• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Deneki Outdoors Fishing Lodges

Alaska | The Bahamas | Chile

  • About Deneki Outdoors
  • Our Fishing Lodges
    • Alaska West
    • Andros South
    • Rapids Camp
    • Rio Salvaje
  • Deneki Blog
    • Alaska West
    • Andros South
    • Chile
    • Fish
    • Fishing Reports
    • Fly Tying
    • Gear
    • General
    • Guest Posts
    • News
    • Rapids Camp
    • Rio Salvaje
    • Tips
  • Contact Us

Jan 17 2012

Jeff Hickman’s Trout Rig

Jeff Hickman's Trout Rig
Man and trout. Photo: Dusan Smetana

Jeff Hickman, as you probably know by now, is a long-time veteran of fishing in the Northwest.  He’s spent a whole bunch of years guiding at Alaska West, and he knows his way around Oregon pretty good too.  Oh yeah, the Ross and Idylwilde Pro Staffs somehow let him in the door.

Want to know how Jeff rigs himself up to chase the incredible rainbow trout of Western Alaska?  Read on.

If you’re interested in a whole bunch more information about Alaskan rainbow trout – including tips, gear reviews, expert rigs and more – you should check out our All About Rainbow Trout page.

The Summary

  • Ross 9′ 7 weight RX Rod
  • Ross F1 Size 4 Reel
  • Scientific Anglers Mastery Textured Magnum Taper WF7F

The Detail

  • 30 pound Dacron backing attached to the spool with an arbor knot.
  • Fly line attached to the backing with an Albright knot.
  • Scientific Anglers Atlantic Salmon/Steelhead 6ft 16 pound tapered leader attached to the front of the fly line using the factory loops and a loop to loop connection.
  • Non-slip mono loop to either a Mr Hankey or Egg Sucking Super Sculpin. “With these guys, the bigger the fly the bigger the fish.  These are two must-have flies for Alaska.”

The Commentary

I like to use a 7 weight because it will throw the bigger sized flies with better accuracy and land the big boys.  Also, hooking salmon on these rivers on trout flies is not uncommon.

I think the SA Magnum is the best taper for throwing big bugs, and the mist color won’t spook fish in low, clear water

My preferred method for rainbow fishing at Alaska West is pounding the bank both on foot in side channels or out of the boat while rowing downriver. This is best done with repetitive accurate casts as close to the bank as possible, keeping a tight line swinging and stripping with a mouse pattern or streamer.

Rainbow trout in the Kanektok and Arolik Rivers are one of my favorite species to pursue. To me the trout in those rivers are a lot like summer steelhead. They can be the same size, they eat swung flies both top water or subsurface and they fight hard with jumps and long runs when hooked. The biggest differences between the two is the rainbows are mostly non migratory, they are speckled with a lot more spots and they are really hungry…no fly is too big for them!

To deliver these big flies with accurate casts tight to the bank you need the right setup – a fast action rod with the accuracy to put the fly where it needs to be, but also the backbone and sensitivity to land the fish after its hooked, an aggressively weight forward tapered line to throw a giant fly and a reel with a strong, reliable drag to keep them out of the root balls!

More Gear for Alaskan Trout

  • Rick Sisler’s Rainbow Rig
  • JEB Hall’s Rodent Rig
  • 5 Favorite Flies for Trout in Alaska

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Plan Your Trip

Let our experts plan the fishing adventure of your dreams.
Contact Now

Search Topics

Subscribe to our newsletter

All Blog Posts

Recent Posts

  • 5 Fly Fishing Tips to Catch More King Salmon
  • RIO Flies We Like for Kings
  • Deneki Chronicles: Swinging for Kings – The Broadside Presentation
  • Alaskan Gold: Arctic Char
  • Andros South Travel Update: No More Testing!

All About Spey

All About Trout

All About Bonefishing

All About Gear

Best Posts

Footer

Deneki Outdoors

Mailing address:
200 W 34th Ave.
PMB 1170
Anchorage, AK 99503

Office:
4451 Aircraft Drive
Suite 202
Anchorage, AK 99502

US Information and Reservations
800-344-3628

International Information and Reservations
+1 907-563-9788

Email: info@deneki.com

Our Lodges

Rapids Camp
King Salmon, Alaska

Alaska West
Kanektok River, Alaska

Andros South
South Andros Island, The Bahamas

Rio Salvaje
Puerto Montt, Chile

Deneki Outdoors thanks Peter Viau, Tosh Brown, Abe Blair, Kyle Shea and Kara Knight for the beautiful photography used on our sites.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

#denekioutdoors

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Copyright © 2022 · Deneki Outdoors · Privacy Policy · Site by 21 Designs