WHEN I FIRST TOOK UP FLY FISHING IN ALASKA SERIOUSLY, like many beginners,
I thought I had to have at least two hundred different fly patterns
of various colors and sizes with me at all times just to begin to
negotiate the maze of angling challenges that lay ahead. As the months
progressed,
I began to realize I was toting around some twelve or thirteen fly
boxes in all, as well as a couple of Ziploc bags full of flies-most
of which I never reached for. Then one day I caught my reflection
in a mirror after a long day's fishing. With all the flies I had
stuffed
in my pockets, I looked as if I'd gained 60 pounds!
That's when it occurred to me: I was carrying around far too many
flies. Worse, I didn't have the slightest clue as to when to reach
for the majority of them. Sure, I was having fun with my fishing, and
yes, I found myself catching a few more fish each time I went out,
but only one thing remained certain: With all the flies I was carrying
around, I was prepared for any possible Alaska fly-fishing situation.
Finally someone hinted that I'd probably do well to decide what species
I was fishing for, as well as learning a little more about Alaska 's
sockeye salmon cycle, to begin to understand what makes Alaska 's rainbows,
grayling, and char behave the way the do when they do.
I began to inquire about the impact of the various salmon species
on Alaska 's indigenous fish every chance I got. What I eventually
learned was that most of the people who fly-fish Alaska don't fully
understand the significance of the arrival of Alaska 's five species
of Pacific salmon. But fly fishers should know about the important
role salmon play when they return to Alaska's freshwater rivers and
streams in summer. By the Fourth of July, the time the sockeyes arrive,
Alaska's trout, grayling, and char fishing change dramatically.
For one thing, with the arrival of the salmon, the places rainbows,
grayling, and char usually are found no longer always hold fish. It's
simple, really: The freshly arriving schools of salmon scare the living
daylights out of Alaska's indigenous species for a time. When the salmon
arrive on the scene, Alaska 's rainbows, grayling, and char frequently
flee from their usual haunts for a week to ten days and are seemingly
nowhere to be found.
During spring and early summer, or at least until the salmon begin
to arrive, Alaska's rainbows, grayling, and char survive mostly on
nymphs, scuds, leeches, and sculpins as sources of nutrients. Every
so often an old, rotted, bleached-out piece of salmon flesh might flush
downstream (decaying salmon flesh is one of the most important nutrients
for Alaska 's indigenous fish), but for the most part, for Alaska's
resident species, surviving another long, cold Alaska winter depends
largely upon many of the bottom-dwelling fish, nymphs, and scuds for
food.
It's also important for fly fishers to learn about trout and salmon
fry. In late May and early June, when Alaska 's streams and rivers
warm up sufficiently, trout and salmon fry begin their annual downstream
migrations.
Several times during early-season jaunts, my companions and I noticed
what appeared to be some sort of hatch occurring at the surface. Each
time I saw this, I'd immediately tie on and cast a small dry fly, fishing
to the rainbows or char that were feeding in a frenzy at the surface.
But my efforts always proved to be of little or no avail. I even resorted
to tying up some special size 22 midge patterns, but those tiny patterns
didn't work either.
Finally, one spring day, Wayne Hansen,
head guide at Katmai land's Kulik Lodge, showed me a nifty Little
Fry
pattern he'd worked up. (He
swore me to secrecy about the ingredients, but the pattern was similar
to a common Fry Fly.) "The Little Fry really gets 'em excited
and biting," Wayne told me. Little did he know he was giving me
one of the most important Alaska fly-fishing lessons of my life. Wayne's
Little Fry made for miraculous fishing. As quickly as my companion
and I could knot them on, it seemed, we'd hook another rainbow. Eventually,
we took several rainbows in the 22- to 24-inch category, not exactly
trophies, but big enough to raise eyebrows. Finally I was learning
how to approach Alaska fly fishing during the early part of the season
- the part of summer in Alaska typically referred to as spring - the
time of the year when rainbows and char survive on smaller fish, be
they bottom dwellers, smolt, or fry.
I began to realize that those rainbows and char I'd seen in feeding
frenzies at the surface during those earlier spring outings had been
feeding on tiny fry just under the surface-not on drys. No wonder those
fish had refused our tiny floating dry-fly offerings!
