Chapter 4: Fly Fishing Information

Fly Fishing at Lake Marie Lodge

Fly fishing at Lake Marie Lodge is, in one word and all respects, spectacular. This is because of two reasons. The first is we only fly fish smaller creeks, rivers, and streams. We don't fish the larger rivers where the salmon and rainbow are spread out and therefore more difficult to find and catch. We instead focus on the smaller tributaries where the salmon and rainbow are concentrated. Not only is the water more clear, the wading is much easier and safer. On several of our creeks you will be able to wade, and catch rainbow and salmon, as far as you would like to. There is no external limit as to how far you can fish, the only limit being, how far you want to go and how many fish you want to catch.
The second reason is our exclusive location in respect to various salmon and rainbow peak times and runs. All over Alaska, there is great fly fishing for a mixture of different species of fish. Salmon runs occur at different times in different regions in Alaska and this also applies to peak rainbow trout fishing. The South-Central region, which Lake Marie Lodge is located in the heart of, is very unique in salmon return and peak times. Our peak times occur earlier and last much longer than other regions - much different from other well-known areas such as Bristol Bay/Lake Iliamna. This exclusivity gives the Lake Marie Lodge angler, especially the fly fishing angler, amazing and exciting fishing throughout the entire summer.

General Overview

The following is a quick and general overview of the fly fishing available at Lake Marie Lodge. More detailed and comprehensive information is available on the web pages of each specific fish specie. (See Home Page and Table of Contents).

For more information on Fly Patterns, see our Fly Pattern web page using this link.

Fly fishing at Lake Marie Lodge begins as soon as the ice is clear from the rivers and streams.

As with anywhere there are trout, and fly fishermen are attempting to entice them with a fly, there is one simple rule that applies: Match the Hatch.

Right after the ice leaves the river and streams, the rainbows spawn. They enter the small clear-watered streams to propagate and feed. This is the best time to try to get the Rainbows to rise to the dry fly. Dry fly fishing in Alaska is the same as anywhere in the world. Work the banks, mend your line so there is no drag, and cover the entire stream. One thing that might be a little different than in most places is that at times the sunny areas, as opposed to shaded areas, produce better. The water temperature can be very cold in the spring so the fish tend to congregate more where the warmest water is available.

If by chance the trout won't rise (Grayling will always rise to the dry no matter the time of the summer) to a dry fly, try nymphing. Small larvae size nymphs work well, or the larger streamer type flies such as the egg-sucking leech (pictured at left).

We often add a very small dropper, usually a green-backed minnow, to work as an attractor to the main fly, however we catch quite a few on the dropper as the picture at the right shows.

We use quite a few different techniques to fly fish for King Salmon. Since we fish numerous streams and rivers of varying size, depth, flow speed, and clarity, it is imperative that your gear and fly fishing methods are easily amendable. Our waters vary from deep slow moving to shallow fast moving, and King Salmon are present in both types and in all types in between.

Sportswriter Dan Fallon visited Lake Marie Lodge last summer with the sole intent on catching Alaska King Salmon on lightweight Bamboo Fly Rods. Pictured above is one of Dan's catches.

Deep slow moving water is the type of water that you usually find the back-trollers and spin-fisherman. There are several ways we fly fish this type of water: a) anchoring and fly fishing out of the boat; b) floating and fly fishing from a raft; and c) walking the banks to spot cast to King Salmon holding areas. When anchoring and trying your hand from a stationary boat, we recommend a 10-wt. rod with sink tip line and a leader and tippet with a length of about 8-ft. (anywhere from 12 lb. to 17 lb. test). Weighted flies such as egg-sucking leeches, zonkers, and Alaskabou work well in the slow current because they are easily stripped. Cast into the holding area, or ahead of their path of travel, and strip the fly in with varying strip lengths. Be sure to use a fly with enough weight that it will sink to within one foot of the bottom. King Salmon typically swim in schools close to the bottom of the pools or channels.

The majority of our fly fishing is in smaller streams with faster currents, which are by far more fun to fish with a fly. We access these waters by boats, six-wheelers, and hiking. Once at the stream, anglers can either stay in one place or spend the day working their way up and down the stream. Again, a 10-wt. rod is recommended for Kings and either sink tip or floating line (use what you know and are comfortable with to fish). We use weighted flies in these waters, instead of split shot, and also tie flies with varying amounts of weight so that we can easily adjust for different depths and flow speeds.

In the smaller streams, we "sight fish" a lot of the time since you can easily see the King Salmon in the crystal clear water. Cast up stream of the holding fish so that you get a good drift that allows the fly to sink to the fish's depth - basically, try to place the fly on its nose. Quick strips work well to attract the attention of the fish and entice a strike. King Salmon are typically found in the deeper pools of the smaller streams such as bends or confluences. They are also, at times, holding in long fast water that is fairly deep that shields them from your view so don't pass up water without trying a cast or two. You would be surprised at how many times anglers hook into fish that they never dreamed would be holding where they were.

The Silver Salmon usually start arriving at the end of July, continuing through August, and into early September.

Most of your fishing will be with wet flies, but in certain areas you will also be able to use flies on top. Several areas with shallower pools afford you the opportunity to use your dries where the silvers are closer to the surface. We have found that the Pink Wog is a highly successful surface fly and we have a couple of excellent areas near the lodge where the conditions for surface fly fishing are fantastic.

The silver salmon in the deeper pools rarely hit the surface, while those in the shallower pools readily do. One of the secrets in working the shallow pools is not being seen and spooking the fish. Fly fishing for Silver Salmon just can't be beat!

Now don't forget the Rainbows, Dollies, and Grayling during these salmon runs. They follow the salmon, and as soon as the Salmon start spawning (the King Salmon by the third week of June in some areas), the fly fishing for the trout becomes incredible. These Wild Rainbow, Dolly Varden, and Grayling ravenously attack egg and flesh pattern flies during the salmon spawn - which lasts from the end of June through September.

We at Lake Marie Lodge are lucky in respect that right at our doorstep we have access to a variety of different types of rivers and streams. By having these diverse water systems available to us, we must fly fish these rivers and streams with equipment and techniques designed to their relative water and flow conditions.

Access to all the different waters depends at times on Mother Nature, however, whether the water levels vary from flood to drought, we always have excellent fishing easily available and access to fantastic fishing. This is due to the large number of water drainages in our area and the various ways that we access them. This also holds true for the salmon runs. If one river or stream has a poor return, we have the ability to go to a different drainage where the run is stronger. We have never had our entire region devoid of first-class salmon fishing.

Fishing these waters depends on how you wish to fish and on your mobility. If you do not wish to try one of our hike-in trips, we have fishing locations that we access by boat. You can fish either out of the boat or from the shore with very little effort.