FISHING TACKLE

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TACKLE SHOP

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Gwin's Lodge Tackle Shop

Gwin's Lodge Tackle Shop

FLY ROD CHOICES:

If one could only pick one rod for the Upper Kenai, it would be a 9-10’ 7wt. A good seven is powerful enough to put the pressure on a big silver or sockeye salmon and light enough to enjoy an 18” rainbow. Longer rods from 9’6” to 10’ are great for managing extended dead drifts and for fishing from the drift boat. Rods shorter than 9’ are not recommended.

If you don’t have a seven weight, rods from 5 to 9 weight all have a place on the river.

5wt-Good for nymphing and possible dry fly action. The first Sockeye Salmon run, BEFORE spawning places eggs in the water, dry fly fishing the surface deconflicts from the salmon who largely remain on the river bottom allows an adept angler to use a 5 weight rod with less fear of a salmon hook-up.

6wt-Good all around trout rod able to handle an incidental sockeye.

7wt-The best all-around rod choice.

8wt-Perfect for targeting sockeye and silver salmon. None too heavy for many of our rainbows.

9wt-Great for putting the heat on a fast running sockeye or silver salmon.

For Lower Kenai King Salmon: A powerful 10wt is minimum and an 11 or 12 is better as these fish typically run from 30 to over 60 pounds.

FLY REELS:

Alaska fishing demands premium reels with a quality disc drag. Stacy and I are proud to be members of the Ross Reels USA Pro Staff. Ross Reels USA

For trout, I love the Evolution 3.5. Sockeye and silver salmon are perfect on the Canyon Big Game 4. For large Kings, a Big Game 5 or 6 is the ticket.

FLY LINES:

FLOATING - I recommend a good weight forward floating line as the standard choice for covering most circumstances. At least 80% of our trout fishing is done by “nymphing” with an indicator. If you don’t want to use an indicator for nymphing, a floating line is still a better choice. Swinging a sink tip is likely to result in many foul hooked sockeye salmon when they are thick in the river and spawning.

Most anglers targeting sockeye will just keep adding weight to their 9’ leader until they get the desired drift. Casting may not be pretty, but no one complains about the results.

Silver Salmon are usually targeted in slow and slack water areas where a floating line and weighted fly approach works best. A sinking line will likely foul hook fish by dragging the fly over their backs.

SINKING TIP LINES: There are some exceptions, where sinking tip lines may be effective. Sometimes, swinging streamers on mini-tip or sinking-tip lines can provide action early or late in the season. Some anglers prefer using a 300-400 grain sinking tip for sockeye rather than adding heavy weight to their leader.

Fishing for Kings (Lower Kenai only) requires a mini-tip for slow water areas and an extra heavy 400-600 grain sinking-tip line for fast currents.

LEADERS:

Standard 9’ trout or salmon/steelhead-tapered leaders work fine. I usually take an OX or 1X leader and add more tippet. I might go as light as 3X or even 4X with a 5wt and small nymph or dry fly, but 0X and 1X tippets are the norm. Remember that the trout can be large and the currents are strong. There are also incidental sockeye hook-ups. Even with 0X tippet, a large trout or a sockeye may take ten or more minutes to land.

Simple Trout Leader Formula: 24” of 20-pound mono knotted to 7 feet of 15-pound fluorocarbon with 12-18” of 1X fluorocarbon tippet. A yarn indicator is attached in the middle of the 20-pound section. Split shot are added above the tippet knot. This leader would not turn over a bushy dry fly, but the split shot carries it out. The long belly of fluorocarbon allows the leader to sink quickly with minimal weight. The 20-pound mono is supple enough to allow the fly-line to be mended without moving the indicator.

Sockeye Salmon Leader Formula: This is down and dirty. Take 3 feet of 30-pound and join it to 6 feet of 20-pound. The split shot goes above the knot. On the drift, a portion of the floating line is pulled down. This creates a belly in the fly-line that pulls the weight along and forces the leader down. The 6 feet of leader swings in a big arc near the bottom and into the path of upstream bound sockeye. Depending on current speed and depth, the leader length may be adjusted. If you feel you are drifting over the fish, just keep shortening the line until you start hooking-up. While a 20-pound leader may seem heavy to most trout anglers for a 6-10 pound fish, sockeye still manage to break off.

Silver Salmon Leaders: Silvers are best fished with a stout tapered leader down to 0X or 10-pound.

TIPPET UPDATE: I have been fishing Rio “Flouroflex Plus” tippet for several years. It is the best I have found. The 0X tests at 15lbs. I generally use “Flouroflex Plus” from 3X to OX as my tippet material. It is almost unfair, but I will gladly take the advantage. The best non-flouro material is Gamma Frog Hair.

TROUT FLIES (Rainbow Trout and Dolly Varden):

You could probably fish an entire season with two fly patterns and be very successful on the Upper Kenai. With so many options though, I have provided a longer list.

STREAMERS (sizes 2-6)
Double Bunny (gray and white)
Clousers (gray and white)
Zonkers (white, natural gray and purple)
Wooly Buggers (olive, black, brown and mixed)
Egg Sucking Leech (purple, black or olive)
Wool or Muddler Head Sculpin (olive, black, brown and mixed)

NYMPHS (sizes 10-16)
Hares Ear (olive, tan and black)
Prince Nymph
Caddis Pupa
Most general nymphs that imitate small stoneflies, mayflies and caddis can work at times.

