June 2009

Dec Hogan – When It All Comes Together

June 30, 2009

Dec builds his confidence, as if he needed to. Photo: Justin Jackson Dec Hogan visits Alaska West during the first week of our season each year, to deliver spey instruction to our guests and to get in on the hottest, brightest kings of the season. This year, Dec had one of those experiences that, to [...]

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Alaska West Job Requirement #1 – Facial Hair

June 29, 2009

Look, Justin’s young (third row, far left), but he’s trying, OK? More on Local Color at Alaska West Alaska Guidespeak Glossary Smoked Salmon Alaska Native Crafts from Quinhagak It’s Really Pretty on the Kanektok

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We’re Purists at Andros South

June 28, 2009

Whitey fishes with an open mind. Actually, when it comes to fishing for bonefish on the flats, we really do think that use a floating line and an artificial fly is the only way to go. That being said, there are some pretty cool critters that swim around in the ocean around South Andros, and [...]

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Game On, Eh?

June 27, 2009

Target species #1: Dean River Chinook Photo: Alfie King Today marks the first day of our season at BC West on the Dean River. We’ll just lay it out there – we’re pretty fired up. Our guests arrive today via helicopter charter from Bella Coola, and lines will get wet this afternoon. Over the past [...]

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Super DC-3 – Our New Ride to the Kanektok

June 26, 2009

Welcome to Quinhagak. The current local time is chrome-thirty. Last year at Alaska West, we ran a pilot transfer program in which we chartered a Fairchild Metro to fly some of our our guests direct between Anchorage and Quinhagak, eliminating a stop in Bethel on inbound and outbound trips to our lodge. The program worked [...]

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Spey Fishing for Trout, Part 1 – Why

June 25, 2009

Dec Hogan covers the Arolik, bank-to-bank. Photo: Cameron Miller Over the past few years, spey casting has become the method of choice in most fisheries around the world that involve presenting swung flies to anadromous fish. On the Kola Peninsula, and in Iceland, and on the Hoh River and in Tierra Del Fuego, anglers chase [...]

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Buffs – Why We Like Them

June 24, 2009

They’re not just for the flats anymore. Photo: Cameron Miller A few years ago on the flats we started seeing people with these funny stretch things wrapped around their heads, and we wondered what the deal was. It turns out they were wearing Buffs, and that Buffs are a great way to protect yourself from [...]

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Managing Running Line – 3 Simple Tips

June 23, 2009

Neat, tangle-free loops. Photo: Cameron Miller At Alaska West and BC West, we do a lot fishing with spey rods. There are a bunch of reasons that we like spey fishing – line control, less fatigue, the pure enjoyment of making a good cast, and the ability to cover a lot of water. Spey rods [...]

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The West Side – Our Access

June 22, 2009

Little Creek’s opening to the West Side At Andros South, we launch our boats at the mouth of Little Creek, a tidal creek that opens up on the East to the ocean-side flats of South Andros. One of the big reasons for the location of our launch is that Little Creek also provides our access [...]

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