Untitled - Fish Alaska Magazine

Transcription

4ED"RYANT
6OLUMEs)SSUEs*ULY
Departments
%$ONNALL4HOMAS*R
Editor’s Creel 6
Alaska Traveler 8
Gear Bag 10
Fishing for a Compliment 16
Tackle Tech 22
Salmon Sense 24
EZ Limits: A Guide’s Angle 26
Fish Alaska Fly 28
3COTT(AUGEN
Fish Alaska Boats 30
Fish Alaska Saltwater 34
Fish Alaska Stillwater 36
Tight Lines 38
Fish Alaska Recipe 84
Advertiser Index 86
He is the Egg Man 42
In search of the best solution to one of Alaska’s fishing
challenges, E. Donnall Thomas, Jr. shares a real
innovation in artificial egg fishing.
Float & Egg Fishing for Salmon 50
JD Richey shows how to excite previously disinterested
coho by using a float and salmon eggs.
Egg Presentations for Salmon 59
Contributing Editor Scott Haugen shares his wisdom
of the different approaches one can take in fishing
with eggs in Alaska.
Bird Creek Silvers 66
Here’s a thorough overview of George Krumm’s
techniques for getting a cooler full of silvers
from the popular and accessible Bird Creek
fishery near Anchorage.
Trout & the Egg 74
Editor Troy Letherman explains how to benefit
from the relationship between Alaska’s trophy
trout and the abundant salmon eggs they
feed on.
Doug Hamann
Final Drift 90
Features
COVER / Salmon eggs, cured and ready to fish. © Scott Haugen
July 2012 www.FishAla skaMagazine.com 3
PUBLISHERS Marcus Weiner
Melissa Norris
EDITOR Troy Letherman
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Patrick Speranza
Kathy Anderson
OPERATIONS MANAGER Wayne Norris
EFFICIENCY MANAGER Ana Taylor
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Brett Rawalt
Bailey Glover
PUBLISHERS’ ASSISTANT Cody Finley
WEBSITE DESIGN Jomarie Thompson
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Greg Brush, Troy Buzalsky,
Andrew Cremata, John Erskine,
Les Gara, Scott Haugen,
Pudge Kleinkauf, René Limeres,
JD Richey, Scott Sanchez, Terry Sheely,
Kalb Stevenson, E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Terry Gunn, Rich Johnson,
Brian O’Keefe, Jim Klug, Dusan Smetana,
Doug Wilson, Brian Woobank
REGIONAL SALES MANAGERS
ANCHORAGE
George Krumm 907-345-4337
SOLDOTNA
Rick Birch 907-394-1763
MAT-SU VALLEY
Jehnifer Ehmann 907-354-0059
Fish Alaska Magazine
PO Box 113403
Anchorage, Alaska 99511
Toll Free (877) 220-0787
(907) 345-4337 main
(907) 223-8497 advertising
(907) 345-2087 fax
www.fishalaskamagazine.com
Fish Alaska magazine is published ten times annually
in January-July, Aug/Sept, Oct/Nov and December
by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC, P.O. Box 113403,
Anchorage, Alaska 99511. Send all address changes to
P.O. Box 113403, Anchorage, Alaska 99511. One year
subscriptions are $30 U.S. dollars for subscriptions in the
U.S., $50 U.S in Canada, and $80 U.S. in all other
countries.The single copy price is $6.99 in U.S. dollars.
To subscribe by phone please call 907-345-4337.
Editorial correspondence should be sent to Attn:
Editor, Fish Alaska magazine, P.O. Box 113403,
Anchorage, Alaska 99511. Unsolicited manuscripts and
photos will be considered, but must be accompanied by
a self-addressed stamped envelope. Although we will take
care, Fish Alaska is not responsible for the loss or return
of unsolicited materials.
The opinions expressed in this magazine are not
necessarily the opinions of Fish Alaska magazine
publishers and editors.
©2012 by Fish Alaska Publications, LLC. All rights reserved.
4 www.FishAlaskaM a ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2
July 2012 www.FishAlaskaMagazine.com 5
Combating Cold-water
Immersion
Alaska’s fresh- and saltwaters are almost
uniformly cold. Even during July, mere
minutes in the water can lead to tragic
consequences. Capsized vessels and falls
overboard are the leading causes of coldwater immersion, with capsizing most often caused by overloading, poorly secured
or shifting loads, improper boat handling
and anchoring, or loss of power or steerage. Falling overboard typically occurs
when a person slips or loses balance while
standing or moving around the boat—a
real concern for anglers fighting or netting fish. It often takes just an instant, and
surprise might be the biggest enemy of all.
Hypothermia is a term most Alaskans
are familiar with. But when it comes to
cold-water immersion, most die long
before they become hypothermic. Here’s
why: When a person falls into cold water,
the body’s initial reaction may include a
“gasp reflex,” hyperventilation, airway
spasm, panic and vertigo, all of which put
a person at high risk of water inhalation
and drowning. Additionally, after about
10 minutes or so, a person may begin to
experience what is called the short-term
immersion response, or “swim failure.”
Localized cooling of muscle and nerves
in the arms and legs impairs strength and
dexterity, affecting the ability to swim or
perform other essential survival actions.
After an hour or more of immersion,
depending on water temperature, body
type, clothing and many other factors,
persons will experience the onset of hypothermia, as the body’s core temperature
drops. And as this happens, a person will
eventually lapse into unconsciousness.
For Alaska’s boaters the top priority,
regardless of age or ability, should be to
always wear a personal flotation device
(state law requires PFDs for children under the age of 13). Also, if not wearing a
PFD, you will waste valuable energy and
time treading water just trying to keep a
clear airway. Secondly, always carry emergency communication devices (such as a
personal locator beacon, hand-held VHF
radio or a cell phone in a waterproof bag)
and some signals (a whistle or pencil
flares) on your person.
If you do experience an immersion
event, and rescue is not imminent, the
priority (assuming everyone is wearing
life jackets) is to perform the most important functions first before strength and
dexterity are lost. In this case account for
6 www.FishAlaskaMa ga z i n e . c o m J u l y 2 0 1 2
everyone, activate emergency communication devices and get out of the water
as soon as possible, either by re-boarding
the boat using devices you previously installed, climbing onto the capsized boat
or other floating object, or if it is within
easy reach, by swimming to shore. The
sooner you can get your body out of the
water, the greater the chances of survival.
If rescue is imminent, look to conserve
energy and body heat. The H.E.L.P. position (heat escape lessening posture) may
slow heat loss. Bring your knees up as
close to the chest as possible and wrap
your arms around them in a tuck position. If other passengers are in the water
as well, use the “huddle” technique to
maintain body heat collectively, pulling
the sides of everyone’s chests close together, with arms around the back and legs
intertwined. This has the added benefits
of keeping everyone together, provides
added visibility for rescuers and helps to
maintain morale.
The best scenario for cold-water immersion is to reduce or prevent the risk
in the first place. If boating in Alaska, it’s
as simple as making sure not to overload
your boat, avoiding situations where you
may fall overboard and of course, making sure that everyone is wearing a Coast
Guard-approved PFD in advance of an
emergency. Following are some more tips
and guidelines:
s!LWAYSTAKEWEATHERANDWATERCONDItions into consideration. Be prepared to
stay put until the weather improves.
s-AKE SURE YOU HAVE THE EQUIPMENT
required by law, as well as other items
like paddles, first-aid kits, tools and spare
parts. In Alaska, access to a satellite phone
can be a lifesaver.
s&ILE A mOAT PLAN WITH FAMILY AND
friends and stick to it. Notify the same
people upon your return.
s4AKE BOATING SAFETY CLASSESTHE
Alaska Department of Natural Resources
Office of Boating Safety conducts the
nationally-approved, and Alaska-relevant,
Alaska Water Wise (AWW) boating safety
course, which is free.
s4AKEAlRSTAIDAND#02COURSE
s4EACH PASSENGERS HOW TO STOP START
and steer the boat, and how to handle
boating emergencies.
For more information on boating safety
in Alaska, cold-water immersion prevention and response, and safety courses
available to the public, please visit www.
alaskaboatingsafety.org.
Troy Letherman
Roundly held as models of controlled
management, Alaska fisheries have long
been viewed with some envy throughout
much of the rest of North America—including areas perhaps once hosting superlative wild fisheries of their own, fisheries
that for one reason or another have subsequently fallen on hard times. With some
notable exceptions, Alaska’s fisheries have
avoided traveling down such a dark path,
but that’s certainly not to say there aren’t
areas of concern, or even areas where regulations fall so short as to qualify as neglect.
Case in point: Under regulations current
at the time this issue was going to press,
the bycatch limit for commercial trawl and
long-line fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska
is 2,300 metric tons—just over 5 million
pounds. Designated a “prohibited species,”
the halibut taken as bycatch in these fisheries cannot be retained. The fish must be
returned to the water to prevent any vessel from profiting through wasteful fishing
practices.
Wasteful is a good word here—destructive is even better.
Gulf of Alaska halibut populations have
varied substantially in recent years, and
though the overall biomass is high, the
exploitable biomass—that portion of the
halibut population available for harvest—
has declined by 50% over the past decade.
Halibut growth rates have also dipped well
below historical norms.
Feeling the brunt of these changes, commercial, sport and subsistence anglers have
been facing reductions in their harvest for
years. In southeast Alaska, for example, anglers utilizing a charter can now only keep
one halibut less than 37 inches in length
per day, with operators in Homer, Seward,
Whittier and Valdez fearing the same could
happen in Southcentral. And yet the limit
on halibut bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska
has not changed since 1989.
Labeled as “Prohibited Species Catch,”
these fish, treasured around the world for
their fine white fillets, are tossed overboard, dead.
“It all goes to waste,” Capt. Andy
Mezirow of Seward points out, “millions
of pounds a year.”
Mezirow, owner and operator of Crackerjack Sportfishing Charters, is the sport
/ charter representative on the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council
(NPFMC) Advisory Panel. Spawned by
the Magnuson Act of 1976, the NPFMC
allocates the halibut resource off Alaska.
©2012, Andy Mezirow
Waste Just
for the Halibut
By definition, only dead halibut count
towards the cap. A formula assigns a mortality rate to each gear type and target
fishery, and that is used to determine how
many halibut caught as bycatch count towards the cap each year. The total limit,
just over 5 million pounds, exceeds the
combined guideline harvest level for the
sport fisheries in southeast (area 2C) and
southcentral (3A) Alaska, which together
totaled over 4.4 million pounds in 2010.
In February of this year, the council
conducted an initial review of the halibut bycatch cap, considering a range of
reductions from 5- to 15% for the trawl
and long-line fleets in the Gulf of Alaska.
Charter operators like Mezirow and other
concerned parties led a push to educate
the fishing public on the matter, as the
NPFMC was set to take final action on the
proposed reductions last month during the
council meeting held in Kodiak.
Still, even the best possible outcome—
the 15% reduction—is wildly insufficient.
It’s certainly far less than the burden of
conservation already shouldered by sportand commercial fishermen. Besides the
charter regulations affecting Southeast,
from 2002-through 2011, the commercial
halibut fisheries in regulatory areas 2C,
3A and 3B have faced a 50% reduction in
their fisheries.
In the end, it’s important to remember
that the resource belongs to all of us, equally. Eliminating such wanton waste through
bycatch is then something we should all be
able to agree on.
For more information, visit the Alaska
Marine Conservation Council at www.akmarine.org or make your opinion known
to the NPFMC at www.fakr.noaa.gov/
npfmc.
Troy Letherman is Editor of Fish Alaska
and Hunt Alaska magazines.
Try these products on some of your fishing excursions. Please send photos of anglers
using the products we discuss to [email protected].
DeLorme inReach
MSRP: $249
www.inreachdelorme.com
The DeLorme inReach is a global two-way personal communicator. It provides two-way
satellite text messaging, delivery confirmations, SOS alerting, remote GPS Follow-Me/FindMe tracking and locating, and an Android and Apple operating system device interface for
use with smartphones and tablets. inReach operates over the Iridium satellite network for
global coverage, high network reliability and low-latency data links (less than 60 seconds
end-to-end from anywhere in the world). It’s compact, lightweight, waterproof, floatable and
impact-resistant, and it can maintain satellite signal lock even in difficult GPS environments.
It’s getting easier to stay in touch when you are in remote parts of Alaska.
Rapala Fat Boy Fillet Board
MSRP: $32.99-$44.99
www.rapala.com
Compact for transporting and storage, the Fat Boy Fillet
Boards have ample room, with a wide surface to fillet all
species of fish. Heavy-duty sure-grip clamp with built-in
handle. Made of durable HDPE food grade plastic. FDA &
USDA approved. Available in three sizes: 12x16 inches, 12x19
inches or 12x32 inches.
Cold Fold Fish Box
MSRP: $14.99
www.globalsupplyco.com
As a combination double-wall box and
insulated liner, this box will ensure
your frozen fish makes it home in good
condition. The CF-60 easily encases 50
pounds of fish or game, making it ideal
as airline checked-in baggage. Available
in Alaska at Soldotna Trustworthy
Hardware, Mack’s Sport Shop and
Sportsman’s Warehouse. We have used
these boxes and have been very pleased.
Gage Weather Watch Jacket, Pant and Bib
MSRP: Jacket - $56, Bib - $69, Pant - $54
www.grundens.com
This lightweight line of rainwear is tough, waterproof, breathable
and packable, making it another good choice for adventures
in Alaska. Weather Watch Hooded Jackets are offered in forest
green, navy blue, black, red and hi-vis yellow, in sizes XS to
5XL, featuring a drop tail adjustable hem, full-sized adjustable
hood with elastic draw string closures and two large zippered
pockets. Double storm flaps and fully taped seams keep moisture
out. Weather Watch Bibs come in black, red and hi-vis yellow,
featuring fully taped seams with adjustable suspenders and leg
cuffs for a watertight fit. An inside zippered chest pocket and right
leg cargo pocket provide
storage. Weather Watch
pants, available in black or
hi-vis yellow, have features
that include a sturdy
elastic belt, Velcro cinch
ankles and leg zippers
for easy on/off, two front
zipper pockets and a right
leg cargo pocket. The
Gage line of products
by Grundens has been
impressing testers at Fish
Alaska and the angling
world since inception.
Spinner Dave’s Custom Designs
Alaska River Series
MSRP: $3.95 to $5.95
www.sdcustomdesigns.com
Spinner Dave’s Custom Designs has
expanded the Alaska River Series lure
to include six new skirted patterns.
It is available with three different
sized blades and in six different color
models, and retails anywhere from
$3.95 to $5.95. Check out all the
available options at the online store
or call 907-252-6140.
Smokehouse Propane Smoker
MSRP: $259
www.smokehouseproducts.com
Aided by an improved heating element
and greater insulation, the new
propane smoker from Smokehouse
is just the ticket for those who love
to smoke Alaska salmon. Along with
its ability to smoke fish at low and
consistent temperatures, you can also
raise the temperature to 500 degrees
and cook with this model. It comes
with four adjustable chrome-plated
cooking grills and 635 square inches
of cooking area in all. An easy-start
button and large temperature-control
knob round out the features.
Okuma Komodo
Casting Reels
MSRP: $199.99
www.okumafishing.com
With rigid, diecast aluminum frames,
machined aluminum, anodized spools
and multi-disc carbonite drag systems,
the Okuma Komodo casting reels have
the features and performance you need
to attack the water this summer. Perfect
for Alaska’s salmon, whether fishing
fresh- or saltwater, these reels will take
care of business, while lasting from
season to season. Backed by a threeyear warranty.
LoopRope
MSRP: $19.95 to $23.95
www.looprope.com
LoopRope is a revolutionary fastening
system that eliminates the daily use
of dangerous and limiting bungee
cords, messy cargo nets and most other
light- to medium-duty tie downs.
