It all starts with the gear

I’ve spent a good part of the last week working on some articles for an upcoming fishing special for the Frontiersman. As a result, I didn’t get out to do much fishing or anything else outdoor-wise. However, working on the articles got me to thinking.

I’ve been out twice this year fishing for king salmon. One trip, I only used spinning gear and the second trip was made using a baitcasting rig. I’m more familiar with spinning gear because I’ve used it more, but I’m not too bad using a baitcasting rig either. I’m still practicing and learning how best to use both styles of fishing equipment.

A sub-category for both gear types involves ultralight rods and reels. The rods are usually only 4 ½ to 5 ½ feet long and designed for line weights of 2 to 10 pounds. The reels are about half to two thirds the size of regular gear and only hold maybe 150 yards of 10-pound test line maximum. I’ve fished ultralight spinning gear for decades in both fresh and salt water. I really got into ultralight fishing when I was still working for Fish and Game and living remote on Afognak Island.

We had access to a large freshwater lake behind the hatchery that contained rainbow trout. Using the same size gear I normally fished for cohos in saltwater was gross overkill on those trout. On trips into Kodiak, I purchased ultralight spinning rods, reels, and line for both my wife and myself. We started using that gear when we fished for trout. In fact, my wife hooked the largest rainbow either of us had ever caught (about a 2 ¾ pounder), using her new ultralight spinning rig.

I like eating dime bright pink salmon because the flavor is a milder “salmon taste” than the other species. Again, using my coho gear to catch an occasional pink salmon was overkill. I started using the same ultralight equipment I had been using for trout. I found out it was a real kick to hook into a bright, four to five-pound pink salmon on 4-pound test line. Instead of just winching the fish in, like I could easily do with my coho rig, I learned to play the fish. The trick was to let the salmon make as many runs as it could until tiring, and then bring it up to the boat to be landed.

Some of the best fights I’ve ever gotten while fishing came from these pinks while fishing in saltwater. I hear if you drive down to Hope, Alaska when the pinks are running, you can have a ball catching them near the mouth of Sixmile or Resurrection Creeks. I haven’t done so yet, but I hope to in the not too distant future.

We have a local lake with stocked rainbows less than a mile from where I live. I haven’t been over there for the last few years for a number of reasons, but I hope to return within the next couple of weeks.

I’ve told this story before about my wife and the loon on this small lake. Sitting in the bow of our canoe, anchored out in the lake, my wife hooked into a nice, 12-inch trout with her ultralight spinning rig. A loon had been following us just a few feet off the side of the canoe and occasionally chased our lures. The loon had missed twice before while trying to grab a hooked fish.

The trout had been giving my wife a good fight on the short rod and 4-pound test line. A couple of runs had the drag on her reel singing, but the fish quickly tired, both from fighting the reel’s drag and from frantically trying to avoid the loon chasing it. When the loon finally grabbed the struggling trout in its bill and took off with powerful wing thrusts under the water, a whole new fight developed. After a couple of strong runs underwater, the loon surfaced to breath and momentarily loosened its grip on the fish. My wife pulled the still-hooked fish out of the bird’s bill and immediately reeled in her now de-scaled and quite dead trout.

Earlier this week, I decided to set up an ultralight baitcasting rig. To my surprise, I found exactly the rod I was hoping for and mounted a low-profile, small baitcasting reel on the reel seat. Add some line and I’ll be all set to pursue those wily rainbows on my favorite lake once again.

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.