Hello from Alaska

[Mark Knapp 0]

Hello fellow fly fisherman. I just found this site a week ago and think I may like to spend some time here.

 

As a way of introduction, here's a shot of my most exciting catch this summer.

It's a 32 inch, 13 pound laker caught from shore on a 5 wt sage with a polar bear hair streamer with a jungle cock eyes and pheasant feather cheeks.

 

I giggled like a kid the whole time he was on. So much fun.

 

Thanks for looking and again, hello to everyone.

[tjm 0]

welcome, Mark That's a nice fish.

[cphubert 0]

Hello Mark! nice fish I would still be giggling like a kid. And welcom to the site.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

What part of Alaska? I'm a full time guide down in south Florida - but my brother lives near Palmer...

[Mark Knapp 0]

What part of Alaska? I'm a full time guide down in south Florida - but my brother lives near Palmer...

 

 

I live in Fairbanks, but I have fly fished all over the state from the Brooks Range to the Aleutians. This laker was caught in the Brooks Range. I made it my goal six years ago to catch all of Alaska's game fish on a fly pattern of my own. I'm up to 26 species now. That includes salt water.

 

 

I tried for six years to catch one of these, a tiger rock fish. I had to make my own fly lines in order to get down to some of the deeper species and catch them conforming to IGFA rules.

[Mark Knapp 0]

I don't like that "bait fisherman" thing by my name. How do I get rid of that?

[tjm 0]

Make a bunch of posts. Preferably pictures.

[mikechell 0]

Welcome to the site, Mark. As tjm stated, the "bait fisherman" is just the "beginner" moniker. It automatically changes after a few posts. If you stick around long enough, and get the site admin upset at you ... they can put mean things over your name ... as was done to me.

[Poopdeck 0]

Now that's about the best entrance to the forum that I've ever seen. Nice fishies and welcome.

 

HEY!!!!!!! I just noticed the damn kids get off my lawn. How long has that been there? I love kids, on their own lawns of course, but who would know that?

[mikechell 0]

[Mark Knapp 0]

Make a bunch of posts. Preferably pictures.

 

OH, OK pictures will do it. I hate showing pictures but if you insist.

 

'

Here's a 23 pound ling cod caught on my Sage 10 wt and a fly I call the Non-Pelagic Squid. One of my most favorite things to do is fish the salt for halibut, rock fish and ling cod.

 

Here's my biggest halibut to date, about 25 pounds, this one caught on a tiger rockfish imitation. Someday I hope to catch a real barn door on regulation fly gear.

 

Here's a yellow eye rockfish. This was pretty funny, I caught the rockfish and put him on the deck to unhook him and this crab crawled out of his mouth. Then the sea lance came out and the shrimp. We let both the crab and the yellow eye go unharmed.

 

Here's a black rockfish on a sea lance imitation. That deep-sea rod you see behind me is how we let the rock fish go using a deep water release. Otherwise the swollen swim bladders in the fish won't let them go down and they die.

 

A copper rockfish on a sea lance imitation. There's about 30 species of rock fish in Alaskan waters but I've only caught about a dozen of them on a fly rod.

 

A yellow eye on a non-pelagic squid. I call it a non-pelagic squid because we fish it near the bottom. I put a monofiliment loop at the bend of the hook to try to cut down on the snags.

 

That's enough for now, I wouldn't want to wear out my welcome too soon.

[mikechell 0]

Those are beautiful fish. How do you get a fly down to the bottom? I'm pretty sure you're not "fly casting" out and letting it sink naturally.

[chugbug27 0]

Spectacular, thanks for sharing

[tjm 0]

Pretty fish that I've never seen pictures of before. And what Mike said, how? You made your own lines, I'd love to hear about that.

[rstaight 0]

Nice, I also enjoyed seeing pictures of fish I haven't seen.

 

Really interested in the lines you use and how you get down to depths you do.