Alaskan Salmon on the Fly

We thought we would try something different in this blog post, and do a guest blog featuring one of our long time friends and customers Bryan Butcher.  Bryan and some if his friends took at incredible trip up to Alaska to target mainly salmon and Dolly Varden(Arctic Char).  We did a bit of an interview with Bryan.  Alaska is one of my favorite places in the world to fish and be outdoors.  We hope you enjoy the discussion below and get some ideas to help with your next adventure.  

• Tell us a little bit about yourself as a person and as an angler? 
  • I am an avid angler fishing in both fresh and salt water and have plenty of access to both living in Central Florida. I prefer fishing with a flyrod and have gone on several year-long flyrod only stints through the years accepting the challenge of not going with conventional gear. 
• How did you choose the location of your adventure? 
  • We chose Sitka, AK because of the Lodge that we prefer to fish with on charter boats. You may ask how are you flyfishing from charter boats? Well, we don’t. We have a four-day fishing charter that goes from 6 AM to 4 PM each day so that leaves a lot of time “off-boat”. Since we travel a long distance, we fish if we are awake and there is light. We look for legal waters to fish and wade right in always being aware of the potential of a bear encounter. 
• What type of fish were you specifically targeting? 
  • We specifically targeted Pink Salmon and Dolly Varden Trout, though we did not catch any Dollys. The Pink Salmon were instinctually on their way from the ocean to the rivers where they were born. Most of the fish we caught were bright from the ocean, hungry, and incredibly hard fighters. 
• Tell us about the gear you choose to fish? 
  • We had 5 Pescador on the Fly rigs between our four fly fishers. One El Cinco 907-5wt; one El Jefe 906-5/6wt; one El Ocho 907-8wt; and two El Jefe 906-8wt. We were armed with various locally tied pink and green colored flies and streamers none of which were refused for too long. A typical fight went from around six minutes and up to fifteen minutes. 
• Tell us about the best fishing moment you experienced during your adventure? 
  • The top moment of the trip was watching as one of our crew caught his first fish on the fly. Complete chaos trying to land the fish and take pictures of an angry Pink Salmon with a fly in its mouth, but the smiles all around were a great reward. 

• How did you hear about Pescador on the Fly? 
  • I first learned of Pescador on the Fly when I saw a postage stamp-size advertisement in TROUT magazine and called to find out more about the rods and reels. Much to my surprise, you were on the other end of the phone! Needless to say, two fishermen talking could be a long call. We talked about many things but mostly fishing. I bought my first rod, an El Cinco right away for an upcoming trip to the Green River in Utah. No-hassle travel with such a small rod tube. 
• What are the top three things you like about Pescador on the Fly and our gear? 
  • Number 1 - The company feels like it is part of your own family. They are absolutely customer oriented. The people are personable, knowledgeable, and respond quickly. 
  • Number 2 - Packability of the six and seven-piece rods is tremendous. I take my El Ocho 8wt. wherever I go and fish it in both fresh and salt water. 
  • Number 3 - The quality and fitment of parts is like that of equipment many times more the price. 
• Do you want to give a shout out to any guides, lodges or favorite places to eat or drink on your adventure? 
  • Though our flyfishing was DIY, our boat trips were with Kingfisher Charters and our guide was none other than the one and only Scott Miller, the “Zen Captain”, as dubbed by Discovery Channel - Sportfishing Television. 
• Is there anything else specific you would like to share with your fellow anglers? 
  • Whether you buy these rods as a pack rod, travel rod, a primary rod, or as an emergency back-up rod, you will not be disappointed with the compact portability and quality of each one for the price. 
  • Tight Lines to you all! 

I’ve also experienced fishing for Pink Salmon in Alaska, and the action is intense.  There seemed to be an endless supply of fish in the water, and they were eager to nail a swinging streamer.  It seemed like you would hook up on every seeing of the fly.  My trip was with my Dad, and I’ll remember those days forever.  Angling is aways going to be about the fish we catch, but to me it’s more about the memories we build with the people we love.  

Bryan, thank you so much for the kind words and support.  We are grateful that you are telling your friends about us, and helping us grow.  Until next time my friends, tight lines!

Jeff