Flyfishing Alaska

466 Pages·1995·4.9 MB·English

by  Anthony J. Route

Flyfishing
ALASKA
REVISED EDITION
Anthony J. Route
Johnson Books: Boulder
Spring Creek Press: Estes Park

title: Flyfishing Alaska
author: Route, Anthony J.
publisher: Johnson Books
isbn10 | asin: 1555661505
print isbn13: 9781555661502
ebook isbn13: 9780585019673
language: English
subject Fly fishing--Alaska.
publication date: 1995
lcc: SH467.R65 1995eb
ddc: 799.1/2
subject: Fly fishing--Alaska.
Dedication
To my parents, Rodney and Elaine
© 1989, 1995 by Anthony J. Route
Revised Edition
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover design: Bob Schram/Bookends
Cover photograph, silver salmon fishing on Kenai River:
Alaska Wildland Adventures
Cover photograph, king salmon: Anthony J. Route
Photographs not otherwise credited are by the author
Illustrations by Marcella Hackbardt
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Route, Anthony J.
Flyfishing Alaska / Anthony J. Route.Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 1-55566-042-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Fly fishing-Alaska. I. Title.
SH467.R65 1995 95-250
799.1 '2dc20
CIP
Printed in the United States of America by
Johnson Printing
1880 South 57th Court
Boulder, Colorado 80301
Printed on recycled paper with soy ink

Page iii
Contents
Foreword v
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1 Flyfishing Alaska 1
Chapter 2 King Salmon 20
Chapter 3 Sockeye Salmon 38
Chapter 4 Pink Salmon 51
Chapter 5 Chum Salmon 62
Chapter 6 Silver Salmon 73
Chapter 7 Rainbow Trout 85
Chapter 8 Steelhead 106
Chapter 9 Cutthroat Trout 120
Chapter 10 Dolly Varden and Arctic Char 130
Chapter 11 Lake Trout 143
Chapter 12 Arctic Grayling 156
Chapter 13 Northern Pike 169
Chapter 14 Sheefish 178
Chapter 15 Flyfishing Alaskan Saltwater 190
Chapter 16 Flies for Alaska 203
Appendix A Selected Fly Patterns 214
Appendix B Alaskan State Records 223
Appendix C Common Names for Pacific Salmon 224
Index 225
Page v
Foreword
There is no doubt whatsoever that fishing in Alaska is one of the great
experiences a flyfisher can have. The country and the fish are
exceptional, so exceptional that all flyfishers should try to sample
them at least once, if not repeatedly.
When I was growing up in Alaska during the 1950s and 60s, much
was still unknown about flyfishing for all of the different species
there. Rainbow trout and grayling posed no problems, especially in
waters where salmon were absent. It was usually a fairly simple,
straightforward approach to cast a dry Royal Coachman or Black Gnat
and set the hook as the rainbow or grayling rose to intercept the fly.
Many of us believed that to catch salmon, however, one had to
employ the use of salmon eggs or spinners. Those beliefs were
brought about by the fact that we failed to understand the fish we were
trying to catch and the ways in which we could use our fly gear.
Flyfishing has changed drastically in the past 30 years. New rod-
making materials, fly lines, and fly tying materials have contributed to
more successful fishing. With new fast-sinking lines and flies tied of
modern synthetic materials, even king salmon can be taken
consistently with fly gear. The increased number of creative fly
anglers has also added to the information bank of ways and techniques
to take all of the species in Alaska.
Tony Route's experience flyfishing for all of the various fish in
Alaska, coupled with his skills as a writer and photographer, make
him unconditionally qualified to write a book about flyfishing in
Alaska. His extensive background

Page vi
as a biologist, guide, commercial fly tier, and in retail tackle sales has
provided him with the knowledge to relate the information needed to
help you fish in Alaska more successfully. The information contained
in this book will help the first-time flyfisher in Alaska approach the
experience much better prepared and ready to meet the conditions.
In August of 1986 my wife, Joyce, and I were in Alaska to visit a
newly-opened lodge and to spend some time with my family in
Anchorage. Tony invited us to go with him to fish a small Kenai Lake
tributary for Dolly Varden. Fishing was outstanding, but without his
guidance we would never have caught on to the technique necessary
for enjoying those scrappy char. The information in this book will
give you the knowledge to fully enjoy your Alaska flyfishing.
Marty Sherman, editor, Flyfishing magazine
August 28, 1988
Roads End, Oregon
Page vii
Preface
I was introduced to Tony Route at an Anchorage fly shop where he
was employed for a time in 1986. As I remember, I bought some small
item that I probably didn't need and left with that certain feeling that
one only occasionally has about another human beinghere is a man I
want to see more of and know better. I wanted another meeting
because I left the store with more than a spool of tying thread. Tony
had offered me useful advice in a pleasant, unassuming manner that
made me eager to learn more from him. And, I wanted to go fishing
with him. That chance didn't occur until 1987 when Tony invited me
on a February trip to the upper Kenai River to flyfish for a late run of
silver salmon and the attendant Dolly Varden that eat the cohos' eggs.
In my log book I recorded that fishing was unexceptional that day;
Tony caught and released three Dolly Varden and a friend and I were
fishless. Unrecorded was my increasing awareness that Tony knew a
lot about fish and flyfishing.
The Alaska Flyfishers is a club with over 400 members, affiliated with
the Federation of Flyfishers. As a member of the Alaska club's
executive board, I asked Tony if he would deliver a presentation at our
April 1987 meeting on the Talachulitna River fisheries, an
internationally famous flyfishing-only stream. It was a time of
controversy because of a proposal by an outfitter to locate a temporary
fishing camp and large numbers of anglers on the river. Tony helped
us all appreciate the river environs, the salmon, rainbow trout, and
grayling fisheries, and potential threats to the "Tal." We left the
meeting with a new appreciation and understanding of the river, even
those of us who had fished it many times