From lashing down your gear to using
it as a clothesline at camp, there’s
nothing more versatile. LoopRope is
fully adjustable, linkable, safer than
bungee cords, never tangles and you
can actually cut it in half and it still
works. Each LoopRope comes with two
stainless steel LoopClips. LoopRopes
are constructed of doubled-up heavy
duty 1/4-inch shock cord and come in
3-, 4- and 5-foot options.
Phil Morin and Dave Brown of Nikiski with a
nice 24-inch spring laker.
Three-year-old Damon Braden
with a 5.64-pound, 31-inch burbot
caught ice fishing at Juneau Lake in
Cooper Landing.
Adam Ferre during an awesome day
on the upper Kenai River.
Chris Spratt sent in this image of his son’s first
king, which he caught while fishing the Kasilof
River.
Emma McCollum, age 12, from
Houston, TX, with a nice king
salmon she caught on the Nushagak River in June 2011 during
her first fishing trip in Alaska.
Doc Reed with a 2012 steelhead.
Robert Baker with his first king salmon,
which he caught while fishing out of
Seward.
Chancellor Donald Blackketter of
Montana Tech was fishing for silvers in
September of 2011 near Yakutat.
It was an early Christmas on the Kenai
for guide Jeremy Eubanks, junior guide
David Bonathan and guide-in-training
Tom Pyle, who were out fishing the
second-run silvers.
Heather Hendrick caught her first
king out of Ship Creek on a #5 Vibrax
in June during the family’s salmon
adventure.
It was a first 70-pound halibut and a
first silver salmon for Devon Murphy,
whose dream was to go to Alaska for
the fishing. Though people with autism
don’t do the “unknown” very well,
Devon’s trip also included his first plane
ride, first time on the ocean, first bears
and first time on a small floatplane—
and he did great through it all!
Lisa Hayes and her father, Jerry
Funston, had an all-day process in
fishing the Kenai River for reds, due to
the bears. But the smiles on their face
show that it was all worth it.
Roger Schofield sent in this picture of his son with a
Kenai River king salmon taken on July 15, 2011. The
smile says it all!
Doug Guenther reports that his
son, Rob, out-fished him during
their trip to Happy Valley last
July. These kings weighed 32and 40 pounds.
Captain Jon Lester fishing lingcod with his mother,
Vicky Sundeen, out of Seward.
Chip Brim with the biggest fish
he has ever caught, his first Kenai
king.
Morgan Lundt caught her first king salmon on the
Kasilof last June.
SEND US YOUR
BEST FISHING
PHOTOS!
E-mail hi-res .jpeg photos to:
[email protected].
Subject Line: FFC. Please include
vital caption information in the
e-mail. You can also mail photos to:
FFC, PO Box 113403, Anchorage,
AK 99511. Include a SASE if you want
it returned. Include a separate caption
for the photo. Do not write on the back
of the photo. We will let you know when
your photo will appear in the magazine.
These three kings were taken by Bernard
Rosenberg, John Lowe and his daughter, Kathleen,
who was enjoying her first trip to Alaska and her
first king.
Eternal Egg Cure
Story & photos by Scott Haugen
I can’t believe a decade has passed since the INGREDIENTS:
book I wrote, Egg Cures: Proven Recipes & s 4WOOUNCECANSOF&RUIT&RESH
Techniques, hit the market. Since that time
or Ever-Fresh
I’ve penned other salmon- and steelhead- s CUPBORAX
related books, but none have received the s CUPSNONIODIZEDSALT
continual feedback that the book on egg s mUIDOUNCEREDFOODCOLORING
cures has. Whether through snail mail, e- s GLASSGALLONJARWATER
mail or visiting with people at sport shows
and seminar events, it is the most talked -IX THE DRY INGREDIENTS OF TWO OUNCE
about book I’ve authored.
CANSOF&RUIT&RESHOR%VER&RESHCUPBOI can’t pretend to take full credit for RAXANDCUPSNONIODIZEDSALTINTOAGLASS
this book, for were it not for the many ONEGALLONJAR!GLASSJARISPREFERREDASIT
top guides, industry authorities and some does not deteriorate, potentially giving-off
of the best anglers I know, the title would foul scent or residue. Because this cure can
never have come to fruition. The book is a sit wet and remain active for years, storage
solid testimony to the many anglers who INASTURDYGLASSJARISPREFERREDOVERANYare willing to share ideas in an effort to en- thing plastic.
courage others to get on the river and catch
With the dry ingredients thoroughly
more fish.
MIXEDADDYOURSKEINSOFEGGS)TDOESNT
The success of any book largely has to matter if you have one skein or ten skeins,
do with timing. Not only was the release JUSTPUTTHEMALLINTHEJARWHOLE.OWlLL
of the egg cures book perfect timing, but THEJARWITHWATERANDADDONEmUIDOUNCE
it also helped spur an insurgence of egg OF RED FOOD COLORING -IX AND LET STAND
cure-related products on the marketplace. 7ITHINHOURSTHEEGGSAREREADYTOlSH
Never before have there been so many !LLYOUHAVETODOISGRABASKEINCUTTO
specialized curing ingredients as there are bait-size and you’re set.
today. From dyes to preservatives, scents to
The eggs stay in water, refrigerated, until
additives and more, salmon and steelhead they are ready to be used. “I have eggs in
anglers have countless products to choose my shop refrigerator right now that have
from when it comes to concocting their been sitting in this brine for over three
own curing recipe.
years,” shares Johnson. “If I want to go
Of all the recipes featured in the book, fishing tomorrow, I wouldn’t hesitate getthere are a handful that always seem to pop TING A SKEIN FROM THE JAR AND TAKING OFF
up in conversation. Of these,
the most talked about is the
Eternal Waters cure. This is
a recipe that was brought to
my attention by longtime
family friend, Scot Johnson.
Scot’s been fishing salmon
and steelhead for nearly 50
years, and this is his favorite
egg cure. The recipe was given to him by mutual friend,
Doug Dennett, another
very accomplished fisherman. Dennett originally
received the recipe from another friend; then, with some
tweaking, finalized the recipe
and the handling process to
where it is today.
Following is a look at the
egg-curing recipe, Eternal
Waters. Simple but intriguing, this cure produces a wet
egg, which works well when
targeting king and coho The wet brine of the Eternal Waters cure is clean
and quick, making it easy for anglers to manage.
salmon in many situations.
They’re incredible eggs!”
Fruit Fresh or Ever-Fresh can be purchased at any local grocery store. These are
intended to keep fruits and vegetables from
browning and protect the flavor, thus preserving color loss and lengthening longevity. It works well on eggs, too. Even after
years in this brine, the eggs are surprisingly
sprite and succulent looking when this preservative is used.
“Some guides who use these eggs will
remove the skeins from the jar the night
prior to fishing,” says Johnson. “They’ll let
them air dry overnight to toughen ‘em up a
bit.” Johnson notes that the eggs are messy
to handle and some people prefer wearing
rubber gloves when cutting the baits to desired sizes and placing them on the hook.
One of the reasons this cure is so popular is the eggs take a long time to milk out.
The food coloring stays locked in the eggs
and the Fruit Fresh helps hold it in. In fact,
guys I spoke with who have used this cure
desire it because they can actually see the
eggs milking out over repeated casts, not
just the first few throws.
One of the most amazing attributes of
this cure is the fact skeins can be added
to it at any time. “Say you initially place
two skeins in the cure. If you catch a hen
the next day, toss her skeins in, too. If you
catch another hen a month or two later,
throw those skeins in. It doesn’t matter
when you add eggs to this brine, and that’s
the beauty of it,” Johnson remarked.
Simply add skeins to the mixture as you
catch them. It doesn’t matter what subspecies of salmonid it is, the cure works on all
of them. Just be sure the eggs are clean and
in good condition, so as not to taint the
batch of brine.
It’s worth noting that curing an entire
skein at once allows you to cut the baits to
a desired size when it comes time to hit the
river. For example, simply cut small baits
for summer steelhead in fast water, and
large baits for Chinook you’re targeting in
deep holes.
Other positive feedback received by anglers who’ve fell in love with this recipe is
the fact it’s so easy. When they get home
late at night, the last thing many anglers
feel like doing is curing their eggs. With
the Eternal Waters cure, all you have to do
is toss the skeins into the brine and you’re
done. It’s just as easy as it sounds, and it
catches fish.
For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular
book, Egg Cures: Proven Recipes & Techniques, which details over two dozen recipes,
please visit www.scotthaugen.com.
Egg Curing 101
Take the mystery out of
curing eggs for salmon fishing
By JD Richey
Here’s a fun little exercise in futility: Ask a
salmon angler what’s in their favorite cure.
First, you’ll get a blank stare, followed by
some incoherent mumbling and then a
very deliberate attempt to change the subject—it’s almost as if you’re talking to a
politician about illegal campaign contributions. Guys get very protective of their
cures and it’s usually one of those “don’t
ask” type of deals. It’s a dead end.
Luckily, there are plenty of commercially produced cures on the market that
produce excellent baits. My top five in
no particular order are Pro Cure, Atlas
Shake ‘N’ Cure, Pro Glow, Shur-Cure
and Pautzke’s Fire Cure—all in the red
color. You really can’t go wrong with any
of those. Each brand has it’s own suggested curing method, so all you have to do
is follow the directions on the side of the
container and you’re in business.
If you want to really keep it basic, try
something like Atlas-Mike’s new liquid
Bite & Tight Cluster/Skein cure in which
all you do is cut your bait into bite-sized
clusters and marinate it in the fridge. Presto…in several hours, you have cured roe!
Do-It-Yourself
While you’ll be able to happily catch fish
on store-bought cure for the rest of your
days, the logical progression in egg fishing eventually leads to the desire to make
your own. I’ll admit, it’s fun to play mad
scientist and experiment with different
recipes, and it’s extremely gratifying to
out-fish everybody else with your own secret concoction.
But designing a cure is no small undertaking. There are lots of factors to consider and I guarantee you’ll destroy a bunch
of good eggs until you get all the bugs
worked out (ask me how I know!). Egg
curing is a science and requires a lot more
space than we have here, so I’m going to
touch on a few of the basic principles to
get you started.
The first thing you should know about
roe cures is that salmon seem to really
like salty eggs. To that end, most salmon
cures are full of stuff like sodium sulfite,
sodium metabisulfite and sodium nitrate.
Not only do you have the salt factor there,
but these ingredients help preserve the life
of your bait while also helping to inhibit
The advantage of using these commercially produced cures is knowing that
they have been thoroughly tested and found to be quite effective.
mold growth. There’s usually a smaller
amount of sugar in the mix and then the
sky’s the limit as far as additional scents
go. Some folks like to add extra scents like
sardine oil, anise, krill powder or shrimp
oil to their cures. Additionally, baits cured
with salmon fishing in mind are usually
dyed bright “rocket” red. Yes, you can
catch kings and silvers on plain ol’ Borax
eggs, but you’ll tip the odds in your favor
by adding these extra ingredients.
You can also get into changing the ingredients as you move upstream—less salt
for fish holding near tidewater and more
salt in the mix the farther upstream you
fish. I know, I know—this all sounds
very complicated, but here’s a good, basic
salmon cure to get you in the game:
Salmon Cure Recipe
s #UP3ODIUM3ULlTE
(available from Pro Cure)
s #UP"ORAX"UY-ULE4EAM
Borax – not Boraxo – in the laundry
section of the supermarket)
s #UP.ON)ODIZED3ALT
s #UP7HITE3UGAR
s 4EASPOONOFREDBAITDYE
(Pro Cure and Pro Glow make it)
Wearing rubber gloves, mix all the ingredients together and then pour the cure
into a clean shaker bottle (like parmesan
cheese comes in). Lightly shake the cure
onto the quartered skeins, making sure
that you get the powder into all the folds
and flaps of eggs. Once all your baits are
covered in cure, drop them into gallonsized Zip-Loc bags and gently roll the
bags around to further coat the eggs in
cure.
In a few minutes, the eggs will begin
juicing...the process has begun! Store the
bags in a cooler or old fridge overnight
and turn them over every couple hours.
As you do, be sure to pour out the juice.
The next morning, you can add a little secret ingredient if you like. Sometimes, I’ll
pour a tablespoon or two of tuna oil, anise
or sardine oil to give the bait a little extra
“kick.” Put the bags back in the fridge and
the baits should pull the secret sauce in. A
day later, you’ll have big, plump berries
that are ready to fish.
For a gooier egg, don’t drain off the
juice as frequently ,and if you want a little
tougher bait for drift fishing, take the eggs
and put them in a plastic strainer for several hours. Just make sure the eggs are in a
cool place and out of the sun.
Go Fishing!
The testing process is, of course, the most
exciting part of egg curing. The only way
to get feedback is to put the stuff in the
water and see how the fish like it. In addition to keeping tabs on how often you
get bit, pay attention to how well your
bait milks, holds its color and stays on the
hook. Eventually, you’ll be able to use that
information to build the perfect cure.
A longtime Pacific Northwest salmon and
steelhead guide, JD Richey is a contributing
editor for Fish Alaska magazine. He can be
reached at www.fishwithjd.com.
you must wait for the fish to not only
take the eggs deeper into their mouth,
but most importantly, to turn and swim
directly away from you. As the line comes
tight and the rod folds over, the single
hook is pulled through their mouth until
it lines up with the soft spot in the corner
of their jaw, where it has a good chance
of not only hooking but also holding the
fish for the duration of the ensuing battle.
In order for the single hook to line up
and “find” the corner of the fish’s jaw, it
must be large, sharp, fully exposed and set
back from the lure and eggs. This is where
our custom egg rigging comes in.
Kenai King Egg Rig
By Greg Brush
Regulations mandate a single hook for Kenai kings, so make the most of it with
this prime rigging.
In simple terms, our fishery managers are
tasked with maximizing angler opportunity while ensuring sustainability. This is
a fancy way of saying they need to make
it hard enough to catch a fish so that (1)
everybody gets a chance and (2) enough
fish get away that we have plenty for the
future. To achieve this goal, they dig into
their toolbox and employ clever ways to
handcuff anglers, effectively limiting their
success rate and controlling harvest. It
sounds harsh, but it’s very necessary.
On Alaska’s Kenai River king fishery,
where the demand for big, trophy Chinook almost always exceeds supply, these
management tools take many forms. For
example, professional fishing guides can
only operate Tuesday through Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays are
reserved for private boaters only while
Mondays are for private, non-motorized
craft such as drift boats. The bag limit is
one per day/two per year and you must
retire your rod for the remainder of the
day after keeping a Kenai king. Multiple
hooks are restricted, only one single hook
can be used on your lure.
As I said, these restrictions are intended
to make it tough for you to catch a fish.
And make no mistake, they definitely
do—all except one: the single hook.
Recently, some enterprising Kenai
River anglers have devised a clever (and
perfectly legal) tweak for their egg rigs,
thereby maximizing effectiveness to the
point where fishing with a single hook is
little or no handicap. And who can blame
them for being innovative; with high traffic, low fish numbers and restrictions that
make getting bit a challenge in itself, every bite becomes oh-so-precious.
Understanding what’s happening
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of
how to create our custom Kenai king egg
rig, I think it is important for anglers to
really understand what’s happening when
a king salmon strikes a lure with eggs.
While an occasional Chinook will actually swallow roe, the vast majority of
these big salmon just pick your bait up
and move it. They almost always mouth
the eggs, sometimes smashing them, before swimming away with the bait firmly
in their mouth. This is why your egg rod
almost always goes “yank-yank-pull” over
a two- to three second period prior to the
king peeling line off your reel.
This means two things: whether backtrolling, back-bouncing or drifting eggs,
The proper components
I’ll be blunt here. Your rigging is only
as good as the materials you use to create it. Kenai kings are big, powerful and
very precious—as I said, missing a fish, or
breaking one off, is not an option. Use the
very best components possible.
I start with 60-pound Ande fluorocarbon line. While these fish aren’t particularly leader shy, I still like knowing my
leader is virtually invisible under water.
But more important is the stiffness and
resistance to abrasion of fluorocarbon.