With the arrival of the sockeyes come
early July, everything changes yet again. All of a sudden hundreds
of thousands of uninvited guests
begin invading Alaska's freshwater rivers and streams, and dry-fly
fishing seems to all but disappear for a time.
This period of transition, as it's sometimes referred to, continues
throughout the Alaska summer as hundreds of thousands of salmon arrive
on the scene. Then, beginning in late July and early August, hundreds
of thousands of loose, drifting salmon eggs appear heading downstream,
awash in the currents, providing Alaska's indigenous fish species with
yet another food source.
Beginning in about mid-August in Alaska,
a variety of effective fishing methods are available to the fly fisher.
First, you can fish a single egg pattern, utilizing a long leader and a floating line. Large, bushy
leech patterns, such as the Egg-Sucking Leech or a big, gaudy, size 2 black-and-purple
black leech, can be all but miraculous in attracting big rainbows to
strike. Also attractive are a variety of White Zonker patterns: large,
long, lightly colored wet flies that can be described to simulate either
smolt patterns or loose, drifting, decaying salmon flesh. Flesh Flies
tied in ivory-and-tan rabbit fur, perhaps with hints of subtle orange
rabbit strips, can also be effective in attracting strikes during August,
since rainbows at this time of the year depend largely upon decaying
salmon flesh. What surprised me most, however, was how effective sculpin
patterns can be during the fall, be they black, brown, tan, or olive.
Then one day it all seemed to click, and I realized that finally I
was beginning to understand the Alaska sockeye salmon cycle. It's more
than just the sockeyes, of course-there are four other Pacific salmon
species that enter Alaska's waters annually-but beginning with the
sockeyes, which arrive in great numbers, Alaska's entire freshwater
cycle is disrupted, and the indigenous fish are now offered a variety
of food sources.
It is also interesting to note that not all members of one fish species
behave in unison. For example, recently, during the first week, of
September, most of the trophy rainbows we were seeking had vacated
their usual holding waters and followed the various salmon species
upstream to feed upon the steady stream of loose, drifting salmon eggs.
But fortunately for us, not all of the rainbows had traveled upstream.
Interestingly, territorial instincts seemed to dictate that a certain
percentage of the rainbows remained near their typical haunts, seemingly
guarding and protecting their favorite rimes and confluences.
Char are a different matter entirely, however. These fish can prove
to be nearly as migratory as salmon. They can suddenly appear for a
couple of weeks and be present in substantial numbers, only to disappear
just as suddenly, following the migrating salmon or backing off into
lakes.
The entire matter of the presence-or lack thereof-and predictability
of Alaska 's indigenous species revolves around a very real thing called
survival. And this is why Alaska's rainbows, char, and grayling behave
the way they do. Opportunists and predators that they are, especially
considering the short window of time they have to take in nutrients
each summer season, these fish cannot afford to pass up any opportunity
at food consumption. Alaska is not like Lower 48 fisheries, where fish
can be more selective, where they can savor those long, drawn-out Indian
summer days and warm, extended autumns.
Yes, the Alaska fly fisher will find times when grayling and rainbows
are feeding aggressively at the surface, and he will also see days
when little or no surface activity seems to be taking place. There
will be days when single-eggs are easily the fly of choice. But all
things considered, any number of likely fly patterns are apt to induce
Alaska 's indigenous fish to strike.
How an Alaska fly fisher determines what fly to fish and how to go
about fishing it is largely determined by the time of year. Fly fishing
in Alaska really boils down to four distinct seasons: that portion
of the year before the salmon arrive in fresh water; the period of
the summer when salmon arrive; the period when the salmon are spawning
and dying oft; and that portion of the season after the salmon have
died off and the majority of the drifting eggs and decaying salmon
have washed downstream.
This is why numbers of complex, intricately tied fly patterns aren't
necessary for fly-fishing Alaska. For fishing success, all the Alaska
fly fisher needs is an adequate overall knowledge of the species and
their basic feeding habits at different times of the season, along
with a dozen or so assorted flies that will adequately represent the
appropriate food items at any given time.
