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 tight loops |
Bamboo rods and Alaska |
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Posts: 270 05/29/2009 06:08 |
I'm headed for a weeks fishing in western Alaska mid July. We'll be fishing for all 5 species of salmon, rainbows, dollys and grayling. I was wondering
if anyone has fished bamboo rods over in Alaska for say the rainbows and grayling. I'm considering taking my 8' #5 Jennings, along with 5, 7 and 9
plastics. Am I going to get to fish my cane rod or am I wasting my time?
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spruce grouse |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 1339 05/29/2009 09:09 |
When I went in '06 I took both cane and plastic. The bamboo was an 8'6" Phillipson PowerPakt for rainbows and grayling and an 8'6" Orvis
Shooting Star for salmon. I think the Jennings is likely too light for much of the rainbow fishing but would be fine for grayling. Will you catch fish with
the 5 wt.? Sure, but a 6 would be a lot better, IMHO.
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firehole |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 3929 05/29/2009 14:43 Local user |
I agree the Jennings would be fine for grayling. For the last couple years I've taken 7'9" 4/2 5 wt. but when I'm into bows I also have my
plastic 6 & 8 wts. I've fished the Alagnak & Moraine Creek in late Aug. for bows 24" to over 30". My suspicion is you'll be more into
salmon than bows in mid-July so you better have a 8wt. or better and if the kings are in have 10wt.
Where are you going? Dennis |
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oldtrout |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 90 05/29/2009 15:28 |
Last Edited By: oldtrout 05/29/2009 15:32.
Edited 1 time.
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Bob M |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 9 05/29/2009 15:33 |
You aren't wasting your time. I've brought 8' 6 wts for the last couple of trips and have had fun with them. It's a self guided float trip in
the Bristol Bay area. Continual rain can make rod-care a little more problematic if you aren't on a lodge-based trip.
You are taking a risk. You can get snake-bit in AK. Salmon are too much for a 5 or 6 weight. You may find yourself looking for an 8 wt. I sould have an 8' 8 wt from Gary Lacy in time for the 2010 trip. Good luck in the hunt for all five species. July is probably a bit early for silvers and pinks may be iffy. The odd year may cramp pinks anyway. 2008 was our 6th trip and we've pulled five species only twice. We go in August and generally have to find silvers near salt, the day before the float trip. Reds are a rare find on an August raft trip and always reluctant. 2008 had really screwy runs and that accountated for one of the 5-species years. RE plastic, an 8 iwt s my all around salmon rod and an 11 wt wouldn't be too much for kings. We think 9's are on the marginal side for kings but do use them. Have fun |
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AKSalmo57 |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 61 05/29/2009 19:01 |
Greetings,
Bring the boo, you won't be sorry you did. Grayling are alot of fun on it. A stout 10w plastic for the Kings although you may or may not get into those. As stated before a plastic 8w is a good all round salmon rod for the other species. I myself have a preference for 7w bamboo for reds, silvers, dogs, and pinks in fresh water. My daughter uses a 6w Heddon #17 and a Hardy Perfect and does quite well for herself. Hopefully 09 will be a better year than 08 weather and fishwise. Don't worry you'll catch fish. Cheers, Rick |
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16 pmd |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 694 05/30/2009 02:32 |
I agree with what's been said about heavier rods and graphites, but if you have room, I'd include the 5 wt. Jennings. I'd use it only for grayling
on dries, however, because with anything subsurface you're likely to hook something big (including foul-hooked salmon) you don't want to handle on that
rod. Also, even when fishing for rainbows you may be using heavy or bulky flies, split shot, etc. that a bamboo 5 wt. isn't designed for. A lot of the
pleasure of a nice 5 wt. like yours is in the casting, but the stuff you may have to cast for anything besides grayling might not be much fun on such a light
rod, especially bamboo. Grayling on dries and a nice 5 wt. is a blast. Devote a little time targeting only grayling and try to resist the temptation to throw
at the salmon, char and rainbows.
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canerodscom |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 2147 05/30/2009 08:18 Bamboo preacher |
I made a big bamboo rod for Kings and mostly used it to cast a Teeny T-350 sinking shooting head line. Learning to use that rod required some training and
exercise, but it sure was fun to say I caught Kings on bamboo. Nothing huge though, the biggest was about 35 pounds. Here's a poor photo of our guide
releasing a King of about 25 pounds. The rod is pictured in the right hand side of the photo. Examine it a little and you can see what King Salmon do to
bamboo rods.
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turtledoc |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 2665 05/30/2009 17:10 Moderator |
IMHO........bring your boo for Grayling and forget the plastic all togther and bring along a couple work horse fiberglass Fenwicks.
A Model FF807 (8 ft 7 wt) is about perfect for everything other than Kings....a nice one can be had for $100 and you won't break it. We're hoping to be chasing reds, bows and dollies again the the first week in August this year.....we've made a half dozen trips since 1997. We don't do any King floats and as a group have only landed all five species of Salmon one year...the only bummer that year was that I lost the only Grayling we hooked and it was almost at the net...it didn't seam like a big deal at the time, but since we also caught Bows & Dollies that lost Grayling would have given the group the mythical 8 species on the fly....Oh well...maybe next time. Mark B
Last Edited By: turtledoc 05/30/2009 17:12.
Edited 1 time.
