Choose Your Weapon

Fall on the Naknek is when Big Rainbow Trout show up with one goal in mind: eat everything they can before winter makes poor choices for them.

The only question is how you prefer to present the evidence. Are you reaching for a two-handed Spey rod—long casts, swinging flies, and enough line management to qualify as a minor administrative task? Or are you sticking with a single-handed rod, ready to cast flesh or beads, mend aggressively, and convince yourself that one more cast toward that seam will change everything?

No wrong answers here. Just two perfectly reasonable ways to pursue exceptionally unreasonable fish.

VOTE HERE!

Some flies are carefully engineered imitations of a specific insect at a specific life stage. The Coo Coo for Cocoa Puffs is not especially interested in that level of professionalism. The Coo Coo for Cocoa Puffs, also know as CCFCP, is a fly designed by the Rio Flies design team to mimic squid. 

Built with motion, contrast, and just enough questionable flair to make a fish investigate, this pattern has earned its place in the box whenever the water calls for something a little loud, a little buggy, and entirely unconcerned with subtlety. Think of it as the fly-tying equivalent of showing up overdressed to a campfire: unnecessary, perhaps but difficult to ignore.

In this tutorial, we’ll break down the materials and steps to tie the Coo Coo for Cocoa Puffs without requiring a cereal bowl, a chemistry degree, or an explanation to the fish. What part of the pattern do you think gives it the most fish-catching movement?

CCFCP has a lot of movement and can be tied in a ton of various contrasting color combinations.  A great fly for Salmon, Steelhead and trout type colors is very effective for Rainbows as well.

This particular pattern is tied with a size 2 trailer hook, rather than a size 4. ‘Cause you know…bigger hook bigger fish, right?

Tie your own flies!

Have A Request?

This Fly Tying Tutorial comes straight from the request of one of our loyal subscribers. If there’s a pattern you’d love to see next, don’t be shy—send us your suggestions, and it might be featured here soon.

Submit Fly Tying Requests Here.

Originator: Rio Flies Design Team

Photos and Tied By the Crew at Mossy’s Fly Shop in Anchorage, Alaska

Materials:

1. Shank: Aqua Flies 43mm Return Eye
2. Lead Eyes: Double Pupil Fl. Pink w/White & Black Pupil
3. Stinger Material: 30lb Fireline (Intruder Wire acceptable sub)
4. Body: UV Polar Chenille Fl. Fushia
5. Collar: Schlappen Purple
6. Wing: Crazy Legs Fl. Fushia/Purple Tipped
7. Hook: Aqua Talon Sz 2
8. Thread: UTC 140 Purple (Veevus 140 acceptable they just don’t make purple)

Step 1. Place your shank in the vice and start your thread.  Place your dumbbell eyes just behind the shank eye, leave just enough room for a small head and whip finish.  Wrap your thread back to where you want your body to start

Step 2. Fold your stinger material in half and place at the end of your thread base.  Make a couple of wraps and then adjust your stinger length to allow you to loop on your hook.  This length gives you the ability to change the hook.  Tie the stinger material down to the back of the eyes, fold over and tie back to the stat.  Trim any excess.

Step 3. Tie in your polar chenille.  Using touching wraps, wrap forward to the back of the eyes.  Leave a small gap for your collar.  Trim the body fibers to a shorter length, this is to take away some buoyancy and not impede with your collar or legs.

Step 4. Tie in your schlappen.  You want the schlappen to cover the length of the body.

Step 5. Using wrapping turns make 3-4 turns of the schlappen, be sure to sweep the feather back with each turn.

Step 6. Take 5 full length rubber legs and tie them down to the top of the shank.  Fold the legs around the thread and adjust them to the center.  This will make placing them easier on top.  Once you put a wrap down, flip the front legs forward out of your way.  Make a couple wraps of thread and then fold the other half back and tie them down.  Build a small head and move your thread in front of your eyes.  Make a couple of wraps and whip finish.

