One of the coolest features about the amazing rainbow trout that we chase at Alaska West is their spotting. Patterns and coloration vary wildly, but it’s the massive number of spots that have earned these fish the ‘leopard rainbow’ nickname. We’ll take it. More on Alaska West Rainbow Trout Mike Mercer Caught One When to…
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Rainbow Trout
4 Things to Learn About Trout
4 Things to Learn About Fishing Alaskan Rainbows From This Picture They like banks. There’s plenty of structure right along grass and tundra banks. Banks are undercut much more than you would think – giving trout a great combination of cover underneath the bank and access to food in the current. They like ledges. Same…
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Nice Fish, Tyler.
Trevor Covich winds up in a lot of pictures with big trout from Alaska to Chile. He teamed up with Tyler Cook earlier this month on the Arolik River, and the team won. Nice fish, Tyler. More on the Arolik River Intro to the Arolik 5 Reasons We Love Arolik Rainbows Arolik Silver Fishing is…
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Big Nasties
Just a selection of big meaty morsels preferred by rainbow trout in Western Alaska! More on Flies for Alaska Silver Salmon Fly Selection Mr. Hankey Steak and Eggs
Cotton Candy – The Old Standby
At Alaska West our guides are constantly pushing the envelope as it relates to fly design. Big, beautiful composite hackle king flies, innovative new mouse designs, dangerously articulated flesh flies and more are routinely born in our staff quarters next to the Kanektok River. On the other hand, there are some patterns that have produced…
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June’s Best Kept Secret – Trout!
During June at Alaska West, most of our guests are really, really fired up about catching king salmon on swung flies. That’s with good reason – our king fishery is a pretty darned unique resource. But in all that excitement about catching kings, it’s easy to forget that the trout fishing this time of year…
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5 Reasons We Love Arolik Rainbows
At Alaska West we have the incredible opportunity to host a handful of guests each day on the Arolik River – a pristine, totally undeveloped river a few miles from our camp that was tailor made for rainbow trout fishing. Arolik rainbows are like no others. Here’s why we love ’em. Each one is different….
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This is not a Steelhead.
Nope, she’s a resident rainbow trout from the home of Alaska West, the Kanektok River. She doesn’t need to swim out into the ocean to get fat. She lives in the Kanektok year round. Come summer, she parks herself on some structure on the lower river and chows on a salmon part buffet – eggs…
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Don’t Forget About Me
Folks who are headed up to Alaska West in 12 days for the start of our season get pretty fired up about the early season king fishing – it’s all the rage. Don’t forget though – rainbow trout live in the Kanektok and the Arolik too, they’re available all season long, and they’re pretty awesome…
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How To Fish a Mouse Fly
In a little more than a month, our setup crew will be headed in to start prep work for our season at Alaska West. That makes us pretty twitchy about our summer fishing! One of our favorite ways to fish for rainbows on the Kanektok is using a mouse pattern. Mousing is really visual, it…
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