Timeless Tips: 4 Ways to Fish Dries in Alaska

Everybody loves fishing dry flies.  There’s just nothing that beats the excitement of a surface take.

In Western Alaska we fish dry flies quite a lot, but the vast majority of the time they’re about as far as you can get from a traditional “match the hatching insect” dry fly program.  Here are 4 ways we fish dry flies at Alaska West.

Fishing Dry Flies in Alaska

1. Mousing for rainbow trout.  Our big predatory rainbows like eating rodents, so we fish giant dry flies that imitate mice and voles.  It’s crazy fun.  For further reading, click here.
2. ‘Wogging for silvers.  Traditionally surface patterns for silver salmon were made of spun deer hair, but these days we prefer foam flies of various types because they’re more durable when you’re hooking so darned many fish.  Poppers, sliders, chuggers…it’s the bass fishing of the North!  Additional materials can be found here.
3. Skating for dollies.  It’s the latest fad at Alaska West.  Swing a ridiculous skater (dangling bead optional) over the top of a bunch of dollies and get ready for surface slashing insanity.  We have no idea why dollies go nuts for skaters, but we know that dollies go nuts for skaters.  When was the last time your stomach ached from laughing so hard…while fishing?
4. Imitating bugs for grayling.  Yes, this is actual dead-drift insect-imitating dry fly fishing.  Sometimes grayling will eat nearly any little dry fly, but they can also get as picky as any trout, anywhere.  Bring your 4 weight along and be ready for some legitimate hatch matching!

More on Fishing in Alaska

• Flesh Flies and Snags
• Fishing in Alaska is Fun
• 5 Reasons to Fish for Silver Salmon