Step 7.  Install your hook and then trim legs to be even with back of hook bend.

You’ve seen the Naknek when it’s on.

Now picture it in September.

A brisk chill in the air, beautiful fall colors, and the rainbows…the BRTs (Big Rainbow Trout) that have settled in and are very willing to chase a swung fly. It’s the kind of fishing that reminds you why you came here in the first place.

And honestly…it might be our favorite window of the season.

A Swinging September Special

• 7 nights. 6 full days of fishing
• $6,000 per angler

This is a September special you don’t want to miss.

Six full days to fish it the way it was meant to be fished this time of year, unhurried, methodical, and with a real shot at some of the biggest, most aggressive rainbows in the system.

You already know the program:

• Dialed water
• No nonsense logistics
• Guides who know when to say “one more cast” (and when you should’ve listened)

The only difference? The rainbows are bigger and are fully committed.

We don’t expect this to sit long, especially once word gets out!

If you’ve been looking for a reason to get back up here, this is it. Give us a call to lock in your spot.

Got Questions? We Got Answers. 1-800-344-3628. or email us info@deneki.com

OR simply Click Here to Book Your Trip!

We’ll keep your run warm. Chase Adventure, Live the Legend.

If you’ve been to Andros South, this is the part where you pretend to “think about it” before booking again.

You already know how this goes. You remember the first bonefish that actually ate, the second one that ruined your nerves, and the guide who somehow saw fish where you saw only glare and poor life choices. You’ve replayed those moments enough times to know one thing: once is not enough.

And if you haven’t been yet, let’s simplify it—this is the trip that resets your expectations. Big water, big fish, and just enough humility to keep things interesting. It’s not complicated, but it is unforgettable.

Booking for the 2026–2027 season is officially open. And yes, spots are already disappearing. Not “marketing disappearing.” Actually disappearing.

Prime weeks won’t wait around while you debate it over coffee or scroll through old fish photos pretending that counts.

If Andros South has been on your list, this is your nudge. If it’s already in your bloodstream, this is your warning.

Get your dates locked in before someone else does.

We’ll save you a spot. Actually…no we won’t, so act fast!

The Simple TC Mouse wasn’t born in a fly-tying cathedral with exotic materials and a glass of bourbon nearby. It showed up out of mild desperation, a short materials list, and the uncomfortable realization that the fish did not care about your artistic expression.

It had to be quick. It had to float. Ideally, it had to resemble something worth violently eating. It also had to be smaller. While many mouse patterns lean toward “large rodent with a life insurance policy,” on the Kanektok, there are plenty of side channels and softer edges where smaller isn’t optional; it’s the difference between getting ignored and getting looks, then getting crushed.

So this pattern skips the foofooness, ignores the ego, and gets right down to business. A strip here, a wrap there, and suddenly you’ve got a passable rodent with just enough attitude to get noticed, and just enough durability to survive poor life choices from large trout. There’s even a slick little foam stamp in the mix, because if you’re going to keep things simple, you might as well make them look halfway intentional.

And for the record, the “TC” isn’t Theodore Calvin from Magnum P.I.—though that would be a way cooler origin story involving helicopters and questionable mustaches. It’s for AKW alum Trevor Covich @opflyguy, who, thankfully, spent more time figuring out what works on big fish than chasing TV drama.

It’s not pretty. It’s not complicated. But it works, which is really the only personality trait that matters in a mouse fly.

Let’s get into it.

Have A Request?

This Fly Tying Tutorial comes straight from the request of one of our loyal subscribers. If there’s a pattern you’d love to see next, don’t be shy—send us your suggestions, and it might be featured here soon.

Submit Fly Tying Requests Here.