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Arctic Grayling.fiberglassflyro... |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 45 05/31/2009 18:10 |
Why wouldn't bamboo rods work for all fishing in Alaska? Weren't they fishing for all species of fish in Alaska before fiberglass and graphite rods
were available?????
A five weight bamboo rod wouldn't work well for most of the salmon species, but there are plenty of seven, eight, and nine weight bamboo rods still around for those fish. |
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tight loops |
#10 | |||
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Posts: 271 06/01/2009 04:17 |
Many thanks to you all for the good advice. I'm heading to a tented lodge called Alaska West which is located in in the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, on
the banks of the Kanektok river, 5.5 miles from the Bering Sea. As far as fly rods go, this is what I've decided to take: Sage 9' 9-wt, Sage 9'
7-wt, Sage 9' 5wt (all plastic) plus an 8' Orvis Battenkill 4 3/8oz (which I cast a D/T 6 on) and the Jennings 8' 5-wt for the grayling. This has
been a dream of mine for as long back as I can remember and I can't wait!
Tom |
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ibookje |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 1575 06/01/2009 05:19 |
Have a great time Tom.
And... don't forget to treat us with some pictures! |
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campesino |
Kanektok Memories | #12 | ||
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Posts: 1 06/02/2009 20:29 |
I fished the Kanektok several times in the mid-80's when I lived in Bethel there in the Y-K Delta. I used a 9 weight rod with a Finn-Nor saltwater reel,
and never felt over-gunned when the Chum were fresh in from the sea. Some of the fish would run around 15 pounds and could take you for a ride. The Rainbows
in that drainage, as I recall are referred to as "Leopard Rainbows" because of the unusual proliferation of black spots. They also have very bright
gill covers, live long and prosper. I usually used a 7 weight IM6 Loomis for them. No need to match the hatch-- most popular dry fly at the time was a mouse
imitation pulled into the water from the bank. Talk about carnivorous trout! You will have a great trip
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tight loops |
#13 | |||
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Posts: 272 06/03/2009 02:52 |
Thanks for that input. Wow! It sounds great.
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 fossil |
#14 | |||
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Posts: 192 06/03/2009 03:16 |
I live in Anchorage and fish for most all species (except kings) with bamboo. This is the range of stuff I use most of the time for the waters I usually fish,
just for one local angler's opinion: Grayling - 4 wts from 7 (aka Brooks Payne 97) to 8 ft. Mostly 7.5s though. 4 wt is severe overkill but they are the
lightest bamboo I own. Dries only. Trout/dolly varden on wadable streams 4/5 & 5 wts 7'6" to 8'6" (aka South Creek, Bradford, Jennings,
Jenkins, Sweetgrass, Pickard). Nothing huge - fish typically under 25" and mostly manageable although reds/silvers can be a nuisance. Both dry and nymph
and flesh/egg patterns in these settings depending on time and water. Heavy trout on wadable streams - 6 & 7 wts - like Karstetter 8'6" HB 6 wt,
Leonard 51H 8', or Pickard 8014G. Nymphs, streamers, flesh, and egg patterns on the bottom Heavy trout from a drift boat or on really big water - plastic
from 6/7 (e.g., Kenai River) to 9 (e.g., Naknek River) wt and 9-15 ft depending on time of year. Streamers, egg patterns, and flesh flies. Sockeye - Pickard
8014G on wadable streams using very small and drab flies (#8 to #16) or extremely sparsely dressed salmon patterns and fishing "deep"; best way
though is using a dip net standing on the deck of a 20 ft Koffler on the Kenai River Silvers/steelhead on wadable streams - mostly streamers and other big
flies (real flashy to just a couple of strands of grizzly hair) on the bottom. Use a Carlin SH8683h (completed last fall just prior to a week on Kodiak -
wonderful rod - and quite nice to live in the same town as Chris). For big water where regs allow I prefer bait (sometimes skated as a dry "fly").
Kings - never tried bamboo for this app - use bait and gear on big water for big (>60 lb) fish during July Kenai late run is the only way to go I don't
typically fish bamboo from a boat or on really big water. Just personal preference. Hope this gives you a range of ideas on what might be appropriate
applications for the type of water & fish you will see in AK. Dave
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tight loops |
#15 | |||
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Posts: 273 06/03/2009 10:50 |
Many thanks Dave. I really appreciate your advice.
Tom |
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Arctic Grayling.fiberglassflyro... |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 48 06/03/2009 14:00 |
Wow! Sounds like you have a great collection of bamboo rods Dave!!! It's great to hear that you are using them for salmon fishing too!
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mvbrooks |
#17 | |||
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Posts: 1731 06/04/2009 18:54 |
Dave, I use bamboo for Chinooks (Kings) and land them all the time, up to around 45 pounds. The Oregon record, 70 pounds, was landed with an 8 weight two years
ago.
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fossil |
#18 | |||
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Posts: 193 06/04/2009 20:41 |
Should I try that with your Payne 97 or the Carlin 8 wt? It could be lots of fun on some of the smaller streams with fish under 50/55#. Might just give it a
try. Have landed silvers on 3 wts (plastic) so I guess it can be done. I've taken sockeye on #16s every year and have come close to doing so with #18
flies, so a 50# king on an 8 wt bamboo rod is certainly not out of the question. Thanks for the push!
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