To help you get started, listed below
are what I call my "Dirty
Dozen" Alaska patterns (a dozen basic groups of patterns)-flies
that, year in and year out, have proven to do an outstanding job of
catching fish in Alaska from mid-May through late October, including
every species from arctic grayling to king salmon.
Certainly, there are other patterns, such as Mosquitoes, Hendricksons,
Hornbergs, Adamses, Blue-Winged Olives, and any number of other classic
wet or dry flies, that will also successfully take fish in Alaska,
but once you begin to understand the life cycle and habits of Alaska's
species, this basic Alaska fly selection will make sense. The flies
listed here are the patterns that have proven to be the most effective
for myself and for the majority of other experienced Alaska fly fishers
I've come to know over the years. For the sake of practicality, let's
begin our fishing on June 8- approximately three weeks after ice-out,
immediately after the rainbows annual spawning event, and the opening
day of Alaska's rainbow trout
season.
1. FRY (ALEVIN) AND SMOLT PATTERNS
If I had to choose just one surface pattern to fish during June in
Alaska, it would be a fry pattern called Thundercreek, although a
size 10 or size 8, very sparsely tied Black-Nosed Dace would probably
do nearly as well, as would a Fry Fly, Fry Baby, or small Egg Smolt
(a true alevin pattem- a simple surface tying with a few turns of
flame chenille tied in at the head, along with a sparse green-and-white
Krystal Flash wing tied in to emulate a fry's tiny body).
As a surface-fishing enthusiast, I like to either skate these small
fry patterns across the surface or fish them just below. It took me
a while to learn to fish these patterns properly, and I have Mike Gorton,
at Goodnews River Lodge, to thank for teaching me the simplicity of
fry fishing and putting the finishing touches on my presentations.
The key, he said, is to fish the fly broadside, across the currents,
in order to make a fry pattern stand out among the hundreds of thousands
of real descending trout and salmon fry and become obvious to holding
fish. To do this, cast directly across stream, using a floating line
and an unweighted fry pattern, forming a big, intentional downstream
loop and allowing that loop to drift as far downstream as possible
with the currents. Then, suddenly stop the drift by tugging the line
with your line hand, at the same time moving the rod tip horizontally
upstream in a low, long, deliberate movement. This helps to skate the
fly, forcing the fry imitation to scurry directly across stream on
the surface. Any holding trout or char will notice this sudden broadside
movement, and one or more fish likely will hurry over to investigate
this seemingly wounded fry as being easy prey.
2. SCULPINS, LEECHES, AND WOOLLY BUGGERS
During June in Alaska, fry descend in spurts, and you won't always
find yourself standing amid a discernible fry migration. Sometimes
you'll face spring water conditions where you won't be completely
certain which fly pattern to try or when the next fry surge might
occur. There's one key point to keep in mind: When fish are not feeding
at the surface, you need to go down after them. This means using
a sinking-tip line in many cases, and no flies are more visible to
Alaska's resident fish than many of the big, bulky sculpin, leech,
and bugger patterns.
On the Alagnak River in the northern reaches of Katmai National Park,
sculpins and leeches are a must. The Alagnak is usually big water during
spring and early summer of the year, and even though it's definitely
fry time, frequently there are intervals when no fry seem to be present.
There are no salmon entering the river in early June, so you want a
fly that will prove effective in taking the resident rainbows.
Often the best solution is to tumble a big, bulky, weighted leech,
sculpin, or bugger pattern downstream with the currents, using a high-density
sinking-tip fly line. I simply wouldn't consider going astream during
June without a good assortment of big, gaudy sculpin patterns. And
foremost in my selection, along with a variety of blacks, browns, and
olives, would be several large, size 2, light brown and dark brown
mink-tied numbers, a specialty tying that Tom Haugen, head guide at
Katmai Lodge, showed me.
For fishing these patterns in fairly
deep-water situations, a high-density, 24-foot sinking-tip line is
best. Often,
merely dangling a big, ugly
sculpin, leech, or bugger pattern at the lower reaches of a seam or
confluence will surprise a fly fisher with a sudden, line-jarring strike.
