When it comes to tying large-profile intruder-style flies for steelhead and salmon, one of the most difficult part of the whole process is finding materials of consistent quality. Ostrich herl in particular, a material used in many steelhead and salmon flies, varies quite a bit in terms of quality and can be frustrating to the…
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reviews
OPST Swing Hooks – Why We Like Them
When swinging for anadramous fish, we really like fishing flies with trailer hooks. Whether tied on tubes or ‘articulated’ style, flies rigged with a trailer hook offer a number of advantages over flies tied on a traditional long shank streamer hook. However, there’s a lot of debate over the best trailer hook out there. In…
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OPST Lazar Line Running Line
When it comes to skagit casting, we’ve long been fans of mono running lines, particularly when fishing light weight spey or switch rods. Nowadays there are bunch of different options out there, all of which have their advantages and disadvantages. However, a couple weeks ago we were joined by the OPST crew here at Alaska West….
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TB Peggz – Why We Like Them
Last week we ran a post on three methods of rigging beads, where we highlighted three of the most common ways beads are rigged when fishing for trout. However, we recently picked up a pack of TB Peggz from Trout Beads and found that they work really well! They’re basically a rubber peg designed to…
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Angler’s Image Magnetic Hook Boxes
We fish a lot of tube flies for everything from salmon to trout. We think they offer a number of advantages over a traditional long shank fly, one of those advantages being the ability to quickly change out a dull or bent hook without changing flies. However, the size stinger hook suitable for salmon is not…
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Transpore Surgical Tape – Ideal for Anglers
Line cuts, hook wounds, stripping burns, chum teeth, and so on.. If you’re like us and spend a lot of time on the water, your hands can get pretty beat up. Most of the time we doctor our hands up with duct tape to get through the day. No, it’s probably not the most hygienic…
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Simms Dry Creek Boat Bags
We’ve long been fans of the original Dry Creek Boat Bags from Simms. In fact, it’s safe to say that the majority of our guides have logged more days on the water with the original Dry Creek bags than any other boat bag on the market. Why? It’s simple. They can fits lots of gear, they keep that gear…
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Sculpin Helmets
Throughout our season, one of the most consistent ways to target our big Alaskan rainbow trout is with sculpin patterns. While tossing mice or drifting flesh and egg patterns certainly have their place during parts of our season, a good sclupin imitation is usually a safe bet no matter what time of year. Our trout love gorging…
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Olympus TG-3 – A Great Camera for Anglers
Warning: This is not a super-technical review. Photography has become a big part of the fly fishing culture. Heck, there’s a lot of cool things to capture! Surprisingly enough, a question we get asked all the time at our lodges is ‘what camera would you recommend for fishing?’ While we love our big fancy DSLRs,…
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Simms Bone Flip – Why We Like Them
This spring, Simms released a new line of high-end flip flops called the Bone Flips. We picked up a pair and really liked them, and today we’re going to tell you why. South Andros is where flip flops go to die. Seriously, when our feet aren’t stuffed into flats boots, we generally wear flip flops during…
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