Alaska Fishing

[ridgefire]

I am headed up to Alaska next Friday to go chase some salmon and curious what I should stock up on here or buy stuff there. We will be fishing for sockeye and whatever else is running and staying around Soldotna. I am taking my drift rod and curious what lb test line to run, what size hooks and what size corky or bead I should use. I have done alot of drift fishing and was going to bring my 8-17lb rod. Thanks.

[tmike]

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[W_Ellison2011]

Sockeyes don't bite. Do a quick search of youtube for Alaskan sockeye fishing and it will give you the jist of that. Other salmon will be different. Some guys use the big Vibrax spinners. Some areas you can use the treble hooks some it has to be single. If you know the general area you are fishing then I would just check their regs and I would see about contacting some of the local sporting goods shops and asking. People up there are a lot different than down here in Washington. Up there they will help you even if they don't know you simply because in the future it could turn around and they could need your help. Love that mind set! Depending on which area you are going to and what time of year you could hook into anything from a 4-7 lbs sockeye on up to a 50-60 lbs king.

[klickman]

For reds you'll want at a minimum a medium heavy rod with a reel spooled with 20 lb to 30 lb mono.  Don't use braid.  Unless you have lots of private bank access or a boat you'll need the heavy equipment to land the fish in a crowded situation.  People aren't too happy when they have to wait for you to land your fish when you have inadequate gear.  Tie up a bunch of yarn flies on 3/0 octopus hooks.  When you get up there go to Fred Meyers, Trust Worthy, Cabela's or Sportsman's and pick up the biggest split shot you can buy.  No need for a leader just tie on your yarn fly and pinch your splitshot about 5-6 ft from your fly.  You'll loose a lot of gear and you'll dull a lot of hooks.  You'll also snag a lot of fish.  When snagged it best just to snap the fish off and retie. Good Luck hopefully the fish show up.