This technique, sometimes referred to as "fishing a hangdown," can
be extremely effective. Some of these takes by hungry trophy rainbows
are so sudden and powerful that a fly fisher-especially one standing
in waist-high or deeper currents-must keep a firm grip on his rod and
plant his feet securely.
There are conflicting theories regarding the presentation of large,
weighted flies, however. One school of thought is that the fly should
always be fished straight downstream, with the currents. Other fishers
maintain that allowing a sinking-tip line to sweep a fly across a stream
bottom in a long, swinging arc-across the currents-draws more attention
to what the fish perceive as an escaping meal. I like to combine the
two techniques, doing both on each drift.
To fish these flies, cast slightly
upstream across the current, allowing the fly to sink, and begin
drifting.
Then, after making one big upstream
mend, as the fly begins to swing in the currents (coming near the end
of its arc), hold on tight and be ready for a strike, because some
of the strongest takes come at this time (known in fly fishers' jargon
as "on the swing"). One or two fish frequently will start
to follow the "escaping" fly as it drifts past them, when
suddenly one of them will strike-hard just at the turn. Why? It is
believed that at this moment, as the fly speeds up in the currents,
the fish decides its prey is starting to get away from it and its aggressive
instincts take over.
If no take occurs at this point, keep letting out fly line, allowing
the fly to continue tumbling in the currents far downstream, down to
where the fly appears to have reached another confluence, and there
you should begin yet another hangdown. You may discover at this point
that you're getting deep into your backing.
An important key to fishing sinking-tip lines is to impart a bit of
life to the fly, adding motion either by wiggling the rod tip or by
moving your arm from left to right, then back again, thus sliding the
fly sideways in the currents.
Good flies for these deep, wet-fly situations include the always effective
standard Woolly Bugger series (purple, black, brown, and olive are
the commonly used colors), including such excellent dressings as the
Electric Woolly Bugger. This is tied in the same manner as a standard
Woolly Bugger, with a few strips of Krystal Flash added along the sides
of the fly, extending down into the undulating, marabou tail. Over
the seasons, an olive Electric Woolly Bugger has proven to be one of
my favorite flies for fishing big, muscular arctic char and sea-run
Dollies.
Another effective fly, the Strip Leech Fly, is created from long,
thin strips of black, purple, or brown rabbit fur. These flies are
often 4 to 5 inches long, like the real Alaskan leeches. These thin
Strip Leech Flies usually are tied on a hook that has been severed
in the middle of the shank. The front half is connected to the rear
half, which is tied on at the tail of the fly, by braided nylon backing.
Lately, some superb String Leech Flies have appeared on the scene.
These strong, resilient flies are made from braided steel leader material
bonded together by wrappings of stout Kevlar thread and will sink as
they swirl with the currents. Fished with either a floating or a sinking-tip
line, Strip Leech Flies can be absolutely deadly on Alaska's trophy
rainbows.
Egg-Sucking Leeches are commonly fished-very effectively-for all of
Alaska's fish species. Fished with either floating or sinking-tip lines,
by dead-drifting or via a loose, tumbling motion, these purple-and-pink
creations have become famous in Alaska for their ability to evoke line-jarring
strikes. ESLs are most commonly tied with purple bodies and undulating,
purple marabou tails, with a pink egg tied in at the head. Tied extra-large,
they make one of the best patterns for taking Alaska 's giant king
salmon. Whether fish see ESLs as leeches or are more attracted to the
egg portion is not known for certain; all scores of Alaska fly fishers
know is that fish frequently attack ESLs-savagely. Consequently, purple
Egg-Sucking Leeches in a variety of sizes definitely deserve an important
spot in every Alaska fisher's fly box.
3. WHITE ZONKERS
I've often been amazed at the success of the White Zonker patterns.
They are often deadly on large char and lake trout and seem especially
effective on silver salmon. These flies seem to playa dual role.
With its white rabbit-fur tail and overbody and its pearlescent Mylar
underbody, a White Zonker imitates a smolt pattern rather nicely.
It also fairly simulates decaying salmon flesh, even if it is a bit
too white. Char frequently take these patterns with reckless abandon-as
smolt, I believe-and rainbows will often come off their lies and
follow such a fly, probably reacting to it initially as drifting
salmon flesh.
