Sockeye Salmon on the Fly

[MelW]

I've caught chinook, silvers, chum and humpies on flies. I would really like to catch at least one sockeye to complete the northwest salmon slam.

Haven't you caught beaucoup Kokanee on a fly?

 

[Kilchis]

Haven't you caught beaucoup Kokanee on a fly?

Yes, but I don't count them as salmon, even though they are such genetically. I want to count coup (gently) on a fish returning from the salt.

 

[SinglehandJay]

I read somewhere that sockeye are tougher to connect with on any kind of gear because of what is their main quarry while in the ocean. Krill was the number one food I believe.

 

[Mstark]

Gulkana River AK. All hooked in the mouth. No flossing required. Caught more than I care to count all on black and purple egg sucking leech.

 

[Nick Clayton]

I'm firmly in the springer camp myself, when it comes to eating salmon. Next to that, winter blackmouth, resident coho, and then ocean coho. I haven't eaten a ton of sockeye in my life but I've eaten it here and there. Definitely wouldn't ever turn up my nose at it, but I've never been blown away by it either.

 

[bk paige]

I find winter black mouth to be as bland as winter steelhead.

1 spring Chinook
2 June summer Steelhead, not all cut the same but bright glowing red meat ones are mouth watering delicious!
3 ocean Chinook
4 Coho

 

[Squamishpoacher]

I've been told that most sockeye caught in freshwater are flossed. Saltwater fish are still feeding and readily take. But once in freshwater this shuts down. Some likely do bite as an agressive response but watching the techniques of the gear chuckers using long leaders and bouncing betties they know what they're doing. I don't want to start any argument but 35 years of fisheries enforcement has sort of made me somewhat opinionated.

 

[_WW_]

We ain't flossing them up at Baker Lake.

 

[CreekScrambler]

I read somewhere that sockeye are tougher to connect with on any kind of gear because of what is their main quarry while in the ocean. Krill was the number one food I believe.

The Behnke book describes sockeye as uniquely evolved to strain small krill from the water, similar to whales’ baleen.

 

[O' Clarkii Stomias]

We ain't flossing them up at Baker Lake.

Nor at Lake Wenatchee or the Brewster Pool.

 

[quilbilly]

They call it 'Flippin' Reds' up in that part of Alaska as I remember.
Although when I was on the Kanektok they seemed to hit them on the swing, so it's hard to know when there's so many coming in at once.
Good eats though...