HOW TO CATCH ALASKA'S
TROPHY SPORTFISH
by Christopher Batin
Publisher's note: These trophy fish deserved larger than
usual photos that are well worth the wait. Click the smaller
picture to get the expanded version.
One of the best road-accessible saltwater fisheries for trophy
king salmon is the Deep Creek-Anchor Point fishery. Deep Creek is
located on the east shore of Cook Inlet, at Mile 137 on the
Sterling Highway. The May run of fish consists of 20 to 50-pound
kings heading for the Kenai and upper
Susitna tributaries, but can contain fish in excess of 80 pounds.
Adela Batin with an even larger salmon.
PHOTO:CHRISTOPHER
BATIN
The late-June, early-July run is made up of second-run Kenai
River fish that range from 40 to 90 pounds. While a boat ramp is
available at Deep Creek, most anglers launch their cartopper and
trailered boats off Cook Inlet beaches. Deep Creek kings are
concentrated into definite migration routes by Cook Inlet tides,
which are the second highest in the Northern Hemisphere. These
routes hug the Kenai Peninsula shoreline from Anchor Point to the
mouth of the Kenai River. Their corridor widths vary with tidal
activity. A heavy outgoing tide concentrates kings near the
bottom and from 75 to 100 yards out from shore. On an incoming
tide, fish can be found at any depth, but they are most
frequently caught near the bottom and from 5 to 75 yards from
shore.
Fly Fishing for Kings
Fly fishing for kings calls for the same basic strategy used
when fishing spinning gear. You have to find migration routes,
trigger aggravation responses, and use large, fluorescent
flies--tied with materials that undulate in the water. Follow
these pointers if you wish to hook kings successfully on fly
gear.
First, position yourself so that you must cast upstream at a
45 degree angle to the fish or school. Drift a weighted Animated
Alevin or an Ad-Bat attractor pattern down through the depths
until it is within several feet of the lead salmon. Ever so
gently twitch the fly across current while still maintaining its
downstream drift through the school. A strike will usually occur
immediately after a twitch.
Another effective technique is to work a fly through the outer
edge of a school. Once it reaches the fish, slowly raise the fly
toward the surface by lifting the rod tip, stopping only when the
fly has surfaced. I've seen kings charge from the opposite side
of the pool to strike a yellow Marabou Muddler fished in this
manner.
In deep pools or runs, fish with weighted patterns and
Scientific Anglers Uniform Sink lines. Since it's often difficult
to impart the proper action to flies in 7 to 10 feet of water,
you'll have to fish a fly on a collision course with a salmon,
forcing the fish to intercept, rather than strike at, the fly.
A systematic fan cast starting at the head of a run and
continuing in six-inch to one-foot increments to the tail of the
pool has proved to be an effective casting pattern for me. The
object is to saturate an area with the fly, and heighten the
salmon's territorial aggressiveness. With a fly, the resulting
strike is often barely detectable. Whatever the technique,
persistence and consistency in presentation are the key factors
in provoking stream kings to strike.
Pattern Preferences
I favor large, gaudy patterns for kings, especially those tied
with fluorescent marabou, Flashabou and tinsel materials. In
clearwater streams, I recommend chartreuse, fluorescent green,
and fluorescent red marabou flies. In clear water/bright light
conditions, kings can see a fly coming for quite a distance. The
undulating effect of the marabou fly drifting downstream seems to
be responsible for triggering many strikes.
Author's Note: In gathering material for How
to Catch Alaska Trophy Sportfish, the book from
which this short piece is excerpted, and for my fishing articles
for various magazines, Adela and I have logged over 40,000 hours
fishing lakes, streams, and saltwater throughout the state. We've
experienced Alaska like few people have. Read this book, and you
will catch trophy Alaska sportfish when others can't.
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