The Sarp's Perfect, a fly devised by one of Tony Sarp's clients on
the Alagnak, is a close relative to the White Zonker, except that the
Sarp's has a brilliant, white, cactus-chenille body and a white rabbit-fur
wing, with a flame-colored single egg tied in at the head, serving
as a triple at tractor.
4. FLESH FLIES AND BUNNY BUGS
Most Alaska fly fishers are aware of the effectiveness of Flesh Flies
during late summer and fall in Alaska, when Ginger Bunny Bugs imitate
drifting, decaying salmon flesh. But it may come as a surprise to
some that Flesh Plies are also effective during the early season.
Given the amount of loose, decaying salmon flesh drifting in many
of Alaska's rivers during the late fall and winter, however, it shouldn't
be all that surprising.
Flesh patterns also have been known to evoke leech or sculpin responses
from trout, stimulating reflex actions reinforced the previous autumn.
Thus the Ginger Bunny Bug, or flesh-colored Flesh Fly, may serve a
dual role. These large, pulsating, rabbit-hair flies appear very lifelike
underwater as they drift along with the currents, especially so when
they are stripped, or when intentional action is imparted.
Ironically, it was a fishing companion from Colorado who was the first
to show me the effectiveness of fishing these flies. It was mid-July,
on Alaska 's lovely Talachulitna River, and no salmon were even close
to dying or decaying at this point in the season. I wasn't in the habit
of fishing flesh, relying mostly on nymphing single-egg patterns.
Tom looked through his fly box and decided on a big, bulky Ginger
Bunny Bug. He tied it on the end of his 4-foot leader, which was nail-knotted
to a 200-grain sinking-tip fly line. Swinging his line through a pretty
rime, Tom quickly hooked and released a 27-inch, 8-pound male and then
a fine, heavily spotted, 24-inch, 6-pound hen. I had probed those very
same rimes only minutes earlier with a single-egg pattern, hooking
only one measly 3-pounder.
When I looked more closely at Tom's fly, I noticed that he'd tied
in a couple of strips of burnt orange rabbit fur to better simulate
decaying salmon flesh. Tom told me he'd experienced wonderful success
fishing a Flesh Fly. He let me try one, and two casts later I hooked
into a chunky 5-pound rainbow. I've been a fan of these versatile flies
ever since.
Other Bunny Bugs-large cerise, orange, and chartreuse ones in sizes
1/0,2/0, and 3/0-are some of the preferred king salmon flies in Alaska
today. Sparse, small, size 6 and size 8 cerise, orange, and chartreuse
Bunny Bugs also frequently work wonders in attracting pinks to strike.
5. SOCKEYE SALMON AND PINK SALMON FLIES
Small, sparsely tied flies, such as many of the more common steelhead
patterns (Fall Favorite, Freight Train, and so on), often prove very
effective for taking red, or sockeye, salmon. Since salmon are not
in fresh water to feed, and since sockeyes are officially plankton
eaters, fishing a small, colorful, sparsely dressed pattern frequently
gets a fly angler into several sockeye hookups during a day's fishing.
Other excellent patterns for hooking fresh bluebacks, or sockeye
salmon, include a size 6 Brassie; a size 2 Pink Shrimp, a short body
of pink chenille simply palmered with a white hackle; a small, lightly
dressed brown, purple, or orange Krystal Bullet or Sparkle Shrimp;
and a size 2 purple or flame Teeny Nymph.
Although thousands of roadside anglers fly-fish for sockeyes using
inexpensive, unsophisticated, fairly long streamers called Coho Flies,
many more experienced fly fishers tend to believe the key to hooking
sockeyes consistently is to fish small, sparse flies. The secret is
to locate sockeyes in moderately moving water and to present these
small, sparsely tied flies, whether via a floating or a sinking-tip
line, directly in the paths of the holding salmon.
Pink salmon are well known for striking at a variety of smaller, colorful,
flashy wet flies such as size 6 and size 8 Comets, Polar Shrimps, and
double-egg flies, as well as various shades of size 8 single-egg patterns.
