Few fly patterns have caught more fish in Alaska than the egg sucking leech (ESL). Whether tied in the classic “bugger style,” or in a more contemporary fashion utilizing rabbit strips, the ESL family of flies are hard to beat when targeting salmon and trout throughout all of Alaska. In fact, it has been said that the…
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Silver Salmon
Now, That’s a Silver
Deneki pal, Kevin Riley, hoisting one heck of a silver salmon at Alaska West. We could tell you all about why we love fly fishing for silvers, but we think Kevin did a fine job illustrating it for us. We still have a few prime silver spots open for our 2016 season, drop us a line for…
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Jason Whiting’s Silver Rig
It’s been a while since we ran an edition of our ‘Expert Rig‘ series of posts – where we highlight all the details on how the experts rig up when targeting our favorite species. We’ve also had silver salmon on our mind as of late, so today we present you with Alaska West guide, Jason Whiting’s…
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Our Favorite Thing About Silver Salmon
They do this almost every single time.. Sound good to you? We only have a few boat seats left for 2016! Drop us a line to come see for yourself. More on Silver Salmon Popper Fishing for Silvers – 5 Tips Silver Salmon – 3 Reasons to Love Them Fly Fishing for Silvers – Try a…
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The Clouser Minnow – An Oldie but Goodie
We love to push the envelope when we’re at the vise, and like most fly tyers we’re always on the search for the next big fly pattern. However, today we’re taking a step back to pay tribute to one of the most versatile patterns of all time – The Clouser Minnow. Originally designed for smallmouth bass…
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How to Catch Silver Salmon – Video from OPST
Last week our good friends at OPST released an awesome video featuring some amazing footage of silver salmon on the fly, and today we share that video with you! Surface takes, fishing tips, fly design.. This video has it all. If you’ve ever wondered what the big deal about fly fishing for silvers is, make…
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Salmon Recipe from Ben West
At our Alaskan lodges, we tend to eat a lot of salmon (shocking, we know). Not only do we serve it a bunch of different ways for dinner, but our guests also have the option of a shore lunch – where your guide prepares a fresh salmon you caught that very morning. Those of you that…
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Pacific Salmon Mini Gallery – Spawning Colors
We talk an awful lot about ‘chrome bright salmon,’ but we’d be lying if we said we didn’t think some of the colors pacific salmon take on as they start their spawning ritual were anything short of spectacular. We’re lucky that some of our lodges are located so close to the ocean that we’re able…
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Bright is Beautiful
Today we present you with nothing more than what we think is a super cool perspective of a silver salmon caught during the last week of our season at Alaska West. Contrary to popular belief, our run of silvers actually extends well past when we finish up our season. Plus, we’re located only six miles…
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The Strip Set – Not Just for Bonefish
“Don’t trout set,” are words nearly every saltwater angler has heard at one time or another. That’s because when it comes to hard mouthed species like bonefish it’s crucial to set the hook by stripping the fly as opposed to raising the rod in typical ‘trout’ fashion. Raising the rod does a great job at…
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