Nothing stirs the imagination like huge fish eating flies on the surface. If you were to combine the attributes of aggressiveness, strength and stamina, and the willingness to take a fly on surface, you’d create a near-perfect fish—and nothing fits that bill like the coho salmon. These anadromous acrobats spend a lifetime hunting baitfish in the open ocean. This predatory imprint of their marine life remains in their DNA long after they return to their natal crib, and the predilection to chase and attack makes them a premier quarry for Alaska topwater angling.

Only the Strong

Alaska rivers vary in the run timing of fish. Some rivers have fish as early as mid-July and others have runs that last into November. Systems with specific genetic requirements for the stock will have early runs. These rivers often have waterfalls or obstacles that are navigable during lower water, and the fish will use this time to move upstream to avoid higher water in the fall. In large rivers, the adults may arrive early, as they need the additional time to reach their natal streams. Most of the spawning occurs nocturnally, as the female digs her redd and deposits upwards of 4,000 eggs. Sperm from the male will fertilize these eggs, which will incubate during the winter and remain in the gravel until they emerge in May and June. These fry will inhabit small areas around the riparian margins, feeding on insects and biological drift.

Fall is the time for travel of the juvenile coho. They will travel many miles in search of habitat where they can winter over. Some of the fish leave freshwater and rear in brackish estuary pools and migrate back during the fall. Most coho spend one to three winters in streams and may spend up to five winters in lakes before their journey to the sea as smolt.

Time in the ocean varies for the coho salmon. Some fish return as jacks after as little six months at sea, while most fish stay a minimum of 18 months before returning as full-size adults. The prevailing current theory is that the fish move northward throughout the spring and seem to congregate in the Gulf of Alaska in June.

This complex survival scenario, with all its inherent ramifications, ensures that the fry and their survival are a testament to the laws of natural selection. Only the strongest survive and return to spawn.

Flies and Presentation

Probably the most identifiable fly for topwater coho angling is the Pollywog or Wog. Without a doubt, more flyfishers have fished this deer hair creation than any other. The Wog is often tied in a variety of ways; most common are the cigar and hammerhead shapes. Although effective, these flies often require extensive labor to create, as stacking deer hair and trimming can take time and skill. And the flies typically are only good for one or two fish, as fish slime and water absorption finally make them un-fishable. Plus, their large profiles make them difficult to cast.

With some of the synthetics now available, flies can be tied faster and constructed so they both float better and are easier to cast. Closed-cell foam and popper bodies can be constructed in a variety of fashions, in combination with deer hair. These hybrid high-tech flies, with names like Hot Lips, Kamikaze, Samurai, and Techno Spanker, are sure to replace tradition. They are easy to cast; they float forever, and they are easy to tie.

John Wilson, owner of Lake Marie Lodge, uses popper bodies tied with marabou and Flashabou. John prefers pink and green as primary colors. “I like to cast a fly just beyond the school,” he explains. “I’ll aim for the lead fish and cast slightly to the left or right of the school.”
“It seems the biters mostly come from the middle edge of the school,” Wilson continues. “I rarely, if ever, take fish from the center of a pod.”

In the systems he fishes (the upper drainages of the Susitna and Yentna River), the streams are rather small. In these smaller tributaries coho stack like cordwood after entering the freshest of the big glacier rivers; the flush of clean water holds resting places for coho before their push upstream. Wilson explains, “The majority of my topwater angling is akin to stalking.” He favors keeping a low profile and approaching each pod of fish with as little disturbance as possible. “The first cast is the most important. This cast normally will take a fish if you don’t line ‘em,” he says. If you work the edges of the pods methodically, you can take fish after fish. It is only when you spook them with a big splash cast in the middle of the school that they’ll disperse in numbers. And then it will take a while for the fish to settle back in.