In my experience, though, nothing has attracted pink salmon more quickly
than size 6 pink, cerise, and orange Mylar-bodied Sparkle Shrimp patterns.
6. PINK, PURPLE, AND ORANGE POPSICLE STREAMERS
Chum and king salmon, especially, are attracted to the gaudy pink,
purple, or orange Popsicle Streamer patterns, which are frequently
tied on size 2 and size 1/0 hooks. I'm not as much into king salmon
fly fishing and aching elbows these days as I used to be (my right
elbow is still recovering from bursitis), but I dearly love to fly-fish
for chums at or very near the surface during late July and early
August. I've found that mint-bright chum salmon are best fished in
moderately flowing, knee-deep or shallower currents, and a fly fisher
casting to a school of chums, stripping one of these brilliantly
colored Popsicle Streamers, or a very similarly tied fly called a
Show Girl, will frequently experience a high percentage of hookups.
7. SINGLE-EGG PATTERNS
Single-eggs are undoubtedly the most successful flies in Alaska during
late summer. Even though single-egg patterns might not seem like
flies at first, when you begin hooking fish you'll soon realize that
fishing an egg pattern is merely the Alaska version of matching the
hatch.
Two major styles of single-egg flies are commonly used in Alaska:
Glo-Bugs, which are trimmed yarn flies, and Iliamna Pinkies, smaller,
pink chenille-wrapped flies. Single-egg patterns are tied in myriad
colors to match local, drifting egg colors, although pink, peach, apricot,
and flame are the most widely used. The wide range of colors can make
single-egg selection a technical one.
Single-egg flies are tied and fished
to resemble loose, drifting salmon eggs. Size 10, 8, and 6 short-shanked
hooks
are generally used. They
are best fished with a floating fly line, employing an extra-long leader,
with perhaps a strike indicator attached at the junction ofline and
leader and one or two split shot or lead wraps attached about 12 inches
above the fly, enabling the egg pattern at the point to "boondog," or
drift along
with the swirling currents very near the stream bottom, creating a
very natural-looking drift.
Single-egg flies can be effective during the entire season, but they
reach the height of their effectiveness beginning in mid-August and
extending into late September. All species, including sockeyes, will
readily strike at these patterns. Even king salmon are sometimes hooked
on single-eggs, especially a very large pattern called a Fat Freddy.
Lately, some Alaska fly fishers have begun using plastic beads to
represent single eggs. These are very effective but personally, I draw
the line at fishing plastic beads.
Glo-Bugs and Iliamna Pinkie single-egg patterns are musts for fly-fishing
Alaska beginning in late July. Both of these flies make excellent choices
for the first-timer who simply wants to get out there and catch fish.
Serious, experienced Alaska rainbow, char, and Dolly Varden fly fishers
depend on specialized shades of single-egg patterns to take large,
trophy-size fish, whether fishing big, deep, fast-flowing currents
similar to those found at the Kenai or smaller, remote wilderness streams
where trout the size of footballs, which have followed salmon to a
stream's headwaters, are sometimes found.
8. PEACOCK DRYS, BLACK ANTS, AND ELK-HAIR CADDIS DRYS
If I had to choose only one dry fly for Alaska, it would probably be
one of the outstanding peacock-tied drys, such as a size 12 Griffith's
Gnat, a Renegade, or a Royal Wulff. Peacock-tied flies seem to resemble
all manner of juicy insects that rainbows and grayling are higWy
attracted to. At times I've seen rainbows become so excited at the
sight of drifting peacock that they've darted to the spot just to
be the first in line to intercept these buggy-looking offerings.
In Alaska, with its short seasons, sheer survival is the name of the
game as far as Alaska's indigenous fish species are concerned, so matching
the hatch isn't nearly as important as it is in some areas of the Lower
48. What is important is presenting drys properly, presenting something
that appears realistic and that, looks to be a hearty food source-something
that looks to be a meal. This is where peacock comes into play. In
the case of a large Griffith's Gnat, the palmered hackle adds a very
lifelike appearance. A Renegade, with its opposing wings, might appear
more like an ant or possibly a spider. And no list of flies for Alaska
would be complete without the deservedly famed Royal Wulff. In its
standard sizes, it's a dandy; when fished in larger sizes, it's a superb
at tractor of big fish.
