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Fly Fishing Alaska with Adam Cuthriell – FishHound Expeditions
Season 7 Episode 324
Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/324
Presented By: FishHound Expeditions
Sponsors: https://wetflyswing.com/sponsors
Adam Cuthriell, owner of FishHound Expeditions, is here to break down fly fishing in Alaska and talk about the remoteness of Kodiak. We learn the step-by-step guide from booking to preparation to fishing. We find out what are the resident species in Alaska, the best times in a season to go after them, the recommended gear setup, and the flies that work great.
We also hear an epic story of when Adam had a close encounter with a bear and almost got himself eaten. We learn some tips on how to avoid situations like that and what to do if you ever find yourself in such a situation.
Fly Fishing Alaska Show Notes with Adam Cuthriell
05:10 - Trout in Alaska grow up to 2 feet because they eat meat - they use streamers, salmon smolt, and mice.
06:30 - Adam was a firefighter before he got into the travel business. He started with just a boat now he has 10 full-time guides, 18 boats, and 5 locations.
10:20 - Anchorage is the hub for Alaska. The following day, they fly out to the camp via helicopter.
12:10 - They use nice inflatable rafts.
14:00 - September is Adam's personal favorite time to fish. Most of the time during early summer, it doesn't get dark and you won't see stars.
14:40 - Trout are resident species, leopard rainbow trout, arctic grayling, and dolly varden trout - they get really fat.
16:00 - They encourage people to be wearing a headnet because sometimes the wind gets still and the bugs might bite.
18:45 - They fish 2 clients and 1 guide per boat but they offer a gear-boat deluxe trip with a gear-boat man who's one step ahead of the game - he sets up the camp, lunch, tent, fire, etc.
21:10 - They got silver salmon in Alaska - they're aggressive and big. Adam loves to fish them.
22:10 - On the top water, they fish pink poppers.
25:40 - We answer Chris Cook's question about rods and lines. FishHound Expeditions provides all gear - they fish 6 or 7 wt for trout, and 7 or 8 wt for salmon. For lines, they use a weight-forward floating line.
28:50 - They swing flesh flies. In September, they use streamers like Dolly Llama.
30:30 - A lot of the rivers that they operate in are small to medium size - a far cast is about 20 to 25 feet.
35:50 - Adam tells the story of when he almost got eaten by a bear - it's like one of those 'I Shouldn't Be Alive' stories. We learn some tips on how to avoid that kind of situation - be loud and don't surprise the bears
41:05 - FishHound start commercially operating in mid-May, then the season ends by the end of October. From November to April, they guide ice fishing.
42:35 - Adam has been living in Alaska for 10 years now. He used to live in Colorado.
43:50 - In winter, the snow gets thick from 600 to 1000 inches - Adam and his 2 year old daughter go snowboarding
45:00 - Adams tells us how we can do a DIY trip to Alaska just doing road-access fishing
47:50 - There's a fly shop in Anchorage Alaska called, Mossy's Fly Shop owned by Mike Brown. Adam mentions some more fly shops that are generous with information.
52:00 - Late July and August are when most of the resident species present - rainbows, arctic grayling, arctic char, kings, sockeye, pinks, chums, and silver salmons. You can catch 9 to 10 different species on one fly.
53:50 - Adam's biggest addiction is steelhead
54:46 - The Karluk River in Alaska has the largest returns of steelhead in the state. The best time to fish for them is in the Fall.
57:45 - Russ Miller was on the podcast at WFS 303 - he talked about when the gold bead was introduced for nymphs
<Published on 3 years, 6 months ago