Alaska Float Fly Recs

[mtskibum16]

I'm starting to tie for a DIY trip on the Goodnews River in Alaska in late August. I've done some reading and have some recommendations from a buddy that's fished up there some, but I'd love to hear some suggested patterns for this trip. We'll be fishing for grayling, trout, char, and coho as we travel down the system. I'm most interested in streamer type patterns for trout, char, and coho but favorite mouse patterns, nymphs, eggs, or other topwater patterns are also welcome! I'm also a bit stumped on how many of each pattern to tie. We don't want to run out if a favorite halfway through the float.

So far I've started with some pink and purple starlite leeches for coho and some flesh flies.

What are your top must have flies for AK river fishing?

 

[O' Clarkii Stomias]

Amongst many rainbows , I also landed a 30 lbs tomato on a olive Sculpin cast with a 7-weight.

 

[Eastside]

Here are my boxes from a trip on that river quite a few years ago. I replenished some of the flies but we really didn’t lose many. I recall the pink rabbit fly on the lid working well. We did a lot of dries skated with varying success. You’ll also want egg sucking leeches for the trout. As we floated out of the lake, we encountered spawning sockeye with trout lined up below the reds, then transitioned into char and a few grayling. About halfway to the estuary, we started catching silvers. It’s an awesome river.

 

[BN2FSH]

If you are fishing in late August, take beads for trout and dollies. The boxes in the previous post looks good the silvers.

 

[SculpinSwinger]

I did the same float a couple years ago. I swung simple shank ties, pink/orange worked for rainbows, grayling, sea run dollies, and coho. I went pink and white clousers once we got into the silvers, but the pink mop picked up a few.
Have a great trip, I want to go back!

 

[mtskibum16]

@Eastside That's the type of stuff I was planning to concentrate on. Lots of bunny leeches.

@SculpinSwinger Clousers huh? That I can do. How big were you using? I've heard pink is the name of the game for the coho.

@BN2FSH yeah I keep hearing that time of year is mostly flesh and eggs. Had I been planning the trip, I think a bit earlier would have been my target, but I'm told we'll hit peak coho time.

 

[SculpinSwinger]

@SculpinSwinger Clousers huh? That I can do. How big were you using? I've heard pink is the name of the game for the coho.

Tied mine on a shank rigged old school. A couple unfinished, one from the Goodnews, and dubbing spinner for scale, about 2 1/2” long. I used size 4 opst swing hooks.

 

[SculpinSwinger]

 

[BN2FSH]

@BN2FSH yeah I keep hearing that time of year is mostly flesh and eggs. Had I been planning the trip, I think a bit earlier would have been my target, but I'm told we'll hit peak coho time.

If you go in the spring (June), dry fly fishing and leeches can be incredible. Then, in the rivers I fish many of the fish move back into the lakes. Rainbows will start moving in with the sockeye, but fresh sockeye kick the crap out of the rainbows so they can be hard to find. It is not until sockeye start spawning that rainbows are found in big numbers. Then we have the egg glut. There are so many natural eggs in the rivers that rainbows don't need your bead. Also, in the last few years, we have had so many sockeye spawning and dying in the rivers, in combination with lack of rain and low flows, that I believe that oxygen levels are low and rainbows seem to disappear. It is not until we get rain and many of the sockeye are done spawning that trout fish improves. The best time of year for me is late September and later. Rainbows will still take a bead, but they also love big articulated leeches. I love swinging.

Don't forget, I am fishing Iliamna Lake region streams. I don't know if the Goodnews has the same big sockeye runs.

 

[SculpinSwinger]

Forgot to mention dahli llama, olive, dun black, grey, all over white worked well. I went late August too. Mainly sea run dollies, and silvers. Caught some quality rainbows and chum, I went on a pink year, but they feel like quitters after the coho.

 

[mtskibum16]

Forgot to mention dahli llama, olive, dun black, grey, all over white worked well. I went late August too. Mainly sea run dollies, and silvers. Caught some quality rainbows and chum, I went on a pink year, but they feel like quitters after the coho.

