In This Week’s Deneki Chronicles, it’s trout week and we’re looking back at what the trout have been and continually gorge on. It’s no secret how much we love fishing mouse patterns for big Alaskan rainbow trout. We do a lot of it, and, as odd as it may sound, it is our most productive…
Read More
trout food
Fly Tying: Fish-Skull Skulpin Bunny
Sculpin patterns are a go-to when it comes to trout. Dead drift or a slow strip imitating a sculpin swim, sculpin style patterns are effective in rivers worldwide. Normally fished close to the bottom, the Fish-Skull Skulpin Bunny goes down and gets down fast to where the fish are, thanks to the Fish-Skull Sculpin Helmet….
Read More
Fly Tying: Sculpin Munker
Today’s fly instruction comes to us from Alex Belonga with Straits On the Fly, Custom Flies. A proud Yooper from St. Ignace, Michigan, a beautiful harbor town on the straits of Mackinac Island, nestled between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, Alex grew up outdoors, hunting and fishing. Most days, Alex specializes in horticulture as a…
Read More
Fly Tying: Hoh Bo Spey
Originated by Charles St, Pierre, the Hob Bo Spey is named after the famous Olympic Peninsula Steelhead rivers, the Hoh River, and the Bogachiel River. A great low water fly, with a solid profile and stinger hook, it is a versatile, easy casting fly, and the color combinations are almost endless. A proven effective fly…
Read More
Fly Tying: Impersonator Leech
When it comes to trout, streamer patterns are without a doubt, extremely effective. The best thing about streamers is, they relatively easy to tie, and the color combinations are as vast as the number of colors out there. That being said, a surefire color combination is red and black. Is it a confidence thing? Maybe….
Read More
Fly Tying: Fox Alevin
Well, it’s springtime. Streams and rivers are starting to open up, and water is beginning to flow. (Channel your best David Attenborough while reading this next part) During this time, a beautiful natural phenomenon occurs; salmon alevin starts to arise from the bottoms of the river. Alevin is the second stage of a salmon’s life…
Read More
Flesh Hatch
The flesh fly is a staple in any Alaskan trout fly box. Throughout the majority of the summer, our trout love to gorge themselves on chunks of salmon flesh – Big flesh, small flesh, fresh flesh, dead flesh.. You name it, there’s a time and place for each. That’s ‘matching the hatch’ in our neck of the…
Read More
Stinger Mice
One of our favorite ways to fish for rainbow trout in our neck of the woods is with mouse patterns. What’s our favorite pattern? Basically anything with an up-riding stinger hook. Why? We’ll tell you. Many commercial mouse patterns available are tied on large, wide-gapped hooks designed for staying put in tough-mouthed critters like bass,…
Read More
Dry Flies
At Alaska West, our trout tend to key in on rodents, not mayflies, and we’re really happy about that. More on Mousing for Trout Mousing for Trout – 5 Tips Mousing for Trout – Try a Strip Set 19 Reasons to Fish a Mouse Fly
Sculpin
Sculpins are an important food source for our resident rainbow trout at Alaska West. We spend a great deal of time at the tying bench trying to imitate the appearance of these fat headed bait fish as closely as possible. Why? Because the trout love ’em! Particularly during the beginning and end of the season….
Read More