Some guides use 80-pound-test; I believe
that 60 is sufficient. Don’t even think of
going less: while I landed many Kenai
kings with 50-pound-test as a young,
inexperienced guide, I also broke several
solid fish off as the big teeth of a buck
king cut through my minimal leader.
Next, decide what brand of hook you
like. I’ve written plenty about the importance of an ultra-sharp hook before and
won’t belabor the point, but I will say that
this is one area where you do not want to
cut corners. Buy a premium hook.
There are numerous high-quality hooks
on the market today and much of your
choice will come down to personal preference. I like Gamakatsu hooks. The style
of hook is as important as the brand and
I have had excellent results over the years
with an Octopus bend, although I will say
that several guide buddies of mine, whom
I deeply respect for their king fishing
prowess, swear by Gamakatu’s new Big
River hook.
And, like the old adage goes…size matters. Not only do you need a large-gauge
wire to hold a big Chinook, you need a
big, gaping hook to grab the corner of
their jaw. During the May/June early run,
I often fish a 6/0 hook. This is due to the
fact that eggs are often restricted and I use
a smaller lure in this lower/slower water.
Basically, I want my smaller-winged bobber, whether that is a Cheater or Spin ’n
Glo, to be able to “float” my hook slightly
off the bottom. In July however, where
eggs are almost always legal and the increased water current necessitates a slightly bigger lure, I opt for either a 7/0 or 8/0
size hook.
Creating the Kenai king egg rig
There are several different ways to create the Kenai king egg rig but they all do
the same thing, namely keep the hook
exposed and set the point back 2- to 3
inches from your lure.
First, tie a 36- to 48-inch leader using
the premium components mentioned
above. If you don’t know how to tie a snell
knot, now is the time to learn. Have a seasoned buddy show you, or Google “snell
knot” as soon as you are done reading this
column.
Now, choose your rigging
Some guides thread a medium-sized barrel swivel down the line, locating it precisely between four 6mm beads that they
place above the single hook and below
the lure. This swivel creates a makeshift
bait loop above the hook, again setting
the point back substantially behind your
eggs. They then “open” the new bait loop,
which is now laying against the barrel of
the swivel (between the two eyes), to secure their gob of eggs.
I prefer a simpler method. I tie a double-hook leader and snip off the leading
hook at the start of the bend, leaving only
a snelled shank to secure my eggs directly
above the trailing hook.
This method might not look as “trick”
as the swivel method, but it is easier to
bait with gloves on and lighter overall,
allowing my lure to better float my eggs.
And more importantly, it places my hook
back even farther than the bead method,
although I will admit that this goal could
be achieved by simply running more beads
above and below your threaded swivel.
The final factor
The final factor is critical: fish your new
Kenai king egg rig with total confidence.
Yes, it looks funky. You will undoubtedly
get questioned by naïve anglers and might
even receive a snide remark or two from
a doubting buddy. But that’s okay; they’ll
see the light when you land that hog of a
king and need a pair of pliers to remove
the custom hook that is totally buried in
the corner of its bony jaw!
Greg Brush is a longtime Kasilof and Kenai
river guide and frequent Fish Alaska contributor. For questions or comments, he can
be reached by e-mail, [email protected].
Beads
By Kevin Price
King
Sockeye
Chum
Pink
Silver
Every year millions of salmon make their
pilgrimage from the ocean to the rivers
and streams of Alaska. The fish come for
one purpose: to spawn.
Anglers from all over the world annually visit these waters as well: to catch the
salmon, and the resident species that follow to feed off their eggs.
On the Kanektok and Arolik rivers of
western Alaska, where I guide for Alaska
West, we are fortunate to have all five species of Pacific salmon, so selecting an egg
pattern takes a hair of knowledge in regards to the size and color of the egg, as
both will change drastically as the season
wears on.
I address selecting beads or egg patterns
for the fish of Alaska the same as I would
a bug pattern in my home trout waters of
California. First I want to know what it
is; second, what size it is, and third, what
color it is.
In the early part of the season, when
eggs are freshly dropped, they are true
in color and size, and in all honesty, you
could probably close your eyes, pick any
bead in your box that was decently similar and still get bit. But as the season progresses, several species of salmon will have
made deposits, providing eggs of various
sizes and colors to the resident fish. In addition, over time, those eggs will start to
become more opaque, multi-colored and
even deformed. The longer the salmon
have been spawning, the more the fish
that feed off their eggs will become wise
to anything that looks abnormal, or isn’t
an exact match. This is where a diverse
bead box can be of huge importance to
an angler.
Natural king salmon eggs are generally in the 10mm size range and have a
dark reddish or slightly red/orange color
to them. King eggs are the largest of all
the eggs that will be deposited in the river,
and generally kings are the first species to
start spawning. Beads for kings should
range from 8mm–12mm. My favorite
king egg is a 10mm translucent tangerine
or dark roe bead, with five coats of Sally
Hansen Sheerly Beloved nail lacquer.
Natural chum salmon eggs are in the
8mm size and are more of a light pink, or
pale/dirty pink. My favorite chum egg is
an 8mm peach/pearl bead, without additional paint, or an 8mm dirty roe egg with
two coats of Sally Hansen Innocent Nude.
Natural sockeye eggs are generally
around 6mm in size and are typically a
bright orange when first laid. No other
salmon egg seems to grab the attention of
rainbow trout like a sockeye egg, so make
sure you have plenty of them, in various
colors. My choices would be a mile long
if I listed them all, but for a go-to starter
bead, use the 6mm Cabela’s orange bead
with two coats of Sally Hansen Innocent
Nude on just half the bead, followed by
total coverage of three coats of Sally Hansen Sheerly Beloved.
Natural pink salmon eggs are typically
about 6mm as well, with some smaller
4mm eggs. They tend to be a pale pink
color, like a chum egg, but smaller. I use a
few different beads in 4mm to 6mm size
ranges. Opaque or solid color eggs have
always worked well for me, and my favorite here is a 6mm solid pink bead or
a 6mm peach/pearl bead, with no paint.
Natural silver salmon are in the 6mm
to 8mm size range on average and have a
light orange color to them. The silvers are
the last of the salmon to show up, usually
in late July. By the time they’re spawning,
most anglers are beginning to fish flesh
patterns, as by then the sockeye will be
dying in huge numbers. Those who chose
to fish around spawning silver salmon
should fish beads in the 8mm range, with
colors varied. My favorite is an 8mm nonpainted peach/pearl bead.
While this is egg time, something else
to consider when fishing anywhere in
Alaska is thinking outside the (bead) box.
When there is a lot of bead pressure, I’ve
seen countless rainbows refuse egg patterns only to chase down a dead-drifted
#6 Idylwilde Jimmy Legs Stonefly Nymph
or a mouse pattern skated over a spawning bed. They are fish, after all, and I have
yet to meet a man who can stick his head
underwater, ask the trout a question and
come up with an answer.
This prime fall Dolly fell for a dead-drifted sockeye bead.
Kevin Price has guided in both the Iliamna
area and in western Alaska on the Kanektok
and Arolik rivers, where he is in his third
season at Alaska West. He also guides fulltime in Northern California and is on the
pro staffs for Scott Fly Rods and Scientific
Anglers, as well as being a signature fly tyer
for Idylwilde. He can be contacted through
his website, www.kevinpriceflyfishing.com.
Plan For Disaster
Isn’t that what PFD stands for?
By Troy Buzalsky
Mayhem is a word being tossed around the
insurance industry to describe life’s tragic
events, when a little insurance is a good
investment—giving you peace-of-mind
should the unexpected happen. In the
boating world, too, situations can change
quickly, and a peaceful day on the water
can go from utopia to mayhem in a matter
a seconds. Planning for Disaster should be
part of every boater’s daily checklist.
To illustrate, a friend of mine named Jeff
McLennan forwards an annual safety message to all his fishing buddies, in which he
offers the message that basic safety equipment like Personal Floatation Devices
[PFDs] are incomparably important to all
of us when it comes to enjoying our boats
on our favorite waterways.
Following are excerpts from this year’s
letter:
On October 3, I spent the day doing something all of us enjoy. I was fishing for fall
Chinook on the Oregon coast. While the
weather was great and the fishing was good
(we caught three Chinook and released three
wild coho), the day was not what any of us
would call “perfect.” Far from it, in fact.
My fishing partners and I became the
unwilling eyewitnesses to a boating accident
that resulted in the death of another fisherman. This was an accident that should not
have happened. This is a life that should not
have been lost. Here is what happened that
fall morning.
At about 9 a.m., we were at the east end
of our trolling pattern. After making our
turn, we were again heading west. Off to the
south, about 100 yards from our position,
was a smaller jet-sled boat operated by one
man. The boat was heading east, toward the
beach at trolling speed. The man aboard was
standing at the rear of the open boat, facing
forward with his back to the oncoming sea.
Without warning a large swell rose and
broke over the boat and its operator, sweeping over the hull from the stern. The boat
skidded forward like a surfboard at the base
of the pounding whitewater and the open
hull was partially filled with seawater. We
watched as the man in the boat stood up at
the stern of the boat and tried to regroup.
The man did what many of us would have
done in the same situation and, in hind-
sight, it was probably the worst thing he
could have done.
Instead of going for a life preserver and
trying to slowly power his boat toward the
beach (therefore, going with the waves), he
applied power to his motor and tried to turn
his boat into the next breaker. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the turn before
the next wave broke over him. The boat took
the next wave almost broadside and between
the breaking wave and a hull almost full of
water, the boat pitched, flooded and sank by
the stern within about 10 seconds.
The man was thrown from the boat into
the breakers. In spite of knowing exactly
where he had gone into the ocean, none of
us were able to see the man after the second
wave strike. All we knew for sure was that
the boat was gone from the surface and that
the man had been tossed out and was somewhere in those breakers.
We alerted the Coast Guard of the emergency and held our position in order to reference the location of the man in the water.
Shouting and pointing seemed to help direct
the crew of the motorized lifeboat. What
probably took only a couple of minutes
seemed to take forever.
The motorized lifeboat pulled out of the
surf-line and made its way toward our position. The boat’s operator yelled to us to
confirm that there was only one person seen
aboard the boat. While we answered, we
could see two rescue swimmers on the rear
deck of the lifeboat performing CPR on the
lifeless body of the man they had plucked
from the waves. Off they roared toward the
Tillamook station at Garibaldi where a
waiting ambulance took the man to an area
hospital. This morning, the news carried the
story that the 38-year-old man had died in
the accident.
Every one of us who witnessed this tragedy
learned something from it. We learned that
life can be taken in the blink of an eye. We
learned that the sea does not forgive our mistakes. We learned that the margin for error
is just about zero.
I believe that this accident could have
been avoided. Obviously, had the boat been
in a safer location to begin with the waves
would not have crashed over the hull. Had
the boat been facing the sea instead of the
shore the design of the hull would have kept
the water out and the boat would have probably survived the wave strikes. Had the man
not been distracted, alone and facing into
the rising sun he may have been able to take
evasive action that would have saved him.
All of these are good lessons, but the most
important lesson is that a personal floatation
device would have saved his life…unques-
Wearing an angling-friendly PFD – like these offerings from Stearns and Mustang –
is much preferrable to the generic life jackets sitting on your boat in plastic.
tionably. I know they can be uncomfortable.
I know they can look stupid. I know that
you may know how to swim. I know you can
get to it in the locker on the boat if you really need it; but how often do you actually
wear one?
Please take a second and think about this.
When you start looking at fishing in “big”
water, like the ocean or anyplace where
things look like they could get weird, take
the time to put on that vest.
The incident described in Jeff’s letter is just
one of many that happen each and every
year, regardless of whether boating on a
skinny stream, in big whitewater, on lakes
and reservoirs, or in the ominous open sea.
If looking the part and being comfortable
is an important consideration to get you
and your passengers committed to wearing PFDs, consider expanding your search
to angling-friendly options. They are less
cumbersome, more comfortable, more
practical and they “look the part,” too!
Mustang Survival is an industry leader in
PFDs as well as other life safety equipment
and apparel. Most of us have seen their
trademark Mustang Integrity Float Coat,
but newer to the market is the MV3224
Integrity Floatation Vest. Designed for
comfort and warmth in cool weather, the
vest provides enhanced mobility coupled
with a USCG Type III floatation rating.
The Integrity Vest is also excellent for layering over other clothing, making it both
great-looking and convenient. Comfort is
a key factor when wearing a PFD and the
Integrity is garnished with a fleece-lined
collar and hand-warmer pockets to maximize comfort and an inside pocket for secure storage. For an angling enthusiast the
Mustang Integrity Vest provides the best of
all worlds: warmth, comfort, convenience
and safety...four items every Alaska angler
can appreciate when it comes to the climate, the water and of course the PFDs.
NRS might be best known for their
line of inflatable boats, but their madefor-fishing Chinook Fishing Mesh Back
PFD has been turning heads within the
fishing community for the last few years.
This is no ordinary PFD, it’s a PFD that’s
been designed, engineered and field-tested
by the best in the industry...and it shows!
The Chinook features a total of eight
stacked pockets, which are great for lure
boxes, weights, fly boxes, tippets and of
course, your camera or phone. The chest
is equipped with an integrated rod-holder
loop and fly -drying patch and the back
with a net-holder ring. Attachment point
loops are conveniently located for pliers,
clippers and accessories, and there is a pinon tab for adding a retractable lanyard.
Eight adjustment points allow for that
perfect fit regardless of undergarments,
and the high back floatation allows for the
ventilated mesh back, perfect for kayakers.
Reflective piping and stripes provide visibility and the Chinook offers 16.5 pounds
of floatation, earning a USCG Type III
rating.
Stearns has earned a reputation as “the
lifejacket experts,” and has taken creating
angling-friendly PFDs to the next level.
Offering several fishing versions, the Stearns SOSpenders Inflatable Fishing Vest,
with 33.7 pounds of floatation, is the
crown jewel in their lineup.
Inflatable PFDs are nothing new for the
industry, and for many they are the choice
due to their lightweight and unencumbered feel. The SOSpenders Fishing Vest
is more than an inflatable vest, it’s a true
fishing vest complete with storage pockets, loops, D rings, a chest-mounted rod
loop and of course, the stealthily designed
inflatable air-chamber. The SOSpenders Fishing Vest features a state-of-the-art
manual inflator mechanism with an easyto-read single-point indicator and carries a
USCG Type III rating. For better moisture
wicking and overall comfort, the collar is
lined with fleece. Stearns really got it right
with this design, combining form and
function that translates to good looks and
wearer safety.
In the end, there are over 140,000
drowning victims each year worldwide.
Although most of these deaths are swimmers, the disturbing fact is that 80% of the
boaters who drown actually had life vests
on board but were not wearing them when
disaster struck.
Remember, PFD stands for Personal
Floatation Device, but it also stands for
Plan For Disaster. Whether you’re running
your 5 HP kicker, pulling 5 knots or 5
Gs, don’t leave home without yours—and
more importantly, wear it!
As a native Oregonian, Troy Buzalsky grew
up fishing the McKenzie River from his
hometown of Eugene. He currently lives in
West Linn, OR, and works as a division chief
in the fire service.
Personal Flotation Devices (PFD) are
classified by “Types” indicated below:
Type I Offshore: Has the greatest required
buoyancy and is designed to turn most unconscious persons in the water from a face
down position to a vertical or slightly backward position. The Type I PFD provides
the greatest protection to its wearer and is
most effective for all waters.
Type II Near Shore: A wearable device
designed to turn its wearer in a vertical or
slightly backward position in the water.
The turning action is not as pronounced
as with a Type I, and the device will not
turn as many persons under the same conditions as the Type I.
Type III Flotation Aid: A wearable device
designed so the wearers can place themselves in a vertical or slightly backward
position. While the Type III has the same
buoyancy as the Type II PFD, it has a little
or no turning ability. A Type III is designed
for use when waterskiing, sailing, hunting,
fishing or engaging in other water sports.
Type IV Throwable Device: A device designed to be thrown to a person in the water and grasped and held by the user until
rescued. It is not designed to be worn. The
most common Type IV devices are a buoyant cushion and a ring buoy.
