Just made some reservations for a trip to AK in July. First stop will be four nights in Nome. Primarily for birding but plan to chase graying and char in the rivers we cross. Fly flinging; taking my 1 and 3 or 5. Probably the 5 because the next stop is the Kenai for sockeye. The folks we are staying with in Soldatna sent us a shipping box full of very tasty sockeye fillets. So, we will be chasing, with fly gear, sockeye for about a week. I will also chase rainbows and char that are scarfing eggs and carcasses. Thoughts on locations, flies, and other areas near Nome or Soldatna for grayling, char, trout, and as an added treat, fly-caught pike.

The 3 and 5 wt are fine for grayling. The 5 is fine for most trout, unless you're chucking large weighted flesh flies, but July is early for that. If you intend to fly fish for Kenai sockeye, then an 8 wt is in order. Effective sockeye flies are easy: chartreuse or fuchsia pink yarn on a size 2 hook - most sockeye are flossed, but some do hit the fly. Depending on water levels and your willingness to fish away from the crowds - and with the bears - it would be handy to have access to a spinning or bait-casting outfit when it comes to meat fishing for sockeye.

I fished a small river where the kings hadn't really begun spawning yet, but the char were ready and absolutely chased down Chinook egg colored beads pegged above a size 4 hook and 2 BB split shot on the leader. They were super sporty fish on my 5 wt.

If no salmon are spawning yet, RB trout readily hit black woolly buggers, with or without a red bead (egg-sucking leech style) and skated deer hair mice patterns, which is lots of fun. Pike will also run down a deer hair mouse, but be sure you have some wire bite leader - I didn't, and they cut my leader more often than not.

I haven't fished near Nome or Soldotna, so don't know much about specific locations.

The guy we are staying with will provide the sockeye gear and flies. He does rather well as he sent us a box of fillets from last year. Thanks for the advice on flies for the grayling, trout, and char. I'll have to invest in some wire for pike. Have yet to catch any esocid so we'll see.

My big hope is to get grayling and char, the rest are "gravy".

Mark says that the even year pinks are aggressive so I will likely get into some of those just to C&R.

Just talked with a birding friend we have about 5 AK specialties staked out in Nome area. Primarily Asian species that nest in western AK.

RIO makes a wire bite leader material that is easy to tie on to a conventional nylon fly leader. Pike are strange creatures, and voracious. Warning: Their slime stinks and you need soap to wash it off your hands.

Thanks, Salmo. Hemostats for release....First, I gotta land one.

Make sure they are long hemostats or pliers for pike. I swear those little buggers actually try to bite you when releasing them.

Check

05/22/2022

Bottom line......Have a very good time, times like your plan entails, don't happen for many people.

Well planned!!!!!!

We have gotten a lot of good advice from friends who have "been there, one that". The only really unknown piece is the Nome area char and grayling and maybe pike. All my friends bird there, so we'll have that staked out as best as one can. In the Soldatna area our host is dialed into the sockeye, if they show, so we plan on having a ball filling a box or two. They are also planning some floats, dinners at boat accessible restaurants, whale watching, and so on. Plus, since there will be family there I haven't seen in decades and know (ain't email and FB wonderful) that they are as warped as I am there will be great times and conversations. I should add that it all depends on Alaska Pilots staying on the job.