Kings: Doing The Swing

By Mike Cole

Swinging for kings isn’t some dance from the 1930’s, nor is it some hush-hush party for adults. Swinging for kings is one of the most exciting and rewarding ways to fly fish for king salmon. King Salmon are the largest of the Pacific salmon, averaging 20-35 pounds, with the world record coming in at an astounding 97.4 pounds. To take one of these beasts on the fly is a challenge, to take one on the swing is king. Shear brute strength and mind blowing runs make kings one of the hardest fish to land on the fly.

There are several fly fishing techniques that are effective for kings. Three of the most popular are stripping streamers, nymphing and swinging. Stripping streamers is a good technique for fish that are milling around in slack water and back eddies. Nymphing works well on holding fish, especially in smaller systems, when a king might not be as likely to move for a fly.

But one of the most exciting ways to fish kings is on the swing. With swinging it is all about the “tug.” The “tug” can happen from the moment you mend the line to the end of the swing. It can be subtle or a full on “jerk the rod out your arms” take. The anticipation of the tug is what swinging is all about. One moment you are in La-La Land, the next moment things are happening so fast that if you blink, the fight is over.

How To Swing

Swinging isn’t hard to do. Set yourself up at the top of a run. Once you are in place and ready to fish, cast your line quartering down stream at a 45 degree angle across the river. Make a large upriver mend to hold the fly and allow it to drop in the water column. Once the line tightens up, drop the rod tip to the water and follow the line with the rod tip through the swing. Be patient and finish out the swing. Fish may follow the fly through the swing and hit it when the fly stops or on the first few strips when you are getting ready to cast again. When you start fishing, start close to you and slowly work out making a longer cast each time, thoroughly covering the water. Even though kings prefer to hold in deeper runs, they sometimes will be in shallow. Don’t blow your chance at an easy fish by skipping over shallow water. After covering the water from your starting position, take two to three steps down and start again. After fishing through the run, if you feel like there are fish holding there, change flies and start at the top again. Try a different color or different size fly.

Where To Find Kings

Many major rivers throughout Alaska have king runs. Some of the more popular rivers are the Alagnak, Naknek, Nushagak and Kanektok Rivers in Bristol Bay, the Kenai River on the Kenai Peninsula and the Karluk River on Kodiak Island. Some of these rivers, like the Kanektok, are very swing friendly. They have clear water, long 6-8 foot deep runs, and current that is moderate enough to allow your fly to get down to the fish. Other rivers, like the Kenai, are more challenging to fish. This is due to heavy fishing pressure, very fast current, and milky water. Finally, there is the Nushagak, a giant river with the largest run of kings in the world. Large, long runs with slow to medium flow coupled with huge numbers of salmon make the Nushagak an awesome river for swinging flies.

Where To Swing Flies

Good swinging water can be found throughout most rivers, from the upper reaches all the way down to tidewater. To target kings as they move in from tidewater, try focusing on runs 4-8 feet in depth that lie between shallow flats and deep pools. This is where the kings will start to hold. Just before, during and after the high tide is the time to look for fish moving out of tidewater. This is a great time to catch “chromers.” To target holding fish, look for runs that gradually transition from shallow to deep with moderate current so that you can get the fly down into the zone. A lot of fish will sit at the top and bottom of these runs and pools. Shallow fast runs that drop into deep pools can be hard to swing because of their weird current seams, up wells and eddies.

Choosing A Rod

There are three choices of rods when it comes to fishing for kings and all of them can be used for swinging flies. They are the standard single handed rod, Spey rod and new switch rods. Each rod type has its pluses and minuses and choosing one will depend on personal choice.

The most common rod choice is a standard 9 foot single-handed rod. Anything in the 9-12 weight range will will work depending upon the size of fish and how much current you will be dealing with. These rods work well on large and small rivers, fish well out of a boat, and are easy to travel with.

Spey rods (a.k.a. double-handed or two-handers) are becoming very popular for king fishing. 9-10 weight rods in the 13-15 foot range are most commonly used. They offer the advantage of making repeated long casts with a minimum of effort. They also make mending line and throwing heavy sink tips a breeze.

Switch rods are fairly new to the Alaskan king scene. Switch rods are short two-handed rods that average 10 ½ to 11 feet in length. Switch rods can be fished either with over hand casting or Spey casting and switching between the two styles of casting is easy.

Choosing A Line

Kings generally hold near the bottom of the river and prefer deeper runs and pools. In many rivers, especially larger systems, this makes choosing the correct line crucial. Luckily there are more great lines for king fishing than ever before. On some rivers, like the Karluk River on Kodiak Island, fishing a floating line or a light sink tip with a heavy fly will put you in the zone. While other rivers, like the Nushagak or Kenai, may require heavier tips to get your fly down. Multi-tip fly lines are a great way to cover all the bases. Rio’s Dredger line comes with 24 foot heads that are ideal for large rivers where kings are holding in deep water. Rio’s Versi-Tip is a great line with 15’ tips in floating, clear intermediate, and type 3, 6 and 8 sink rates. It fishes well on both small and large rivers. Additionally, if you need a sink tip that drops faster than the Type 8, you can build your own with Rio's T-14. T-14 drops like a rock and is a good choice for those kings sitting in deep, tight pools.

Reels

A good reel with a smooth drag is a must for kings. There is nothing worse than losing a big king to a reel seizing up or watching your fly line swim away. The reel should be able to hold a few hundred yards of 30 lb. backing. Alaska field-tested king reels include the Ross CLA, Ross Momentum, Galvan Torque, Nautilus CCF, and the Abel Super Series. A good reel can make the difference between beaching a king or falling to pieces and becoming “the grown man that cried.”

Choosing the Best Flies

There are a lot of flies to choose from when targeting kings on the swing. Here are some helpful insights.

Early Season:

• The big and bright rule. Try pink and fuchsia flies on bright days and chartreuse on dark days.

• Strung out patterns tied with stinger hooks are great. Dolly Llamas, Intruders, Jumbo Critters and Super Prawns are a few of the best.

• Big leeches like Hareballs are consistent killers, too.

Late Season:

• Think dark. Purple, Black/Red, Black/Orange and Black/Blue flies are deadly.

• Jumbo Critters, Thundermoals, Signature Intruder and other “big uglies” can do the trick.

• Fish smaller patterns when kings are sulking. Egg Sucking Leeches and Hareball Leeches are a good choice.

As the long glorious days of June and July come to Alaska it is time to roust your 10 weight from its winter hibernation. This time when you head out, think about swinging a fly. If you’re curious about Spey or switch fishing, now is the time! More than likely there will be a river nearby where swinging a fly will give you a good shot at hooking a mighty king. When that happens hold on and enjoy the ride.