Fly fishing is the sport of kings, or anyone else for that matter

I came to fly fishing later in life. I grew up using spinning gear and eventually started to use some baitcasting equipment for my coho fishing, just to try something new. I always thought fly fishing was a step backwards in the evolution of rod-and-reel fishing gear.

Probably 20 years ago, I broke down and bought my first fly rod, a 6-weight about 8 feet long, and an inexpensive reel, some floating line and some relatively light leader material. I figured I could learn to use this equipment while fishing for rainbows in a near-by stream and once I mastered the techniques, I would use the gear for coho salmon. I quickly learned that a lot more finesse was needed in casting with a fly rod compared to a spinning rod to have any chance of even hitting the water with the fly.

Over time, I caught a couple of trout but I became frustrated with my inability to just let the rod and line do the casting work. Plus my casting accuracy left a lot to be desired! I went back to using ultralight spinning gear for my trout fishing.

A co-worker of mine was an avid fly fisher and asked me if I wanted to try some fly fishing for king salmon. He gave me a sales pitch that sounded intriguing! I went out and bought a ten-weight rod and a good quality reel matched to the rod. The fly line was stout and I attached a sinking leader followed by some heavy monofilament leader material. I also secured a supply of purple egg-sucking leach pattern flies along with a few other assorted varieties.

I met Tom at Willow Creek on the appointed day and time and we began our quest. I was still beating the water to a froth. Finally, I figured out that I could just gently cast the line out and let the current move the line downstream while the fly was sinking.

I only had a few hours to fish while Tom had taken the whole day off. Without so much as a nibble, I wished Tom good luck after lunch as I left for work. The next day, Tom told me how he had finally hooked into a 25-pound king and what a thrill it was to fight and finally land the fish. He knew the weight because he kept the fish. I have yet to catch any fish with that heavy rod and reel setup.

Another friend enjoys fly fishing for coho. I have fished with him when he was using his fly fishing gear, but on those days, he didn’t get a hook-up. He has told me about several times when he would go out early in the morning before work and be limited out in an hour or less using his fly fishing rod. Some of those trips involved catching a sockeye as his third salmon too!

I have yet to try catching a silver with a fly rod. Cohos are our family “meat” fish, so I don’t tend to “experiment” with gear I really don’t know how to use, at least basically well. Maybe I’ll give it a try this year! I eventually bought a four-weight rod and matching reel to try again for rainbows and, I hope, eventually a grayling or two. The biggest rainbow I’ve caught was taken with this rod from a lake near home. I only managed to catch one fish that trip, but that 17-inch rainbow was well worth it! The fish took the sinking egg-pattern fly under a boat dock and literally towed me in my canoe for several feet before I was able to reel in enough line to net my quarry. The fish made two meals for my wife and me.

I see a lot more anglers using fly fishing gear now than I did twenty years ago. Most of those anglers are fishing for trout or grayling and most seem to have reasonably good luck. Someday, maybe, I’ll have finally mastered enough basic casting technique to allow me to begin to include fly fishing in my assortment of fishing techniques!

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This column is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications.

You can leave Delo a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.