If you'd like some exciting surface action in Alaska, try casting
a size 8 or a size 6 Royal Wulff over to a good-looking piece of water,
twitching it a bit, and holding on to your cork. These oversize flies
can evoke sudden strikes from very large rainbows seemingly appearing
out of nowhere. Remember to apply generous amounts of fly floatant
to both your fly and your leader before fishing these oversize drys.
One cold winter's day a few years ago, I found myself with some time
on my hands and decided to attempt to create a dry fly that would both
catch fish and float without fly floatant. The result was Dan's Flying
Ant, which is nothing more than a rectangle of black or red closed-cell
foam tied on a hook over a squirrel-tail tail (slightly round the sharp-cut
corners of foam with the coolest flame of a butane lighter) and finished
with a couple of wraps of grizzly hackle over the thorax. The following
season, I tried one of these foam flies and was pleased with the results.
Both rainbows and grayling take them readily in size 14 or size 12.
Another essential dry fly for fly-fishing Alaska is an Elk-Hair Caddis.
Alaska does have some impressive insect hatches (even on salmon rivers
when salmon are present), and sometimes the sizes of these hatches
are truly astounding. One warm, bright day in mid-June, a group of
us were astonished by the size of a caddis hatch that occurred on the
Alagnak as we were pulling up to an island for lunch. It actually looked
as if it had begun snowing!
Various colors of caddis imitations are readily available to the Alaska
fly fisher-everything from black to light blond, although the naturals
most commonly seen floating downstream are tan and light brown. As
in most other dry-fly applications in Alaska, matching the hatch isn't
always essential. In several situations, I've intentionally switched
to a darker or lighter color just so I could keep an eye on the fly
I was fishing. And often during a caddis hatch, throwing an entirely
different bug-say, a Royal Wulff, an Irresistible, or a Renegade-is
about the only way you can distinguish your fly from the hundreds of
drifting caddis afloat.
One afternoon, while I was fishing a remote tributary leading to a
large lake down on the Alaska Peninsula, huge mayflies began appearing
at the surface every few seconds. Almost as suddenly, enormous grayling
began to appear. During the next couple of hours, my companions and
I hooked and released more than a dozen in the 19- to 21-inch range.
Which fly did we use? A large, tan Elk-Hair Caddis.
In many of Alaska's prime grayling waters, the Wood River- Tikchik
Lakes region and the famed Ugashik Narrows, Elk-Hai, Caddis can be
amazingly effective. At the outlet of Lake Kulik-the uppermost lake
in the connected Tikchik chain-I was surprised by the nuIilber of midsize
grayling that hit on caddis patterns.
9. STIMULATORS AND STONEFLY SURFACE IMITATIONS
I enjoy fishing large drys, and one of the main reasons for this is
a fly called the Stimulator. To me, one of the most exciting things
in life is to be standing out in the currents, casting a 4-weight
line with a size 6 dry fly over near a cut bank, with the anticipation
that any minute now, very possibly a lO-pound rainbow will come up
and grab my fly. Granted, a lO-pound fish at the surface is not an
everyday occurrence-even in Alaska. But it is exciting when such
a fish is taken on a dry, to say the least.
This is why I've come to love fishing oversize drys, and Stimulators,
based orange, red, or chartreuse, act as marvelous at tractors, as
well as being an alternative to the norm.
The Stimulator is a stonefly imitation, but as Alaska's rainbows,
char, and grayling are opportunistic feeders, it's not terribly important
that a stonefly hatch is actually taking place when youuse one. Yes,
Alaska has stoneflies, and yes, the Alaska fly fisher will encounter
brief stonefly hatches from time to time, but Alaska's rainbows, char,
and grayling don't wait to decide whether or not there's a real stonefly
hatch occurring; they'll usually go out of their way to grab what they
can when they can, suddenly reacting to these tasty-looking morsels
adrift at the surface.
10. FLASH FLYS AND EVERGLO FLYS
Along with the Egg-Sucking Leech, the silver Flash Fly ranks as one
of my favorite choices for attracting strikes from silver-or coho-salmon.
