PAK RATS  

Here it is for all you naysayers on Alaska that think all the fishing is done with beads! 
 

Every year there is a gap period between the smolt run and the bead drop when a select few Tikchik Guides known as the PAK Rats showoff some trophy trout. Located in the heart of the Wood-Tikchik chain of lakes is the famed Agulapak River or "PAK " as we call it. This is a two-mile stretch of river that connects Lake Beverly to Lake Nerka. For a few weeks every summer the PAK turns into a very challenging tailwater. The words midge and light tippet leave anglers shaking their heads in frustration. In this "how to" article I will discuss some fly patterns and tips to help you land a  fish to remember. 


The Leader 


I use a hand-tied ten to twelve foot fluorocarbon leader with an aggressive taper from the butt section to the tippet. There are three reasons for this leader.  First, tippet has a smaller diameter then a normal tapered leader and, as a result, the attached flies will sink faster and will be in the strike zone longer during your drift. Secondly, when midge fishing you must eliminate all drag. The longer leader will allow you to keep your fly line on the reel, which results in less surface drag. Lastly, fluorocarbon is less visible and denser then monofilament, which is key on the PAK where the fish get a lot of angling pressure. 


Leader Formula
28 inches of .019in/483mm - Butt section
17 inches of .017in/432mm
15 inches of .015/381mm
8 inches of  .011in /279mm - Attach tippet ring to the end 
60 inches of tippet attached to tippet ring.  

The Rigging


When nymph fishing, you want the flies to tumble and bounce along the bottom freely. One common oversight I find with lots of anglers' technique is that they fish with the same indicator depth all day. Because the PAK has both deep buckets and shallow shelves, you need to constantly change the depth of your indicator matching the depth of the water. If you set your depth too long, you will miss strikes due to the slack in your system. On the other hand, if you set your indicator depth too short, you won't be in the strike zone. A good rule of thumb: you want your indicator to just slightly bounce as it drifts downstream. 
There are many different ways to rig your tandem flies, but I find that a distance of 15 inches between the split shot and the flies works best. At the end of the leader, I tie a piece of 5x tippet section with a double surgeons knot to stop the split shot from sliding down the tippet. Attach your first fly, or point fly to the end of your tippet off the bend of the first hook.  Then add a second piece of tippet usually 5 or 6x pending on your fly size and attach your second fly, or dropper fly, remembering the 15 inch rule to the end.  Now with the spilt shot bouncing on the stream bed, you are able to cover the first 30 inches of the water column with your flies.


The Fight 


To allow these tiny flies to drift drag free you will need to use 5 or 6x tippet. Again I use fluorocarbon.  On most streams this would be within the standard size range of tippet. When you are targeting 24 plus inch fish, this puts you at a huge disadvantage. Therefore, you must, firstly, set the drag loose; once you hook a fish they will bolt off with runs going into the backing.  If you tighten the drag, the fish will easily snap your line.  Second, DON'T EVER Palm the reel! I cannot tell you how many times I have set-up on a fish with guests only to have the fish come off due to the added resistance by palming the real. More often then not, their fingers hit the reel handle and cause a jerking stop to the reel and the fish is gone. Lastly, TRUST your guide.  I see people all the time with their heads hanging low because they were too proud to pull up anchor and chase these fish down. You have to go after these fish if you want a shot at landing them.  Sometimes the fight lasts more the ten minutes. But when you have the Trophy pin at dinner time, it's all worth it.

 

The Steel Canvas is off to Alaska

                                                               

As a guide, I am always looking for that new or different fly pattern that will keep guests’ rods bent all day in any condition.  I am pleased to announce that in 2012 Tikchik Narrows Lodge guests will have the opportunity to fish some brand new patterns contributed by my good friend James Plant of the Steel Canvas. Head guide Chip King, Capt. Brandon Beebe, and I will be working with a few of these new patterns on the different rivers, lakes, and streams throughout the summer. In addition to being my friend, James is also a signature fly tier for Rainy's. I am really excited to see what he whips up next! 

Check out his Blogs. Just go to the links list on the left side of the page.

