This past summer, we introduced you to the fly fishing inspired artwork of Alaska West guide, Ben West. We were blown away the first time we saw his work, as were many of our guests! Today, we’re proud to post Ben’s latest work, a commissioned painting of a gorgeous leopard rainbow trout caught on site at Alaska…
Read More
Rainbow Trout
Resident Rainbows
One of the reasons many of our guests join us each season at Alaska West is to catch some of these.. Big Alaskan leopard rainbow trout. Not only are they super pretty and extremely aggressive towards mouse flies, but they also reach sizes rivaling that of some summer steelhead.. Except they stay in our river…
Read More
Fishing From a Boat – Cast Downstream!
At our Alaskan operations, we’re really lucky to have access to some extremely diverse trout fisheries. At any point during the season at Alaska West, we target trout by sight fishing for rainbows in side channels, fishing the main river on foot, or fishing from our jet boats ‘drift boat style.’ The beauty of our river is that trout can…
Read More
Our Trout Like Big Flies
The trout in our neck of the woods typically don’t pay much attention to ‘traditionally sized’ trout flies. A size 12 elk hair caddis would be the equivalent of eating the parsley garnish on the side of your steak dinner.. A short growing season, and constant supply of large high calorie food items (i.e. mice, sculpin, salmon flesh, and eggs), causes our…
Read More
New Study: How Often Do Trout and Grayling Eat Mice?
In our neck of the woods, trout eat mice (well, shrews to be exact). It’s no secret, we write about it a lot.. Why? Because it’s awesome! However, did you know that grayling have also been known to take down their share of mammals as well? Its true, during certain times of year, particularly early…
Read More
The Pets
While filleting salmon for our guests, the resident trout around our camp at Alaska West grow pretty fond of the hand that feeds them. Its not uncommon to witness dozens of trophy rainbow trout in the 20 to 30 inch range, patiently waiting for the next salmon scrap to fall off of the fillet table….
Read More
Why They’re Called Leopard Rainbows
Our rainbow trout in western Alaska look a little different than in the rest of the world. We call them leopard rainbows, and for good reason.. They look like this! Thanks to Alaska West regular, James Hambrick Jr. for tying into this beauty. We’re still trying to find an area on this trout that’s not…
Read More
Nice Fish, David!
Congratulations to Alaska West guest, David Keene, who landed this stud of a trout this past Monday. David has a fairly unique goal of landing a fish over 24 inches in length of every major trout species. Clocking in at 26 inches, Dave was able to check the rainbow trout off the list with this beauty….
Read More
Nice Fish, Andy!
Congratulations to Alaska West guest Andy Folsom for tying into this rainbow trout of a lifetime! Andy landed this beauty during the last hour of the last day of the trip. A great ending to a great week! Nice work Andy, it was a blast having you here! More Nice Fish Nice Fish, Ralph Nice Fish,…
Read More
Mousing for Trout – Try a Strip Set
On our Alaskan rivers, targeting big leopard rainbows with gaudy rodent imitations is not only visually appealing, but also very productive at certain times of the year. Takes can be ferocious and often unexpected. However, one of the most common faults when mousing for trout is setting the hook too early. It’s important to…
Read More