Even if designed particularly for the salt, saltwater can be brutal on fishing gear. Rods, reels, fly lines, flies, sunglasses, and the like can all break down from the salt if not rinsed thoroughly in fresh water after use. That’s why our staff makes sure to rinse our guests rods and reels each evening with fresh water,…
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storing gear
Rod Gloves – Why We Like Them
Years ago, our good friend and long time Alaska West guest, Bryan Whiting, first introduced us to a pretty interesting product called Rod Gloves. Originally designed for spinning rods, Rod Gloves are woven plastics sheaths made to slide over fully rigged rods to keep them from tangling. The concept is painfully simple, but like most…
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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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Tube Fly Organization
At our lodges in Alaska and British Columbia, we really like fishing tube flies for a whole bunch of reasons. However, organizing tube flies is always a constant battle. After all, there’s no hook to nest in a traditional fly box, and larger ‘bushy’ patterns tend to fill up a simple plano box pretty fast….
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Don’t Fish This Fly
No, we’re not talking about a Gotcha, they work great on South Andros! We’re talking about that subtle brownish discoloration at the back of the fly. That’s a sign of rust, and that’s a bad thing. While stainless hooks certainly hold up better in saltwater, they are not rust proof. Rinsing off your flies with freshwater…
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Taking Care of Your Waders – 8 Tips
A dependable pair of waders is one of the most important pieces of gear to the cold water angler. Make no mistake however, waders aren’t cheap. At upwards of 800 dollars these days for premium waders, it makes sense to take good care of them. Inevitably all waders will wear out at some point, but…
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Dry Out Your Flies
Today, you’re humble editor is throwing away not one, not two, but roughly ten dozen marabou tube flies. Why exactly? Because he failed to practice the universal fly fishing tip of drying out your gear, leaving a season’s worth of flies matted, smelly, and a vibrant uniform color of grayish-brown. Waterproof fly boxes do a…
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Omnispool Switchbox Review
We’re not shy about it, we’re gear-heads. We love playing with the latest fly fishing gear and writing reviews on the stuff we really like. With that said, do we really NEED every rod, reel, gadget, or gizmo out there? Probably not.. We just like it! Regardless, every once in a while we come across…
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Storing Rigged Fly Rods
We see a lot of broken fly rods over the course of a season. Although we’d love to dish out stories of huge, rod buckling fish, the majority of the time rods are broken getting in and out of a boat, sticking them in a ceiling fan, or other less glamorous ways. Safely storing your rods…
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Pre-Rigging Nymph Rigs
Whether dead drifting flesh and egg patterns or tandem nymph rigs, if you’re not breaking off flies, odds are you’re not fishing deep enough. There’s no question that nymphing for trout is effective. However, it can be frustrating having to constantly re-rig new flies, tippet, and split shot every time you set the hook on…
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