LO Hosted Fly Fishing Travel 2012

Now is the time to start planning next years fishing adventures!  Consider spending your vacation on a hosted fly fishing trip with Larimer Outfitters.  As hosts, we’re there to ensure you have the trip of a lifetime.  From casting instruction to travel questions, we’ve got you covered.  Give me a call at 541-490-9446 or shoot me an email if I can help you plan your next trip.

BC West, Dean River 

Steelhead with Tom Larimer 8/11 -8/18

I just returned with a group of anglers from BC West last week.  We had ideal water conditions, great weather and a ton of steelhead around. Epic is too weak of a word to describe our trip.  Both the upper river and lower river fished extremely well.  Over all, it was my best trip to the Dean yet.  I’m already missing the hell out of the river (and Belinda’s cooking) -and can’t wait to return to the Dean in 2012. 

Only three spots left and will be booked solid by Saturday, August 27th

Steelhead & Salmon with Jeff Hickman 7/14 - 7-21

Larimer Outfitter Guide Jeff Hickman also hosted a trip to BC West in early July.  This is a unique time to be on the Dean because there are both steelhead and Chinook salmon in the river. Although they didn’t put huge numbers of fish on the beach, they made up for it in size.  There were many big fish in Hickman’s week!  Of course, they lost a ton of fish because you’d be hard pressed to find a hotter fish than a July steelhead on the Dean.

Only Five Spots Left!

Alaska West, Kanektok River 

Salmon & Rainbows with Tom Larimer 6/22 -6/29

I spent an awesome hosted week of Spey fishing for kings at Alaska West this summer.  After a few days of the best salmon fishing we’ve ever seen, we decided to check out what else the Kanektok had to offer.  We were blown away!  We had incredible mouse fishing for leapord rainbows, chums on switch rods and beautiful grayling on dry flies.  It really opened my eyes to how amazing that fishery is.  Not to mention, the guide & lodge staff knocked it out of the park.  It was the most memorable trip Alaska yet... And I can't wait to get back.

Only two spots left and will be booked solid on Saturday, August 27

Andros South, Bahamas 

Bonefish, Permit & Barracuda with Tom Larimer  2/25 -3/3

I spent a week of “re-con” at Andros South Lodge last winter and it was the most relaxing fishing adventure I’ve ever taken.  After most fishing trips, I feel like someone just flogged me with a 2X4! (Anadromous fishing tends to put me in “death march” mode.)  After fishing at Andros, I was totally relaxed and satisfied.  The program at Andros South is totally dialed in… I can’t say enough about the staff, the lodge, the guides and the fishing.  If you dream of beautiful white sand flats, monster bonefish, and cold Bahamian beer during our cold dreary northwest winter, you’ll love this trip!  Six spots left!

FREE Casting Lessons with Tom Larimer!

Book a hosted trip with Larimer Outfitters for the 2012 season and 

receive a FREE two hour casting "tune-up" before your trip! 

Back in Anchorage

The flight from western Alaska to Anchorage gave me some time to reflect on a my week at Alaska West and the Kanektok River.  Over-all, it was an insane week of king fishing.  Every tide brought huge schools of giant chinooks in from the Bering Sea.  -To be blunt, we fucking whaled on 'em.  It wasn't uncommon to hook five to ten kings on a single day of fishing.  Plus, the XL fish showed up in mass.  It was everything you dream of when it comes to king salmon with two-handed rods.

After a few days of the best salmon fishing on the planet, I decided to check out what else the Kanektok had to offer.  I was blown away!  We had incredible mouse fishing for leapord rainbows, chums on switch rods and beautiful grayling on dry flies.  It really opened my eyes to how amazing that fishery is.  Not to mention, the guide & lodge staff nocked it out of the park.  It was my best trip to Alaska yet... And I can't wait to get back.

Ya Gotta Love Alaska...