Photos and Tied By: Captain Andrew Abraham @andy.abraham_fishing, AKW Alum

Materials:

1. Size 2 to 4 streamer style hook; Gamakatsu B10s, Ahrex TP610, Umpqua U502 etc.
2. 3mm Brown, Gray or Black foam
3. Brown, Gray or Black bucktail (substitute with calf tail, coyote etc)
4. Brown Gray or Black Rabbit Zonker strips
5. Ultra Chenille Brown Gray or Black
6. Veevus 140 thread in brown

Step 1. After applying the entire shank of the hook with thread, tie in a small amount of deer hair in the
back of the fly as if your tying a streamer. This small amount of hair acts as a prop to keep the
chenille tail from fowling around the hook as well as adds to the flies tracking ability acting as a
rudder to keep the fly upright and swimming straight.

Step 2. Next add your chenille tail. Tie this in over your deer hair and have it extend about 1 to 1.5
inches past the hair.

Step 3. Now wrap up the shank of the hook with your zonker strip finishing about ⅛ of an inch before
the eye of the hook. You need to leave a small gap between the fur and hook eye. You can
either do this by palmering the entire strip on or put the hair in a dubbing loop and wrap on that
way. Personally I use a dubbing loop as I find the addition of the leather hide can make it
sometimes too bulky, especially when tying off the end of the zonker strip by the eye.
Nonetheless we are looking to cover the body of the hook in fur as this will be our under belly
and body of the fly that the fish looks at from underneath.

Step 4. Now, with scissors you will cut out a body from your foam. The shape looks like a tear drop with
the point being cut off about half an inch up. I cut these by hand (and they look as such). They do
not need to be absolutely perfect as long as it is relatively symmetrical. The body is about an
inch and a half long and about an ¾ of an inch across at its widest point.

Step 5. To tie the foam in, go ½ inch above where you cut off the tip of your tear drop. Place that spot
right between the zonker and eye of the hook (you should have left yourself a little room). Once
you wrap it on with two relatively loose wraps you should have a ½ inch of foam flaring up over
the eye of the hook. If you are pleased with how it’s sitting, tighten your wraps and secure the
foam to the shank. Finish by wrapping around the eye of the hook in front of the foam lip and
whip finish.

Step 6. Finally, I will take scissors and snip the flared foam over the eye of the hook right down the
middle to create a V shape. This makes it slightly easier for your line to pass through the eye
when tying it on. After I will add a dot of super glue to my whip finish to ensure the knot holds. I
will add a dot of super glue underneath where the foam was tied in so it does not spin or slide. I
will also add glue to the underside of the foam body section to connect it to the hook shank /
zonker strip so it does not flare upwards and it rides flat on the water.

This fly takes no time to tie and is wildly effective. It slides and skates effortlessly and chugs
water if given the right twitching action like a gurgler. It does everything you want a mouse to do!
It’s my go to choice when guiding anywhere in the state. Bass loves them as well down here in
the lower 48! Happy tying and Good luck friends!

The problem probably isn’t your gear. It isn’t your hat. It isn’t even the moon phase, despite what your uncle insists. It’s almost certainly how you’re fishing , specifically, how you’re presenting your streamer, which is the large, vaguely fish-shaped pattern that’s supposed to trigger a trout’s predatory instincts but is currently triggering absolutely nothing.

If you’ve ever stood in a river wondering whether you’re doing it right, the answer is you’re not, but you’re in good company. The good news? You don’t need secret handshakes or a PhD in aquatic insects to get better at this. You just need a few simple adjustments, a willingness to look slightly ridiculous while doing them, and the patience to keep casting even when the fish are acting like they’ve unionized against you.

These five techniques won’t turn you into a legend overnight, but they will stack the odds in your favor and possibly save you from another long day of aggressively exercising your casting arm for no apparent reason.

That said, we notice many anglers fishing streamer patterns use only one technique before giving up on the streamer and looking to change flies. Before you do change flies, just remember situations change, currents change, moods change, and every run is different. Here are 5 ways to fish a streamer more effectively.

