome bright chum salmon. Big, bright, aggressive fish that bend an 8-weight deep into the cork.. That’s why we love chum salmon. Other Posts Relevant to This Photo Fighting Fish From a Boat Fighting Big Fish – Put the Wood to ‘Em! A Lesson From…
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Boat It
Today we present you with a photo of our buddy, Gabe Nyblad, landing a bonefish from Andros South. Not only is it a cool photo, it’s also a pretty spot on demonstration on how to successfully land a bonefish from a skiff. More on Fighting Bonefish Fighting Bonefish in the Mangroves 5 Tips for Fighting Bonefish…
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Bonefish Running at You?
The classic bonefish take usually goes something like this.. Strip, strip, bonefish eats the fly, angler makes a long strip to set the hook (no trout sets!), bonefish takes off at lightning speed in the opposite direction, angler raises the rod and enjoys a well deserved fight against said bonefish. However, what happens when the bonefish…
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A Lesson from Ol’ Chumley
The chum salmon are in at Alaska West and that can only mean one thing – it’s rod breaking season! While we certainly witness our share of broken rods throughout the season, we tend to see more rods break while targeting chums than any other species. Why? Because chums are some of the scrappiest fish we’ve ever…
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