Fly Tying For Alaska

Fly Tying for Alaska fishing trips can be a great way to keep your mind on the fun trip ahead.  Tying flies that will produce more Rainbow trout and salmon for your trip will save you money. The first entry will deal with putting together an articulated hook system.  Articulated flies work well imitating leaches, minnows, other fish.  I enjoy fishing them but tying for example an articulated leach takes some time. No Matter what hooks you use and where you make your articulation the steps are basically the same.  On this particular fly I made the head articulated to the shoulder of the fly.  This is different way to make an egg sucking leach.   1)  put your front hook in the vise (cut at the shank or not) and make a few wraps with you bobbin and thread. 2) take your Dacron or other rope like material and loop it through the eye of the trailer hook. 3) Now you can take the tag ends of the Dacron and tie it to the front hook.  3 or 4 wraps to start and pull straight down to lock it into place.  then continue forward with wraps up the shank of the front hook. 4) Once you are 3/4’s of the way up the shank fold the material back towards the bend of the hook and wrap back over the tags.  This will lock in the material and it shouldn’t be able to pull off the front hook.  I always add super glue between any step in the process.  It’s cheep and it also adds strength to your fly. For this fly I prefer the head to be weighted with lead eyes to achieve the action I want. To add lead eyes I first add super glue where the eyes will be laying on the hook then with many figure 8 wraps lock the eyes on.   Tying flies can be fun, it allows you to be creative and it also passes the time in the cold winter months.  I highly recommend it and if you have an idea and would like me to share it on my blog, don’t hesitate to let me know through my website at www.driftingonthefly.com Thanks and tight lines

FLY TYING FOR ALASKA SILVER SALMON

  silver salmon fishing Fly tying for Alaska silver salmon fishing is a great way to pass the cold winter months.  Filling your fly boxes in the winter can save you lots of time when the bite is on.  There is nothing that can slow a great day of fishing down more than running out of your favorite pattern.  I start with silver salmon flies first.  After I get my bead boxes back in good shape, tying bright, flashy, big patterns keeps me interested and motivated.  Articulated flies are always good to have in your box.  Purple, Dark brown, chartreuse, pink and black are all good colors to start with when you are filling your box.  There are many new materials available to us for fly tying and coming up with your own variations of fly’s is always fun.  It is also more rewarding to me when I catch a fish on a fly that I have put together.  Give it a try if you haven’t already and I would be happy to give any advice that I can.  Give us a call and we can talk about patterns that you might need for your next fishing trip to Alaska.   Stay tuned and check in on the website at www.driftingonthefly.com for more information.

FISHING KODIAK ISLAND ALASKA

On our trip Fishing Kodiak Island Alaska Last week we had to travel by land, air, and sea. The experience to check out sights like this only happens through the window of a bush plane or getting out climbing the mountains.  I enjoy both but the plane is a lot less work! We had a great time stomping around on Kodiak and made some great friends along the way.  The fishing was awesome and I have never found better Silver Salmon and Steelhead fishing. Zachor bay and the Karluk river are truly awesome.   If you have any interest in traveling to the home of the largest brown bears and fishing some of the most pristine waters in the world and seeing what life is like there feel free to contact us at www.driftingonthefly.com Tight Lines Scott Sager

Timing your Kenai River Fishing Trip

Timing your Kenai River fishing trip depends on the species that you primarily want to pursue make sure.  For instance if you would like to go after Kenai river sockeye salmon you would want to book you guided trip with us in late July or early august.  There are overlapping peak dates for multiple species as well.  Like king salmon and a sockeye salmon trip can both be booked during the peak season for both species.  This would happen at the end of July.  These dates go fast so book early to insure that you get the dates that you are interested in.   A Tip for Netting a sockeye salmon on the kenai river.  Always net a fish by head first.  This way you have the whole fish in the net and if it makes another run it will run into the net or swim out without pulling the hook. If you aren’t interested in netting your own sockeye salmon feel free to give our kenai river guide service a call anytime.  We will do our best to put every legal fish on the bank for you! Hope this helps and good fishing www.driftingonthefly.com Scott Sager

Middle Kenai River Fishing

Middle kenai river fishing is very popular.  We chase Rainbow trout, dolly varden, silver salmon and sockeye salmon on this section of river. alaska rainbow trout fishing Rainbow Trout fishing the kenai river is good day here and a so so day there but we look for it to get real good any day. Rainbow trout that are over 25 inches are not uncommon here and 30 inch fish are landed many times throughout the season.  Middle kenai river trout fishing is good in June, August, September and October.  Book a trip on the middle kenai river and then a steelhead fishing trip or two and let us show you a great fishing vacation. I’m going to be out in the back country for the next few days so if you have a question about booking a leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.  Alaska’s back country is fun and wild.  The great thing about being a small guide service is that we can work with you to design the trip that you want.  We have lots of rivers in our arsenal and can put just about anything together that you might want to do. Thanks and hope your getting a line wet. Scott Sager www.driftingonthefly.com 907-382-6808

