There are many places in the world to fly fish for rainbow trout of exceptional size. Rainbow trout 30 plus inches and reaching 20 pounds! But if you dissect that into “native” rainbows, it sets the bar to only a handful of places in the world with Alaska being, likely, at the top of the list. Enter the Naknek River in Southwest Alaska. Draining out of Lake Naknek located at the base of the Alaskan Peninsula in Katmai National Park and Preserve, the lake spans 40 long miles and is 3-8 miles wide! The Naknek River flows from the lake at the west end for 35 miles to Kvichak (Qwee-jack) Bay, an arm of the larger, Bristol Bay. The entire basin is extremely impressive by volume of water, habitat, and wildlife and fish diversity creating the perfect environment for a resident rainbow in monstrous proportions.
BY Joe Warren // Photos by Joe Warren, George Krumm, Sage Indengo Johnson and Francis Estrella
All five species of Pacific salmon enter the river from May to September. Resident fish species in the river and lake include, rainbow trout, lake trout, Arctic grayling, Arctic char, Dolly Varden and Northern pike. Needless to say, this is an angler’s paradise! However, this Alaska journey is the focus of trophy rainbows. These rainbows are known to surpass the 20-pound mark! A resident rainbow of this size really is a shock when one considers the fauna of this incredible, unspoiled, aquatic ecosystem and its many bio-ingredients that contribute to this surge of growth in these rainbows. The annual salmon runs in the Naknek River significantly contribute to the impressive size and bulk of the region’s large rainbow trout. Gorging themselves on salmon eggs, fry, smolts, and rotting flesh, it’s no wonder how large and strong these trout are. In between salmon morsels, these opportunistic predators can also chow down on whatever size prey they can swallow be it insects or other fish. Conserving these rainbows is a high priority for Alaska Department of fish and game using only artificial flies and lures with a single hook while encouraging catch and release. Using barbless hooks are strongly recommended.
The Naknek rainbows migrate between the lake and the river on a seasonal basis. They inhabit the lake in the winter, move to the river in the spring to spawn, return to the lake for the summer and then migrate back to the river once more in September for a couple of months to fatten up for the winter before again returning to the lake. Autumn brings the largest rainbows in for a feeding frenzy raising the hopes of anglers who are willing to tolerate frigid weather. They use steelhead tactics with two-handed fly rods lined with Skagit heads.
I’ve never used a two-handed fly rod for rainbow trout, but then again, nor have I fished for incredibly huge rainbows over 30 inches that thrive in an equally huge river! The window of opportunity in the fall is short compared to the rest of the season, but results are often prodigious catches.
I have had the privilege of fly fishing in the wilds of Alaska, where I have successfully caught numerous rainbow trout in this remarkable frontier. However, the trophy rainbow fishing on the Naknek never has crossed my radar. At least not until my friend, George Krumm, editor of Fish Alaska magazine, clued me in on it during a flyfishing trip for leviathan cutthroats at Pyramid Lake, Nevada. He knew my passion for streamer fishing for trophy trout. “You should join me on a trip to the Naknek River for huge rainbows”, he tells me. Then out comes the iPhone full of enormous trout, many over 30-plus inches! First words out of my mouth are, “Are these steelhead”? And when he replies, “No”, my eyebrows raise immediately with the anticipation I have to take this trip and experience these trout for myself. One more opportunity of a lifetime to add to the bucket list!
Not Your Typical Wade And Fish Approach
Though fly fishing with a single-hand fly rod is possible on the Naknek, the switch or Spey rod is the ultimate presentation to swing large streamers to these huge rainbows. It’s a large, powerful river with large alder brush flanking its shorelines. Not surprisingly, wading the river is not part of the program. For the most part, we Spey fished from a boat, in fact, we only waded once during the whole trip!
I’m not a super fluent Spey caster as it is, but trying to Spey cast with two anglers in a 16-ft boat can be challenging. Fortunately, short casts can catch many trout as well! For a mere novice Spey caster, like myself, it did take some practice casting from the boat, but that didn’t stop me from landing my biggest rainbow ever! If needed, the guides are excellent instructors to help you with the casting and they are not shy to remind you about anchor points and releases either. When you do hook your trophy trout, the guide will strategically row the boat into a calm place on shore where you can then depart the boat to land your prized catch. The smaller, river jet boats are a huge angling advantage because it is so much easier for angler placement without the worries of wading. The boats are also equipped with 75-lb anchors connected to a motorized wench. Sometimes fishing the sweet spots means anchoring the boat in swift current and believe me, the guides know how and where to take advantage of these locations where other guide boats likely pass them up.