Newcomers to this silvery pattern are frequently amazed at the aggressiveness
with which silvers will feverishly strike at these shiny, tinselly
creations.
Commonly tied in weighted size 2 or size 4 versions, Flash Flies,
with their silvery bodies and red or orange hackles over silver Flashabou
tails, make for especially visible flies in many of Alaska 's silty,
glacially fed rivers. Everglo Flies, which glow in the dark, are usually
tied in Fly Patterns for Alaska either chartreuse or orange. Many fly
anglers also fish Everglo Flies with success for silvers, although
the Everglo series is best known for scoring excellent marks on Alaska's
big kings.
11. SURFACE PATTERNS: MICE AND SHREWS, DAHLBERG DIVERS, WAKING FLIES,
AND WOGS
Fishing deer-hair and antelope-hair mouse patterns at the surface is
one of my favorite methods of fly-fishing for Alaska's rainbows, and
many other anglers who have tried them feel the same way. Mouse and
shrew patterns make some of the most exciting rainbow fishing in Alaska.
The object is to cast over near or up on the bank, and then allow the
mouse to splash down into the water and squirm away, crossing the current.
This is best done by waggling the rod tip and applying short, quick
strips with the line hand at the same time. Size 2 and size 1/0 long-shanked
hooks have proven best for creating these numbers.
And the same can be said for fishing specialty surface patterns-the
Dahlberg Diver, for instance-to Alaska's northern pike. Such patterns
cause great commotion at the surface and attract the attention of wily
predators lurking below.
The Micro Mouse is a smaller variation of a typical deer-hair or antelope-hair
mouse, with a gray foam body, 20-pound monofIlament for whiskers, and
a thin leather tail tied on a size 4 hook. Frans Jansen, the Alagnak
guide who developed this surface pattern from ultramodern materials,
has succeeded in converting many a rainbow trout enthusiast to this
effective small pattern.
If you appreciate action at the surface,
be sure to try some of the surface flies that are tied to cause an
intentional
wake there. Lani
Waller's Waller Waker is probably the best known of these waking patterns,
but there are several other proven patterns, such as the common Bomber
and a host of other, mostly large, custom floaters. Fly anglers who
learn to fish these large at tractors at the surface, intentionally
imparting a fluttering motion to them, causing the floating fly to
wake, are often impressed with the results. Most Alaska fly fishers
who try these patterns use floating lines and flutter large drys regularly,
eagerly fishing the surface, always on the lookout for those dramatic "alligator
wakes" as Alaska's curious-and hungry-predators close in for a
meal at the surface.
Wogs, short for Polly Wogs, are large, pink or chartreuse surface
patterns, tied with deer hair, and intentionally trimmed with blunt,
bulbous heads. Chum arid silver salmon, particularly, often attack
these brightly colored surface patterns with a vengeance. The idea
is to cast and then strip or skate the Wog in front of sighted fish
and attract the fish's attention. (Casting these large, very wind-resistant
flies is best accomplished using a stout rod.)
Eight times out of ten, upon seeing such an offering at the surface,
a fresh-from-the-ocean silver will turn and suddenly strike. I don't
think anyone knows for certain what salmon take Wogs to be, but the
fact remains that silver salmon and chums attack them violently.
12. NYMPHS
No list of basic flies for Alaska would be complete without a couple
of basic nymph patterns. During those in-between season periods,
the common Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear Nymph and a brown or black G.P.
(general-purpose) Nymph can go a long way toward rounding out the
Alaska fly fisher's all-around assortment.
There are times-especially before
and between distinct salmon runs-when nothing seems to work. Often,
at these times, I've found that simply
fishing a nymph will quickly get me into fish. A common size 10 or
size 8, brown Woolly Worm has proven very effective for me on several
occasions, as has a small Teeny Nymph. Resorting to a big, heavy nymph,
such as a Kaufmann's Giant Stonefly, frequently serves in getting a
fly fisher down deep, down to where fish are holding, quickly eliciting
a strike (especially in the early season). Frequently, these big, ugly,
extra-heavy nymphs are in a class by themselves in getting stubborn
fish-especially in spring and early summer-to suddenly come to life.
