August 5th, 2010
Here are a few photos from our June & July dry fly and streamer trips. Water levels were incredible consistent for the duration and we landed some great fish on dries, mice and streamers. June and July weeks are nearly full for next summer already so call or email today for 2011 availability. More to come………………….
Fay Rogers, John & a nice Bristol Bay rainbow
Streamer caught 'bow'
Jeff 'Bear' Andrews and a dry fly caught Alaskan rainbow
Gary 'AK Waterboarder' Leone's solstice trout
Sight caught trout on a caddis
Doc Rupprecht's beautiful rainbow trout
Alaskan rainbow which hammered a 'Loco mouse'
Don Sawyer with the IAFFV and a Leopard Rainbow
"Who says Alaska doesn't have terrestrial fishing"
Tags: AFA Anglers, Alaska, dry fly, rainbow trout, streamer, trips
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June 11th, 2010
With the start of a new angling season my posts will be more on a weekly basis with fishing reports and hopefully some images from each group’s trip. It looks to be a good year with normal water levels and average temperatures and weather. The sockeye salmon run in the Bristol Bay region is just starting to trickle in and the run estimate looks for a good year. This should in turn provide an ample food source for the overwintering trout and char this coming winter. More to come…………….
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May 31st, 2010
Jawing Brown Bears on Sedge Grass Flats
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May 22nd, 2010
Here is a great fall flesh pattern tied in M.O.A.L. (Mother Of All Leeches) fashion. Fished on a dead drift swing or even stripped this pattern will work outside of the September flesh “hatch” elicting strikes from the trout opener through October. For step by step instructions check out this web page Strung Out MOAL Leech Tutorial. I make one variation from the norm. In place of cross cut rabbit strip I recommend straight cut rabbit strips to give the pattern more movement when dead drifted.
Flesh M.O.A.L.
Front Hook: Cheap streamer or nymph hook clipped
Back Hook: Gamakatsu C14S sz. 2-4
Thread: 6/0 White
Front Bead: Spirt River 1/4″ Hot Orange painted with 3 coats of white nail polish
Back Bead: 6mm Trout Bead
Platform: 30Lb Dacron
Body: Straight cut flesh rabbit strip
Tags: Fly Patterns, streamer
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May 17th, 2010
Arctic Char
The painting above is of a Bristol Bay Arctic char’s brilliant fall spawning color by artist Becca Schlaff. The painting was based on a photo I took a few seasons ago of one of our angler’s trophies. In lieu of taxidermy many anglers are now preserving their piscatorial memories on canvas. Becca will commission original paintings in a variety of paint mediums to preserve that memory for generations to come. Check out more of her work at becca-schlaff.com
Original Photo
Tags: Arctic char, art
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May 12th, 2010
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May 7th, 2010
Gary Youree with two Bristol Bay trophies; a big bull moose and a fine silver salmon called in to striking distance by Gary's boss, Elaine Youree.
Tags: AFA Anglers
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May 5th, 2010
Here is some highlights from a newspaper article back in June 1936.
Fisherman in the Egegik district (Just south of Katmai) of the Alaska Peninsula are reported to have made good pay at catching Dolly Varden trout and turning these predatory fish in for the bounty during the past winter. Some made as much as $2,000 at the rate of 2 1/2 cents for each tail turned in. The results, it is believed, will mean an eventual increase in the red salmon run in this area.
$2000, that’s 80,000 char taken in one winter. What history has told us now is that many of the tails turned in were found to be from salmon, the species they were intending to protect. Also depleting trout and char populations in effort to increase salmon populations in actuality has a detrimental effect on the salmon.
Dave Gaw's big char (known as a Dolly Varden trout in times past) taken last summer near where 70 years ago this fish would bring a 2 1/2 cent bounty
Tags: Arctic char, Biology, history, Katmai
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May 1st, 2010
Unless securely affixed to the hook, a big conehead can begin to spin and twist during the course of fishing and begin to destroy your fly. We’ve all seen it. Big coneheads, 7/16’s or larger, really magnify this problem. The simply solution I’ve found is this.
1) Put the conehead on the hook
2) Behind it slide the biggest bead you can fit
3) Use the thickest diameter thread you have, (I prefer Uni-Stretch for this as you can really get the thread stretched tight), and build up a thread base tight behind the bead until the cone is secure and will not spin.
4) If done properly you can hold the cone, hook eye down, and superglue the bead to the cone without any glue making its way to the hook eye. The bead and cone should make a tight seal due to the thread base behind the bead.
This method will insure the pattern lasts for cast after cast and fish after fish without that cone spinning out and ruining your fly.
Tags: conehead, streamer, tying tips
Posted in Fly Tying | 1 Comment »
April 27th, 2010
Linda Demmer and Levi with a big char caught with a streamer on a full sinking line.
Whether fishing from a raft in fast water or stripping streamers deep in lake outlets you need a fly line that gets your fly where you need it. Rio’s full sinking lines are the best I’ve yet found and I’m convinced; increase your hookups when you need that fly to get DEEP. Real DEEP.
A series of sinking lines that feature an increase in density at the front to ensure the line sinks tip first – aiding in bite detection and in setting the hook. These lines are made on a supple core for memory free performance and have a super smooth, tungsten impregnated coating that makes distance casting easy. An essential line for the serious lake fly fisher.
Deep 6: WF4S to WF9S ~ 6-7 inches per second
Tags: Arctic char, Gear, streamer
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