DRY FLIES (10-16)
Elk Hair Caddis
Stimulator
Royal Wulff
Other Attractors

EGG PATTERNS
Glo-bugs tied on #10 and #12 Tiemco 2457 approximately 6-10mm in dimension.
Best colors are Egg, Champagne, Sockeye and Peachy King. Mixing colors is good.
Illiamna Pinky on same hooks. Best chenille color I call peaches and cream.
Glue Gun Eggs
Beads 6-10mm

FLESH FLIES (sizes 4-12)
Ginger Bunny
White Bunny
Peach Bunny
Mixed Fleshy Colors of Bunny Fur
Battle Bunny
Yarn flies with Egg or Champagne colored Glo-bug yarn on #8 Tiemco 2457
Micro Flesh (a little flesh colored yarn, marabou or fur on #12 Tiemco 2457
“Mystic Flies” offers some hot flesh flies you won’t find on any lists.

SOCKEYE SALMON FLIES (size 2-6 Russian River Hook or heavy salmon/steelhead style)
Simple Stealth (black chenille body with a black or blue wing of anything.)
Soft Hackle Stealth (black chenille with a soft hackle color of your choice)
Polar Shrimp
Russian River Coho
Note that just about any small steelhead/salmon fly pattern can work. I have seen Sockeye move to take pink, orange and green flies. Most often they shy away from big bright colored flies. We take more fish on smaller and/or darker flies.

SILVER SALMON FLIES (size 2-6)
Purple Egg Sucking Leech (I like a cone head added for action and weight)
Chartreuse Egg Sucking Leech
Flash Fly (Silver or Purple)
Wooly Buggers with various color combinations and flash added.
Rabbit strip flies with dumbbell eyes in black, purple and pink.

Silvers will take just about anything at times. They can also be very picky. Variety is the key.

Rainbow Trout

Sockeye Salmon (Reds)

COHO Salmon (Silvers)

Dolly Varden (Char)

Chinook Salmon (Kings)

Gwin's "Fishing Tackle Shop" is fully equipped with the proper poles, reels, & tackle to successfully catch each of the fish listed above. From the unique "Russian River Coho" flies for catching Red Salmon to handtied flies, flesh flies, and egg patterns to attract Rainbow Trout within our nearby trophy catch & release fishery, Gwin's tackle shop has it all. We have the region's largest selection of polarized glasses, a must have item whether for eye protection in the often crowded "combat zone" by the Kenai & Russian Rivers Confluence or for sighting Sockeye Salmon or Rainbow Trout on the gin clear waters of the Russian River.

Our store and tackle shop employees are knowledgeable and trained to advise our customers about the proper tackle for each of these species as well as the best places and methods to be successful. The store/tackle shop's unique to the region 24 hour/day operations helps us to relay current "hotspot" info no matter the hour.

The Store/Tackle Shop is also the place to get coffee-to-go, cappucino, snacks, soda, ice cream, ice, firewood, Trapper's Creek Smoking Company smoked salmon and reindeer sausage, waders, hip boots, fishing gloves, rods & reels, cameras & film, batteries, bug spray, camping and hiking items, fillet knives, sharpeners, and Trapper's Creek smoking/vacuum sealing/shipping, ans overnight fish freezing. We also rent boots, rods, and nets by the day. Finally, we have basic OTC cold remedies, bandaids, first aid kits, dramamine pills, pain relief capsules, and various other sundries.

The store/tackle shop is rounded out with a pizzeria and ice cream cream shop. Serving freshly baked pizza pies and slices, Gwin's pizza's are the area's finest. Our ice cream shop serves premium hard ice cream sundaes and milkshakes.

TRAPPER'S CREEK SMOKING COMPANY
CUSTOM FISH SMOKING & PROCESSING
(GWIN'S LODGE-UPPER KENAI RIVER DROP-OFF SITE)

Trapper's Creek Smoked Salmon

Trapper's Creek is dedicated to providing the finest processing and smoking services to turn your sport-caught fish into your choice of a wide array of palate pleasing delights.

LOX

An ancient tradition that prepares a flavorful, carefully cured cold smoked product.

Price: $5.95/Lb (20 lb. minimum)

KIPPERED

An American specialty. A recipe enjoyed by many people who don't normaly like fish. Processed as whole fillets or precisely cut, cured, and smoked, it makes a great gift from Alaska for your friends and family.

Price: $4.95/Lb(20 lb. minimum)

STEAKING OR FILLETING FOR FREEZING

Your fish expertly cut and ready for grilling, baking, or other delicious recipes.

Price: $2.25/Lb (20 lb. minimum)

SHIPPING

We ship in the continental United States via Federal Express

Note: Prices include vacuum packaging. Prices are based on incoming weight. Minimize your excess weight through proper filleting techniques.

Trapper Creek Fish Processing

www.trapperscreek.com
info@trapperscreek.com

Trapper's Creek Smoked Salmon

GWIN'S LODGE FISH FREEZING SERVICES

Gwin's Lodge has the closest walk-in flash freezers to the Kenai & Russian Rivers' Confluence. Gwin's exclusive 24 Hour/Day operational hours during Sockeye Salmon season (11 June - 20 August) make it easy for you to get your fish out of possession regardless of the hour. Gwin's Lodge rents 25, 50, & 80 pound boxes at reasonable daily rates.

TOP WEBSITE IN ALASKA - LODGING CATEGORY

For more information:
GWIN'S LODGE, INC.
14865 STERLING HIGHWAY
P.O. Box 621
COOPER LANDING, AK 99572 US
Email: siter@arctic.net
907-595-1266
Fax: 907-595-1264

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