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Preparing for your Alaska Fly Fishing Trip
The fly fishing experience at our lodge is quite diverse and varies widely depending on the time of summer you visit and the species of fish you intend to pursue on our remote river. Early June grayling and trout provide exciting quarry on dry flies and smolt pattern streamers. By mid-June water levels and clarity is ideal for king salmon fly fishing. We swing large streamers for kings up to 60lbs! Spey fishing is our primary focus when targeting kings on the fly mid-June through July 10. By mid-July large numbers of sockeye, pink, silver and chum salmon enter our river system. Silver, Pink and Chum salmon continues to peak through approximately August 25. Fly fishing for rainbow trout peaks in early to mid June and again from late July through September.
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We strive to offer the very best inclusive remote Alaska fly fishing experience! Online FormAlaska Fly Fishing Gear & Tactics
Outfit yourself for your Alaska fly fishing trip. If you prefer to not bring your own fishing equipment, our lodge provides all you need to be as a complimentary part of our inclusive fishing lodge packages. Our fishing lodge offers an amazing venue for all-inclusive, fully outfitted remote fly fishing.
Fly Rods and Reels for Alaska
The fly fishing setup you use will depend on the sport fish you plan to pursue. In general, we use 5 and 6 weight rod and reel setups for trout and grayling. 7-8 weight setups are ideal for pink, silver, chum and sockeye salmon. 10 - 12 weight single and double-handed Spey rods are the preference to target king salmon. Our lodge outfits all guests with TFO fly rods equipped with Lamson reels. Be sure your reel has a smooth and strong drag system, particularly when targeting salmon in swift-water river systems such as ours. Medium action rods are most versatile for presenting a variety of flies for trout and grayling. Medium Fast action rods for salmon are best for casting sink tip lines, and for fighting fish as they tend to have a bit stronger backbone. We are happy to recommend great fly rod and reel setups if you are looking to equip yourself prior to your Alaska fishing trip. There are many great companies that provide a high quality product at a competitive rate. Do keep in mind when purchasing fly rods and reels that it is worth investing a bit more if your equipment is backed with a sound warranty program.
Fly Lines for Salmon & Trout
There is no need for a big selection of fly lines or special leaders to target salmon and trout in Alaska. For the most part we fish weight-forward, floating fly lines for all species with the exception of king salmon. Kings require mainly a long sink tip for swinging deep water sections of the river. An skagit line with a 400 - 700 grain is an ideal king setup for double-handed spey rods. For other salmon species, a 7-8 weight floating weight forward line is the most versatile, but we will occasionally add light sink tips under higher water conditions. The ideal pair of trout lines to have available are a weight-forward floating line for streamer and nymph fishing and a double-tapered line for fishing dry flies in low, clear water conditions. With the exception of fishing dry flies, we fish straight Maxima Leader material: 6-8 lb. for trout and grayling, 10-15 lb. for silver, pink, sockeye and chum salmon and 25 lb. for kings. Northern Pike are targeted with 8 weights, weight-forward floating line, 15 lb. leader with an 8" steel tracer.
Alaska Flies
Be sure to visit our signature Alaska fly patterns page for our master list of our favorite go-to flies for all salmon, trout, grayling and pike. There is a wide array of flies that will be productive when fishing Alaska. It is fun to experiment with your favorite patterns and custom ties. There is no rule and everyone seems to have their own preferences. Be sure to visit each fish species page on our site, which has specific recommendations for each fish you plan to target. In general, we fish a mix of dry flies, nymphs, smolt (minnow) patterns, leeches and sculpin imitators for rainbow trout. For salmon, a wide variety of attractor patterns are the go-to. Clousers are the most versatile fly in the world and prove their efficacy on our Alaska river. A variety of leech patterns, articulated streamers and top-water foam flies are all productive for all salmon species. Purple, Green, Pink and Black are the primary flies colors we tie.
Our Signature Alaska Fly Patterns