Surge of Russian River Reds

June 16, 2005 By: Marshall Cutchin

“An 8-weight fly rod rigged with floating line and a 12-foot-long leader with 10-pound-test Maxima tippet was perfect for reds at Cottonwood Hole. A No. 6 Sockeye Orange — a silver-bodied, sparsely-tied salmon fly with orange hackle and a wisp of black calf tail for a wing — with a single 3/0 split shot crimped 18 inches above took a limit of salmon within 45 minutes.” Ken Marsh notes that the huge run of Russian River-bound red salmon has prompted wildlife officials to open the season one month early on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. In the Anchorage Daily News.