A.P. Franceschini

James Plante is a part time fly fishing guide and instructor for the Housatonic River Outfitters, Inc. Has been with the shop for 7 seasons. He guides and instructs on several Connecticut rivers primarily on the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers. Not only is James an avid fly fisherman, he is also an avid fly tier. He spends countless hours at the vise tying flies. He loves creating his own signature patterns as well as tying up already established flies. In 2011 he became a signature fly tier for Rainy’s. He is Regal Vise endorsed and on Ross Reels Pro Staff as well. He loves to travel and fish different parts of the U.S and the world. This wonderful sport has brought him to Montana, Colorado, Alaska, Wyoming, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, the Bahamas, and all of New England. You can check out some of James travels and Flys on his too Blogs.

www.saltyriffle.blogspot.com  


www.steelcanvas.blogspot.com 

FLESH FLIES

Look close. There! You see Him? 

Yup!

Ok. That’s a nice fish, take your time. Look behind you to see where you can make a back cast. Ok! 

When you are ready, make the cast.

This is a common conversation between Tikchik guests and me as we hike just a few of Southwestern Alaska's small streams. Each year as the salmon finish spawning—they start to die off come about September—you will find the river banks lined with dead fish. And the smell? Well I'll spare you that one. It’s not uncommon to find piles of dead salmon hung up on sweepers as well. If you are lucky you might find a big rainbow siting downstream of the flesh pile resting or eating.

Out of respect of the river, I'll refer to it as location X. Location X is a good Beaver flight from Tikchik Narrows Lodge where I am a fifth-year guide. Tikchik Narrows Lodge owns three de Havilland Beavers and a Cessna 206. At Tikchik, we refer to each plane by their tail number. Each plane has a permanent pilot, and between the four of them, there is over one hundred years of flying experience in the Bristol Bay region alone. Having some of the worst weather on record last season, I can tell you that these four pilots rank amongst the best in the world. 

As we taxi off the dock I run through my mental gear list one last time. Flies, check, lunches check, ammo got it right here in the front pocket. WAIT! did I pack the lunches??  yeah  remember there in the back pack. Right!  The pilot reaches down and pulls up the water rudders then pushes the red button with his left thumb on the steering yoke. He speaks into the head set, "697 taking off West, departing Southwest through the narrows." He lets go of the button and then firewalls the engine. The beaver lunges forward and that’s when us guides take our "guide naps." I put on my head phones and turn up my iPod. The next thing you know we are circling the stream looking for fish AND any furry friends. 697 turns and sets up for the landing on a very small tundra pond. With no room for a mistake 697 lands with perfection.  We taxi over to the bank and I jump out to turn the plane around so we can tie the tail rope off to the bank, and from the cabin I can hear, “Great flight, 697!” “Yeah!?” “Pretty good!"

Today I am fishing with two Brits, one a beginner and the other an intermediate. Both are great guys that I have fished with earlier in the week on the Agulapak River—the "PAK" as we call it, but I'll save that for the next blog. We unload the plane and I start rigging up the rods. Location X is a narrow stream that is on the more shallow side as far as rivers go. As the guys finish organizing their personal gear, I finish tying on the last fly. My guys are fishing on 7 1/2 foot 12-pound hand-tied leaders. One has a white and ginger double bunny fly and the other a mouse. The double bunny is fished both as flesh and a streamer to finish out the swing. And yes, a mouse! The ‘bows in AK do eat mouse patterns and they work well on overcast days, besides it’s fitting for a flesh story. 

As we start out across the tundra, The QUESTION comes up: "So Adam, have you ever had a bear encounter before?"  “Yeah, if we do run into a bear, make sure we all stay together and make no sudden movements." Because hiking across the tundra can be difficult, we pace ourselves with short breaks. As we make our way down a small ridge, an unfamiliar feeling comes over me. SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH! Then it registers. It’s a bear! With the rest of my crew just behind me I yell out. "HEY BEAR!  HEY BIG BEAR!”  Silence. "Hey guys there is a bear down there let’s take a break and wait here for a second.”

With tall grass blocking our view of  the river, we keep talking LOUD! “There!" As 697 points to the top of the bluff on the far bank, we see the bear disappear out of sight.

"Adam, Mate, that was close! Never saw a bear that close before."  Laughter fills the air as we all take deep breaths and pass the water bottle around.  Our relief only lasts a few seconds.

"GET THE GUN OUT! STAY TOGETHER!" A water bottle falls to the ground as I swing my head around and reach for the gun. The bear that we thought had moved on is now running right towards us. We huddle up and prepare for the worst. “Stay together as we move back slowly…." With all the hair on my neck standing on end, the group starts to back up.

