Yeah, the fishing is great at Alaska West. Chrome bright kings on the swing. Chums that will fight until you break your rod, or bloody your knuckles on a free-spinning reel. Silver after silver on the surface. Rainbows that put some steelhead to shame. Pinks, dollies, grayling too… But one thing that is often overlooked…
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Jordan Sly
Golf Tee Popper
One of the things that attracts people to fly fishing is the creative aspect of it. This is seen in fly presentation, line modification, rod building and more, but the most common sign of creativity shows up in someone’s flies – or sometimes lack of flies. One of our long time friends here at Alaska…
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Silver Salmon Popper by Chuck Shepard
The silver salmon fishing is hot up at Alaska West this time of the year, and these fish are really aggressive towards the fly. Stripping a fly below the surface creates a jigging action that is hard for a Silver to resist, but one method that is often over looked is targeting them on the…
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How to Fillet Salmon
Speed Fillets We fillet a lot of fish at Alaska West. We allow our guests to take home up to 50 pounds of fish that they catch during their week with us. We vacuum pack and freeze all of the fish before it’s boxed up and sent with the angler on the flight home. The…
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Four-Legged Companions
Jordan Sly is back today with some commentary on a critical component of any fishing lodge – camp dogs! Four-Legged Companions Most people know that dogs make great companions, whether fishing or just hanging out at home. I have a little dog of my own – he’s a beagle named Basil, and a great companion…
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Kanektok Body Spray
We have had some great weather this year at Alaska West – weather that makes you want to take a quick swim, maybe wet wade during some spey instruction with Whitney Gould before dinner, or just sit around in shorts and a t-shirt talking with friends. Sounds great right? Well that is not the whole…
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Jordan Sly’s Early Season ‘Low Bow’ Rig
Time for more trout rigging detail! Here’s how Jordan Sly chases the big boys at Alaska West. Jordan Sly’s Early Season Lower River Trout Rig I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the dilemma “upriver for quantity, or downriver for quality” here at Alaska West, but it is a common one. This question is…
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Best Rain Bibs Ever
Ever need a good pair of breathable rain bibs for working in the yard, wearing on a wet boat ride, or just strolling around in the rain? We’ve got a solution for you if you have a old pair of waders laying around. After a while it becomes impossible to keep an old pair of…
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Jordan Sly’s Trout Swinging Rig
Jordan Sly is back today, this time with another information-packed post for our Expert Rig series. Jordan Sly’s Trout Swinging Rig Here at Alaska West our river is just asking to have a fly swung through the water column. Swinging flies for trout is not only fun, but it is also often very effective and…
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Trimming Spun Deer Hair
Jordan Sly is back today with another handy post on fly tying! Trimming Spun Deer Hair Spun deer hair is great for many things – adding buoyancy, creating bodies and heads – but it can be hard to get the right shape when trimming it. A flexible razor blade can not only help create a…
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