Last week you got to hear about how Michael White chases rainbow trout at Alaska West with a switch rod. Today we bring you the rig he uses to imitate everyone’s favorite food source – nasty, decomposing chunks of salmon flesh!
The Summary
- Sage 691-4 ONE
- Ross Evolution LT #3
- Rio Coldwater Clouser Line, 6 Weight
The Detail
- 20 pound dacron backing attached to the spool with an arbor knot
- Fly line attached to the backing with an Albright Knot. “I cut off the factory loops because I’ve just always been more of a knot guy than a loop guy.”
- 3 feet of 20 pound Maxima butt section, attached to the front of the fly line with a 6-turn nail knot
- 3 feet of 15 pound Maxima, attached to the butt section with a blood knot
- 3-4 feet of 10 pound Maxima, attached to the 15 pound section with a blood knot
- 1/16th oz bullethead bass weight, free sliding on the 10 pound section of Maxima. “I use anywhere 1/4 oz to 1/32 oz weights depending on the depth of the water I’m fishing.”
- Idylwilde McDonough’s Yardstick Flesh fly in Fresh Peach, tied to the 10 pound Maxima with a non-slip mono loop. “It’s 4 inches of jiggy, fleshy, beady goodness. It has an up eye and the loop gives it lots of jiggy action.”
The Commentary
“I’m using a single-hander when I’m fishing primarily out of the boat, or when I’m batting cleanup in a side channel with somebody fishing a mouse in front of me.”
“I use a 9 to 10 foot leader coupled with the bullet head bass weight because when I’m fishing out of the boat, the bullet head gives incredible control over the depth of the fly. I can easy lift and drop the fly into feeding zones and into the buckets that most people aren’t getting to.”
“The key thing about fishing out of the boat with this system is to always keep your eye on the fly, and lift and drop it over and around structure. I’m not just throwing it out there and blindly letting it drift along. I’m really actively steering it around the structure so I have to always keep my eye on the fly.”
“The non-slip mono loop keeps the bass weight from dropping down on to the head of the fly. The free sliding bass weight will slide up the leader and pull down into the zones, letting the flesh fly swim more freely.”
A comment on the nasty, decomposing chunks of salmon flesh in the river: the rainbows that I have fished for will attack flesh flies even before there are any nasty, decomposing chunks of salmon flesh in the water. They love the flesh because there are tasty, fresh chunks of salmon dispensed from the messy sushi chef in a fur suit. (A bear’s table scraps drifting downstream).
Definitely the most enjoyable way to fish rainbows for me, but I do consider myself to be immitating sushi and not carrion!