The flesh and bead bite is on in Alaska, and we’re all excited. You have your rod and reel prepped, your bead box is ready, and your fly box is full of fleshy goodness. As for the leader setup, you’ve got your indicator locked securely in place. However, there are times you need a long…
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beads
Rigging Beads for Trout – Mind Your Peg
Like it or not, no Alaska fly box is complete without a selection of egg patterns. Rainbow trout throughout Western Alaska rely heavily on salmon eggs throughout the back half of our season and those who choose not to imitate this natural occurrence are ignoring one of the most important food sources for Alaskan trout…
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Makeshift Dolly Skaters
Dolly varden are a fan favorite during the back half of our season at Alaska West. Big, vibrantly colored, aggressive fish? What’s not to love? Towards the end of our season, dollies stack up in staggering numbers behind spawning salmon to benefit from the gravy train of fresh salmon eggs tumbling down river. More than any…
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Stone Beads
In our neck of the woods, trout like eggs. Therefore, we tend to do a lot of bead fishing for trout at our lodges. Salmon eggs are a primary food source for our trout, and there isn’t a better imitation than a single bead. Most beads made specifically for trout fishing are made of plastic, usually…
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Rigging Beads for Trout – 3 Methods
It’s that time of year again. Our early run salmon (namely king, chum, and sockeye) are in full spawning mode, and because of that our rainbow trout and dolly varden are impatiently waiting for any lone salmon egg that happens to come tumbling down river. Salmon eggs are an easy meal for trout and dollies…
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Spicing Up Your Fly With a Bead
There’s no denying the effectiveness of bead fishing for trout in Alaska. As the prolific runs of salmon in Western Alaska approach the end of their migration, thousands of eggs are released by each female salmon providing millions (if not billions) of protein-rich morsels for our resident rainbow trout, Arctic grayling, and dolly varden. The…
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Painting Beads for Trout
Targeting trout with beads might be one of the most debated techniques in our sport. Whether or not you find it fly fishing in the purest form or not, the truth is they work, and work well! Our Western Alaska Rainbows depend on the abundant, and highly nutritious salmon eggs throughout the season and there…
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J.E.B. Hall’s Bead Rig
In the past couple of weeks we’ve learned from J.E.B. Hall about how he rigs up and chases rainbow trout in Alaska with mouse patterns and sculpin patterns. Today we wrap up our mini-series on JEB’s trout rigs as he tells us about how he uses beads to imitate salmon eggs. Once again, it’s built…
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Three Good Articles
Tips for Catching Trout in a Recessed Target Area. It’s a bit of a mouthful but it’s a great article – from Kirk Deeter at Field and Stream. Using Big Beads as Attractors. Another good tip from Kent at Gink and Gasoline. Chard’s Choker Permit Fly. Bruce Chard tell us about one of his favorite…
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Bead Fishing for Rainbow Trout
Just a couple to choose from. Photo: Cameron Miller Rainbow trout in Western Alaska eat a lot of salmon eggs. Over the years a lot of different flies like the Glo Bug have been tied to imitate salmon eggs, but recently it’s become clear that the most effective way to trick a rainbow trout into…
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