Last year our pal and long time Deneki guest, Nic Jepson, shared with us a great step by step on how to tie the Franc N Snaelda – a killer European fly pattern originally designed for Atlantic Salmon that we’ve witnessed work extremely well on our king salmon at Alaska West. Today, professional fly designer,…
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King Salmon
First Alaska West King of 2017
Our 2017 opener at Alaska West is only a few days away, and we’re happy to report that our annual run of king salmon are trickling in as planned. In fact, earlier this week, after a long day of prepping camp for the upcoming season, Deneki team member, Chris Vague, hit the water for a…
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Timeless Tips: Swinging for Kings – 10 Tips
Planning on swinging flies for king salmon this summer, maybe on the Kanektok or the Dean? Here are some tips that may help. Cast across and slightly downstream. You certainly need to read the water you’re fishing and adjust accordingly, but in general if you’re fishing a broad, gradual gravel bar, the most effective presentation…
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Timeless Tip Tuesday: King Season Mantra – Stand Your Ground
Whether it’s a choker king fresh from the Dean Channel or that gagger Alaskan Chinook melting away yards of your backing, one thing’s for certain: This is no time for a Junior Varsity track meet. When that mega-king blasts off into hyperdrive—and make no mistake, it will— there’s always the temptation to chase it down, so remember…
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Bend the Butt Section
Our king salmon seasons in Alaska and British Columbia are fast upon us, so today we present you with a friendly reminder of one of the most common mistakes made when fighting big fish on spey rods – not putting enough pressure on the fish! Take the photo above taken of Alaska West guide, Ben…
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Double Trouble
What’s the only thing better than landing a king salmon on a two hander? Landing two king salmon on two handers at the same time. Yes, really. Sound good to you? We still have a few prime-time spots left! Drop us a line to get in on the action! More on King Salmon 5 Ways to Catch…
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Aqua Flies for King Salmon – 5 Favorites
In a few short months we’ll be heading North to kick off our summer seasons, swinging flies for one of our favorite species of all time – Big, bright, sea-lice ridden, king salmon. Due to their affinity for deep water, kings are a notoriously difficult species to target on the fly in many areas throughout…
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Fish Hard, Wade Easy
We could talk all day long about why we love our home river at Alaska West – from our impressive run of chrome bright king salmon, to our stunning resident leopard rainbow trout, to our staggering numbers of aggressive cohos, to our, well, you get the point. However, one aspect of our river that many…
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Half Way There!
While winter may have officially just begun, this time of year our minds can’t help but wander towards one of our favorite times of the year.. King season. That’s mid-late June through mid July in our neck of the woods, and unfortunately, that’s a long time away. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news. We’re less than…
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Brown Trout in the Kanektok?
No, not really.. That’s just a ‘jack’ king salmon in full spawning garb caught by our buddy Chandler Cook at Alaska West Lodge. Many anglers are aware of the shocking transformation of our beloved king salmon as they transition from the chrome bright appearance from their years at sea, to the brilliant ‘fire-truck’ red as…
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