While stealth often pays while stalking smaller streams, it seems nothing could be further from the truth when fishing some of the larger runs. Charles Summerville, an Alaskan guide who runs a coho camp in Cold Bay, says “The fishing in Mortenson’s Lagoon is so intense that I have caught coho on the surface on my back-cast.” Obviously, you need a plethora of fish to create scenarios like this, and Mortenson’s contains as many as 3,000 coho at a time on tidal pushes!

Fishing the lower Tsiu River and other large systems south of Cordova where large runs of coho dominate, technique and stealth are often thrown out the window. When you have so many fish in the river, missed "shots” are replaced with new opportunities as the next wave of fish passes. Refined technique is often discarded when fishing over fast moving fish. “It seems the “laid up” or settled fish bites a surface fly more readily,” notes George Davis. George is one of Alaska’s pioneers of catching coho on the surface and the inventor of several topwater coho flies as well. “I haven’t had much success catching coho on the surface at the saltwater edge, but the fish that have settled often become territorial and bite better when cruising the slower upper river sections of the river,” he says. The Tsiu and Tvisat rivers both have large flooded-lake backwaters where thousands of coho mill around; this area is prime hunting ground for topwater coho.

When fishing these river backflow lakes, look for nervous water or fins protruding from the surface. The trick is to find the orientation of the fish, and then to aim for the head or out in front of the school. Often these lakes have an imperceptible current and the fish can be moving in a multitude of directions. Look for schools of fish: they will normally produce a discernable v-wake, which is a telltale sign of milling fish.

Speed, direction, and extemporaneous conditions like wind and positioning will determine how you should cast to the schools. Milling fish will usually take a multitude of presentations. Aggressive fish might take a splashy-popping retrieve of a Wog, while an acclimated fish (a coho that has been in the river a while) might like the subtler, slow strip of a Kamikaze with only a small wake noticeable.

I remember fishing the lower Tvisat and casting to fish where a motionless fly proved valuable (a “heave and leave” technique). When using this technique, the idea is to position the fly where you think the fish is going to be. The next step is to barely twitch or move the fly to get the coho’s attention. Next, sit back and hold on.

Lines and leaders

The most important factor in casting to topwater coho is being able to have your leader straighten out completely. One of the most insidious casting problems arises when your leader does not lay out properly. A properly designed leader will make your casting more efficient. Poorly designed leaders make casting large bushy flies difficult. Most commercially extruded leaders do not have the proper stiffness to “kick” a Wog over in a 30 miles per hour breeze. Using stiff leader material will make all the difference in the world.
Most leaders, especially tapered, knotless leaders, do a poor job with big salmon flies. The custom leader is the way to go. Most leader designs are tied with stiff monofilament, the kind that is designed for saltwater. Mason hard mono, Rio saltwater, and Maxima Chameleon are all good choices. Use a 65 percent butt section and a 25 percent taper, with the remaining 15 percent left for tippet. Start with a butt section that is at least 60 percent of the diameter of the tip of the fly line. Most fly lines have tip diameters listed in their literature. Leaders from 7.5 feet to 9 feet will do fine for most situations. This formula allows an angler to construct leaders with light or heavier tippets. These leaders, when built with the right stiffness, will turn over most bulky flies with ease (see diagram #3).

Topwater flies require special lines to cast them. Although a standard-weight, forward line will suffice most of the time, having a specialty line can make casting easier. The new bass bug, windmaster, pike, and specialty tapers work well for most topwater flies. These lines load fast and shoot far, as most of the mass of the line is in the front 30 feet. This combination, with the right leaders of course, will get the fly to the fish. When hunting topwater coho, you can keep 30 to 40 feet of line out to quick-load the tip of the rod and cast quickly to fast-moving fish.

Wind is your Friend

The wind never blows in Alaska, right? Yeah, sure . . . if you want to flyfish in Alaska, get used to casting with the wind. Coho, like all other fish, inhabit places where the wind blows. Understanding how to use wind to your advantage can be a bonus. You will effectively increase your angling time two-fold if you can cast in the wind.

