Alaska Fishing Salmon

Well this is a little outside the parameters of Fly Fishing yet I found it interesting and thought that others may as well. It is called Salmon Fishing with No Hooks...

It has been brought to my attention by someone that was recently in Alaska that there is an annual event in Alaska that involves no fishing rods or lines and yet can have a very high catch rate, despite the river's dirty brown water. It is called 'dip netting salmon'. The Copper River, where the event was held, is located in south-central Alaska and drains into the Gulf of Alaska at the west edge of Prince William Sound, east of the fishing port of Cordova. The fishing took place in the canyon downstream of Chitina. It can be a interesting and scary adventure with standing waves and whirlpools, although my informant advised that they were lucky to fish it in high flow conditions. The high flow created a velocity barrier for upstream migrating salmon causing them to congregate at the bottom of the canyon and creating a memorable day of fishing. The water was very murky and it was amazing that the dip nets repeatedly were quickly returned with a salmon in catch. 38 salmon landed in 45 minutes, so if you are having trouble mastering the fine art of casting, maybe you can have a go at this dip netting...

Copper River sockeye are rated as the best quality sockeye in Alaska, and some say in the world, owing to their very high oil content. Their flesh is deep red in colour.

Knot Tying

There are many different knots to choose from for your Fly Fishing. A few that are reliable and easy to tie are all that are needed. Practice tying your knots so that you can tie them quickly and reliably when you need to.

To attach the nylon backing line to the bare reel spool, make a large loop in the end of the line, feed the loop around the reel spool and then pass the backing-line spool back through the loop - pull tight and wind on the backing line.

The Nail Knot, sometimes called the needle knot, can be tied in multiple ways. A needle or tube can be used instead of a nail. It is used to attach the leader to the fly line, and to attach the fly line to the backing-line.

The Surgeon's Knot is a simple modification to the reef knot. It is an easy to tie know that is strong and reliable. The Surgeon's Knot is used to connect the leader and the tippet. It is important to pull the knot up evenly on all four ends for the strongest possible result. Three turns are needed for fine tippets but for thicker nylon, two will be adequate.

The Blood Knot is a strong, reliable knot but only if it is tied well. It is used to attach hooks to the tippet. Unfortunately many anglers fail to tie the knot correctly. The short end of one line is wrapped 6-8 times around the second line, draw it up slowly by pulling on the tippet. Pull on the tag to be cut off and then pull on the tippet again before trimming off the tag end.