Dolly Llama is on my list for sure! If I can fish streamers actively and catch fish I’ll do that over drifting beads for sure! But if my buddies are catching 5:1 over me I’ll probably hang my head and tie on an egg pattern. Ha

 

[SculpinSwinger]

I did nothing but swing, I held my own, didn’t catch as many as the guy fishing beads, but out fished the spin guy.

You should enough fish to banish all thoughts of fishing a bead.

 

[Matt B]

If it's your first trip to Alaska, be ready for a paradigm shift in your brain after seeing what a (relatively) intact salmon ecosystem looks like. You are in for a treat. I've never been to the Goodnews but this all sounds like good advice based on limited experience in other parts of Alaska. I suspect you will have a blast and will not feel a need to change tactics unless just for a change of pace.

 

[mtskibum16]

Update on my efforts. Appreciate previous feedback. This is all the purpose specific tying I’ve done, but have a collection of lower 48 flies (streamers, nymphs, dries) Ill throw in too. I don’t love fishing or tying eggs so I went the bead route.

See any glaring weaknesses in my collection?

 

[Matt B]

Looks good. You could add some chartreuse salmon flies in that open space. You might also have a few heavy dumbbell eyed comets in like a size 6 or 4 for something smaller and jiggier--a change up, if you will. I'd have some in hot pink and some in chartreuse.

 

[mtskibum16]

Looks good. You could add some chartreuse salmon flies in that open space. You might also have a few heavy dumbbell eyed comets in like a size 6 or 4 for something smaller and jiggier--a change up, if you will. I'd have some in hot pink and some in chartreuse.

I do have a "staging" salmon box I'll be taking that has that type of stuff. What type of chartreuse salmon flies are you thinking? Like a chartreuse rabbit jiggy fly? Starlight leech sorta thing? Or something like this in chartreuse?

 

[Matt B]

I do have a "staging" salmon box I'll be taking that has that type of stuff. What type of chartreuse salmon flies are you thinking? Like a chartreuse rabbit jiggy fly? Starlight leech sorta thing? Or something like this in chartreuse?

Those all seem like good choices to me. There was this one fly that worked really well that a friend gave me. Very simple, but can't find a pic and don't know if it has a name. Long shank hook, weighted. Tail of a big gob of krystal flash. Body of large or XL sparkle chenille. That was it! It didn't look like much but caught lots of fish. I also recall some times where a more Kelly green fly was very effective.

 

[mtskibum16]

Those all seem like good choices to me. There was this one fly that worked really well that a friend gave me. Very simple, but can't find a pic and don't know if it has a name. Long shank hook, weighted. Tail of a big gob of krystal flash. Body of large or XL sparkle chenille. That was it! It didn't look like much but caught lots of fish. I also recall some times where a more Kelly green fly was very effective.

Something like this but weighted? https://www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.c...almon-flies/382-coho-kryptonite-chartreuse-2/

 

[DimeBrite]

Crank out 20 pink & chartreuse egg sucking leaches in various tail/body/bead head color combinations. Size 1 and 2

Also add more size 1, 2 clousers in pink & chartreuse for coho.

 

[NBC]

Matt, I've never fished on the Goodnews but spent a lot of time in Bristol Bay. I've done a few float trips like yours and done quite a bit of trout and salmon fishing up there. Your boxes looks great and I don't see a fly that wouldn't catch fish. I'm not sure when you're leaving but if you have time, I'd consider the following flies and beads:

-Sculpzilla in any color. Alaskan rainbows love sculpins.
-Mr. Hankey mouse pattern. Floats like a cork and fish hammer them
-Gagger beads (8-10 mm). Not sure if the Kings/Chums will be spawning when you get there but it's never a bad idea to throw a huge bead.
-Orange/Red flies for coho. Pink and purple are the classics, but I found orange and red crushed as well. I used to tie a simple maribou tube fly with 3 pieces of palmered maribou, flashabou, and lead eyes for the jigging effect. Don't be afraid to throw black if it's sunny and the coho get lock-jaw.
-Also don't be afraid to throw a flesh fly under an indicator. Swinging them works well, but I found dead-drifting them to also be a killer technique.
-Everyone hates on beads but if catching fish is a top priority, it's always worth having a bead rod rigged up.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope you guys have a safe and enjoyable trip!