“Catching my first large rainbow trout on a flesh fly was an exhilarating experience”.
Matching The Real Meal
If there’s one type of fly fishing for rainbows in Alaska that is notorious, it’s the bottom bouncing, peg an egg under an indicator. It’s my least preferred way to catch trout! It’s effective alright but watching a float over and over on a dead drift becomes exceedingly boring after a while. During the fall on the Naknek, the magnum rainbows eat big baits which makes swinging streamers the ultimate thrill! Small lamprey and sculpins are on the big trout’s menu in the fall, in between drifting chunks of salmon flesh and/or high caloric eggs. Before the trip, my buddy, George, shared his favorite pattern with me; The Big Ass Leechy-Sculpiny Thing (LST for short). It’s about 4 – 4 1/2 inches long tied in black mostly.
Brown and olive LST’s are a good backup. The snaky fly vibrates, undulates, and squirms like the real thing thanks to supple materials of rabbit and marabou! Just can’t beat it. The hook attachment, which is also part of the foundation of this fly is the braided Spectra Fiber (Power Pro in 40-50 lb. test) that is weaved through the rabbit strip leaving a loop near the end of the tail. The limpness in the braid enhances the swimming action of the rabbit strip, and the up right hook is in the perfect place near the end of the rabbit where hook ups are more likely. Says George on his creation, “I wanted a fly that was long like some of the big leeches I’ve seen, but with a prominent profile up front, reminiscent of a sculpin.” I can attest it is very effective! These flies are typically tied without weight, using one of different density tips to sink it down. Adding split shot or sliding a tungsten bead or bullet down the leader to the fly is also effective.
As the deceased salmon begin to decompose, the river’s current begins to tear pieces of the gooey salmon downstream. I’ve never fished with a fly that resembles pieces of salmon flesh. Catching my first large rainbow trout on a flesh fly was an exhilarating experience. In fact, my plus 30-inch trout ate a carcass fly! There is a variety of carcass fly patterns to choose from, but my buddy George had an answer to another great streamer known as the, Lady Flesh Fly. This tandem fly is nothing more than palmered rabbit strip. The lady flesh color, is a two-tone orange (salmon or sherbet color) and white. Hareline Dubbin has a rabbit strip that is an Alaska salmon flesh color, and another one that is a two-toned rabbit strip with white tips and hot orange hair. Another rabbit source is Natures Spirit, offering the Fish Hunter Zonker Strips in the color, Alaska salmon flesh. In case you haven’t tried it, it’s not terribly difficult to wrap a non, cross cut rabbit strip around a hook. The fly is also favorable to attract char too.
Gearing Up
Fly fishing the Naknek River in the fall is truly a time for the avid Spey fisherman where powerful rainbows grab a swinging streamer like no other. After fly fishing the Naknek for a week, I cannot imagine fishing with anything else but a two-handed fly rod. Once there, prepare to bring 2 to 3 rods with you on the boat. This is extremely handy so you can grab the rod you need quickly for changing conditions! Other two-handed rods that will do the job are 7-8 wt. Spey rods, 12 ½ ft to 13 ½ ft or the shorter switch rods, 11 to 12 ft long in 7-9 wt. Outfit your rods with good quality, adjustable disc drag reels, not traditional click and pawl types and have at least 100 yards of 30 lb. backing. If you can squeeze more backing on, it wouldn’t hurt!
My go-to rods were the Echo glass 11-ft switch rods, a six weight (330-390 gr) and seven weight (390-450 gr). I used the six weight for shallow, slower water and the other for deep, faster runs. I outfitted both of them with Skagit heads; the six with a floater and the seven with intermediate sinking. Fishing scenarios change all the time in the type of water you fish over as in current speed and depth. A wide range of sink tips, ranging from T8 to T20, 7.5-12.5 ft long will cover those changes in the river. A stout leader is recommended, several feet of 15 lb. tippet and four feet of 30 lb. for the butt section. While I doubt these trout are very leader shy, having some lighter fluorocarbon leader handy could be beneficial.
Don’t Set The Hook
I held my breath and my arm, counting the moments as my fly reel spun three to four times in response to a powerful rainbow that had just devoured The Big Ass LST streamer!I had already blown the first hookup because of the instinctive “Western trout set”, thereby jerking the fly rod straight up in the air. This does not work! Rather, placing tension on the switch rod at a side angle towards the bank behind me and it was game on. Immediately, the reel screamed as a rocket rainbow over 24 inches bolted downstream. Upon landing the fish, I see the fly firmly hooked in the corner of its jaw. I have never in my fly fishing pursuits, ever used a hook set like this on a trout or even a steelhead. It just seems crazy waiting during that brief moment as line departs from your reel to allow a large trout to hook itself while there is tension on the line! Waiting for the opportunity to set the hook seems like an eternity, but having no patience will surely leave you empty handed! A bizarre hookup indeed, it’s like almost doing nothing as the fish sets the hook.