Type V Special Use Device: Any PFD approved for restricted use. Approved flotation devices which are partially or totally
inflatable must be worn to be accepted as
a legal device.
Getting Down With The
Nauti Lady—Et Al
by Terry W. Sheely
Poor man’s downrigger my foot.
This thing is a fish-catching machine.
Tim said it and I already knew it; the
Pink Lady is always hot, always ready to
go steep and deep.
And so is her first cousin, the Nauti
Lady, and the extended family, Dipsy
Diver, Deep Six, Double Deep Six and
Comet Tail. And no, they’re not leftovers
from a good night in a bad bar, but they
are leftovers from a far less technical era of
salmon trolling—the ’80s and ’90s.
And except for the Nauti Lady, may she
rest in peace, they continue to troll hard
into the 21st century, bagging fishermen
from the shelves of savvy tackle stores and
still quick to dive into wakes and come up
with silvers, kings and pinks. Divers may
be old school, but they do the job, and
in my estimation going down with one is
one of the most productive trolling advantages ever to be jilted by sports in a heated
fling for the latest salmon bling. Salmon
divers deserve a second date.
I have two downriggers, port and starboard, on my center console and I’d love
to have a bucket of king crab legs for every
time they were outfished by a Pink Lady
or Deep Six diving straight into the cavitation bubbles behind the outboard. Some
sort of magic mojo is at play here. Exactly
what—I don’t know.
Divers hit the market with four touted
purposes: to attract salmon, replace problematic lead trolling weights; control
depth and to eliminate or nullify resistance between fishermen and fight. That
of course is the same market niche that
downriggers fill. The staggeringly big differences are that I can buy three, maybe
four dozen divers for what one respectable
downrigger cost; I never have to buy wire,
faulty releases and specialty bling and I
never, never puzzle over how to mount
one on a small skiff or rental boat. Every
diver is interchangeably portable in a variety of designs in multiple sizes, depth-diving ranges and colors and can be packed in
any decent tackle bag or boot sock.
Divers operate on a simple concept.
Most are shaped like the blade of a shovel with a weighted-rudder on the front
(wide) end. A bait or lure leader is knotted
onto a split ring or swivel at the (pointy)
back end. The mainline is connected to
a release that’s hinged to the front edge
of the diver but folded back and secured
Sometimes it pays to go old school.
roughly midsection. Most divers, like the
Deep Six, have a wire arm attached to the
blunt front that folds back to snap into
place near midsection, repositioning the
mainline to come off at the middle. Others, like the Pink Lady, have slip-and-trip
mechanisms.
For fishermen the most significant difference is that the slip-trip release on a
Pink Lady can be easily reset in the water under troll by throwing slack into the
mainline. Without rod tension, Pink Lady’s flutter and go horizontal long enough
for the trip ring to reposition, and will redive when the mainline draws tight.
After a strike-and-a-miss, the models
with folding arm releases like the Deep Six
need to be retrieved and manually reset.
The only real advantage to the slip-trip
in-water reset feature comes when trolling
hardware, spoons, plugs or unsweetened
hoochies; because they can be reset after a
light bite goes bad without removing from
the proven strike zone.
Whenever fresh bait is trolled, especially herring, the most subtle salmon bite
and rejection requires that all divers be retrieved for a bait check.
Divers work on a principal as basic as a
grapefruit spoon.
When trolled the diver morphs into an
inverted spoon or shovel blade that angles
down and digs into the water. The bigger
the “shovel,” the more line out and the
greater the water resistance, the deeper it
dives. When a salmon strikes—and one
will strike—the release trips, the mainline
connection repositions from midsection
to the front lip of the diver and the device
streamlines into a horizontal unit offering
little or no water resistance.
A small number 000 Deep Six will dive
to about 40 feet and the large 002 (a swaggering five-inch model) will dig down to
90, according to the manufacturers. As
a general guide figure that for every two
feet of line off the reel a diver goes down
one foot until reaching its maximum rated
depth. That’s plenty deep for most kings,
silvers and pinks.
Divers can be used to sink just about
any typical salmon rigging, including
flashers and dodgers. The only rule welted
into granite is that the leader, flasher, tippet, bait/lure combo beyond the mainline
can never be longer than the rod. Tough
to control a thrashing king that’s still 15
feet out when the swivel on the mainline
bangs into the tip top of an 8 ½-foot rod.
Colors? Just pick your favorite salmon
poison.
One of the developers responsible for
designing divers recommends for humpies and coho knotting on bright red, pink,
silver or orange. For kings, he prefers blue,
silver, chartreuse, greens and a wild flutter
called a clear-silver disco. Chum salmon
love green. When king or chum salmon
are the targets, artificial lures the incentive
and depth the problem, I’m becoming
increasingly convinced that visibility-enhanced UV coated lures attract more fish.
The preeminent diver manufacturer,
Luhr-Jensen, now owned by Normark,
the Rapala company, went one step up
on the attractor ladder with the Comet
Tail, a garish Deep Six flagged with footlong streamers of Mylar. They claim it attracts fish like no other and I believe it—it
could flash me across a street full of teenage drivers.
Another twist on the diver principal,
pun intended, is a model called the Dipsy Diver. Instead of the standard shovel
shape it is round, with a moveable base
plate that can be twisted and positioned
to run directionally out to the side of a
trolling path, well away from the boat.
Dipsy Divers can be tuned to run left,
right or straight, will dig down to 100
feet and feature a hinged release similar to
a Deep Six. It’s the diver of choice when
trolling multiple rods.
While I’ve caught plenty of kings with
divers, I’m convinced these little devices
are at their zenith in coho season. I like
to fish them straight over the transom,
three maybe four pulls of line off the rod
tip, so the diver and lure/bait ride right at
the edge of the wake bubbles. I’m about
80 percent convinced that feeding coho
home in on wake bubbles, possibly mistaking the turbulence for a flashing ball
of baitfish or a feeding melee, or maybe
they’re just curious about the disturbance.
Fished off the transom, rod right over
the top of the motor, a hot pink diver
digs down behind the spinning prop,
the leader carries the lure/herring to the
back edge of the cavitation bubbles and
bang—another hooknose goes down with
a Pink Lady.
Divers are also the trollers’ answer to
congested water. Because they fish directly below the boat they can be trolled
effectively and without tangling when
fishing boats are gunwale to gunwale on a
hotspot. Lead-weighted trolling lines and
even downriggers will kite considerable
distances behind a trolling boat and in
crowds, tangles become unavoidable. But
because divers work almost directly under
the boat conflicts are rare.
And that Nauti Lady that dove into
the front of the story—Yakima Bait took
her off the tackle shelf a long time ago,
reserving her tantalizing dips and wiggles
for collectors.
Fish Alaska contributing editor Terry W.
Sheely writes and fishes from his home in
Black Diamond, WA. He can be reached at
www.tnscommunications.net.
Dog Days
by George Krumm
The water was glassy and
smooth. The sun was searing by Alaska standards,
and the thermometer said
it was 75 degrees on that
early July day. My sunglasses didn’t seem dark
enough. I was still damp
from the hike down into
Long Lake, and I wished
a breeze would come up—
both to ruffle the surface
to provide some cover for
fish, and to cool me down.
But it didn’t happen, and
I searched for fish over the
shoals without much to
hope for.
I could clearly see the
chara beds eight-, 10-,
even 15 feet below, and occasionally a small fish. But
at two in the afternoon, it Try fishing early in the morning or late at night.
quickly became clear to me
that the shoals would be relatively fish- mid- and late summer. Rainbow trout are
less until either a breeze came up or the most active in temperatures around 58weather cooled.
or 60 degrees. When the surface is warm,
The dog days of summer (if we can call trout will spend much of their time in
it that in Alaska) do affect trout, and a deeper water. Sure, they’ll move into the
calm, clear, hot day in midsummer pres- warmer shallows to feed, especially when
ents difficult conditions, perhaps the most light levels are low due to time of day or
difficult of the entire open-water season.
a ripple on the water; however, they will
There are two reasons for this difficul- spend considerable time in deeper water
ty—extremely bright light and warm wa- if it’s available because the water is cooler.
ter temperatures. The fish don’t like eiBright light is also something trout
ther. During the middle of the day during will avoid, if they can. They seem to inthese conditions, fish will move to parts stinctively know they are more visible and
of the lake that are more comfortable.
vulnerable in shallow water if the surface
It’s common in Southcentral lakes for is undisturbed and light levels are high.
surface temperatures to hit 70 degrees in Trout don’t have sunglasses. They’ll avoid
bright light to the extent they can, and in
lakes that usually means they move deeper, if deeper water is available and oxygen
levels are sufficient.
One way to beat the heat is to fish very
early in the morning and very late in the
evening. At those times, light levels are
low and fish will move out of the depths
up onto the shoals to feed. The surface
temperature will be coolest early in the
morning. During these unusually warm
midsummer days you may have to be on
the water at daylight to capitalize on this
situation. By mid-morning, most fish will
have already returned to the depths.
On the day I described in my introductory paragraph, I got into fish by
abandoning the places and techniques I
usually employ. I put on a fast-sinking fly
line, a big, black, weighted leech, and essentially trolled in stop-and-start fashion
in water from 25- to 50 feet deep. I’d
cast out 40- or 50 feet of line and let it
sink until it was almost straight down;
then I’d kick and occasionally twitch my
rod tip until my fly line began to rise
to the surface. Then I’d let it sink back
down again. The fish were suspended at
various depths, but all were well below
the surface.
Though fish that are suspended like
this are usually not feeding heavily (unless there is a heavy chironomid hatch),
they are opportunistic and will bite. This
stop-and-start deep-water presentation
allowed me to show my fly to fish at various depths and the result was I caught
several nice fish on a day that seemed
hopeless.
George Krumm is a lifelong fly fisher and
fly tyer who began fly fishing stillwater in
1976. He can be reached at [email protected].
Quartz Creek
By Kalb Stevenson, PhD
Have you glanced at the price of gas lately? Many Alaskans are easily paying over
a hundred bucks to fill up at the pump.
Flights are more expensive, too, and even
the neighborhood kid who mows everybody’s lawn is billing a fuel surcharge. So,
how can you buy less gasoline and still
get your fishing fix? Two strategies come
to mind. First, extend your trips a day or
two, and pick out some new places to wet
a line. Fewer, but longer, trips will save on
fuel if your fishing destinations can be accessed along a single route of travel. Second, pick a place that’s relatively close to
home.
For many that reside in the urban or
suburban centers around southcentral
Alaska, Quartz Creek meets both criteria.
Quartz Creek feeds Kenai Lake and lies
just off the Sterling Highway about eight
miles west of the Seward Highway junction. From Quartz Creek, it’s about an
hour to Soldotna or Seward, two hours
to Anchorage and less than three hours to
Palmer, Wasilla or Homer. It also is not
too far out of the way from other popular
destinations—whether you are deep-sea
fishing out of Seward, Ninilchik or Homer, stream fishing the Kenai or Russian rivers or dipnetting near the city of Kenai.
Quartz Creek can be accessed from the
Sterling Highway, but a popular choice is
to take Quartz Creek Road to either the
Quartz Creek Campground or the Kenai
Lake boat launch; from there it’s less than
a half-mile walk around the beach to the
mouth of the stream. The boundary between the brilliant blue waters of Kenai
Lake and the clear freshwater of Quartz
Creek provides excellent foraging habitat
for natural populations of Dolly Varden
and rainbow trout in spring and fall.
Hello, Dolly!
Have you ever wondered why “Dolly Varden” is capitalized? Well here’s a bit of trivia with which to impress your friends: The
name is actually borrowed from a fictitious
female character in the Charles Dickens’
novel Barnaby Rudge, published in 1841.
In the novel, a character named Dolly Varden is the love interest of the story’s main
character, who goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War. Dickens describes young
Dolly as flirtatious and wearing flashy
attire and colorful dresses, including one
that is green with pink polka dots.
The Kenai River system is assumed to
have populations of both resident and
ocean-going Dollies, both of which spawn
in freshwater streams in fall. Resident Dollies are present in the river system and its
various inlet streams throughout the year,
while anadromous Dollies spawn in the
fall, overwinter in Kenai or Skilak lakes
and then head out to sea in April.
Dolly Varden are a prime target at
Quartz Creek. In late July, thousands of
sockeye salmon exit out of Kenai Lake and
into Quartz, and the Dollies follow in pursuit. Salmon are off-limits to fishing here,
but Dolly Varden and rainbow trout are
fair game. However, the Dollies that move
into the stream probably won’t touch a colored bead until actual eggs begin appearing in the streambed about a month after
A spring angler works the mouth of Quartz Creek.
the first appearance of migrating salmon.
A few Dollies and rainbows will frequent
the stream before the salmon enter to
spawn, but it’s nothing compared to later.
Fishing can be fantastic from August
through September, and the easily walkable stream is jammed with riffles and runs,
pools, logjams and cut banks. Glo-Bugs,
various chenille eggs or beads are good options for scoring lots of Dollies in late summer and fall. If possible, use a good pair of
polarized sunglasses to sight fish; find one
or two Dolly Varden suspended in the water column and spend time watching what
they eat. Note the size and color of eggs the
fish are taking and select a bead that will
best imitate the food source.
When the salmon spawn tapers down
in early September, some resident Dolly
Varden migrate upstream of the Sterling
Highway bridge at Mile 40.9. It is here
that they reportedly spawn, flashing their
radiant colors and carrying on in a manner
consistent with the flirtatious character for
whom they are named. It is this spawning
activity that requires the closure of the water above the Sterling Highway bridge to
fishing in mid-September. Open fishing
periods above the bridge are from early
June to mid-September and from November through April. Following spawning,
some Dolly Varden will ultimately drop
back toward the mouth, while others move
to different sections of the Kenai River.
By late September, many Dolly Varden
will have left Quartz Creek, but several
rainbow trout remain to feed on pieces
of rotting salmon carcasses. Articulated
peach or white flesh flies, or the more sophisticated combination flesh-egg flies, are
smart options for hooking into rainbows
at this time of year.
Elusive Rainbows
Fishing Quartz Creek in late summer and
fall is certain to produce good action, but
what about spring and early summer?
Below the Sterling Highway bridge, the
creek is open to fishing at all times except
from May to early June. In mid-to-late
April, the creek is actually very fishable
and presents formidable challenges. It is
running strong with melted snow, and at
the mouth, enough ice has usually been
pushed away to try different techniques.
Fishing Quartz Creek at the end of
April before the May closure is no walk in
the park; the rainbows are sparse and still
a bit sluggish due to the cold water temperature. I have fished Quartz twice in late
April, and twice I have struck out. However, I have seen fish both times. The first
time, about four years ago, an angler fishing next to me at the mouth of the stream
hooked up using a small wet fly (perhaps a
small white flesh fly or a beaded nymph).
Not catching on that trip, I decided to
pack it in and try again later.
This past April, I was determined to
hook into a spring Quartz Creek rainbow. Armed with a light-tackle spinning
rod, two different fly rods, an array of
lures and flies and a fishing buddy, I hit
the creek from morning to late afternoon.
In the morning around 10 a.m., we were
encouraged to see rainbows rising out in
the open water of the lake—right up by
the ice shelf several hundred feet off the
mouth. Presumably, they were chasing
smolt near the surface.
We fished for eight hours and covered
every possible space of open water. We
threw all colors and types of flies, from
white beads to weighted neon green
bunny-hair streamers, not to mention
an array of nymphs, leeches and smolt
patterns. Nothing doing. We threw out
different gold and silver spinners as well,
often covering sections of deeper water
off the ice shelf around the portions of
the lake that were exposed. Again, we
had no luck.
