Most folks that have fished for sockeye salmon are aware that sockeye are extremely reluctant to take a fly. However, at Alaska West we’ve honed in our sockeye program to catch them on mouse flies. Just check out the photo of our buddy, Kasey Halcro, above! Okay, okay, we’re totally kidding. However, the sockeye above…
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mousing
Price’s Five O’Clock Shadow – Tying Instructions
We love fishing mouse flies for trout whenever possible. However, not all mouse patterns are created equal, and today our buddy Stuart Foxall presents us with a great step by step on how to tie one of the most clever mouse patterns of all time, Kevin Price’s Five O’Clock Shadow. Enjoy! Price’s Five O’Clock Shadow…
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Opportunism
This year at Alaska West, our run of chum salmon came in a bit later than normal (don’t worry, they’re here in full force now). However, our resident rainbow trout count on the conveyor belt of salmon flesh each season to fatten up for the winter, which on our river consists of mostly chum and…
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Mousing for Chums?
We talk all the time about our run of chum salmon being extremely aggressive. They have a reputation for eating a lot of different flies, from leeches, to sculpins, to even flesh and egg patterns. They’re not afraid to hammer a fly, and that’s one of the reasons we think they’re so cool. Last week however,…
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Get Your Swivel On
Today we’re coming at you with a great trout rigging tip courtesy of Alaska West guide, Larry McKurtis. If you’re planning on chucking big flies for big trout (especially in Alaska), you might want to read up on this one. Take it away Larry! Get Your Swivel On Here at Alaska West we’re always tinkering…
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Stinger Mice
One of our favorite ways to fish for rainbow trout in our neck of the woods is with mouse patterns. What’s our favorite pattern? Basically anything with an up-riding stinger hook. Why? We’ll tell you. Many commercial mouse patterns available are tied on large, wide-gapped hooks designed for staying put in tough-mouthed critters like bass,…
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Mr. Hankey – Tying Instructions
We have less than a month before we kick off our Alaska season and that means it won’t be long before we’ll be chucking big, gaudy, mouse patterns for our resident rainbow trout. Mousing is by far our favorite way to target trout in our neck of the woods and one of our go-to patterns…
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We’re Excited
Our season in Alaska is just around the corner, and we’re starting to get pretty excited. Why? Because soon we’ll be back to targeting trout like this with mouse patterns, and we’re pretty happy about that. Sound good to you? Drop us a line for more information. More on Trout Fishing Retrieving a Mouse Fly Secrets…
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Simms at Alaska West – Video
Last season, Beattie Outdoor Productions‘ Steven Yochum and Simms ambassador, Tom Larimer, joined us at Alaska West during the first week of our season. Along with our good friends at Simms, they put together a pretty killer video, that we think explains what makes the early season on our river so special, and today we share…
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Squeak, Squeak
Exactly what you want early season rainbows to be staring at in Western Alaska. Big, gnarly, mouse patterns. More on Trout Fishing How Often do Trout and Grayling eat Mice? Trout Fishing – Swinging Flies Streamer Fishing for Trout – 5 Techniques