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Flies for Goodnews River Silver Salmon

October 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

This silver salmon took a marabou streamer.

Within a certain set of parameters, silver salmon will eat ANYTHING.

OK, that requires a little explanation. Within any group of silvers (and probably any other species of fish) there is a range of aggressiveness. For example, if you find a school of 100 silvers, 10 will eat almost anything you throw at them (Please keep in mind I am making these numbers up, based on six seasons of observations. It could be more, or less.). Another five or so might eat if you show them your best fly, perfectly presented. The rest won’t eat anything, regardless of what you try. You need to find another group of fish once the bite stops. Yes, they are still there, but no, they won’t eat any more.

Most fly fishers love a surface bite. If you want to catch them on top you need to try a surface fly as soon as you find some fish. Get the aggressive ones before they all wise up!
Some folks like clipped deerhair flies, some like poppers. I think that for ease of tying combined with ease of casting you can’t beat a craft foam gurgler. Tie it on a #2 Mustad 36890 salmon fly hook or equivalent in pink or orange, with a cerise marabou tail and a cerise Estaz body. It’s a five minute tie that’s good for 15 or 20 fish before it’s torn apart.

A flock of salmon gurglers awaiting use.

The fish will eventually refuse to rise. Switch to a streamer.

My favorite is what I call the silver salmon Clouser Minnow. Tie it on the same hook as above, or on a Mustad 3407. Use a 1/30th ounce lead eye. Use wig hair (or bucktail) for the wing, and tie in a Puff-like head around the lead eyes with Estaz. Effective colors include cerise, hot pink, orange, purple, blue, black, chartreuse, and various combinations of these colors.

Silver salmon Clouser Minnows- effective and easy to tie.

Yes, the salmon will take a fly tied with synthetics.

The short list includes one more pattern, the marabou (or bunny strip) tail fly. Same hooks, same lead eye. Tie in a tail of marabou (or bunny strip) in one of the above mentioned colors. Tie in a piece of Estaz and wrap it around the shank to the lead eye. If you want to get fancy, add sili-legs. Again, it’s a five minute tie that will catch a lot of fish before they tear it apart.

When getting a bite gets more difficult, sili-legs often do the trick.

Of course, the cerise bunny leech that was described in the blog about king salmon flies is always in good taste, too.

You could go crazy tying articulated flies that take 30 or 40 minutes each. These fish ain’t that fussy. The above flies will cover almost every situation you find yourself in when fishing for silvers. Try this short list of Flies for Goodnews River Silver Salmon when fishing for silver salmon anywhere.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying, opinion · Tagged: , , , , ,

Flies for Goodnews River King Salmon

September 29, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Flies for King Salmon

This is the first in a series about flies used on the Goodnews River, Alaska.

Goodnews River king salmon typically rest in seam water that’s six to eight feet deep. There’s always a strong current. If you want to catch one with a fly rod you usually need a fast sinking fly line and a fast sinking fly.

Before my first trip there Bob Stearns allayed my fears about what to tie by telling me, “Those fish have never seen a fly before, never seen a fisherman. They will eat almost any well-presented fly.” Of course he was right. Most of the time the fish are way less fussy than the fisherman, and a heavy Clouser Minnow will often work as well as anything else.

That having been said, the old standard fly was a cerise-colored bunny leech tied on a size two Mustad 36890 hook, with a 1/30th ounce or heavier lead eye.

Bunny Leeches

Pink (cerise, actually) bunny leeches ready for deployment.

KingSalmonBunnyLeech

This hen king salmon took one of those simple bunny leeches.

Articulated flies (see how to tie one here) have become all the rage since I started working at the Goodnews River Lodge six seasons back. They take longer to tie but help prevent short strikes. You can tie big, crazy flies this way. For weight some tyers use lead eyes, others use tungsten cone-shaped beads. Both work, so use whichever you prefer.

ArticulatedFly-KingSalmon

This articulated fly, tied with both rabbit and Arctic fox zonker strips, was eaten by a king salmon.

On the Goodnews only single hook artificials are allowed, so you must break off the bend and point of the forward hook. Use an inexpensive iron for this work (I use a 2/0 Mustad 3407). Alternatively, purchase a special hookless hook made specifically for tying articulated flies.

Most guides at Goodnews like an octopus-style hook for the trailer, with sizes ranging from 4 to 1/0, the tyer’s personal choice. A larger hook is less likely to fail under duress. Some of us dress it, others leave it naked, again, a matter of preference.

