As Alaska continues to thaw out, our guides at Rapids Camp and AK West are eagerly waiting the upcoming season as they spend their time behind the tying bench. Mice and beads get a lot of the attention and for good reason but one thing we can guarantee you our guides are busy twisting up are Flesh Flies. Here are 4 reasons our Alaska guides love throwing flesh.
- The Eat. In most types of trout fishing, the current brings the fly to the fish. The fish are not moving to take our flies. This isn’t the case when fishing flesh. A fish knows that a chunk of meat is a big meal and they react accordingly by aggressively chasing it down. This can result in some violent eats. Make sure you are hanging onto that rod tight!
- There is always flesh in the river. Throughout our season at both of our Alaska lodges, there is always a flesh hatch going on. Our rivers get filled up with salmon throughout the summer and after they die, the flesh sticks around in the river. Even early in the season there is still flesh available to the fish from the previous year’s spawn. Certain times of the year definitely result in more flesh available but any day you are fishing Alaska with us, you can get a fish on a flesh fly.
- Flesh flies don’t require a perfect drift. Most drifting for trout requires a “dead drift”. This is not the case when fishing flesh. The hunks of meat tumble down the river and get caught on sticks or the bottom. You don’t need to be high sticking when fishing some flesh. Just get your flies deep in the water and hang on!
- Almost all flesh flies are good flesh flies. The chucks of meat drifting down the river come in a range of sizes. You can tie your flies big or small and they will get the job done. You don’t need to tie the perfect fly because there is no standard piece of flesh available to the fish. Just attach some marabou on the hook and get that fly in the water!
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