• 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

Mar 10 2017

Aqua Flies for King Salmon – 5 Favorites

Aqua Flies fly patterns for king salmon
Chinook, and a Chinook size Dirty Hoh. Photo: Hugh Curry.

In a few short months we’ll be heading North to kick off our summer seasons, swinging flies for one of our favorite species of all time – Big, bright, sea-lice ridden, king salmon.

Due to their affinity for deep water, kings are a notoriously difficult species to target on the fly in many areas throughout the Pacific Northwest. However, at Alaska West, we’re really lucky to be situated on a lazy, low gradient, coastal river that’s relatively shallow under normal flows. That not only makes for targeting kings with spey/switch rods possible, but super effective as well!

Over the last couple years, our friends over at Aqua Flies have produced quite the collection of chinook worthy fly patterns, several of which were designed by friends and/or alums of ours at Alaska West!

Needless to say, they work really well on our river, so today we thought we’d share some of our favorites.

  1. Stu’s Chinook Intruder.Stu's Chinook Intruder from Aqua FliesDesigned by our pal, and Alaska West host, Stuart Foxall, the Chinook Intruder is the ultimate tube fly for king salmon. At roughly four inches in length, its much larger than your standard steelhead fly, maintaining a huge profile in the water for big eats from big fish. Available in six popular king salmon color combinations.
  2. Stu’s Rhea Intruder.Stu's Rhea Intruder by Aqua FliesTied on a 40mm shank, and modestly weighted with 5/32 brass eyes, Stu’s Rhea Intruder (also designed by Stuart Foxall) works great for presenting a medium-large profile at deep holding fish. Rhea shoulders create an extremely life-like movement in the water which works great in a whole bunch of depths and water speeds.
  3. Dirty Hoh – Chinook Size.Jerry French's Dirty Hoh Chinook fly by Aqua FliesA larger version of Alaska West alum, Jerry French’s innovative steelhead pattern. A combination of an intruder and a string leech, the broad composite loop front shoulder pushes water, while a hitched rabbit tail provides incredible movement. We’ve seen it in action, and trust us, it works. Chinook sizes (4 inches long) available in four popular colors.
  4. Hartwick’s Flashtail Tube.Hartwick's flashtail tube fly by Aqua FliesLike a marabou tube fly on steroids, the Flashtail Tube presents a larger profile than your standard single-station marabou tube, while remaining really easy to cast. A brass cone head helps prop up the front shoulder to maintain a large profile while under tension. The fly also uses a generous amount of flash adding more ‘sizzle’ than most the patterns listed above, which we find can work really well on bright, sunny days.
  5. Fish Taco.Fish Taco fly pattern by Aqua FliesDesigned by yet another Alaska West alum, Jeff Hickman, the Fish Taco is a great option when a sparser, less obtrusive, pattern is desired. Believe it or not, when it comes to king salmon, bigger is not always better! Probably best to have a few in your box.

For more information, or to find out where you can get your paws on some, check out Aqua Flies’ website, or visit your nearest Aqua Flies retailer.

More on King Salmon

  • Swinging Flies for King Salmon – 10 Tips
  • 9 Questions About King Salmon You Were Afraid to Ask
  • Sink Tip Secrets from George Cook

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

  • 7 Most Popular Smoked Salmon in the World
  • Fly Tying: March Brown by Kevin Foley
  • Who Doesn’t Like Potcakes?- Support The Bahamas by Helping the Potcakes
  • Tips on Mousing for Rainbow Trout and Grayling at Alaska West
  • What’s Happening with Pebble Mine- Good News for Alaska

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 © 2023 · Deneki Outdoors · Privacy Policy · Site by 21 Designs