KingSalmonArticulatedFly

Another king salmon falls for an articulated fly.

Effective colors include cerise, purple, hot pink, black, blue, orange, chartreuse, and combinations of these. Flash material is in good taste, and a rattle is easily tied in on the forward hook before tying in the dressing.

That is all you need to know about tying Flies for King Salmon.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying, Goodnews River- Alaska Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Flies That Spin

May 23, 2012 by · 3 Comments

As if fly casters didn’t have enough problems, some flies spin while you’re casting. They act like little propellers as the fly flies through the air during your casting strokes. These flies are BAD. You don’t want to use them.

What makes a fly spin? Probably more things than I have listed here, but here’s an at least partial list-
-an offset hook;
-a fouled wing;
-a fly that’s lopsided or off center, usually a hard fly like a popper.

Flies that spin often work well in the water. A streamer tied on an offset hook tracks just fine. A popper that spins during the cast can be a fish catching machine while on the water.

Why then are they bad?

Flies that spin during the cast cause your leader and fly line to get twisted. Once your fly line is twisted it won’t shoot any more. When it gets bad enough you have to stop fishing since the line has become uncastable.

twisted leader

If your leader looks like this, your fly is twisting your line.

The only way you can get the twist out of a fly line in a place without a strong current is to take the fly off, get in a boat, get moving, and drag the line behind you until all the twist has come out. In my skiff I like the tow to be at least a couple of miles at planing speed.

I haven’t tried towing a twisted line behind a paddle craft. I think it would take a long time to get the twist out that way.

If the current is strong you can just let the fly-less line out into the current until the twist comes out. Expect to be there a while, perhaps a long while.

With the exception of a fouled fly, flies that spin are sneaky. They look fine. You can’t see them spinning. The only evidence you have that they are spinning is a leader that’s all twisted, or worse, a fly line that becomes twisted while you’re fishing. If you notice either of these things, change flies immediately.

Flies that are fouled should be changed immediately. Not only do they mess up your leader and line, fish generally won’t take a fouled fly. Throw it away, or give it to someone you don’t like.

Flies that spin- they’re sneaky, and can wreck your fly fishing.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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Effective Slow Trolling for King Mackerel

April 12, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

King Mackerel, cocoa beach, fl

 

One of the true pleasures of living through the heat of a central Florida summer is spending time in a boat, slow trolling for king mackerel. When the weather cooperates and the fish are in tight to the beach you can be successful doing this from a johnboat.

Since kings prefer water temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, they don’t typically show in numbers in central Florida waters until April or May. When the word gets out that the kings have showed up, the parking lots at Port Canaveral fill up early.

Read the rest of this article here…

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How to Use a DeHooker

April 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

We fishermen use incredible technology. Lightweight tubular rods, finely machined reels, strong, thin, invisible lines, it goes on and on.

A dehooker is a simple device, a piece of wire with a hook or loop on one end and a handle on the other. It can be easily overlooked among all the other more impressive tools you have. Don’t overlook the dehooker. It does more for your safety and the fish’s post-release survival than almost any other tool you have.

A dehooker is easy to use. You simply get the hook/loop on the dehooker on the fishhook’s bend, then flip the hook upside down. Gravity now works to pull the fish off of your hook. If the fish is at all reluctant, a shake or two almost always does the trick. This video will show you how it’s done.

I’ve watched fisherman catch dink trout after dink trout, grabbing them with a towel, unhooking, and then releasing them. Bad for the fish, this removes their layer of protective slime, making them susceptible to infection.

When a catfish or stingray is caught, grabbing it with a towel, or a bare hand, is at best a risky proposition. With the dehooker handling any fish you don’t want to touch, including said dink trout, ladyfish, crevalle, sharks, etc., is completely unnecessary.

Where I work in Alaska we do lots of catch and release fishing. Most of my colleagues net the fish (not good for the fish) and bring it in the boat. There it beats itself against the metal deck until the guide can get a pair of pliers on the hook and dislodge it. Then he’s got to pick the fish up and put it back in the water. Lots of handling, lots of trauma, all unnecessary.

I just get the dehooker on the hook, flip it upside down, and give a shake. The fish never comes out of the water and my fisherman is back in business almost immediately. Much better for the released fish, too!