Swung Up a Nice Rainbow on the Kanektok River

1. The Swing. Make a cast shooting across and slightly down stream, mend it, and then let the fly swing through the run. Yes you can do this with a single hand rod. With the fly swinging across you offer a different broadside view. Just make sure to allow the fly to complete the full swing. It may look like your line is hanging, but it depending on the current, it could still be finishing the swing. Allow the fish to follow to the hang down, full swing before triggering a your strips.
2. Banging the Banks. Banging the banks is an effective way to trigger strikes with quick short strips. This is effective from a slow moving boat or from an opposite bank. The key is to cast into the first likely holding lie, make a few quality strips, then pick up the fly and hit the piece of juicy water so that the fish can strike. This is especially effective in slow moving deeper pools. This works particularly well in deep pools, say in front of a beaver house, where “no fish are.”
3. The Dead Drift. One of the most overlooked streamer techniques is dead drifting. A free tumbling leech, sculpin, or any other item mimicked by a streamer is an easy meal for a hungry trout. A streamer can be dead drifted in deeper pools, heavy current seams, or any other body of water that can confuse a battling bait fish.
4. The Drift and Jig. Another fantastic method for fishing a streamer from shore using a variety of approaches is to drift and jig. Cast upstream like you would a dead drifting nymph. Mend continuously so that your fly can go deep. Make a series of rapid lifts of the rod tip and a gentle slapping down of the fly line while the fly floats beneath. This produces a realistic jigging motion that mimics a struggling baitfish. Make a couple good strips back and repeat once the fly line is straight downstream. By covering the water in this manner, you can display your fly in three distinct shapes on a single cast: a dead fish (dead drift), an injured fish (jig), and a running fish (strip). Easy peasy!
5. The Jerk Strip. A streamer technique that distinguishes experienced streamer anglers from inexperienced fishermen is the jerk strip. A typical 6-8-inch strip will occasionally catch fish, but it is not the most accurate representation of a struggling minnow or baitfish. Rather, use rapid downstream twitches of the rod tip to recover the fly, then use a slow line hand strip to pick up the slack left by the “twitch.” The most accurate retrieve is attainable when the rod tip is moved with the rod hand and the fly line is drawn in by the line hand with a little practice.

Have you ever had a run of losing fish in the “hang down?” If you’ve been fly fishing for a little bit you have probably felt the surprise of a fish grab on the hang-down part of your swing. You’d think hooking a fish on the hang down would be easy, but in actuality, it is probably one of the more challenging situations to set a hook on a fish. So today, we bring you some things to consider while setting the hook on a hang-down situation.

1. Leave the fly there – If you feel a tug, or grab let the fish take the hook. Don’t pull on your rod or try to set it. Let the fish hook itself as it will grab your fly and turn into the river essentially hooking itself. Don’t pull the hook out of the fish’s mouth.
2. Sweep low and towards the bank– This works either river right or river left, once you feel a good solid pull, perform a low sweep with your rod toward the bank to complete the hook set.
3. “Be Patient” and slow down – You hear this a lot while Spey fishing, and it bodes true even up to the hook set.

Consider these things and your percentage of landing more fish caught on the hang down will dramatically increase. Even if it is just one, it is still worth it.

We don’t do this often… but when a prime week opens up at Rapids Camp, we move fast. A small window just opened for June 26 – July 1, and we’re offering a simple deal: Buy 3 days of fishing, get the 4th free.

That means:

• 5 nights at Rapids Camp Lodge
• 4 full days of guided fishing (including fly-outs)
• Roundtrip Pilatus flights between Anchorage and King Salmon
• Just $6,000 per person

That’s 4 days of world-class Alaska fishing at the price of 3, including Fly Outs.

Why now? A last-minute opening means a once-in-a-season opportunity for you. Late June into July is prime time on the river to hook into a variety of Alaskan fish that are running, the days are long, and Rapids Camp is firing on all cylinders.