It wasn’t likely that the fish were up in
the stream so early in the year, but after six
hours of fishing at the mouth, we needed
a change of scenery. The wind was also
whipping across the beach, so we were
happy to get up in the stream and around
the first few bends for protection. As expected, we saw no fish and got no strikes,
although we did lose quite a few flies on
snags. We headed back to the mouth after
an hour of wind-free fishing, reminding
ourselves of the risers early in the day. We
continued our effort, but it was ultimately
futile. Despite the poor fishing, we could
not complain. It was hard to beat the view
of the towering snow-covered mountains
and beautiful gravel beaches around Kenai Lake and the mouth of Quartz Creek.
Perhaps it is true what they say after all—
a bad day fishing really does beat a good
day at work.
Quartz Creek is close to home, on the
way to other popular fishing destinations
and relatively under-fished. It’s a beautiful setting and presents a fun challenge in
different seasons. I will certainly return to
target Dolly Varden this summer or fall,
and will probably also one day attempt
to catch my elusive spring rainbow at this
location in a future outing. For all these
reasons, Quartz Creek really is a great
prospect for tight lines on a tight budget.
Kalb Stevenson’s goal is to bring the best in
affordable fishing to Fish Alaska readers
looking to maximize their angling budget.
ers I’ve fished around the state. Egg patterns are highly effective there, but even
on the Nush the angler still has to get the
fly down and make it act naturally when
it gets there.
Wilson addressed the problem by
tweaking an old pattern and resurrecting
it as “Flip’s Fat Freddie.” Kings like big egg
patterns, and the effect of all the buoyant
yarn needed to create one is to make it
even more difficult for the fly to reach its
target near the bottom. Wilson solved the
problem by incorporating both lead wire
and barbell eyes to produce a big, highly
visible pattern with a sufficiently brisk
rate of sink to get down in the Nushagak’s
robust early-season current.
Since detailed tying instructions appeared in a succinct piece by Rich Bobby
in the May 2006 issue of Fish Alaska,
(available for purchase through the maga-
zine), I won’t repeat them here, but I will
offer a few notes on fishing the pattern.
The FFF is of necessity a heavy, bulky fly,
and you’ll need at least a 9-weight to handle it with any comfort. While I usually
fish egg patterns on a classic dead-drift,
kings often strike this one as the fly rises
at the end of the drift, so fish every cast
out until the fly is downstream behind
you. Finally, the original version calls for
a trailing hook with a loop for those who
choose to sweeten the pot with some eggs.
I don’t, but I’ve noticed that kings—notorious for subtle strikes—often wind up
hooked on the trailer, so I usually leave it
in place.
A recent return trip to the High Adventure camp on the lower Nush simply
confirmed the impression this pattern
made on me when I first met Wilson
there years ago. After getting my ya-ya’s
Simulated eggs need to behave like real eggs to be very effective.
Wilson, like most experienced fly-rod anglers, appreciated early on the importance
of egg imitations in pursuit of almost all
of Alaska’s freshwater gamefish species.
He also recognized that the traditional
approach to the problem—spin a piece of
Glo-Bug yarn onto a hook, trim it into
a round glob and go fishing—left plenty
of room for improvement. Given an innovative approach to the tying bench and
abundant opportunity to observe results
on the stream—where they matter—he
set out to build a better mousetrap.
In fact, Wilson’s approach to tying better egg patterns rested on a principle I’ve
emphasized many times over the years: in
pursuit of anadromous fish, presentation
trumps the appearance of the fly more often than not. In the case of egg imitations,
how the fly behaves in the water column
matters more than what it looks like resting in your fly box, even in terms of such
basic variables as size and color.
The curious angler can learn a lot about
this matter simply by standing midstream
in any of the state’s great red salmon drainages during the “egg drop” and watching displaced eggs tumble along in the
current. (Rest assured that plenty of big
rainbows should be watching those eggs,
too!) Salmon eggs have a specific gravity
slightly heavier than water…but not by
much. Because of the buoyancy of most
synthetic yarns used to tie egg patterns,
these imitations naturally tend to rise in
the current, as opposed to sinking slightly
like the real thing.
Meanwhile, migrating steelhead and
salmon tend to hug the bottom where
the current demonstrates smooth laminar flow characteristics, as do the gamefish feeding on their eggs (rainbows, char,
Dollies). Getting a naturally buoyant egg
imitation into the “zone” requires weight,
but the traditional sinking-tip line plus
a split-shot ahead of the fly makes for a
difficult casting package and produces an
“egg” behaving unnaturally in the current.
Wilson originally needed an egg imitation that would be effective on king
salmon in the lower Nushagak, where he
guides for High Adventure King Camp
during the peak of the run. The Nush, in
my opinion, is the best fly-rod king salmon destination in the world, and not just
because of the huge numbers of fish that
return there in June and early July. From
a fly-rod perspective, this is user-friendly
water characterized by good visibility and
manageable current, and it’s certainly an
easier place to play the challenging fly-rod
king salmon game than many other riv-
Here’s the famous Wilson Egg, shown from the start to the finished fly.
An
An arsenal
arsenal of
of egg
egg patterns
patterns to
to aid
aid in
in the
the
pursuit
pursuit of
of many
many of
of Alaska’s
Alaska’s gamefish.
gamefish.
out on a number of bright fish during
our first morning on the river, I set out
to do some experimenting. That’s one
great thing about the Nush; the kings are
so abundant during the peak of the run
that anglers don’t have to exercise Spartan discipline just to catch a fish or two,
even when armed with fly rods. Because
I enjoy catching salmon using the classic
swing technique, I’ve worked out with an
assortment of Bunnies and Buggers while
Lori kept at it with Freddies. Any scientist
will recognize numerous design flaws in
this study, including the statistics of small
numbers and the possibility that my wife
can just plain fish better than I can. But
she drew more strikes than I did from the
same water, and we repeated enough versions on the theme over the next several
days to leave me convinced that Flip’s Fat
Freddie is the most effective king salmon
fly I’ve ever fished.
But as noted earlier, egg imitations are
important in the pursuit of many Alaska
gamefish in addition to king salmon. Effective as it is on kings in brisk current,
the bulky FFF obviously wasn’t going to
cover all of those bases, so Wilson went
back to the tying bench to tinker some
more. The result: the Wilson Egg.
Like many professional tiers, Wilson
produces this version of the single egg
quickly and efficiently using an Egg Gun
(substitute the clipped off barrel of a ballpoint pen if you like). The catch is the
hook: a lead-headed #10 made by Eagle
Claw for 1/80-ounce crappie jigs. The
extra molecule of weight is all it takes to
make the fly act like an egg in the current.
I’m only one season into my experience
with the Wilson Egg, but the results have
already left me impressed. It’s effectiveness
on grayling and char really comes as no
surprise; those two species strike so readily that they really can’t be used as yardsticks to measure any fly’s real worth. But
the Wilson Egg has proven more effective
than any egg imitation I’ve ever fished on
rainbows and silvers—two species that offer considerably more challenge. And in
contrast to a lot of egg-pattern setups, it’s
a pleasure to cast, especially in low-water
situations that don’t call for any additional weight ahead of the fly.
The tiny hook may raise some eyebrows when large anadromous fish are the
target, especially in situations when #2s or
even larger hooks are customary. In fact,
small hooks have a number of advantages,
none greater than the ease of releasing a
fish unharmed in the case of steelhead and
rainbows. I haven’t noticed any problem
hooking fish and keeping them hooked
with the little Wilson Egg, and I have
yet to break a hook even on big, vigorous
steelhead and silvers. As far as I’m concerned, those delicate little hooks are a
positive rather than a drawback, and I’m
sure I’ll feel even more strongly about the
subject the first time I sink one into my
own finger.
Back on the coast, I’ve given the steelhead
lie half an hour of rest while I thought
about life and re-rigged my gear. Now I’m
fishing with 4x tippet and a Wilson Egg,
terminal tackle delicate enough to look
right at home on a Montana spring creek.
And since the first shot at spooky, low-water fish is always the best, I’ve studied the
Another trout succumbed to a
well-presented egg imitation.
current carefully so that I can drop the fly
gently a dozen feet ahead of the upstream
fish, give it one careful mend and have
it tumbling naturally above the bottom
right when it passes the fish’s nose.
While the best laid schemes o’ mice and
men indeed gang aft agley, just as Bobby
Burns warned, this time, for once, everything goes according to plan. The water is
so clear that I can easily see the tiny orange
pixel of color as it drifts toward its target,
at which point it suddenly disappears.
Low-water steelhead can act loggy on the
end of a line, but this one has other things
in mind. The moment I strip-set the hook
with my line hand, the little stream comes
alive in a shower of spray, leaving me face
to face with the reason why I did all I had
to do to get here.
And despite my record of nihilism with
regard to fly selection for anadromous
fish, I’m honestly not sure it would have
happened without that tiny Wilson Egg.
Don Thomas and his wife Lori divide their
time between homes in Montana and southeast Alaska. Don’s latest book, How Sportsmen Saved the World, documents the contributions hunters and anglers have made to
the conservation movement. His 17 outdoor
books are available through the website
www.donthomasbooks.com.
MEET THE EGG MAN
To obtain any of the patterns discussed
in this piece, contact Jeff “Flip” Wilson
during the Alaska guiding offseason at
[email protected].
Left: Geared up and ready to go float fishing.
Below: The rewards of an egg job done well.
I’ve said it a thousand times…silver salmon can drive you nuts! Especially since they often hold
in slow, snaggy, “bassy” water that’s typically best covered by casting hardware like spinners,
spoons and plugs. Which is not a big deal—if they’re in the mood to bite lures.
But here’s the rub: Coho aren’t always receptive to such offerings, and at times, you can cast
until you need rotator cuff surgery without getting so much as a sniff from the fish.
Here you have a situation in which the fish are completely ignoring your lures, yet are holding
in frog water that’s not at all conducive to traditional drift-fishing methods. What to do?
Hit ’em with a float and eggs.
Silvers will often eat freshly cured roe when all else fails—and suspending it under a bobber
gives you the opportunity to get your bait into their faces. If you tried to drift a glob of eggs with a
chunk of lead in some of the slow, snag-infested holding areas coho prefer, you’d never really get
your gear into the strike zone…and you’d lose a bunch of terminal tackle in the process.
A float rig will drift downstream in places regular gear would stall out and end up anchored
to the bottom. Plus, it keeps your bait above the snags and right where the fish can see it. As an
added bonus, bobbers allow you to fish distant seams and holding lanes both above and below
your position. You can also extend your drift by simply letting more line off your reel—all things
you will be hard-pressed to do with conventional methods.
Spinners weren’t doing the trick on Cordova’s Ibeck Creek, so the author
switched to roe suspended under a float and the bite went ballistic.
The Drag-Free Drift
Before we get too far along, let’s cut to
the meat of this technique and discuss the
number one thing you have to master: The
drag-free presentation.
When fishing bait under a float, your
gear needs to travel downstream at the
speed of the current. While there are times
when silvers will grab a bait that’s traveling
a bit slower than the current (more on that
later), you generally want to keep your
gear moving with the flow of the river.
To keep the proper speed going, you
have to keep as much line off the water as
possible. When a belly forms in your line
between the rod tip and the float, the current will grab it and drag your line downstream too quickly. Similarly, a bow in the
line can also occur upstream of the bobber
(in eddies and calm spots behind rocks,
for example) and that will make your bait
slow down and lift off the bottom.
To keep the belly out of your line, you’ll
have to lift and “mend” it to make sure
it remains free from being influenced by
grabby sections of current. When a bow
starts forming on the water, gently reel
towards your float and then, just as you
come tight to it, lift the line in the opposite direction of the belly. Take care to
avoid violently jerking the float as you
mend, as that can cause your bait to drift
unnaturally, too.
While I’ll cover float-fishing gear later,
it is worth mentioning that braided line is
far and away the best choice for this technique. Most braid floats and that buoyancy makes mending quite a bit easier.
Mono and fluorocarbon lines sink—and
thus catch a lot more current.
Float Attitude
By closely paying attention to your float
as it drifts, you can get a better feel for
what’s going on beneath the surface. As a
basic rule of thumb, you want your bobber riding straight up and down, which
is an indication that you’ve got the allimportant drag-free drift going. If the top
of your bobber is pointing downstream,
you’ve either got a downstream bow in the
line that’s pulling your gear too quickly—
or your hook and/or sinker is dragging
on the bottom. In either case, your bait
doesn’t look natural and is less likely to get
eaten by a silver. When the float is leaning upstream, you may not have enough
weight on and your bait is getting blown
out towards the surface. Or, perhaps, the
line between you and your float hit a
slower pocket of water and is reducing the
speed of your drift.
Holding Back the Float
Now that you’ve got a grasp on the dragfree drift, I will say that there are a handful of cases in which intentionally slowing down your gear can help you get
bit. When salmon are suspended off the
bottom of a slow hole, I like to slow my
float’s speed slightly by applying pressure
to the line with my fingers or thumb. This
causes the float to “hold back,” which in
turn makes the bait rise higher in the water column. This also is effective when the
water is slow and really clear and ensures
that the fish see your bait before they notice your swivel and sinker.
Holding your float back is also handy
when the silvers are sitting, as they sometimes do, on the break at the downstream
end of a hole or slot—just before it transitions into a riffle. Fish in those spots can
be a little tough to get with the float on
the dead-drift because the bottom comes
quickly and your gear can end up actually
passing under the fish. Say you’ve got your
float set at 10 feet so that it puts your bait
just off the bottom of a hole. But the fish
sitting on the break are only in four feet of
water….when your eggs get to that shallow
spot, they’ll be out of the fish’s window of
vision. By slowing down the bobber as it
approaches such a spot, the bait will rise
to the fish.
The Bite
When a salmon picks up your eggs, the
type of “bobber down” you get depends
a lot on the speed of the current. In swift
water, the float goes under more quickly,
while it tends to go under somewhat slowly and methodically in softer flows. Either
way, reel any slack out of the line, and then
when you feel resistance, set the hook. It’s
critical that you to try to keep a tight line
between your rod tip and the float when
fishing so that you don’t have to reel up a
bunch of slack before setting the hook.
Bobbers
Now, let’s take a look at floats and their
uses. The two basic styles of floats commonly used for river fishing are fixed and
slip. With the slip variety, you run the line
through the center of the bobber and it can
slide up and down your line. An adjustable
bobber-stop is placed on the line above the
float, which can be moved up or down, depending on the depth of the water. A fixed
float is attached to the line via tight-fitting
rubber bands that hold it in place wherever
you set it.
I will use fixed floats like Thill’s Turbo
Master in situations that call for a stealthy
presentation—low, clear water where light
weights are necessary. Because a fixed float
can be hard to cast when you’ve got it set
for anything deeper than about 6- or 7 feet,
they also work best in spots where the fish
are holding shallow.
Slip floats are much easier to cast and
come in a wide array of sizes that can accommodate anything from a half-ounce of
lead to 5-ounce sinkers. For silvers, they
allow you to cover the widest range of situations. In big water, I’ll go with Salmon
Stalkers (usually in the 1- or 2-ounce models), and on smaller streams, Thill’s Big Fish
Slider is tough to beat.
The best way to choose a float is to first
figure out how much lead you are going to
need to get your offering near the bottom.
Then, pick a float rated for that amount
of weight. A properly weighted bobber will
ride straight up and down in the water—
too much lead and it will be barely visible
or sink, while it will lay flat on the water if
you don’t have enough weight.
Gearing Up
When float-fishing for silvers, you can go
with either spinning or casting gear. I prefer spinning tackle when I’m using light
weights or have to make difficult casts under trees and brush. A baitcasting rig works
great when you’re fishing weights of a halfounce or more. They also give you better
control of your presentation because you
can easily play line out under your thumb
to extend the drift.
As far as rods go, use the longest model
you can get away with. Typically, I fish 9
½- to 10 ½-footers unless there’s a lot of
overhanging vegetation. A long rod makes
mending the line to get the drag-free presentation so much easier than with a short
stick. You’ll want a bit of a slow tip but also
plenty of backbone in the lower two-thirds
of the rod so you can horse big coho out
of the wood.