WOOF, WOOF. "Stay calm guys keep moving back." WOOF, WOOF. Unable to see the bear through the tall grass, we start making our way to higher ground.  From a safe vantage point we are able to see that there is not just ONE bear, but FOUR!  We had just walked up on momma bear's fishing 101 class. The reality starts to set in.  "Let’s just stay here for bit guys, sows with cubs are some of the most unpredictable bears and walking up as uninvited guests for breakfast is never a good idea." All four bears rise to their hind legs; the cubs are just tall enough to see over the grass. We watch as the sow checks on each cub and then with a quick bump of her nose she gets them all moving in the opposite direction, while looking over at us from time to time.

With all the bears out of sight, we finally make our way down to the river. “Ok guys, move slow and fish every bit of water.” We want to stay in the middle of the river casting to the cut bank on a 45 degree downstream angle. After you cast, you want to mend up stream so that the Double Bunny can sink and tumble like real flesh. As the fly drifts past, you start to stack mend your line. It will keep the fly on the bottom and it will allow you to control the speed of your swing. Once the fly is at the end of your swing, start to work it like a streamer moving down stream after each cast.  Don't worry about having slack in your line and missing strikes, these fish will not miss.

I make my way over to the mouse rod. “Adam, are you up for the challenge today?" I grin.  After the bears this is easy. “Ok, start your cast on the same 45 degree downstream angle and mend right away. You want that mouse to swim slowly across the surface.” “I GOT ONE!”  "Ok keep working that mouse, while I go net this other fish; …be back in a sec." As we unhook and release the first fish of the day a big cheer comes from across the stream.  “Got one!” “Ok, great job; I am on my way.” “…Damn…."  “What happened?” “It got away.”  “Ok, cast and drift that again. With the mouse, you have to be patient!" After a second eat and miss, “what happened? I saw him eat it!" "After you see the fish eat say ‘god save the Queen’ and THEN set the hook.”  “Ha ha, you crazy yank! You can’t be serious?” “Trust me.” As we watch the mouse swim across the river, I think to myself , “no way that ‘bow will eat a third time.” Just then, a strike.  “You are bloody right. You crazy Yank!”  “See I'm not that crazy.” 

We finish our day with plenty of fish and fun all the while looking back upstream from time to time to make sure we are all alone.  

Stay tuned For PAK RATS. It’s BIG AK ‘BOWS on size 24 midges with 6x!

Pro Guide: A.P. Franceschini

Tikchik Narrows Lodge

Head Guide Housatonic River Outfitters

Tikchik Narrows Lodge Alaska is on TV

If you missed the Tikchik Narrows Lodge episode on Ford Fishing Frontiers the first time. Just click the Fords Fishing Frontiers below and enjoy!

FORDS FISHING FRONTIERS - Tikchik Alaska

In Alaska the rainbow leads you to HUGE Salmonids!

Tikchik Narrows Lodge, located in the heart of Bristol Bay Alaska, opened up its doors to the Orion Entertainment film crew last summer. The film crew shot more then a weeks worth of footage on some of our most remote waters and caught a lot of Alaska's trophy fish species!

The Ford Fishing Frontiers episode featuring Tikchik airs on January 13th at 7:30am (ET) on the Outdoor Channel. It will re-air, so you may want to search on your TV guide for all the additional times and dates. This is a DON'T MISS show!

Tune in and Experience the legend of Tikchik!

A.P. Franceschini

Guide - Tikchik Narrows Lodge,AK

Happy New Year to All! With a new year comes a new look and the relaunch of the Dead Drift Anglers Blog. Started a few years back, the blog was a forum to share my guiding experience in the Amazon Basin of Brazil. The New Dead Drift Anglers Blog is a place were Anglers can get an inside look at the professional world of Guiding with, real-time river conditions, rivers we're fishing and the fly patterns on which we are working. The blog also provides info on favorite fishing destinations, and an Angler's gear list and where to find our suggested fly fishing equipment. Recently a couple of us went up to the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY, for our first shot at the famed Great Lakes Steelhead run and it is safe to say we are definitely hooked. Stay tuned for this story and many more.

Tight Lines In the New year

A.P. Franceschini