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to fish Bristol Bay, Alaska, or just need an excuse to get back to Alaska, this is it.

Click Here To Book or email us info@deneki.com or call us at (907) 563-9788!

Alaska West in July is usually the kind of place you hear about… right after it’s already fully booked.

Which is why this is interesting.

A handful of prime July weeks have quietly opened up, and if you know anything about Alaska West, you know July isn’t just good, it’s ridiculous. Think chrome-bright king salmon that haven’t read the rules, leopard rainbows that hit like they’ve got something to prove, and more fish per day than your forearms politely asked for.

It’s the season where everything lines up: long daylight, aggressive fish, and just enough chaos to keep things honest. One minute you’re swinging for kings, the next you’re wondering how a rainbow that size ended up in water that shallow.

And yet… here we are. Open rods in July.

We won’t pretend this happens often. It doesn’t. But every now and then, the fishing gods (or a last-minute calendar shuffle) create a small window.

If you’ve been “meaning to fish Alaska someday,” this is that someday tapping you on the shoulder.

Fair warning: July doesn’t wait around, and neither do these spots.

Take a look at current availability, grab your gear, and come see what all the noise is about.

There are places in this world where you go to relax. Sip hot coffee, stare at the horizon, maybe read a book. Alaska West Lodge on the Kanektok River is NOT one of those places.

At Alaska West, you fish until your arms give out. Then you fish a little more because the guide is already moving upstream and it would be awkward to stop now. This is a feature, not an issue.

Here’s what’s still available for 2026:

• July 12 – 19, 6 spots remaining
• July 19 -26, 5 spots remaining
• July 26 – August 2, 5 spots remaining

A 6-night / 7-day trip runs $8,950 per person, which covers your round trip direct charter between Anchorage and the Native Village of Quinhagak, guided fishing, lodging, all meals, and loaner gear (rods, reels, lines, waders, boots, flies… the works).

Singles willing to share lodging and guided fishing with another guest are welcome at no extra charge. The fish don’t care who you came with.

Chase Adventure, Live The Legend

2026 availability is real. 2026 availability is also finite. You know what to do. Chase Adventure, Live the Legend! Contact Alaska West Lodge to book your week before someone else does, which they are, right now, probably. Email – info@deneki.com or call (907) 563-9788.

Okay, You’ve book your trip of a lifetime to Alaska and you’re trying figure out what to take. FLIES! Got it. but which ones? We’re here to help. Alaska fish don’t care about your feelings. They don’t care about your $1000 Spey rod, your Instagram, or the fact that you’ve been practicing your sustained anchor cast in the backyard for three weeks straight. Alaska fish only care about one thing: whether or not your fly looks like something worth munching on. There it was said.

That said, when you’ve got the right fly swinging through the current, magic can happen, and when it does, it is remarkable. To help conjure up some of that Spey magic, we’ve put together a list (because everyone likes lists) of seven proven fly pattern concoctions that have survived countless wind-knotted leaders, icy mornings, and “one more cast” promises. Some are classics, some are local secrets, and all of them flat-out work. Who are we kidding? There are no secrets nowadays.

The flies in this list aren’t pretty for the sake of being pretty, though some of them are genuinely captivating in a way that makes you feel guilty about throwing them at a fish. These flies are proven. They’ve been tied, tested, dunked, chewed, lost to streamside alders, and begrudgingly reproduced at the vise at midnight the night before a trip. That’s the unofficial certification process for any fly worth writing about.

The Al Green doesn’t make a scene, it just gets eaten. Subtle, smooth, and quietly effective, it sits right between its cousins, the more scruffy Willie Nelson and less funky Joker, but just as deadly. When fish get picky, this is the one that seals the deal.

The Black Stonefly. Like the cool cat in the dark alley, this slender, shady, and basically goth insect materializes out of the ice and emerges in Alaska’s soggy spring meltdown, fooling Trout and Steelhead who haven’t seen real food since Thanksgiving. Uber fun on the swing.