Braided line is absolutely the way to go
when float-fishing. Most braid floats, so it
sits on top of the water, rather than down
in it. Again, the buoyant nature of this type
of line really helps with the mending process. I like 30- or 40-pound Berkley FireLine, but you don’t want braid all the way
to your hook, so I’ll finish off my rig with
a fluorocarbon leader—20-pound Sunline
Super FC Sniper is extremely reliable.
Basic Float Rig
There are several ways to rig for float-fishing for silvers, but let’s keep this simple
and give you a basic one with which to
get started. Once you master the fundamentals, then you can branch out and try
other rigging styles.
Start by tying (via an Albright knot)
a 10-foot section of 25-pound mono to
the end of your braided line. Then, slide
a bobber-stop up the line followed by a
small plastic bead. Next, run the line
through your float and then it’s time to
add your lead. You can use an egg sinker
and finish the rig off with a bead and a
quality barrel swivel. Even better is to tie
an inline sinker (I like the kind sold by
First Bite Jigs)—they’re torpedo shaped
with a line attachment eye on either
end—to the end of the 25-pound mono.
Finally, add an 18- to 36-inch section
of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and tie
on a size 2 to 2/0 octopus-style hook with
an egg loop and you’re in business.
Egg Cures
Silvers seem to like sodium sulfite cures
in either bright red, hot pink or orange
shades and you can find plenty of commercially produced cures that are relatively easy to use from the likes of AtlasMike’s, Pro Cure and Pautzke’s among
others.
In low, clear water, I’ll use egg clusters
ranging in size from a nickel to a quarter.
When the water’s off-color or has a glacial
tint, you sometimes have to go with baits
that are nearly the size of a ping-pong
ball. In any case, use the freshest eggs you
can get your hands on.
Give it Time
Mastering float-fishing and the drag-free
presentation takes a little practice, so be
sure you give yourself some time to figure
things out. You may not have immediate
success, but once you get the hang of it,
those crazy, lock-jawed silvers will never
know what hit ’em!
A longtime Pacific Northwest salmon and
steelhead guide, JD Richey is a contributing
editor for Fish Alaska magazine. He can be
reached at www.fishwithjd.com.
Eggs under a float can catch silvers when all else fails.
Story & photos by Scott Haugen
Salmon season is upon us. While residents
may walk out their door and catch spectacular kings and feisty coho, fellow anglers from around the globe have prepared
for the opportunity of a lifetime in hopes
of seeing what this fishery is all about.
When it comes to chasing Alaska’s most
famed fish in river systems, having the
ability to change the way cured eggs are
offered can make a difference. The key is
being able to recognize what approaches
will work best in which situations.
First, a word of warning: Before rigging
up a rod and fishing eggs or any bait, be
certain to check river regulations and current laws. Note that bait restrictions may
be in place on some rivers. These restrictions can change from year to year, but
also from week to week. For this reason,
go beyond simply reading the annual
printed regulations. Check regulatory updates made through websites, newspapers,
radio and other reliable media. Calling
regional fisheries departments is a good
idea, as is inquiring at local sporting-goods
stores. Local anglers are another valued resource. It’s the responsibility of every angler to keep abreast of current fishing laws
and any regulatory changes that may have
taken place, including when and where
bait is legal for king and silver salmon.
The Approaches
When it comes to presenting cured eggs
to salmon, there are many options. The
application of these options, however,
often comes down to not only the gear
you have, but also where you’re fishing
and whether or not you are fishing off the
bank or from a boat.
Following, we’ll take a look at four very
effective ways to present bait to king and
silver salmon. Under ideal conditions,
each of these presentations can be made
from a boat or from shore.
Though there are other ways to present cured eggs, based on my 40-plus years
of salmon fishing, I’ve found these to be
most effective for the simple reason that
they are controlled presentations. While
eggs can be dragged, side-drifted, trolled
and suspended beneath a float, what we’re
going to focus on here is back-trolling,
back-bouncing, plunking and drift-fishing eggs.
The four methods to be detailed are all
good ones, and every serious salmon angler should eventually attempt to master
each one. Why? Because each approach
can be applied in specific situations, increasing your ability to cover water that
might not otherwise be fished. True, you
might be able to plunk and back-bounce
the same water, but in situations where
salmon may hold in a certain spot, it’s better to take the bait to them through backbouncing rather than wait in hopes that
the fish will arrive to find your stationary
bait sitting on the bottom.
Keep in mind that each approach to be
covered entails keeping your eggs on the
bottom. Why? Because that’s where salmon travel and often hold, and salmon have
some of the best noses of any creature on
the planet. Measured in parts per billion,
imagine spending up to five years in the
ocean, then being able to smell your way
back to where you were born. If human
noses were anywhere near as acute as that
of salmon, life would be unbearable.
Cured eggs are arguably the best natural bait when it comes to targeting salmon in river settings. Eggs can be dyed,
laced with a variety of scents and cured
in a wide range of textures, sizes and flavors. What works best for you will only
be realized through practice, but everyone who fishes eggs will agree that this
is one of the best little packages there is
when it comes to delivering something
that smells, looks and tastes good to migrating salmon. Additionally, herring and
other baitfish strips can be used alone or
in combination with eggs.
Back-trolling is a great way to get bait into waters that are otherwise tough to fish.
Moments after this photo was taken, a 42-pound king was landed. Many anglers
might pass by this hole, thinking it’s too slow and deep to fish.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at
four popular and very effective ways to
present bait to salmon. Keep in mind that
the size of gear being used—from rods to
reels, lines and hooks—can vary based
on where you’re fishing. For instance, if
targeting Kenai kings, the setup you’ll
use will be different than that when fishing streams where coho may average 10
pounds. Deep-river gear will also be different than shallow-stream gear. So, rather
than detailing specifically with gear that
can run a vast gamut, we’re going to focus
on the approaches, where they can be applied and why they work.
Back-trolling
Back-trolling cured eggs can be done in
many ways, including with a diver, plug
or flashing attractant. No matter how you
go about back-trolling, the objective is to
present the bait in such a way so as to lay a
scent line fish can follow. This scent-based
delivery will allow fish to track the smell,
following it to its point of origin (the
bait). Of course, the better the quality of
the cured eggs, the greater the likelihood
of fish finding it.
The diver, which takes the bait down,
can either be attached to a fixed swivel or
rigged on a sliding setup. In most waters
I prefer rigging it on a sliding system so
when a fish grabs the bait and takes off
with it, there is little resistance. In shallow, rough water where the diver is hitting
the bottom and the chances of hanging
up are greater, a fixed position diver can
be good, allowing you to better detect if
you’re hung up.
Leader length can vary from 18 inches
to six feet. If targeting fish in shallow water that are on the move, a shorter leader
will allow you to keep the bait in the target zone. In deeper holes, a longer leader
will offer more movement, increasing the
odds of finding salmon that may be partially suspended off the bottom.
Back-trolled eggs can be topped with
any of a number of drift-bobbers or run
alone. When back-trolling, back down
the presentation about one-third the
normal flow of the current. This is a
great way to cover water and search for
salmon, and then focus on catching more
fish once they are located. It’s a very controlled presentation that can be applied
in a range of waters, from fast to slow
currents, through deep holes with slight
currents or deeper rapids and runs of fast
water. In other words, it’s one that’s worth
the effort of mastering.
One time while back-trolling bait on
the Nushagak, we were having trouble
finding kings. Once we did find a pod,
they were tucked tight to shore, in a short
run of water. In this case we pitched anchor and ran our presentations out the
back of the boat, rather than backing the
boat over them. It worked and we were
able to catch fish.
If fishing from shore, back-trolling can
be done on the inside corners of some
streams, where cut banks bring main currents close to shore. Side planers are also
an option.
Back-bouncing
One of my best egg-fishing days for
coho came while back-bouncing on the
Kasilof River. For those who’ve done it,
Bait can be presented in many ways
and the more prepared anglers are to
apply a range of methods, the better
the chance of catching a fine-eating
king.
back-bouncing is a favorite approach as
it provides the angler total control of the
presentation. The key to this technique is
having an oarsman or motor operator and
an angler, or anglers, working together.
Back-bouncing works well in slow,
deep holes that are tough to drift-fish or
run divers through. Faster water–especially seams–can be good for back-bouncing,
too, as long as the boat can be held. Generally, look for long, deep, slow-flowing
stretches of river moving large volumes of
water. This type of water makes it easy to
control the boat, while allowing anglers to
“feel” what’s going on.
The boat operator should maintain a
straight line, running approximately twothirds the rate of the river flow or slower.
This will allow the anglers to fish directly
off the bow or stern of the boat, depending on which boat is being used. If the angler finds the terminal gear wanting to be
carried downstream faster than the boat
is moving, the boat operator can either
let up a bit or the angler can add more
weight. A baitcasting reel will allow anglers to maximize efficiency here.
Because salmon are holding on the
bottom, fishing directly over them is
preferred when it comes time to set the
hook. If the terminal gear is backed down
too far ahead of the boat, the bait can be
pulled from the fish’s mouth during the
hook-set.
Back-bouncing is not a passive approach. The angler must constantly be
aware of where the line is. Work the rod
parallel to the water and go no higher
than 45 degrees to maximize feel. Aggressive bites are the exception rather than the
rule. Often the bite will be subtle, usually
nothing more than a tiny peck. When the
hook is set, however, hold on tight.
You can also back-bounce from an anchored boat, even off shore, along a cut
bank. In either case, use a heavy enough
weight to feel bottom, but not too light
so that it’s pulled downstream, out of control. Keep the bail open, putting pressure
on the spool with your thumb as the rod
is lifted overhead. Slowly drop the rod,
letting off the pressure of your thumb,
which allows the bait to move downstream a foot or two before finding bottom again. Repeat the process and keep
working the presentation downstream
until it no longer maintains contact with
the bottom. It’s a great way to cover water
and is one of the best salmon approaches.
Drift Fishing
Drift fishing is the most common way to
deliver cured eggs, whether from shore or
a boat. The beauty
of drift fishing is
that it can be applied in a wide
range of waters,
some of which can’t
be fished in any
other way. You can’t always back-bounce
or back-troll deep swirls, back eddies,
fast currents, heavy riffles and turbulent
seams, but they can normally be drift
fished as well.
A proven drift-fishing setup for Alaska’s salmon consists of a two-foot leader
tipped with eggs and a Corky or Spin-NGlo, with about a six- to eight-inch dropper tipped with a teardrop sinker, all tied
to a three-way swivel. A cannonball sinker
is also a good choice for drift fishing. The
purpose of the drift-bobber is to add color, movement and keep the bait just off
the bottom, in front of the salmon’s nose.
In order to maximize your drift-fishing
efforts, thoroughly cover the water. Don’t
get caught simply going through the motions, hoping to catch fish. With each
cast be sure to position the terminal gear
so that as it drifts downstream, it covers
new water. This is the best way to seek out
salmon. Once the sweet-spot is located,
then you can keep casting to that slot.
If you’ve fished a riffle, chute, eddy,
swirl or stretch of swift water with no
results, try fishing it again with a different egg cure or bait. Even if you catch a
fish, changing the color of drift-bobber or
egg cure may entice other fish into biting. Sometimes all it takes to turn on a
salmon bite is a different sight or smell.
Remember, salmon have a strong sniffer,
so targeting that sense is critical to consistent success.
Plunking
There’s nothing new about the method
of plunking. In fact, if there’s one downfall to this approach, it’s that it is so old
school, not many young anglers are willing to give it a shot. Nonetheless, in the
right conditions it’s one of the most productive means of catching salmon. It’s
particularly effective when water levels
run high and turbid. Under such conditions, salmon often travel tight to shore
and getting to them any other way than
plunking can be nearly impossible.
The principle behind plunking is that,
given the conditions, the angler knows
where the fish will be moving through.
Pinpointing that slot, then anchoring
a bait in the middle of it is all it takes.
Plunking is a great way to get a bait on the
bottom and establish a consistent scent
line salmon can follow. For added visibility, slip a Spin-N-Glo onto the leader.
The action of this spinning drift-bobber
can make a big difference when it comes
to attracting kings, especially in turbid or
tannic-stained rivers.
The setup is simple. First, tie your
mainline to a three-way swivel. Next, attach a short, six-inch dropper with a sinker to another eye, then a two- to threefoot leader to the third eye of the swivel.
A pyramid sinker works best, as it firmly
anchors terminal gear in place. A bank
sinker or teardrop sinker will also work.
Use enough weight so the terminal gear
stays in place, not moving downstream.
When plunking, be patient and keep
your eyes open. Watch for salmon rolling
and see where fellow plunkers are catching fish, as both are solid indicators as to
where the travel paths of fish are in any
given water conditions.
This season, consider diversifying your
approach when it comes to fishing eggs.
Salmon can be finicky, which means the
more methods anglers can apply, the better the odds of catching fish.
If some of these approaches are new to
you, don’t be afraid to try them. Even if
you increase your salmon-fishing arsenal
by one method, you’re helping improve
your odds of success. Hopefully this will
equate to fishing new water, more thoroughly fishing certain sections of a river,
and ultimately, more great-eating meat on
the table.
Scott Haugen is a contributing editor for
Fish Alaska. His best-selling book, Egg
Cures: Proven Recipes & Techniques, is
available at www.scotthaugen.com.
Above: A bright coho in the grass.
Right: Fishing Bird Creek during a low-water stage.
the course of approximately six hours, this
water pushes against the water from Bird
Creek, slowing the current in the creek and
eventually causing the water level to rise.
This will continue throughout the cycle.
Eventually the water will completely inundate the mudflats, and the water upstream
from the bridges will begin to slow and get
deeper. You can actually hear when this is
happening, as the noise from the rushing
creek diminishes as the current slows. The
area from the bridge to the cliffs then begins to fill up. If the tide is big enough,
you invaluable information about this.
What’s important is to know that the
tide can limit where you fish. Near high
tide, it’s usually not possible to fish on
the mudflats downstream of the bridges.
In fact, on really large high tides, such
as those predicted to be 30 feet or more,
much of the area open to fishing becomes
difficult to access and fish. A warning is
in order: If you are fishing from the big
grass flat upstream of the bridges on a 30foot or larger tide, there will likely be a
period of time where you will be stranded
WARNING: Fishing on the mudflats can be dangerous. Exercise caution
and keep your feet moving so as not to get stuck in the mud. If there is any
question at all, it is better to avoid them than to take any risks.
the island at the upstream end of the grass
flat will be completely covered, and on a
big high tide, the grass will be flooded,
all the way up to the ADF&G marker.
A few hours after high tide, Bird Creek
will again transform into a rushing river.
From high slack to low slack takes about
six hours as well. Your tide book will give
on whatever high spot you can find, and
you’ll be stuck there until the tide begins
going out and the water recedes. Additionally, it is possible to get stuck in the mud
downstream of the bridges. People have
drowned on the mudflats of Turnagain
Arm; be very careful, and keep your feet
moving to avoid getting stuck.
© Doug Hamann
I needed 30 salmon for the year’s smoking
quota.
Since it was early July, I knew I had options. I could fish for sockeye in the lower
or middle Kenai, or I could fish for silvers
out of Seward and probably get it done in
a few weekends.
I could fish the Parks Highway streams,
but at two fish a day it would take 15 trips
of limits to make it happen. I didn’t have
that much time.
The choice became clear—I’d fish Bird
Creek. My goal was to catch 30 silvers in
ten trips. I knew this was possible; but I
also knew I’d have to think about which
days I would go, and what the tides were
going to be like on those days. I got out
a tide book and began planning 10 trips.
Over the years I’ve found I can catch a
limit of silvers at Bird Creek more often
than not. However, it’s not just a matter of
going down to the creek any old time. The
Bird Creek fishery is a tidal estuary, meaning it’s in a perpetually dynamic state. The
fish must be present, and specific tidal
situations must be understood in order to
consistently score at Bird Creek. Getting
dialed in requires multiple trips at various
tides to understand how the water changes and how fish relate to these changes.
It took me years to begin to understand
tides, and how salmon relate to them in
estuaries. This article is intended to give
your understanding of this particular fishery a boost.
