It’s springtime in Alaska. The snow is melting, the days are longer, and hopefully, you’ve already replenished your windshield washer fluid. Sping also means, the streams are flowing and spring fishing will soon be upon us. Spring fishing is good for a lot of reasons but the best reason is…it’s spring and your fishing. We…
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nymphing
Rigging // The Hopper Dropper
We have put up a few posts over the past month going over different ways to set up a nymph rig. Today I wanted to share with you my personal favorite way to fish a nymph and that is one where it is hung below a dry fly. The Hopper Dropper set up is not…
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Vertical Drag
Yesterday we went over different situations where you could take off your indicator when nymph fishing. I wanted to follow up this discussion with a reason I feel nymphing without an indicator is so productive and that is the elimination of Vertical Drag. When most fly fisherman think of drag they are thinking of horizontal…
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Drop Shotting
Last week we went over a technique called “level lining” or “right angle nymphing”, today we wanted to discuss a different way to set up your nymph rig, using a Drop Shot. In a traditional nymph rig, the weight is placed onto the leader, above the first fly. One argument against this set up is…
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Hinged Leader Nymphing
There is no denying the effectiveness of nymphing. Sure I would rather throw floating flies but I also like catching fish and oftentimes, the most productive way to do this is by nymphing. There are countless ways to set up a nymph rig and over the next few weeks we are going to share a…
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How to Pick the Right Strike Indicator.
I know we all wish we could do nothing but swing flies or watch a size 8 Grass Hopper get inhaled but the simple reality is that nymphs catch fish. When nymph fishing, having the right indicator for the type of water you are fishing can make the difference between catching fish or not. There…
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Timeless Tips: Tag Your Split Shot
Way back in 2011, Alaska West alum and trout guru, JEB Hall, gave us the details for his go-to rig when slinging beads for big leopard rainbow trout. It’s still as current as it was six long years ago, so if you haven’t checked it out, be sure to hit the link to give it…
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Trout Eating Your Indicator? Fish Neutral Colors
Whether dead drifting traditional nymphs along the bottom of your local trout stream or bouncing salmon flesh/egg imitations down a run in Western Alaska, the technique of nymphing (i.e. dead-drifting subsurface flies to feeding fish) is without a doubt one of the most effective methods for catching trout in moving water. Moreover, when nymphing for…
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Nymphing Tip: Tag Your Split Shot
Way back in 2011, Alaska West alum and trout guru, JEB Hall, gave us the details for his go-to rig when slinging beads for big leopard rainbow trout. It’s still as current as it was six long years ago, so if you haven’t checked it out, be sure to hit the link to give it…
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Nymphing with Indicators – 5 tips
It’s August, and in our neck of the woods that means our rainbow trout, dolly varden, and Arctic grayling populations are keying in heavily on the conveyor belt of salmon eggs and flesh making its way down river. Therefore, fishing sub-surface is the name of the game this time of year, and with that, like…
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