Swinging Flies for King Salmon in Alaska

Swinging Flies for King Salmon in Alaska 

By: Zach Parker

Ask any dedicated spey fisherman, the initial grab from an anadromous fish is special. A wild steelhead on the swing is without a doubt one of the highest quality fishing experiences you can have in freshwater. But the feeling of an adult king still littered in sea lice that just came in from the salt, smoking your swung fly, is almost incomprehensible. Leading up to my guide season I had heard plenty of deranged stories of catching AK kings on the swing but nothing could prepare me for the true epicness of this fishery until I was boots on the ground experiencing it firsthand.

Alaska kings are unfortunately in decline throughout much of the state. Fishing closures and strict angling regulation have been enacted in many rivers in order to protect and hopefully restore this once abundant animal. Down on the far southern tip of the Alaska Peninsula, lie a few rivers that still see healthy returns of chinook salmon where we can target them in a catch and release fishery. If you are someone looking to elevate your two handed game and want a real challenge, Alaskan kings must be on your list. 

Inside Scoop: Connecting on the Swing 

Historically, kings began running as early as late May with June being the peak month. The runs have gotten later and later over the last decade and now we’re seeing the bulk of the runs happening the last week of June through the third week of July. King eats typically go down in one of two ways. A slow pull followed by a pause, to another stronger pull that leads into head shakes. The other way, the way I prefer, is the freight train grab where line instantly begins dumping off your reel as the fish hightails it back out to the salt. Adrenaline. Rush. To the Max. 

We target these fish in deep pools, off high bank edges, and also in more classic walking speed steelhead-ish runs. These kings flood into the river on big high tide exchanges and will often keep moving upriver until they reach a point of comfort in the river where they slow down and stop. When they stop, they eat flies. Learning the transition buckets where fish are moving through vs the holes where they actually slow up and stop is important. One of the biggest learning curves with guiding kings in AK was figuring out how to strategically place my clients into spots that I knew fresh kings would be pulling into based on recent tide exchanges. 

The Gear: 

Typical king rods are 12’6”-13’6” 9 weight spey rods. Some 8 weights have play and some 10 weights have play but a 9 weight is ideal. Sage R8 Spey 13’ 9wt or Loomis 13’3” NRX 8 wt). More important than the rod is your reel choice. Kings pull harder than any other freshwater fish I have ever dealt with. Think big winter steelhead on steroids. Reels with a large backing capacity and a strong adjustable drag is what you’re looking for. Hatch 9 plus mid arbor, Sage Spey II 8/9/10, and a Redington Grande 9/10/11 would all make excellent choices. 

We use skagit heads and heavy sink tips for the most part in this fishery. The Airflo Skagit Driver in a 600g full floater was my head of choice but I also liked having a rod lined up with a sinking skagit like the RIO Gamechanger in a 600g F/H/I/S3 to help get down faster in those deeper holes. The 10’ Airflo Flo Tips in t14 and t17 are my most commonly used sink tips.

Off the sink tip would be a three foot section of 20-25lb maxima ultragreen down to the fly. I do a double surgeon's loop knot on my hook and seat the knot into the junction tubing of the fly so that the hook itself hangs at the back of the fly to prevent short strikes. 

I could write an entire article just on fly selection but to be quite honest, I didn’t find that it mattered all that much. Similar to steelhead, the best fly was the one I was most confident in. My favorite flies for the early season fish were tube style intruders and leeches in chartreuse and blue, black and chartreuse, black and blue and pink. Flash is key. Once the kings have been in the river for a few weeks they begin to shy away from the flashy flies and start to key in on small natural stuff. Maroon burnt chickens, comets and small black and blue intruders all got it done late season. More importantly than your fly choice, would be your hook choice. 1/0 owner SSW Red was my hook of choice.

Larger profile rabbit and marabou tube flies 

Sparsely tied tube flies with heavy flash

Small Comet Flies for Chinook

Ever since I connected with my first king on the swing, a new obsession was born for me and it has consumed my brain ever since arriving back home in Oregon. I am hopeful these resilient fish will continue to find their way back home and the numbers will begin to trend more positive going forward. I will be back. I am not sure when, but I have made a vow to myself that I will figure out a way to be in Alaska in late June chasing kings for the rest of my life. 

Follow Zach Parker on Instagram @zachparkerfishing