I picked Bird Creek for a number of reasons: It’s close to home; it gets a good run
of chrome-bright, excellent-eating hatchery silvers; the daily limit is three silvers;
access is easy with a huge parking area; the
fish bite well and finally, the fishable area
is about 500 yards long, and depending
on the tide, fish can be caught from the
mudflats all the way up to the ADF&G
marker. The land above the marker is private property—do not fish upstream of
the marker without permission.
There are probably silvers present in
Bird Creek by the first of July, but fishable
numbers don’t appear until the middle
of the month. Appropriately, the creek
doesn’t open to salmon fishing until July
14. Fishing will be fair on the opener, but
it will get better as the month progresses.
Fishing usually peaks in early August, but
fish can still be caught through the end of
the month.
When the tide is out, Bird Creek is a
relatively small, rushing river that is only
a few feet deep in most places. However,
when the tide is in, the creek looks more
like a lake; it may be as deep as 15 feet
in places, with very little current. Shortly
after a low tide, water from Cook Inlet will
begin pushing up Turnagain Arm. Over
Erik Mitchell holds up a day’s worth of silvers.
Salmon enter Bird Creek on incoming
tides. How many salmon enter is subject
to run timing and the size of a given tide.
There is a huge difference in how Bird
Creek is affected by a 25-foot tide compared to a 30-foot tide. Correspondingly,
there is a huge difference between a low
tide of two feet and a low tide of threeand-a-half feet. These variables affect
how fast salmon enter the estuary, how
far upstream they go and whether they
swim upstream out of the fishing area or
drop back down to Turnagain Arm.
A 24-foot high tide will not change the
water level at the ADF&G marker. On a
tide like this, few fish are going to swim
that far up the creek. However, on a 28foot high tide, most of the fish that come
in will likely make it that far. In a basic
sense, this means most silvers will follow
the leading edge of the tide. If you know
a given tide only backs up the water to
the middle of the grassy flat, you have an
idea of where the fish are going to be. This
kind of knowledge makes it easy to repeat
a good fishing day in the future during
similar tidal situations. If you want to do
well consistently at Bird Creek, take notes
on every trip you make. Note the date,
time of low tide, the time of high tide,
when fish were caught where, and how
far the incoming tide affected the creek.
I mentioned that silvers will follow the
leading edge of the tide up the river. As
long as there is current, the fish will be in
it. However, at high slack, there is almost
no current for the fish to relate to, and
they spread out and mill around until the
tide begins to go out and current reforms.
Some fish will swim upstream and out of
the fishing area, but many will slowly
back down the creek with the receding
tide, all the way back into Turnagain
Arm. At low tide, or any time the creek
is a rushing river, few silvers will be left in
the fishing area. Those that are still there
will be seeking whatever cover they can
find, such as a deep hole or a big rock.
BIRD CREEK NOTES
July 28, 2011— Low tide: 1.4 feet, 2 p.m. High tide: 27.3 feet, 8 p.m.
Started fishing downstream of the bridges. At 3:45 p.m. the water began to slow
and deepen. Fish began to be caught at 3:50 p.m. At 4:15 p.m. the water became
unfishable as it muddied; was afraid of getting stuck in the mud, so I went upstream
of the bridges. The water just upstream from the bridges began to slow and deepen
at 4:30 p.m. At 5:15 p.m. the water was slowing and deepening at the downstream
end of the grass flat. At 6:30 p.m. the island at the upstream end of the grassy bank
was submerged. Water at the ADF&G marker slowed some, but didn’t get much
deeper. Didn’t get flooded out of the spot just above the bridges, and fish were
occasionally being caught so I stayed there. At 8:20 p.m., the water began dropping
and speeding up. Caught my last two silvers at about 8:30 and 8:40 p.m.
Bird Creek Bobber Rig
s 4HREADAMMTOMMBEADONTOYOUR
mainline.
s 4HREADA7EST#OAST&LOATSBOBBER
rated for 3/8 ounces onto your mainline.
s 4HREADANOTHERMMTOMMBEAD
onto your mainline.
s 4IEASMALLHIGHQUALITYBARRELSWIVEL
onto the end of the mainline.
s 4AKEATWOFOOTPIECEOFPOUND
fluorocarbon line and tie a 1/0 or 2/0
octopus hook to it, using an egg-loop
knot.
s #UTTHELEADERTOALITTLEOVERINCHES
and tie it to the barrel swivel.
s 4WISTAOUNCERUBBERCORESINKER
onto your mainline just above the barrel
swivel.
s 4IEABOBBERSTOPKNOTTOTHEMAINLINE
above the bobber and beads. Leave the
tag ends of the bobber-stop knot about
an inch long. Adjust your bobber-stop
by sliding it up or down the mainline to
the depth you want to fish.
s "AITUPWITHYOURFAVORITEEGGSANDSTART
fishing.
The bobber slides freely on the line. You
can adjust the depth of your presentation
by simply grasping the tag end of the bobber-stop knot and pulling it up or down
the line. Early in the incoming tide, I usually start with my bobber-stop about two
feet from my barrel swivel and weight. This
will allow my bait to be a little over three
feet deep during the drag-free portion of
the drift. As the water slows and deepens
with the incoming tide, I slide the bobberstop up my line until it’s about three feet
from my weight and barrel swivel.
To fish this rig, cast out and slightly upstream of your position. Imagine straight
across the current from your position is
12 o’clock. If the current is running from
your left to your right, you’ll want to cast
to 10 or 11 o’clock. Wind in excess slack,
and keep your rod somewhat high to keep
most of your mainline off the water. Allow
the float to drift downstream. Eventually
your line will tighten and the float will
begin dragging across the current towards
your bank. When it reaches a point nearly
straight downstream of your position,
wind in and repeat your cast.
With this relatively small, streamlined
bobber, when you get a bite the bobber will
usually go all the way under water. When
this happens, point your rod at the bobBER QUICKLY BUT SMOOTHLY WIND IN SLACK
line until you feel the weight of the fish,
then set the hook with a swift, firm upward
sweep of the rod.
Fishing can be productive even in the
mudflats, but exercise extreme caution,
or better yet, stick to upriver areas.
Since few fish are available during these
water conditions, this is the hardest time
to catch a limit at Bird Creek.
The second hardest time to catch silvers in Bird Creek is at high slack. The
fish mill around, are unpredictable in
their locations and don’t seem to bite as
well as they do when there is a little current. Thankfully, high slack doesn’t last
long.
The best tidal stage to catch fish in
Bird Creek is when the estuary has slow
to moderate current. This happens both
on the incoming and the outgoing tide.
The best area is a moving target. When
the tide is incoming, the fish slowly but
surely march upstream into the deepening water and softening current. When
the tide is outgoing, most fish slowly but
surely drop downstream towards Turnagain Arm. Because of this, you should be
prepared to move. If you and the people
around you have hooked a few fish, but
then the bite stopped, it’s likely because
the majority of the fish have moved past
you—either upstream if the tide is incoming or downstream if the tide is outgoing.
In my 17 years of fishing Bird Creek,
I’ve found one technique that consistently outperforms other techniques. It can be
used during both incoming and outgoing
tides, rarely if ever results in snagged fish
and is not all that attractive to pinks and
chums, thereby preventing wasted time
through incidental catches. It’s also easy,
even for kids or beginners. That technique is using a bobber and eggs.
I typically use an 8-foot, 6-inch to 10foot, 6-inch casting- or spinning rod rated for 8- to 10-pound line. I prefer rods
on the longer end of the spectrum and
most of the rods I use at Bird Creek are
longer than nine feet. This aids in casting, as well as in controlling the bobber,
and long rods are soft enough to make it
difficult to break fish off or tear the hook
out. I use 10-pound-test monofilament
mainline, a West Coast Floats bobber rated for a 3/8-ounce weight and a
3/8-ounce rubber-core sinker placed just
above a small barrel swivel. To this I tie
an 18-inch leader tied to a 1/0 or 2/0
octopus-style hook. My favorite bait for
this fishery is eggs cured in Pautzke’s Fire
Cure (red).
No matter how deep the estuary gets,
I rarely put my bait more than four feet
below the bobber. Most silvers will suspend in deep, slow water, and they will
typically suspend just deep enough that
you can’t see them. In the glacially-tinted
water of Bird Creek, that’s usually threeto four feet down.
To fish this rig, cast slightly upstream
of your position and allow the float to
drift downstream with the current. Hold
your rod tip high so that most of the line
between you and your float is off the water. At the end of the drift, your float will
begin to drag across the current towards
your bank. When it is out of the ‘fishy’
water, wind it in and repeat. Fish will bite
at any time during the drift, even when
the bobber is dragging across the current at the end. When the bobber stops
drifting downstream or sinks, point your
rod at the bobber and immediately wind
until you feel weight, then set the hook.
In the end, and particularly when
you’re just starting out, a tidal fishery like
Bird Creek can be baffling. If you follow
the suggestions above, however, you will
be on your way to consistent success.
And by the way, I didn’t make it to 30
silvers in 10 trips last year. I wound up
with 28 instead.
George Krumm is a lifelong fly fisher and
fly tyer who began fly fishing stillwater in
1976. He can be reached at [email protected].
For the Tlingit, salmon eggs are among the
rst oo s e to in ants, eginning at st
eight or nine months o age t s not an
n ommon ra ti e among the ati es o
las a, as note
r
eston
ri e,
ho isite se eral s imo gro s in the
s hile in estigating his seminal oo , Nutrition and
Physical Degeneration. n it he re orts that rom a hemi al
stan oint, sh eggs are one o the healthiest oo s o n
an here, so ght a ter or their ni el n tritio s an
e elo mentall ene ial al e
That i es ith to a s resear h, in l ing a re ent st
rom the ni ersit o lmer a in
ain, hi h anal e
the roe o
marine animals an etermine that omega
le els ere arti larl high in salmon roe ma ing
more than
er ent o the total att a i s o n in the
eggs t means that o n e or o n e, salmon eggs o tran
e en the attiest sh as so r es o s er health omega s
s anglers amiliar ith the resh ater en ironment in
las a alrea
n erstan , it also means that o r state s
tro t are arti larl
ell e
an o lations o las a s il rain o tro t share
a ro ensit or attaining er large, orl lass si es
This is a ro
t o the istin ti e li es the lea , ith
si e in en e not onl
geneti om osition t also
the a n an e o their rimar so r e o oo
the
a i salmon n las a, it s an a age
s the re s go,
so go the rain o s
t hen is ssing the re erre
men or the state s resi ent resh ater s e ies, in l ing
Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus the oastal rain o tro t
e
an go e on
st the so e e, ringing in the hinoo ,
oho, h m an in salmon as ell From egg to ale in to
r to smolt, an a ter the a lt sh ha e s a ne an are
eginning to e om ose, esh it s all oo
ring the right time o ear, shing imitations ase
on the
enile salmon stages ale in, r an smolt an
o er some in re i le angling a tion arti larl the ann al
smolt o tmigration on ertain ri ers
i e ise, er late in
the season, s inging ario s sha es o esh ies ro
es
strong res lts an some o the largest sh o the ear n
et een, as the mat re salmon ret rn to their natal streams
an egin to air
on the s a ning gro n s, the tro t
ollo , staging elo the e s an
aiting or the start o
the egg ro , hen the ll egin a tr e o er eating inge
in an e ort to store n trients or the long las a inter
t rst the om etition on the s a ning e s an ma e
egg shing i
lt n man areas, es e iall those ith
monster so e e r ns, the tro t ten to lear o t ntil the
s a n is set to start in earnest
t on e eggs are in the
ater, there are almost ertainl going to e tro t aro n
A regular sight: the bead-caught Alaska rainbow.
en a single air o s a ning sh might attra t
ar s o a o en rain o s
The tro t, it sho l e note , are ee ing on eggs
that ha e een ashe or no e o t o the re s
not eggs that ere e ent all going to iel
a
salmon a itionall , among those eggs ertili e an
in
ate in a re , onl a o t in
s r i es to
hat h n the istant ast there as a o nt la e
on oll
ar en in the state in a misg i e attem t
to ai salmon ro
tion From
to
anglers
o l t rn in tail ns at a a ing rate o t o an a hal
er n
, on the it
i er alone,
,
tro t
an
oll
ar en ere estro e The rogram as
sh t o n in
a ter lose e amination o some
,
tails ro e that o er hal o those t rne in
ere a t all rom oho salmon an o the remain er,
most ere rain o tails
For to a s tro t angler in las a, egg imitations are
an im erati e
ring the ea o the egg ro , most
o a gi en stream s rain o s ill e ongregate elo
the s hools o s a ning salmon, o e ing or rime
real estate in or er to ta e ll a antage o the ri ting
et itting it st right o ten means the est a tion
o the o en ater season
To egin to sh egg imitations, anglers m st a
attention to a air o initial etails the si e an the olor
Ted Bryant
of the eggs on offer. After all, the trout
definitely know what they’re eating.
On the matter of size, each of the five
Pacific salmon species that return to Alaska each year produces eggs of a different
diameter. For instance, king eggs average
about 9.5 mm in size while sockeye eggs
range from approximately 5.3- to 6.6 mm.
Despite the difference in diameter,
when first dropped most salmon eggs are
a very bright orange, but also carry an almost translucent sheen. This will change
in short order, as they begin to take on a
milky white tint. The overall orange color
will also fade through various stages of
pink as the season wears on. The closer to
the end of the cycle one gets, the whiter
and more “washed-out” the eggs.
Where things become particularly complicated is when there are multiple species
of salmon spawning in the same system.
Take, for instance, the Kenai River, where
August might find kings spawning in the
main channel, with sockeye paired up and
dropping eggs in a soft, inside seam just a
cast or two downriver. In many rivers of
the Bristol Bay region, with four or five
species of salmon in the stream at once, it
can be even more confusing—and critical
to get the color and size combination right.
In general, both Alaska’s Chinook and
sockeye tend to spawn in July and August,
the kings mostly in larger streams and rivers, as they can handle the larger substrate
and greater flows of main channels. The
state’s sockeye spawn almost exclusively in
streams that connect with large lakes. The
salmon of Bristol Bay exemplify this lacustrine tendency, as nearly every sockeye
population in the region returns to spawn
in the rivers feeding or draining the big
systems: Lake Iliamna, Lake Clark, and
Naknek, Kukaklek, Kulik, Nonvianuk
and the Wood-Tikchik lakes. Not without
coincidence, these areas also host a significant portion of the state’s most prolific trophy trout fisheries.
Pink salmon return to freshwater
streams from late June to early October,
with the later in-migrations typically occurring in the southern parts of their
range. They do not travel far upstream to
spawn, notable exceptions being populations returning to the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. Chum salmon tend to spawn
near the coast within days of entering the
river as well. In most cases, summer runs
are typical for streams in the northern part
of the species’ range, with fall runs occurring in southern drainages. Returning to
most streams from August through September, Alaska’s coho are typically the last
to provide fresh egg-fishing potential for
trout anglers.
To properly fish egg imitations, Alaska
Choose the right bead and find where the salmon are holding, and you may be rewarded like this angler.
anglers need to first devise strategies tailored to the water being fished, as, for
example, autumn angling on the Kenai
will present decidedly different conditions
than the Naknek—and neither are anything like Moraine Creek. In glacial rivers,
such as the Kenai, trout are not leadershy. Casting over these fish and using a
heavier leader will not affect success rates.
However, when fishing clear streams with
moderate to heavy fishing pressure, sloppy
presentations will spook fish, as will heavy
leaders and non-stealthy approaches. In
these smaller waters, sight-fishing is the
norm, and most productive, while in
larger waters fishing blind is typically necessary—though it’s made much easier by
knowing what kind of water is favored by
the spawning salmon and starting there.
Nymphing is the name of the game
when egg fishing for trout, which for the
majority means indicators. A good nymph
angler can see the ever-so-slight hesitation
in the line that signifies a pickup, but for
the most part, fish will lift and reject egg
imitations without the angler ever knowing they were there. Along with general
nymphing protocols comes the need for
split-shot; the egg imitation needs to
bounce along just off the bottom, like the
real thing. Expect snags.
