by Alex Gonsiewski
When people think of iconic anadromous species, Steelhead or Atlantic Salmon are often the first to come to mind. For this trip, we were after the thug of all sea-run fish – the Chinook Salmon. Every year, from mid-June to early July, there’s a dedicated and slightly crazed group of anadromous anglers that travel to Southwest Alaska to pursue these powerful fish. These anglers are recognizable by their long spey rod tubes at Anchorage airport – there’s are no single hand fly rods in sight.
Ultimately, anglers come here for a reason – a Chinook grab is is like trying to pull your arm out of a 5 gallon bucket of molasses – it’s heavy and sticks with you long after you leave. I know several prominent steelhead guides who would prefer to swing flies for kings during their days off.
Chinook, commonly referred to as “Kings,” are unapologetic at the end of a spey rod. They fight like they’ve declared themselves the King of Alaska, second in my mind, only to the grizzly bear. The best populations live in the most beautiful, distant, and demanding corner of North America. Everything here is purpose built for this place.
This past July, I had the opportunity to pursue these incredible fish on the Togiak River. As I cruised upstream past “mosquito,” I couldn’t help but think back to 2021 when I spent five weeks here, helping explore the river’s potential as a swung fly fishery for kings.I caught my first Togiak king in that run and she was the biggest fish I saw that season. Being back gave me goosebumps.
Togiak River Lodge in conjunction with Epic Waters now offers a king salmon program for anglers looking to target them with spey rods. The Togiak, with its large runs, resembles many Pacific Northwest steelhead rivers, and is an ideal place to swing flies for kings.
Swinging for kings turns the anadromous fish dial to 11. Standing in a run with rolling dime-bright kings will make your knees shake. You know they are there; you know you are going to get one, and you are a little scared of what is going to happen when you do. Watching a skagit head tighten like a bow string and dig into the current after a king takes a fly requires everything you have not to lift the rod before the reel starts to spin.
The Air TH 8146 and 9129 rods are perfect for Alaska kings on the Togiak. They lift heavy sink tips and large flies, cast all day, and handle the strongest fish. The 14’6” 8wt Air TH, with its powerful butt section and longer length, reaches distant buckets easily. The 12’ 9” 9wt Air TH, with its responsive tip and shorter length, excels even in tight spots and easily casts a 12 foot, T-17 tip. Together, both rods form the perfect Togiak king quiver.
The final fish of this year’s trip took four of us to land. Geoff on the rod, Stevie as a point of contact around the corner and into the main channel, me, using my feet to keep the skagit head out of a root wad, and finally Chris – to bear pounce on the fish when it beached itself in the shallows. It was all smiles, hugs and cheers once the fish was transferred to the net. Then as all of us admired this creature still carrying the blue of the open ocean upon its sides, the world was silent.
These periods of utter chaos, followed by moments of silent reverence for these fish, are why we do this.
As fireweed grows tall along the Togiak and the last kings have pushed through tidewater, we stow the heavy rods and colorful flies, and eagerly await next season. Hell, even the hordes of mosquitos, don’t seem that bad anymore.
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