Flyfishing
Alaska by Species
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Flyfishing Alaska
by Anthony J Route
Who must have this book: Any avid visiting
or resident flyfisherman who wants to jump start their knowledge
of fishing Alaskan gamefish.
Who should have this book: Anyone with any
interest in flyfishing Alaska
ISBN: 1555661505
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I
admit I am mostly a spin fisherman. But after reading this book I
was practice casting in the backyard in 10 degree weather. The is
a very readable book, filled with anecdotes and information that have
obviously resulted from years of field experience and experimenting.
This is not a location guide, it is a species guide. (If you are looking
for a location guide, try Scott Haugen's
Flyfisher's Guide to Alaska.) The author does give general
information about where to find certain species but does not give
any secret holes or mention locations that might be sensitive to overfishing.
What he does share in abundance is his knowledge of each fish species;
it’s life cycle, the proper fly selection, equipment to use,
and most importantly, the presentations that work. Throughout the
book, he displays a mastery gained from countless hours in the field.
The chapter on flyfishing Sockeyes alone is worth the price of the
book. He debunks the myth that Sockeyes don’t bite flies and
he tells you how you must present the fly to elicit a strike. I have
never wanted to fish the Russian River more than I did after reading
that chapter.
Overview
The book starts with a very short and concise introduction to fishing
Alaska. From there it gets right into the meat of what makes this
book so worthwhile – the species chapters. Each chapter starts
with an interesting anecdotal story about fishing the particular species,
followed by a range map, a timing section, suggested patterns and
equipment. But what I found most valuable was the tactics section.
It is very obvious that Route has put his time in on the water and
that he is very diligent in his observations.
He has knowledge across all the species he covers, Pink, chum, king,
sockeye and silver salmon, rainbows, steelhead, cutthroat, char, lake
trout, grayling, pike, sheefish and some salt water species.
The book is illustrated with very nice range maps and a large selection
of “catch” photos. The last section of the book contains
some information about what flies to pack for your trip and a very
short and somewhat unsatisfying section on fly descriptions for fly
tying. This is not a fly tying book for sure, if you are looking for
that, try his companion book, Flies for Alaska.
Author
Anthony Route has lived and fished in Alaska for years.
He is an active outdoors/fishing writer and has also written Flies
for Alaska and the Kenai River Journal. It is obvious
from reading his books that he flyfishes because he couldn’t
live any other way. The love of the sport definitely comes through.
Other books by the Author