Lodging and Guides
My lodging and guiding were booked at Katmai Trophy Lodge owned and operated by James Johnson. Located on the upper shores of Naknek River, the lodge is a spacious and comfortable and has its own boat docks so you can conveniently jump on board first thing in the morning and take off. Meals are a hardy cuisine, especially dinner. One strong recommendation on the lunch: request a sack lunch and a thermos of hot beverage. Though a hot meal may be more enticing, keep in mind the amount of time it takes to wait for your guide to either cook a shoreline lunch or run back to the lodge. A quick sandwich followed by another jumbo rainbow is much more appealing to me.
“There are very large Artic char in Naknek lake reaching upwards of 36 inches long!”
The lodge guides definitely know how to cater to Spey anglers and are good casters themselves. And as mentioned earlier, their boats are great on the river giving you the best opportunities to hook into your trophy rainbow of a life time! There’s also a sister lodge upstream, The Naknek River Camp, owned by James’ father, Jim Johnson.
In addition to the trophy rainbow fly fishing on the Naknek, Katmai Trophy Lodge also offers options to take you out for Artic char on Naknek lake tributaries and or to the famous Brooks River for a smaller river experience on rainbows along with the heart pumping thrill of huge brown bears feasting on the last of the salmon run! Since I had not claimed a char on my fly fishing list, I chose to do a char trip during my week stay. There are very large Artic char in Naknek lake reaching upwards of 36 inches long! I managed to release a few nice char with my best around 30 inches long. Also, the lodge has a partnership with Branch River Air, whose meticulously maintained fleet of float planes offers fly-out packages to renowned Bristol Bay destinations, including the American, Alagnak, Nushagak, Moraine, Ugashik, and Kulik Rivers. This service also provides access to the hidden gems scattered throughout the remote regions of southwest Alaska.
Traveling to the Katmai Trophy Lodge involves flying to Anchorage, Alaska, and then taking a connecting flight to King Salmon, Alaska. From King Salmon, the lodge provides vehicle transportation to the final destination. The change-out day at the lodge is Saturday.
Bigger Is Better
The Naknek rainbows are the most magnificent wild, native rainbows on the planet! A trophy trout from this river is substantially thicker and heavier than most steelhead in the same length. Their tremendous girth doesn’t slow them down the least bit as they can rip fly line off your reel then into the backing two or three times! Keep in mind on the Naknek, catching is a quality game rather than a numbers game. Some days you may end up empty handed, and others you might strike the jackpot. But I do believe a skilled fly fisher has excellent chances of hooking a +30-inch rainbow! Be prepared for extreme weather, as it turns very wet and cold starting in September. But to those who brave it, the payoff will be the largest resident, native rainbow you will ever catch! I was very fortunate in my first trip to the Naknek. I landed three, 29-inch rainbows and my largest trout was 33 inches! There were also plenty of rainbows from 18 to 27 inches to keep things interesting. Catching four of the largest rainbows in my life in a week was a tremendous blessing, one that I’ll never forget. However, one trip is just never enough. Especially, knowing that 20-pound rainbows are possible.
Lodge Information: www.katmaitrophylodge.com
Keep in touch with Joe at www.flyfishpursuit.com
Joe Warren Bio
Joe, a retired biological science technician in fisheries research with the U.S. Geological Survey, has been an avid fly fisherman since developing a fervent passion for the sport as a diligent 10-year-old. He now lives along the mighty Columbia River in Carson, Washington, USA, where he enjoys pursuing a plethora of anadromous and resident sportfish on his favorite home waters. Joe’s fly rod collection ranges from lightweight two-weights to heavy 14-weights, allowing him to target any fish that can be enticed by the fly, from freshwater to saltwater. In addition to his lifelong pursuits of fly fishing, Joe is also a freelance fly fishing writer and photographer with over 25 years of experience. He has published two books on fly tying, “Tying Glass Bead Flies” and “Fly Tying With Poly Yarn.” Joe is also a co-founder and director of the Christian Fly Fishing Retreat, an annual event in Wamic, OR, that combines teachings of the gospel with instruction in the art of fly fishing.