There are several companies making dehookers. If you have rudimentary skills with tools it’s pretty easy to make one yourself. All of them work on lip-hooked fish. When the hook is down in the esophagus though, the ARC Dehooker is the best one.
My favorite one, which I believe is longer available, is the XTools Dehooker. It has a built-in float so if it gets pulled out of your hand, a not infrequent occurrence, it doesn’t plummet straight to the bottom.

If you use leaders lighter than 15 pound test AND you catch fish that are too big to just pick up by lifting the leader, you are going to break off some fish with the dehooker. That problem has a simple solution- use 15 pound test (or stronger) leader. Then the problem disappears.

Learn how to use a dehooker. They’re simple, inexpensive, highly effective. Every boat should have at least one.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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Using Surface Plugs for Seatrout

March 21, 2012 by · 1 Comment

Spotted Seatrout on surface plug

The spring equinox just passed. That means seatrout are going to be fattening up, preparing to spawn.

Lovely when alive, tasty on the table, spotted seatrout are one of Florida’s favorite saltwater fish. The problem is, unless you find a really big one (not easy to do) trout are weaklings at the end of your line. They just don’t get the adrenaline going. But by using surface plugs for seatrout you can make your trout fishing much more fun.

There’s the visual aspect of using the plug. You can see the lure, and you can see the fish hit it. There’s the very satisfying “Smack!” sound when a good fish takes it. Believe it or not, the missed strikes are fun, and sometimes a fish will hit it four or five times in a row until the hook finally sticks.

As in all things in fishing there are a variety of plugs on the market that will work. The Mirrolure Top Dog series, Rapala’s Skitter Walk, the DOA Bait Buster, the venerable Heddon Zara Spook, and many others will do the job. For most of this type of work I like a popping plug, and the Chug Bug (made by Storm Lures) is probably my favorite. Not only does the “pop” of this lure attract the fish, but it has rattles inside for extra attraction power. It calls the fish to it from quite a distance and there’s something almost magical about its appeal to seatrout. Of course, redfish, snook, tarpon, and crevalle will whack it too. I’ve even caught snapper with them.

During the summertime your best strategy is to get out early (before sunrise) and find a flat that’s about two feet deep with a bottom that has a mixture of sand and grass. Lots of mullet in the vicinity are a definite plus. Working around the edges of bars or docks is also a very good idea. If you’re in a boat you can drift, use a trolling motor on slow speed, or push the boat with a pushpole. Waders can have good success too, though.

Cast the plug as far as you can, and work it back to you. How fast should you retrieve? How hard should you pop it?

Only the fish can answer this question. The answer changes on a daily basis. Experimentation with your retrieve is the best course of action. When you find what they like best, keep doing it until it stops working.

One time I had Michael Grant out in my boat we were both tossing Chug Bugs. I was using small, steady pops, reeling at a moderate rate, and was getting the occasional bite. Michael was using great, loud pops, reeling slowly. He was getting bites every second or third cast. Of course I changed my retrieve to imitate was he was doing and my success rate went right up.

So if you want to make trout fishing more entertaining, try using surface plugs for seatrout.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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For the Sake of Your Loved Ones- Be Prepared with First Aid and CPR

March 14, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
English: CPR training

Image via Wikipedia

A couple of years ago my brother-in-law Bobby was puttering around in his garage one morning when he collapsed, then turned blue. Other than calling 9-1-1, his wife didn’t know what to do. She did what people who don’t know what to do always do in a situation like that- nothing. Bobby, only 50 years old, had had a heart attack. By the time the paramedics arrived ten minutes later, he was dead.

Ten years ago six of us took a ten day canoe trip in the Everglades. There were three adults and three boys aged 11, 12, and 13. While swimming from a chickee, the twelve year old sliced his leg wide open on an oyster shell. We were five days out, as far as we could have been from a telephone or help on that trip.

I pulled out a first aid kit and Ken Shannon went to work cleaning the injury, stopping the bleeding, then binding it. That wound did not get infected and it healed up without being stitched, stapled, or glued. Today that young man has a long scar on an otherwise fully functional leg.

Son Alex and I took our re-certification courses in standard first aid and CPR with the American Heart Association yesterday. It reminded me again how uninformed most of us are about steps to take in an emergency, and how easy it is to get yourself educated.

Everyone who spends any time paddling, power boating, biking, hiking, whatever you like to do that takes you away from a prompt response by EMTs, should have a first aid kit and the know-how to use it.