Swing it Spey style through the Kenai’s chocolate milk currents; that wiggling profile screams “easy lunch” to fish too hungry to notice it’s fake. Go size 14-18 with a tungsten bead (because sinking is non-negotiable).

Just like some of your friends, The Half Wit darts like a bad idea in a desperate situation, but with confidence. In Alaska, where fish see a buffet of real bugs, flesh, and debris rolling by all day, the Half Wit shines because it doesn’t overthink things. Swing it through soft seams, strip it like a fleeing mistake, or dead-drift it like it gave up on life. It just works. Rainbows, Dollies, even the occasional Grayling don’t need a reason… just a target.

The Soft Hackle is a minimalist’s dream. Simple hook threaded with a body of fur or silk, topped with a collar of soft, webby feathers from birds like partridge or starling that pulse and breathe in the current like a nymph having a bad day.

In Alaska’s wild rivers and streams, these flies shine by mimicking emerging caddis, or even scuds, with a subtle, swimming action that triggers savage strikes from Rainbows, Dollies, and Grayling too lazy to chase something that requires more effort.

Try them in May through July during chironomid and early caddis hatches on lakes and rivers, or anytime post-ice-out when trout stack up in low, clear waterbasically, whenever Alaska’s fish decide surface food is overrated, but emergers are idiot-proof. Skip ’em in raging silt floods unless you enjoy losing flies to rocks with commitment issues. The best part about Soft Hackles is that you can stack a bunch of them in your fly box.

The Striptease is that shy streamer pattern which, upon hitting water, suddenly remembers it left the curtains open, flashing metallic undulations like a leech doing the walk of shame for atonement.

Up north, it’s basically fish therapy. Alaska’s Rainbows and Dollies can’t resist its “come hither” wiggle in silty currents, turning grumpy post-spawners into desperate suitors who forgot they were fasting for Lent.

Summer to fall, when salmon are spawning, and trout ponder life’s choices subsurface; strip erratically on overcast days unless you enjoy watching it fish itself. Especially in front of Beaver houses where there are no fish.

The Trout Spey Bugger is a trout-spey cousin of the classic Woolly Bugger, designed to swing well on a two-handed setup and move with extra marabou-style action in the water. It’s a strong Alaska pattern because it has the profile, motion, and versatility to suggest a range of food sources, leech, baitfish, or even salmon flesh, and that works especially well on aggressive trout in big water.

It’s a good choice in Alaska during trout season, especially in big rivers or tight bankside spots where a Trout Spey setup helps you cover more water and reach hard-to-cast lies. A simple way to think about it: if you’d fish a Woolly Bugger, but want to do it with a swinging presentation and more reach, this is the fly.

The Muddler Minnow is a scruffy little sculpin impersonator with a deer hair head that shoves water and gets noticed. It’s not winning any beauty contests, but fish hit it like it owes them money. As a swing fly in Alaska, it shines in less-than-perfect conditions. That bushy head gives it a lively, hovering action that highways through the danger zone longer right where trout, dollies, and the occasional salmon are looking for an easy meal.

Fish it in off-color water, during fry migrations, or anytime you want a pattern that fishes bigger than it looks. When in doubt, swing a Muddler. It tends to figure things out.

So there you have it, seven flies that have earned their keep the hard way, not by looking good in a shadow box (if you even know what a shadow box is we need to talk), but by getting chewed in cold, unforgiving water by fish with zero emotional attachment to your efforts. You can overthink colors, debate sizes, and fall down the rabbit hole of “matching the hatch,” but at some point you’ve just got to step in, make the cast, and let it swing.

All That Said…

You pick a fly you trust, send it across the current, and hope something with fins and bad intentions agrees with your life choices. When it does, it’s electric. When it doesn’t… well, at least you looked like you knew what you were doing for a few seconds.