Women's FlyFishing™ Blog — Alex Bradberry

Rainbow Trout are native to the pacific regions of Northern Mexico, the western region of the United States and Canada, and up and around Alaska to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. Because of their popularity as both a food fish and a sport fish, hatcheries have expanded this range worldwide, and rainbows are now found all over the world, including central and eastern US, New Zealand, Europe, and even parts of Africa. Photo: Alaskan Rainbow by Kate Crump / Angler Alex Bradberry Rainbow trout thrive in a number of different environments, from small streams to raging rivers, lakes, and some...

There are a lot of factors to consider when purchasing a new fly reel, so understanding the differences between how they’re made and what their different features are is essential to making a practical gear choice. 

This week we sat down with Electa Kean, who's hosting our fall Rainbows on the Kenai trip this September, to talk to her about why she loves that time of year in the watershed. Our questions are bolded with her answers below. 1.  What is your favorite part of fishing for fall rainbows on the Kenai? Fall fishing for rainbows is awesome for a lot of different reasons, but my favorite thing about this trip is that it combines many different elements of quintessential Alaskan life:  autumn colors, large and plentiful trout, fall run steelhead, silver salmon that will still strike...

In the rod/line match up (here) we briefly discussed the difference between a weight forward line and an old school double taper line. But the different types of line don’t stop there, and in a world of bellies, sink rates, “intermediate”, type 6, and more, we’re here to clear up some of the confusion.  We’ll start with the floating line selections. As previously mentioned, a weight forward line is the most popular option for generating line speed and “loading” your rod more quickly. This style of taper puts the weight of the line towards the front (usually the first 20-30...

As breakup gets closer and we all start to thaw out, it’s time to start thinking about how to enjoy the outdoors with our furry companions again. Bears will be starting to move around again soon, and with that comes an added element of danger for the everyday angler.  There are many things to consider when entering bear country, and a big one is understanding the bear populations in the area you’ll be visiting. Bears are intelligent animals that have different behaviors based on their life histories. Because of this, bears in the Mat-Su area will respond differently to humans...