Adam Tavender with some Dean chome. Photo: David Lambroughton Adam Tavender has been a part of Nakia Lodge on the Dean River since 1993. In early 2007, we at Deneki Outdoors had the good fortune to ‘take the torch’ from Adam and his wife Judy, and we now run the lodge as BC West. Having…
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Spey
John Hazel’s Steelhead Rig
John Hazel knows his way around the Dean. John Hazel and his wife Amy own and operate Deschutes Angler Fly Shop and Guide Service in Maupin, Oregon. John is a renowned angler and guide in the Northwest, and has spent many a day swinging flies through famous runs on the Dean looking for steelhead. Deschutes…
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John Toker’s Steelhead Rig
John Toker, livin’ the life on the Dean. John Toker is a long-time fanatical steelheader who used to manage BC West, our lodge on the Dean River. John likes using a lot of different two-handed rigs when he’s chasing steelhead, but if you encountered him on the Dean on any given day, he might just…
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King Rig Roundup
Kanektok Kings – an embarassment of riches. Over the past couple of months, we’ve posted the two-handed rigs of six guys who spend a lot of time at Alaska West swinging flies for king salmon. There’s a wealth of information, and a wide range of opinions, in these posts. If you’re headed to Alaska West…
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Ed Ward’s King Rig
This is the first picture ever taken of Ed when he wasn’t casting, or holding a chrome anadromous fish. Photo: Cameron Miller Ed Ward has been called many things. ‘Jedi knight’, ‘Zen master’, ‘Buddha’ and more all apply to Ed when speaking of anadromous fish, particularly when two-handed rods are involved. Ed is one of…
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Dean River Spey Week
Brian Niska, chasing the white mouse. Photo: Cameron Miller We run a very popular program at Alaska West in which we combine early season king salmon fishing with spey instruction from the best in the business. We’ve decided to expand our spey instruction program to the chinook fishery at BC West on the Dean River….
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Dec Hogan’s King Rig
Photo: Cameron Miller Dec Hogan has been a legend for years in the Northwest anadromous fishing world. An amazing guide, angler and instructor, Dec is also the author most recently of A Passion for Steelhead. Dec will be returning to Alaska West this summer from June 13 – 20 to host our spey instruction program…
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Brian Niska’s King Rig
Photo: Cameron Miller Brian Niska owns and operates Whistler Fly Fishing, a fly fishing school, guide service and specialty fly shop in Whistler, BC. Brian is a certified Master Casting Instructor and Two Handed Casting Instructor with the FFF, and we’re lucky to have him as a guest spey instructor at Alaska West. Brian will…
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Michael White’s King Rig
Way back when, Michael White was a guide at Alaska West. These days, he’s the owner of Blue Ribbon Sales, representing Simms, Loomis, Ross and other great lines to shops in the Southern Rockies. “Whitey” is one fishy dude, and he loves sharing his enthusiasm with anyone within shouting distance on the river. Whitey is a…
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Charles St. Pierre’s King Rig
During the second week of our king season at Alaska West, our spey instruction program is taught by Charles St. Pierre, the owner and operator of Northwest Spey Casting. Charles is a Kanektok veteran and an incredibly well-rounded caster– long belly, short belly, sustained anchor, touch-and-go, underhand, Skagit, AFS…the list goes on and on. He’s…
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