The basic cast when nymphing eggs is
the three-quarter up-and-across-current
cast, landing the fly upstream of the target (usually a pod of salmon, easy to see in
their spawning colors). As the fly (or bead)
tumbles downstream, follow the indicator
downstream with the rod tip and manage the slack line. The imperative here is
to produce an absolutely drag-free drift.
Salmon eggs do not swim.
Last, a note on beads—while technically not a fly at all (and not classified as such
by the State of Alaska), they easily outpace other egg imitations when it comes
to pure production on the stream. They
also can be much more ethical means
of pursuit for catch-and-release anglers,
since trout can be aggressive when they
see an egg and standard egg flies like GloBugs often wind up hooking a fish deeply.
On the other hand, properly pegged or
free-sliding beads tend to result in a hook
that settles neatly into the outer part of a
fish’s jaw.
In the end, when the salmon have returned, the rainbows have stacked up and
the spawn is on, it’s simply a matter of
giving Alaska’s trout what they want. Let
them eat eggs.
Properly pegged or free-sliding beads tend to result in a hook that settles neatly into the outer part of a fish’s jaw.
Troy Letherman is editor of Fish Alaska
magazine; he can be reached at tletherman@
fishalaskamagazine.com.
Angler’s Tips
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STILLSTRIKINGOUTGOTOADIFFERENT
SIZE
Choosing Your Basic Beads
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Alaska’s Special Bead Regs
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THEBEAD
In the fly-fishing only Russian River,
regulations state that weights, if used,
must be at least 18 inches ahead of
the fly.
As always, check the current regulations
thoroughly before heading out on the
water.
Gear
Rods: Standard Alaska fly gear is the
norm (5- to 8-weight rods, depending
on the water being fished and the
average size of the trout present).
If anything, slightly longer rods
are favored, due to the nymphing
techniques necessitated by fishing egg
imitations. Longer rods allow for more
control of the drift, and achieving a
drag-free drift is critical.
Lines: When fishing floating lines with
indicators, choose lines that load fast,
which will help turn over unwieldy
indicator rigs. Ideal are some of the
Nymph lines offered by companies like
RIO, Scientific Anglers and Cortland.
Leaders: Leaders should vary with the
conditions—length and tippet size are
regularly dictated by spooky fish and
shallow or deep flows. Leaders need not
be too complicated, but a great setup for
Alaska nymphing conditions (that will
turn over indicators and split-shot) would
be nine feet of stiffer monofilament or
fluorocarbon, tapered down to a 2X
(.009) tippet section. Start with 32 inches
of 30-pound-test mono connected to
21 inches of 25-pound. Follow with a
pair of 12-inch sections, 20-pound to
15-pound, then eight inches of 12-pound
and another eight inches of 1X, which
is knotted to the 18- to 24-inch tippet
section. Blood knots should be used for
all connections save tippet-to-fly, where
an improved clinch works well.
Indicators: Standard store-bought foam
or yarn indicators are fine. For skinny
water, ram’s wool or poly yarn tied onto
the leader just below the fly line can
work well. Keep a bottle of Gink or
other flotation aid handy to apply to any
yarn or wool indicators.
Taleen Lundale caught this nice rainbow on the Kenai.
Poached Salmon with Ginger
by Chef Paul Warner of Alaska Supper Club
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 skinless salmon fillet 1¾ to 2 pounds
cut into 4 equal pieces with the pin
bones removed
1 lemon sliced into ¼ inch slices
1 lime sliced into ¼ in slices
Fresh parsley, one small handful
Fresh tarragon, one small handful
1 small shallot, diced
½ cup white wine
½ cup water
Salt and pepper
4 medium size cloves garlic
Equal amount of ginger
2 spring onions cut into 1½ to 2 inch
lengths then sliced lengthwise several
times to make thin slices
4 tbs of soy sauce
¼ cup olive oil
Wine
Pairing
Ring of Fire is a
local Meadery in
Homer, Alaska
that makes mead
wine from honey.
Our choice to
complement
our Poached
Red Salmon
with Garlic and
Ginger is Ring of
Fire’s Raspberry
Melomel, A
dry raspberry
mead made with
raspberry honey
and whole local
Alaska raspberries.
Instructions:
Arrange the lemon and lime slices in a
single layer across the bottom of a 12 inch
skillet. Lay the parsley, tarragon and diced
shallots on top of lemon and limes slices.
Add the white wine and water.
Place salmon fillets skinned side down
in the skillet on top of the lemon slices
and herbs.
Set pan over high heat and bring liquid
to simmer, reduce heat to low and cover.
Cook until instant read thermometer
inserted in thickest part reads 125˚, this
should take 11 to 15 minutes.
Remove fillet with a thin spatula, and
place on a paper towel lined plate. Cover
with tent foil loosely until ready to plate.
Place a fillet on serving plates. Crush
one clove of garlic on each fillet, then
crush an equal amount of ginger on
each fillet, place about 7 to 10 slices of
spring onion lengths on top of the ginger
and garlic. Heat olive oil to the point
of smoking. Carefully pour the olive oil
on top of the garlic, ginger and spring
onions. Dot soy sauce on top of the fillet,
then add salt and pepper. Serve.
Alaska
Supper
Club
P.O. Box 39856
Ninilchik, AK 99639
www.aksupperclub.com
907.299.0984
Alaska Supper Club offers specialized
four course gourmet meals nightly each
summer featuring Alaska’s wild seafood.
Guests can add on wine pairing as well as
a stay at the lodge. Make a reservation for
your group one night in The Great House
Lodge on Chautauqua’s grounds. Each
night’s dinner can seat up to 12 guests.
Becharof
Becharof Rapids Camp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Anchorage
6 Robblees Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Alaska H2O Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Alaska Performance Rv & Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Alaska Sausage & Seafood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Arctic Chiropractic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Best Way Auto LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Black Elk Leather & Beads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Boating Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Central Plumbing & Heating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Donalson Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Equipment Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Gallo’s Mexican Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Intuitions Day Spa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Jens’ Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Millennium Hotel Anchorage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Mossy’s Fly Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36,37
Oomingmak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Pen Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Rural Energy Enterprises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Rust’s Flying Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
SeaGalley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Stellar Designs Sportswear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Suite 100 Restaurant, Bar & Lounge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Swan Employer Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
TC-TJ Courier Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Tebow Financial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Trail Ridge Air Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Bethel
Big Lake
Margaret Billinger, Prudential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Sunset View Bed & Breakfast Resort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Bristol Bay
LaRose Guide Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Trout Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Valhalla Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Chignik Bay
Chignik Bay Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Cooper Landing
Gwin’s Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Kenai River Sportfishing Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Delta Junction
Dillingham
Nushagak River Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38,81
Dutch Harbor
Eagle River
Eagle River Polaris and Arctic Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Fairbanks
Alaska Fishing & Raft Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Equipment Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Girdwood
Chair 5 Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Seven Glaciers Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Glenallen
Alaska River Wrangellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Haines
Alaska Sport Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Outfitter Sporting Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Homer
Bob’s Trophy Charters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Homer Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Iliamna
Rainbow River Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Valhalla Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Indian
Indian Valley Meats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Juneau
Alaska Boat Brokers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Western Auto Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Kanektok River
Deneki Outdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28,29
Kasilof
Busy Beaver Log Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Katmai
Anglers Paradise Kulik Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Valhalla Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Kenai
Kenai Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Kenai MediCenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Ketchikan
Naha Bay Outdoor Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
King Salmon
Katmai Trophy Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Kodiak
Alaska 1 Realty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Andrews Airways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fish Kodiak Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kodiak Combos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kodiak Island Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . .
Koniag/Karluk Wilderness Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ocean View Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Olds River Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shelikof Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
61
61
62
61
47
40
61
61
Kotzebue
Mat-Su
CAC Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Denali Lodges & Alaska Denali Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mat-su Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Matanuska Susitna Borough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Nova River Runners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mendeltna
Mendeltna Creek Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Naknek
The Alaska Sportsman’s Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Ninilchik
Alaska Supper Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Nome
Nushagak
Bristol Bay Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48,81
Nushagak River Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38,81
Palmer
Fishtale River Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Noisy Goose Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Reindeer Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Tebow Financial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Prince of Wales Island
Alaska’s Fishtales Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Log Cabin Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
McFarland’s Floatel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Off the Hook Taxidermy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Treetops Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
58
58
58
58
58
Prudhoe Bay
Seward
Alaska Northern Outfitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Glacier Fishing Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
J-Dock Seafood Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pacific Fishing Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
70
85
45
Sitka
Totem Square Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Soldotna
Alaska Trading & Loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Anglers Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Drift Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Froso’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Hooligan’s Sportfishing Lodge & Saloon . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Kenai River Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Kenai River Sportfishing Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Soldotna Hardware & Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,23,92
Soldotna Professional Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
St. Elias Brewing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Subway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Sweeney’s Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
TC Guide Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Southeast
Admiralty Charters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Sterling
Alaska Canoe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Talkeetna
Phantom Salmon Charters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Talkeetna Denali View Lodge & Cabins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Togiak
Togiak River Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Valdez
Eagle’s Rest RV Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Fish Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21, 35
FNM Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Solomon Falls/Valdez Fisheries Development Assoc . . 21
The Fat Mermaid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Prospector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Totem Inn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Valdez Convention & Visitors Bureau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Valdez Fish Derbies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Wasilla
Alaska Frontier Fabricators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
CAC Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Krazy Moose Subs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mat Valley Meats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Settlers Bay Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Willow
Willow Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Yakutat
Glacier Bear Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Icy Bay Lodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Statewide
Alaska Department of Fish & Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84,85
Alaska State Forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Alaska State Troopers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Alaska Wild Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Bureau of Land Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Diamond Airport Parking and Self Storage . . . . . . . . . . 16
Diamond D Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
ERA Aviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Fred Meyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,18,33,56,65,71,82,90
Maurice Sporting Goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Medallion Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Nature’s Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Renewable Resources Coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Spinner Dave’s Custom Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Sportsman’s Warehouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
TC Guide Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Trout Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
National
Ande Monofilament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Blue Fox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Carhartt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Clackacraft Drift Boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Cold Fold Fish Boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Counter Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
DeLorme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Eagle Claw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Fikkes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Foodsaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Gamma Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Glacier’s Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Grundens USA, Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Hawg Quest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
helpwantedalaska.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Kast Extreme Fishing Gear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
L’Escape Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Little Hotties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Loop Rope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Luhr-Jensen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mack’s Lure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Mepps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Mr. Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Mud Hole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
New World Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
North to Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
NTA Enterprise, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Pavati Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Phantom Jet Boats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Plano Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Pure Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Silver Horde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Smokehouse Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Western Filament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
International
FNM Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Hot Spot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Pacific Fishing Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
(Continued from page 90)
He tail-walked across the water and made
another headshaking run. Then he turned
and came straight at me. I stumbled backward, rod raised high, trying to bring in
line as fast as I could. He crashed and
splashed and dashed downstream again.
I followed, keeping the pressure on but
trying not to break the 8-pound tippet.
Finally, I had him in the slack water and
into the rubber landing net. A couple of
pictures, a quick release and he was well
on his way back to the buffet line.
I thought, “If this is ‘slow’ fishing, then
I can’t imagine what it’s like when really
hot!” In a couple hours, we had caught
several fish over 20 inches and two in
the 28-inch range. I had to force myself
to get in the boat and head back for our
fly-out trip. However, the chance to fish
new water is always filled with optimism
and great expectations. I would leave the
Naknek to take a detour down the river
less traveled. But sometimes, as the poet
wrote, that makes all the difference.
We flew out that evening and set up
camp. To say this was an impromptu
trip is an understatement, and to much
amusement, the tent we hastily purchased
in town turned out to be less a two-man
tent than a two-kid tent. We improvised
The bears were after the salmon, and
we were after the rainbows, so there
were no problems.
another out of a blue tarp and some large
rocks. Bush Alaska is not a place you want
to be with substandard gear, but we were
fortunate for good weather, the minimum
required essential gear, a GPS and a satellite phone. Just to spice things up, we
counted 30 or so grizzly bears on the river
as we flew.
The next morning we hiked to the
mouth of the river under clear skies. The
wind was just strong enough to keep
the no-see-ums away. One grizzly followed us along the beach to the mouth
and then went into the brush, disappearing instantly. Our heads were on a swivel
as we started to fish. We had as many as
15 bears, including cubs, in sight at one
time. Several even floated and fished on
by us. Thankfully, these bruins were as interested in fishing for salmon as we were
fishing for trout.
The freestone river flowed crystal clear,
with deep pools and runs followed by
shallow riffles. We used leech patterns in
the pools and drifted beads in the riffles.
We caught fish after fish after fish. These
weren’t ordinary rainbows either; these
were the famed leopard ’bows. They were
almost all in the 20-inch range, with the
largest being 24 inches. We had doubles
and triples at times.
It was another epic day of fall fishing
in Alaska. The brilliant colors, the massive
brown bears, the variety of trout and the
great company made this a very memorable trip. The Naknek was fantastic, but
I’m also happy to have taken the chance
on a stream less traveled.
Ted Bryant is a fisherman with a writing
problem. He loves to spend his free time exploring Alaska, by plane, boat, car, or snowmachine. When he’s not fishing, you can find
him at home in Wasilla, planning his next
adventure.
The Stream Less Traveled
By Ted Bryant
Fall in Alaska is the ultimate dichotomy.
By mid-September the leaves on the birch
trees have begun to turn a vibrant yellowgold. The berry bushes have changed to
various shades of crimson and the quaking aspens dance and shimmer in the
wind. The spruce trees remain “evergreen” and add some dark contrast to the
kaleidoscope of bright colors seen across
the landscape. Fall storms bring cooler
temperatures and thus termination dust
to the tops of the mountains. The sun’s
rays find holes in the clouds, reflecting off
the powdered-sugar peaks with astonishing brilliance. Sadly, it also means the end
of another amazing summer in Alaska.
But every cloud has a silver lining. For
many Alaskans it is the beginning of the
hunting season, from moose to goose. For
me, autumn is trout season. Most of the
salmon have already spawned and died.
Some silvers will continue to enter the
rivers for a while but it is past their peak.
The loose salmon eggs and decaying flesh
are drifting downstream, providing the
rainbows with a moving smorgasbord like
some demented aquatic sushi train. The
big ’bows move out of the lakes to greedily
dine on the all-you-can-eat buffet, growing bigger and fatter with each passing
day. Fall fishing in Alaska equates to hefty,
hard-fighting trout, and lots of them.
I had planned to float Lake Creek this
fall in search of my favorite quarry. But
as fate would have it, I was given the opportunity to join some friends to fish the
fabled Naknek River instead. The Naknek, the Kvichak and the Kenai rivers are
three of the top trophy trout streams in
the state. I jumped at the chance.
We took the hour-long flight from Anchorage to the small town of King Salmon, which is located along the shores of
the Naknek River. Our contact in town
said the fishing had been slow all week, so
he had an alternate plan. He would fly us
out that night to another river in the area
that had been fishing well. In the meantime, we could borrow his boat and fish
the big river until it was time to go.
The Naknek is a wide, clear river, best
accessed with a boat. During the low water of very early spring and late fall, there
are places you can wade. We ran the jet
boat up river, passing a beachcombing
grizzly along the way. The shoreline was
littered with dead salmon carcasses and
smelled as good as it looked. We found a
likely section of water and pulled the boat
onto the grassy shore.
Methodically casting and mending my
line, I sought out the most likely looking lies. I waded out as far as I dared and
put out as much line as I could handle.
At the end of my drift, the ’bow hit like a
runaway freight train. Line peeled off my
reel as I braced my footing in the heavy
current. Fifty yards downstream a chrome
behemoth leapt clear of the water, shook
his head twice, and was gone. He took my
fly and a little bit of my pride, too.
I rigged up again and this time I thoroughly checked my knots and leader for
any flaws. I was determined not to lose
another fish of that size to carelessness.
The next fish smashed my fly at the end
of the swing. He put me into my backing in short order. This rainbow had huge
shoulders and knew what he was doing.
(Continued on page 88)

Untitled - Fish Alaska Magazine

Transcription

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