KENAI RIVER DRIFT BOAT FISHING

Kenai River Drift Boat Fishing is a great way to pursue King Salmon or any of the species that we fish for.  It is a lot of hard work but the reward in landing a trophy fish with no power is great. Every Monday in June and July the Kenai river is closed to fishing with a motor on board and no sticker-ed guide boats are allowed on the river.  Kenai river drift boat monday is really nice to get out there and fish for King Salmon with no noise, only a  few wakes, and lots of friendly people.  I didn’t have a booked trip today on the Kasilof river so my buddies and I set out early for the last drift boat Monday of the year.  We missed a few fish and lost 2 really big fish (really big) and landed these two chrome King Salmon.  Fishing was good for the most part and the river was a pleasure to be on today! Only 3 more days left in the season. There can be some down time to king  Salmon fishing so it is easy to take in the scenery but when one of these bruisers takes the bait hold on and let the excitement begin!  Check out more pics and information on our website at www.driftingonthefly.com for booking information  or to contact us. We look forward to fishing with you soon. Tight Lines, Scott Sager

LITTLE SUSITNA RIVER FLY FISHING

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Little Susitna river fly fishing can be very productive.  We have hooked many king salmon, silver salmon, and rainbow trout on the fly in this system.  Here is a picture of a king salmon hooked up on the fly rod.  This fish took a purple articulated leech on the swing.  Thanks to John Colmen and Jeff Murray for making the 2008 little Susitna trip a success.  John and Jeff moved the camp boat, set up camp and cooked every day.  Enjoying a great trip and just having them in camp added that much more to a great experience.  You can catch up with these guys deep in the Shenandoah national park fishing for spooky brook trout or on the Shenandoah rivers fly casting for small mouth bass.  If you would enjoy this or if it is close to your neck of the woods look them up at www.murraysflyshop.com.

Thanks again guys and good fishing, Scott Sager Drifting On The Fly, LLC

KENAI PENINSULA CLAM DIGGING

Kenai peninsula clam digging can be spectacular.  If you enjoy clams and are heading north to go fishing check the tide tables and plan your trip on the low of low tides.  Any dates with a negative tide should produce good clam digging.  Find a divet in the sand and start digging.  I like to dig a couple times with a shovel to get close and then dig by hand.  I tend to break less clams this way but many techniques work well and along with a good meal it is a ton of fun.  Last week we had some great tides and my wife and I filled the bag with them.  The law requires you to have a fishing license to dig and you have to keep any razor clam that you pull up.  Those that get the hang of pulling up these fast, tasty guys up can keep 60 of them a day.  The average clam is about 5 inches and you can score clams up to about 8 inches. If you have any questions about seeking clams out feel free to contact me at www.driftingonthefly.com Thanks and good fishing, Scott Sager

FLY FISHING FOR KING SALMON

RICH KETTERMAN KING SALMON Fly fishing for king salmon on the Kenai Peninsula! How about a few busted knuckles? I narrowly escaped with mine intact yesterday while . We were fishing about 100 yards from the saltwater and when I hooked him, he decided he didn’t like the fresh water anymore. I have to say that I have never had any fish, run that hard in the fresh water!  This king salmon took an olive articulated egg sucking leach at the end of the swing. The fishing has been great this time of the year. The King Salmon are starting to increase in numbers though it has taken a little while for them to get going. It has been a cool Spring in South central Alaska and this affects everything, even the salmon run. This has however been my most productive Spring season with a fly rod for King Salmon though and I can only hope it keeps going that way. Are you interested in learning how to fly fish for a few tackle busting King Salmon? Give me a call 907-382-6808 and we can arrange for that to happen in short order on your next kenai peninsula guide trip with Drifting on the Fly! Tight Lines, Scott Sager Drifting On The Fly, LLC

KASILOF RIVER KING SALMON FISHING

Kasilof river King Salmon fishing is getting good now.  On a guide trip  last Tues. and took a beautiful fresh 20lbs. King salmon.  We had a few other hits and caught a few Dolly Varden, Steel head, and flounder in the tidal water.  Things are looking up and the fishing should only get better on the kenai peninsula. If you’d like to book a trip with my Alaska guide service check out our website at www.driftingonthefly.com. Thanks and good fishing, Scott Sager