Whitney Gould’s Silver Rig

Fly fishing for silver salmon — *Whitney, silver, and Ivar respectively. Photo: Ivar Larsen.*

Our annual run of silver salmon have arrived here at Alaska West, and it won’t be long before they’re stacked up in shockingly high numbers. So, in anticipation of silver madness, we’re coming at you with another edition of our expert rig series, where we give you all the details on how the experts rig up.

Today’s expert rig is brought to you by Alaska West guide, Whitney Gould. You might recognize Whitney as being one heck of a spey caster, however when it comes to silver salmon, she’s not afraid to pick up the single hander and go to work! Here’s her rig of choice.

The Summary

Redington Vapen 890-4
Saracione Deluxe II 3 1/2” Reel
RIO Freshwater OutBound Short – WF8F

The Detail

30 pound dacron backing, attached to the spool with an arbor knot.
RIO OutBound Short attached to backing by loop to loop connections.
Non-slip mono loop tied in 7 feet of 0X RIO Powerflex Tippet attached to fly line by a loop to loop connection.
Something Pink or Purple attached to leader using a non-slip mono loop.

The Commentary

“When guiding, I look for a well balanced line/rod combination that’s not only easy to cast over a long day of fishing, but that is also fun to fish.”
“The Outbound short is an integrated line that is easy to cast and capable of turning over heavily weighted flies effortlessly in adverse wind conditions.”
“When I fish for silvers, I think it is important to fish with a line that I can rely on. That means a line that I can manipulate to vary my retrieve and one that turns over a heavy lead eye fly easily. Very often we anchor the boat in water faster than what we are fishing. Silvers like to hold in slow moving water closer to the banks. That means retrieving the fly from slower to faster water. To keep the fly in play longer, we need one that is heavy enough to dig and jig when pulled through the conflicting water currents.”
“The Outbound short is perfectly matched with the Redington Vapen fly rod. The rod picks up and loads line effortlessly. This is a key ingredient to a happy client as I’d rather have them thinking about the fishing rather than being bothered by an unbalanced rig.”
“I love the Saracione 3 1/2” Salmon II reel.. It’s just down right classy and good looking. In addition to great looks, the reel contains a disc drag system with a gear and pawl capable of slowing down any silver. Also, the larger arbor holds enough line so I can also fish it for steelhead and salmon on any of my 5/6/7 weights two handed rods as well.”