Look, I truly hope that I am never called upon to use CPR. But this is life, and shit happens. Wouldn’t you rather know what to do in an emergency than to watch someone, perhaps someone you love, die because you didn’t?

Find out more about the American Heart Association’s CPR and First Aid classes here…

Find out more about the American Red Cross’s classes here…

Put together or purchase a well stocked first aid kit with the help of this list…

Do it now, before it’s too late!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

 

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Dust Off the Cobia Tackle- Cobia Fishing Port Canaveral

February 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I hope to post this every year for the rest of my life during the last week of February!

cobia

No reports have filtered in yet about manta rays swimming off the beaches south of Port Canaveral. But the water temperature will soon hit the 68-72 degree mark, so they can’t be far off. When the rays show up, so do the cobia.

Cobia are fairly large fish. They follow the rays, swimming with them as the rays slowly migrate north. They could be as close as a half mile or as many as 10 or 12 miles off the beach. Cobia may also be found around sea turtles, weedlines, buoys and other flotsam, or even free swimming.

If the water temperature hits 72 degrees, cobia will frequently be right at the surface in 40 to 60 feet of water. If the light is good these fish are clearly visible to anyone who is looking for them. The average fish caught out of Port Canaveral weighs between 20 and 30 pounds, but of course smaller ones, and larger ones, are caught every year.

A few years back Rodney Smith and I went out in my Maverick Mirage on a perfect March day. We saw no mantas, no weeds, no flotsam of any kind. We were two or three miles off of Patrick Air Force Base idling around somewhat aimlessly in what I thought would be a fruitless search for fish. Then I spotted one cruising slowly with his fins out of the water. Rodney’s cast was right on. A few minutes later he was ours. We ended up finding six cobes, four of which we hooked, and three of which we caught. We each kept one, and got a nice tripletail (which was also free-swimming) as a little bonus. Not a bad day at all!

Although many different kinds of lures will work, a favorite for Canaveral cobia is a two or three ounce, chartreuse colored jig, tossed with a 20 pound spinning outfit. Use a 40 or 50 pound test fluorocarbon leader. Cast the jig to the side of the ray and let it sink on a tight line. Sometimes the fish will take it on the drop but if they don’t, work it rapidly back to your boat and try again. When one strikes there won’t be any doubt about it. Set the hook hard.

Another excellent and convenient cobia bait is a lively, six inch long shrimp, hooked through the tail with a 3/0 or 4/0 octopus or 5/0 or 7/0 circle hook. Lively is the key word here. Dead shrimp don’t elicit much response.

Cobia are very found of menhaden. If you can net up some pogies and then you find some cobia you’re sure to hook a few. Hook the pogies through the nose using a 3/0 or 4/0 octopus or a 5/0 or 7/0circle hook. Cast to sighted fish and liveline the baits. Refusals are rare.

Other productive cobia baits include live blue crabs and live eels. Live mullet and pinfish will also work. Day in and day out the shrimp are the easiest to obtain and use, and probably work as well as any other live bait.

You can also catch cobia with a fly rod. You need calm seas, and floating weeds are a big plus. With no flotsam, the fish could be at any angle relative to the boat. It’s hard to be ready for a fly rod shot. Weeds concentrate the fish so you only have to look under the weeds. The farther away you spot the fish, the easier it is to get a quality cast to him.

While many anglers gaff these fish when they come alongside, using that technique to boat your fish means you’ll have one very angry fish aboard. For truly big cobia a gaff is indispensable, but more modest specimens can and should be boated with a large landing net. They are much less likely to destroy tackle (or anything else in their way) if they’re not stuck with that big hook.

Cobia have dorsal spines that can inflict painful wounds on the unwary. Be careful when you get one of these fish in the boat. Larger vessels will have fish boxes that the fish will be dropped into, but in a small boat the fish may be simply lying on the deck. Cover such fish with wet towels to keep the sun off of them.

The cobia run only lasts a few weeks. It is a harbinger of the changing seasons, promising the nearshore angler months of great fishing to come. Take advantage of this fishing.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Tips · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Effective Fishing Flies- Gartside’s Gurgler

February 16, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

In my last fishing report I mentioned using the late Jack Gartside’s Gurgler for seatrout with great success. I went to Jack’s website (yes, it’s still up and running, you can see it here) to see if I tied it anything remotely like Jack did. It’s modified quite a bit. I suppose that’s to be expected. Fly tyers always modify stuff to fit their own needs.