Chasing Kings with Ed Ward

It’s day five of a week long salmon bender on the Kanektok River in Alaska.  I fished the river yesterday with Alaska West’s legendary head guide, Ed Ward.  Fishing with Ed was killer… He has a way of thinking about salmon that kind of changed the game for me.  Every year I fish this place, I end up learning something that totally blows my mind.  However, I usually figure it out after the fact.  It was awesome having Ed give me my “Ah Haaa” moment before I go home.

Ed explained how fish near the ocean, especially on a dark rainy day, travel up river in the top third of the water column.  In this scenario, he fishes his fly broadside and lets it swing with speed.  He wants the fish to have to make a quick decision.  –Elicit the predator! I do the same thing when guiding the Deschutes when the fish are fresh and moving.  I was blown away how many fish he hooked on a short sink-tip and a lightly weighted fly. When it comes to king salmon, everyone thinks massive sink-tips and heavy flies.  Of course, Ed doesn’t think like everyone else. 

There is a time for big sink-tips and heavy flies though.  As the fish move up river, especially in bright sun conditions, they transition into the deeper slots.  The one thing I do know about this game… If you’re not hooking fish, you need to change something.  Maybe it’s your tip, maybe it’s your fly, or maybe you just need to fish like Ed.  

Six Shots From Alaska West

Day Two at Alaska West

Why we're here...

Day two at Alaska West and everyone in camp has a perma-smile glued to their face.  All is good in the tundra.  We had a modest push of kings enter the river on the first day of our trip.  Fish were hooked, fish were landed, but over-all it wasn't lights out.  Today's tide brought huge pods of massive chrome missiles into the lower river.  Kings were rolling everywhere!  AK West guide Brian Styskal (and Larimer Outfitters guide) -and I had an all out fun-fest on a beautiful piece of water in the lower river.  Every pass was producing multiple fish hooked.  Larimer Outfitters clients Niki Thommen and Greg Wright showed up in the ninth inning and immediately doubled up.  To say the salmon fishing on the Kanektok is good right know would be the understatement of the year.  Yeeeehaaaa!!!

-Tom Larimer

Back in the Hunt...

You are here...

Waking up on day one -week three at Alaska West.  The weather is perfect, the river looks great, and according to the smiles we saw from the week two crowd at the airstrip, there's a shit ton of really big kings around.  Stay tuned!

-TL

North To Alaska

In-bound for the K-tok

Finally, after countless evenings tying flies, hours of preparation and more than one night of lost sleep dreaming about Spey fishing for huge king salmon, I'm off to Alaska West and the Kanektok.  My stoke factor is pinned at eleven!  I've only been to AK West during week one of kings... This season, I've slid into the legendary week three spot.  While I'm hosting a trip with a few of my clients, I'll also be giving Spey clinics during my time up north.  Stay tuned for posts from my adventure!

-Tom Larimer

Rainbows of the Arolik

Ya gotta love big-ass Alaskan rainbows that eat huge flies.

Simms Alaska West Video

For those of you that haven't experienced the pure beauty, magic and excitement of Alaska, here's a little video Simms Fishing Products did at Alaska West.  Only five days until I go!

-Tom Larimer

Only Seven Days Until AK

Please go munch again...

I leave for my annual hosted trip to Alaska West and the Kanektok River next week.  Last season we had some of the toughest fishing and weather conditions I've ever seen in Alaska.  Lots of heavy wind, tons of rain and cold temperatures made for some hard days on the water.  We found fish, but it was punishing.  Thats anadromous fishing in western Alaska... You take the good with the bad.  I chalk up last year to building karma for the future.  I'm hoping... No -PRAYING, the fish gods will smile on my week and bring us good weather and a shit-ton of big bright king salmon.  I'll be writing blog posts throughout my week...

-Tom Larimer

Week One at Alaska West

LO Client Justin Dawson and guide Ed Ward find chrome day one!

Larimer Outfitters head guide Jeff Hickman is currently hosting a trip at Deneki Outdoors' Alaska West Lodge on the Kanektok River.  We've been hearing some good reports via Deneki Outdoors Face Book page!