We are really lucky at Alaska West to have an incredibly varied fishery for rainbow trout. We fish many different parts of our river using a bunch of different techniques to catch a wide range of trout.
We use so many different techniques that you couldn’t hope to cover them in a single post – but today we’re going to cover the 5 main ways we go trout fishing. This is a big one!
Mousing
What
Trout in our part of Alaska are carnivorous – they eat little rodents that fall and/or jump in the river. We fish big floating flies that look like – well, mice! 6 and 7 weight rods with floating lines are the norm here, so we can cover lots of water as we swing, twitch and strip our flies. The extra power doesn’t hurt since mousing tends to select for bigger fish.
Where
The classic place to fish mouse flies is around grassy overhanging banks – with the idea that this is good rodent habitat. We also reach for the mouse when we see a giant trout tucked right behind a branch or a snag, because you couldn’t drift a wet fly in there anyhow. Pro tip: At Alaska West, try a mouse anywhere – you’d be surprised some of the places they’ll get eaten.
Why
Mousing draws super aggressive surface takes, and often pulls fish in from more than 10 feet away. Bigger trout like mouse patterns, and mousing is really, really fun.
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Bead Fishing
What
Beads made of various materials imitate salmon eggs – an important food source for trout in our neck of the woods. We string beads onto the tippet just above a bare hook and generally attach them to the tippet with a peg or a knot. Floating lines, 5 and 6 weight rods, and sometimes split shot make up these rigs.
Where
On and just downstream of salmon spawning beds – right where you’d find natural salmon eggs. Please don’t walk on the redds.
Why
Bead fishing is extremely productive and can be really numbers-oriented – our trout just love pounding salmon eggs. Beads are also a great choice for selective trout. If you spot Big Jerry and can’t get him to eat other patterns, try a couple of beads.
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Fishing Flesh
What
We fish in the bottom 18 miles of a 90 mile river than gets loaded with salmon every summer. After those salmon spawn, they die and their carcasses get swept downriver. For meat-eating trout, our part of the river is basically a non-stop conveyor belt of salmon parts. We fish a wide variety of flies tied to imitate salmon flesh – mostly tied with rabbit fur. Floating lines on 6 rod rods are best, and we sometimes use quite a bit of weight to get that fly down.
Where
Everywhere, but the best place is the lower part of the main river – where all those salmon parts wind up! Flesh works particularly well around structure – snags, root wads, and dropoffs.
Why
Flesh flies work very consistently, and some of the biggest fish we catch come on flesh from the vicinity of big deep snags.
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Swinging Streamers
What
Using both single- and double-handed rods, we swing sculpin, leech and other streamer patterns steelhead-style. Sometimes we use sinktips; sometimes we use floating lines and weighted flies. Most of the time we swing flies on foot, but sometimes with do it from a boat. 4 to 6 weight switch rods and 5 to 7 weight single-handers do the job well.
Where
The bottom half of most big gravel bars, and the meat of most side channels and braids with moderate current.
Why
The tug is the drug! It’s like steelhead fishing, only with fun, light gear – and you catch a lot of fish.
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Stripping Streamers
What
Mostly using a single single-handed rod from the boat, but sometimes using a two-hander from the opposite bank, we pitch leech and smolt patterns up against the shore and on top of structure, and strip strip strip! Floating lines and lightly weighted flies are the norm.
Where
Anywhere there’s enough water to hold a fish. Covering a ton of water is part of the technique here.
Why
It’s a really active, really fast-paced way to fish. You’ll be rewarded for fishing hard and staying focused. Grabs can be ferocious.
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Want to put these techniques into practice in one of the most amazing fisheries in the world? Drop us a line to plan your trip to Alaska West.
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