You tie these in the sizes and colors you need to match what your intended target is. For the seatrout I tie it as below, in white. I tie it on a #4 Gamakatsu SC-15 for baby tarpon. I use it in Alaska as tied below, but in pink, for silver salmon and on a #6 long shank hook in orange for Dolly varden. I tie little ones for bluegills. It’s a wonderfully versatile pattern.

Here’s how I tie it. Fishing instructions are below.

Gartside gurgler fly

What a finished gurgler looks like. Note the double layer of foam at the front.

Hook- Mustad 34011, size 2

Thread- flat waxed nylon

Tail- short piece of calftail, marabou, or Arctic fox

Body- Estaz or similar material

“Shell”- craft foam cut to about a 1/4-3/8th inch width.

1) Start the thread and wind back to hook bend. Tie in the tail. I find a short tail fouls much less frequently than a long one.

2) Tie in the Estaz, same spot.

3) Take the strip of craft foam and your scissors and taper the end to a “V.” Tie in the point of the V such that the strip extends out over the tail.

4) Wrap the thread up to a point about 1/4 inch behind the eye of the hook. Wrap the Estaz to that point. Tie it off and cut it.

5) Fold the foam over and tie it off at the same point.

6) Fold the foam back on itself and tie it off again, at the same point. The foam is now two layers thick. Drop the bobbin and use the scissors to cut the foam off 1/4 inch behind where you tied it off. The doubled foam increases the fly’s buoyancy, and makes it somewhat more durable.

7) Whip the head, then cement it.

When fishing for seatrout I try to make the fly pop and spit water. It does not make the commotion a popper will but it seems to make quite enough for the trout.

spotted seatrout caught on a gurgler.

Spotted seatrout caught on a gurgler. They seem to like it quite a bit, and it’s easy to make.

In Alaska when fishing silvers I fish it the same way.

For dollies cast it quartering downstream and give it little pops as it swings. There is no more enjoyable way of catching them.

Please let me know how it works for you.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Broken Gear? Call Customer Service

February 1, 2012 by · 2 Comments

We outdoorsmen types abuse our gear. Heck, most of us didn’t buy it to look at it. And if you abuse something long enough, it breaks.

Then what do you do?

The answer for many is, go buy another one. But wait! Maybe, if you send it back to Customer Service, they will repair or replace it.

Last month I returned a number of items. To wit:

-A Simms Dry Creek waistpack. The old one had completely fallen apart. The zippers had seized up. It was toasted. Done. Simms did not replace it, but they did give me $60 credit toward a replacement. The new one cost me $40 instead of $100.

-my Tilley Hat. Tilley Hats are guaranteed for life. You have to pay return shipping, about eight bucks. I wore my beautiful, new Tilley Hat yesterday. Tilley has awesome products and awesome customer service.

-a Scientific Angler System 2 fly reel. This reel is at least 20 years old and was beat, completely non-functioning. SA charged me $20 and replaced the drag mechanism and spindle. Great customer service.

-a Shimano Spheros reel. I get about two years out of one of these reels. Then the bail gets arthritis. Then the bail seizes up completely. Sometimes Shimano fixes it. Sometimes they replace it. Either way, awesome customer service.

-A St. Croix fly rod. The old rod was at least 20 years old. They replaced it with a nice new Avid four piece for $50.

-two Temple Fork fly rods. TFO requires $25 per return. I had the new replacement rods three days later. Awesome customer service.

-a Redington fly rod and a pair of Redington waders. Thirty bucks per item. Just got the new waders, Palix River waders, retail for $150. Haven’t heard about the rod, but I suspect it will be coming along shortly. 2/3- it came today. Good customer service!

-a Patagonia raincoat and Patagonia waders. Both these items were five years old, and had been to Alaska several times. In other words, they got some hard miles put on them. I’m waiting to hear the verdict on these. 2/3- Patagonia called me today to tell me the gear is worn out and the warranty won’t cover it. They would not offer a discount on replacement. Patagonia stuff is very nice, but very expensive. I’ll think long and hard before I buy any more.

My Hodgman waders are also out of warranty and leaking like a sieve. Today Hodgman offered me a 45% replacement discount.

New stuff is nice. It’s nicer when you don’t have to pay list price.

If you have broken gear hanging around, call customer service and see what they’ll do for you. You may be pleasantly surprised.

And please let us know about customer service you have had, both good and bad.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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