When swinging flies for species like steelhead or king salmon, more often than not a slow uniform swing is best. Rarely do salmon and/or steelhead actively feed upon first entering freshwater. Therefore, a slow uniform swing swept past the nose of the fish is usually the most likely presentation to elicit a strike. The take may…
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swinging flies
Timeless Tips: 5 Ways to Control the Speed of Your Swing
When swinging for anadramous species like king salmon or steelhead, more often than not, the slower the swing (while still maintaining a broadside presentation of your fly) the better. As long as it is moving just enough to suggest life in your fly, odds are you are in the game. With that said, from time…
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Swinging Flies: How to Set the Hook – OPST Video
When swinging flies for king salmon and steelhead, we’d argue that more fish are lost due to a poor hook-set than at any other point during the fight. Unlike techniques associated with traditional upstream dry fly, nymphing, or even streamer fishing, swinging flies requires a different technique to effectively drive the hook home. How so…
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Spey Fishing: How Many Steps to Take Between Casts (Video)
When swinging flies for salmon and/or steelhead, a common conundrum is how many steps should be taken in between casts. In other words, how much water should you cover with each cast? It’s a question we get asked a lot from our anglers, which is why today we share with you a great video from…
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Swinging for Kings – What’s the Big Deal?
If you follow our blog, you’ve surely noticed we talk a lot about fishing for king salmon using one of our favorite methods – swinging flies with spey rods. Some of you out there may have never used a spey rod. Others may have only swung flies for popular species like steelhead and/or Atlantic salmon…
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Skagit: It’s ‘Ska-jit’ not ‘Ska-get’
We talk a lot about spey fishing here on our blog. That’s because it’s one of our favorite ways to fish moving water for species like salmon, steelhead, or even trout. When we refer to ‘spey fishing,’ the vast majority of the time we’re referring to skagit-style spey casting. That’s the preferred method for most…
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Swing Season – The Slowdown
In case you missed it, our good friends from SAGE just released a great video for all you fellow spey-nerds out there. The ‘Slowdown’ digs past the fun-factor of swinging flies and sheds light on how the two-hander can actually be a great tool for conservation as well. If you like swinging flies for steelhead…
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Kanektok King Tugs – Video
There’s no doubt that one of the most alluring things about swinging flies is the constant anticipation of that electrifying grab while under tension. After all, as they say, the tug is the drug right? Well, if the tug is the drug, then a tug from a king salmon is the most illicit kind.. Don’t…
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Spey Fishing – Pulsing the Swing (Video)
The “tug” might be the “drug,” but most anglers would agree that a tug that stays attached is ideal. Unfortunately, when swinging flies for salmon and steelhead, that’s not always the case. Quick strikes, followed by an unanswered swing, are common when spey fishing, and can be frustrating at the very least. So what do…
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King Salmon in Low Water – 5 Tips
Like most of Western Alaska, we’re experiencing slightly lower than average water conditions on our home river at Alaska West. As is the case with most anadromous species, low and clear water can make for some challenging fishing conditions when swinging flies for deep holding fish like king salmon, and often requires a few adjustments…
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