Feburary 2001

by Rich Johnson

20/20 Flies
Notes: Bear with me while I relate the story behind the 20/20 Flies. 
I will confess right up front that this is not my idea, but that it is a concept I came across over 25 years ago. As I recall, fairly early into my flyfishing life there was an article, or section in a book, by Lee Wulff that first exposed me to the concept of the 20/20 Club. Lee described an unofficial group of anglers who had successfully landed a 20" or larger fish, on a size 20 or smaller hook. Now, at first thought, this seemed to be a foolhardy goal. I had seen a size 20 hook. I didn't, at that time, hardly believe that any fish of size would be caught, let alone landed, on a fly that small. But Lee's article explained how he went about the process. He had incorporated a size 20 hook into a Wulff dry fly, and had successfully coaxed an Atlantic Salmon to taking this large bushy fly with the diminutive hook hidden in it's tail. I even remember a line drawing of his creation. Well, the article impressed me and I decided that someday, I too would like to be a member of Lee Wulff's 20/20 Club. But I lived in Alaska far away from Atlantic Salmon; worst yet, I lived in Anchorage, and the only 20" plus fish I had ever seen were rainbows taken by trolling deep in lakes, or salmon. And we all knew (back then) that pacific salmon never took flies. 
Well, times changed, I changed. I now know that there are fisheries where 20" plus fish rise to #20 and smaller flies. (although not often in Alaska) There are now areas in southcentral Alaska were a good angler can expect to catch a few 20" and larger fish in a season. And my tying skills have progressed to the point were last August I finally put it all together and rekindled my desire to join the 20/20 Club. The location was the Talachulina River, at the TalStar lodge. My wife and I were lucky enough to be able to spend a few days in early August with Claire and Dave, the owners. The river was high and muddy, blown out by over a week of rain, and so were my hopes of wade fishing for rainbow. However, a few pinks and silvers were being caught at the mouth from boats and any fishing is better than no fishing. (More on that next month.) After dinner, we would head for the mouth to fish and return with a silver or two for the freezer. On the first evening I was talking with Dave as he was cleaning our fish at the bankside station, throwing the entrails and carcasses into the side channel where the boats are parked. (Bears are always a problem around areas where fish are cleaned so nothing is left on land and the station is scrubbed down each time it's used.) At one point Dave throws a fairly large chunk of innards into the murky water. As I watch, it slowly sinks and drifts down stream. I can see it being pulled and tugged by small fish eager for an easy meal. Then it just disappears! It didn't slowly sink out of sight, it was there one moment, and gone the next! When I made a comment to Dave he told me that some of the best rainbow fishing on the lower Tal was just down from where they parked the boats, and some good sized fish too. Yea - go figure. Give fish a deep hole against a high bank with a little current, overhead cover from the flat bottom river boats, and a good food source (the cleaning station) just upstream and you have what I'd describe as prime habitat, especially for large (read over 20") rainbows. After sleeping on my new found fortune, I sat down at the lodge's vise and devised the following fly; based on the design concept from Lee Wulff. I have wondered what he would have thought of my adaptation of his idea.