The first mistake beginners make is improper positioning. If the wind is blowing from the front in your face, try to move to a different position and get the wind to your back. Casting with the wind to your back will make things easier. When using the wind from the rear, remember to keep your back-cast low, as this will help to keep the line from stalling and hitting you in the back of the head. The idea is to cast a low, tight loop back-cast, with a high, open loop front cast. This cast will travel a great distance with the wind as an aid. Now, if you have to fish with the wind in your face, which is often necessary, repeat the sequence previously mentioned, making a low, tight loop, down-sloping front cast into the wind with a high, open loop for your back-cast.

Well, we are halfway home. The other two scenarios are wind over your left shoulder and wind over your right shoulder. The wind over the left shoulder of a right-handed caster should not present many problems beyond accuracy, as the fly is being blown away from the caster (no danger here). Try casting with the rod closer to the water with this cast, as the wind usually blows less at your feet than ten feet up, and use a quicker tempo between strokes (faster from back-cast to front-cast). The last scenario is a wind blowing over your right shoulder if you are a right-handed caster; this can blow the fly directly into the side of your head (not good). The cure for a right-handed wind for a right-handed caster is to move the arm over the top of the head so the fly passes over your left shoulder and away from your body.

These four wind directions and the casts to combat them will help you attack the majority of wind problems on the river. Remember, if you cannot deliver the fly to the fish, you will not catch fish!

Topwater Rivers

Alaskan anglers catch about half million coho a year, with the majority of the fish harvested by saltwater trolling and spin gear. Most of the angler-hours are concentrated in Southeast (Ketchikan, Juneau, and Yakutat) and Southcentral (Kenai Peninsula and the Susitna drainage). A smaller but significant amount of fishing occurs in the drainages of the North Gulf Coast (the area just east of Cordova) and the remote rivers of Southwest (northern Alaska Penisula to the lower Kuskokwim) and Norton Sound. Although all these areas have runs of silver salmon, not all are suitable for topwater action.

The area known as the Lost Coast—the Tsiu, Kiklukh, and Tvisat rivers—is a prime area. These rivers, particularly the Kiklukh and Tsiu, were where some of the first anglers discovered the topwater mystique. Although these few rivers have proven their potential for topwater angling, additional options, like Icy Bay and other isolated waters, hold great future potential.

The Island of Kodiak has numerous rivers that also hold potential for topwater angling. The Pasagshak and other estuary lakes on the road system can provide for good float-tube fishing for coho. The Karluk, Ayakulik, and the Afognak Archipelago can also provide great fishing.

The southwest corner and the north Alaska Peninsula of Alaska also has a boundless potential for topwater. Egegik, Ugashik, King Salmon, Cinder, Chignik, Meshik, Ilnik, Russell Creek, Mortensen Lagoon, and Volcano River all have coho runs of merit. The old reliables of southwest Alaska—the Togiak, Alagnak, Naknek, Goodnews, Kanektok, Kisaralik, and the Aniak Rivers—are all good candidates. All one needs is the right mix of angler, water conditions, and cooperative fish for topwater angling.

Caveat

The aforementioned waters are by no means the definitive list of top coho water. Although Alaska has such vast potential for angling, only a few rivers can be mentioned in a treatise on topwater angling. With this in mind, relish the fact that you may be a witness to your own epiphany while fishing your “secret spot” for coho. There’s always a chance to hear, “Hey . . . this fish took my dry.”

Topwater Guides

George Davis’ Alaska Adventures
P.O. Box 1849, Cordova, Alaska 99574
(800) 950-5133
Lostcoastgeorge@hotmail.com

Alaska Trophy Adventures
Box 31, King Salmon, Alaska 99613
(315) 761-0941
www.alaskatrophyadventures.com

Fly Fish Kodiak Guide Service
(907) 486-4206
Flies@ptialaska.net

Alaska’s Lake Marie Lodge
P.O. Box 210429,
Anchorage, AK 99521-0429
(907) 355-7743

Alaska West (800) 344-3628



Tony Weaver is technical editor for Fish
Alaska magazine.