Line Advise....

[jimmy1]

I am wondering if you guys, who fish for salmon could give me some recommendation's on a good fly line for swinging flies on a single hand rod.
I will be going to Alaska next Summer and the plan is to do some king and silver fishing on a 7 day float trip. All the lines out there have me confused.

I will most lightly be using a 9/10wt rod. I would like a line that can cast fairly large flies well on it's own or, with a poly leader. Any advise from anyone who has done this would be great. Thanks guys...

We haven't yet decided what river we will float, as we're still narrowing it down...most of the fishing I do is dry/nymph and don't fish streamers or swing flies to often. Would I get away with a regular wf line? I am a good caster, so I know I will adjust quickly.

[winxp_man]

Have some floating line with you but a sinking shooting head will do the trick. I use a 30ft shooting head and amnesia for running line with some backing added to it. I know some will call that old school but it does the trick for me catching salmon. It would be a good idea to run out with one a type III and another type 6 for faster current that if you need to get down in the deeper water.

[Darian]

That's a lengthy bit of water and types of water to fish. I would recommend a shooting head system as has winxp_man. If any part off this float will end up in and estuary, you may want to include an intermediate density head in your arsenal.

The sink rates already recommended are good but I would add a T-14 head, as well. Now you're ready for any type water encountered with quick change capabilities.

Make sure your reel has adequate backing. If you're using an outfitter/guide and have any questions, you probably should contact them for the best answers.

Good luck.... :D

[Terry Thomas]

Both good suggestions. You may want to check into the Rio Versi Tip system. After using mono shooting lines for all those years, I now prefer standard running lines. I find them easier on your hands and far fewer tangles.

[winxp_man]

This shad season I have used the all in one 24' sink tip line and its really nice but not as easy to cast for me as my shooting head setups. I could cast my shooting heads further also. I guess its all preference in the end. :)

[Fly Right]

For that type of fishing I agree with the shooting head advice. Have 3 or 4 heads of varying sink rates. For the shooting line I would suggest Rio Slick Shooter or the similar Airflo product. These are easier to manage and less likely to kink and tangle than mono, especially in cold water applications. You will sacrifice a little distance for the sake of fewer tangles and resultant aggravation......my personal preference.

good luck, you should have a great trip

[Tony Buzolich]

All of these guys have the right idea but don't use a thin running line on big fish if you want to keep your fingers in tack, especially on a float trip where you won't be able to get quick medical attention. A thin running line will cut you quicker than you can imagine

. A full size integrated line would be my first choice. Get a floating running line with a sinking head such as a Teeny350 or 400, or a Cortland QD325, or any brand of your choosing. Having a full size running line (.035) gives you the ability to set the hook better as well as put a smoother drag on the line until you come tight on the drag of the reel. You'll want to get onto the drag of the reel as soon as possible.

Here's a couple of pictures of salmon I've taken with the described lines.

Hhttp://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/tonyssalmon.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/FeatherFlyHeademail.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/Tony-salmon2email.jpg

[bubzilla]

The whole thing is about getting the fly to the fish. Silvers will sometimes come up on top for a fly, e.g, wogs, but for the most part you are going to need to get down. There are several ways to do that. The relative success for each method will depend to a certain extent on what species you are after and to a big extent on what kind of water you are fishing, but for the most part you have three options: floating line with a long leader and a heavily weighted fly, sink tip line with weighted and/or unweighted flies, shooting heads with weighted or unweighted flies.

The first option is something you will want to be able to cover. A standard floating line with a 10'-12' leader tapered down to 10 lb. Maxima with a lead-eyed leech will catch just about everything just about anywhere in Alaska. You can fish it dead, you can fish it on the swing, you can do both on one presentation. Most of the rivers in Alaska that you are likely to be fishing are not large, i.e., under 1000 c.f.s., and getting down really deep is often not needed.

The second option is the sink tip. Sink tips should not be confused with shooting heads. Sink tips are usually in the range of 15' in length. Tips are going to be combined with a line that still has head--generally of the floating variety. They can be purchased premade from several manufacturers, e.g., RIO, and they come in a multitude of sink rates, e.g, clear intermediate through Type VI for RIO, or you can make them yourself. Several companies make lines with interchangeable tips, e.g., RIO VersaTip. These lines give you a great deal of versatility in that you can go from floater to Type VI without changing spools--just tips. The tips come in a handy wallet that you keep on you when you are fishing and you change tips as needed to match conditions. On the smaller rivers you are likely to be fishing, these are a great choice. The tips will help you get down, and you can use them in combination with a variety of weighted and unweighted flies to really dial in the right depth. Note that several companies make integrated tips too, so you can just get a full line with a tip. For salmon, though, particularly when you are on the move for several days and want to keep gear to a minimum, the interchangeable method is nice.

The last option is a head system. Remember head and tips are not the same thing. Heads are going to generally be in the 30' range (some sinking lines with integrated heads are shorter, some even quite a bit shorter). Lost of people use heads a lot in their fishing for a variety of applications. For salmon fishing in Alaska, they would be helpful on larger rivers where either casting distances or getting to greater depth are important. From my perspective, shooting heads are really popular with, what's the nice way to say... "old farts"..., particularly of the Northern California variety.... :) I avoid them like the plague unless there is no other way. They're difficult to fish quickly, i.e., to cast, drift, recast, drift, and so on, because of the movements involved, which is the entire name of the game with anadromous fish--the more the fly is the water the more opportunities it has to get bit. They are, however, sometimes what you really have to have. Lines with integrated sinking heads, e.g., SA Streamer Express, get the same depth/casting distance benefits with out a lot of the hassle factor that comes with shooting heads, but packing along integrated lines is not such a great option for Alaska where limitations on gear and the need for matching different conditions on the fly is so pronounced.

If it were me, I would take the following: a full floating line, an interchangeable tip line, and a running line with a couple heads and some T-14 with the stuff to make tips/heads if needed.

Good luck on your trip.

[winxp_man]

I would say its all preference. I have been using a shooting head sine 01 when I went up in the low flow on the feather with Franks A. on this forum and never lost a finger. It works for me and I will stick with it :) Its what the person wants to work with and also how much they want to spent on fly line. We are here to just post ideas that a person can use.

I used my 400gr 30' Type III SH with no issues even in the smallest parts of the Feather River low flow which a person that knows how to cast can easily cast across the whole river.

To the Op you might want to check some of the lines that are mentioned and look at them in person and make a decision on what you want. Also like mentioned before have a chat with the guide service you might take while up there and see what they say about what works.

[shawn kempkes]

Fishing for Kings and silvers in the same week is probably not going to happen. Kings run in late june,july time frame. Silvers late July August and September. If you go late you might encounter some kings high up in the drainage that you launch on. But trust me there will be so many big hungry rainbows that you wont want to mess with those beat up old kings.

Where most of the King salmon fishing is done on the Alaska rivers is down just above the tidewater sections of the rivers where the rivers are at there highest levels of the year. You need a fairly fast sinking line system to get down to them. I would go with what tony suggested for that.

Silvers will bite anything in the water column that goes near them. You could get buy with a floating line and poly leaders for them.