Winter provides few options for the fly fisher; the hatches are few, the fish are lethargic and the weather usually does little to raise the spirits. Therefore a fly that will rouse the trout’s attention is called for: something that is easy for the fly tier to tie and something that is just too big for the trout to say no.

The Alaskabou is a fly that originally hails from the North America Canada part of the world. It was designed for use on the large brook and lake trout that inhabit the impoundments in that part of the world; these fish are renowned for their aggression and hard fighting ability.

This fly is no less appealing to the Aussie trout, as it is large, has a nice profile and plenty of action due to the materials used to tie it. It is particularly good when used in the big impoundments of the Snowy Mountains and others in some parts of the Victorian central highlands when there is sufficient water around. Great Lake and Lake Burbury in Tasmania would also be a great spot to try this fly.

I have used this fly to great effect during the later part of winter and early spring chasing the post spawn fish as they re-enter the lakes from the rivers. These fish fan out along the lakeshore looking for a quick feed to regain condition after the rigours of spawning.

During normal winter conditions when the weather is bleak and lakeshores are windswept and murky, causing the windward shores to have a muddied zone extending out from the shore. The wind and wave action will have dislodged many large food items that are then exposed to the hungry trout – a great recipe for the trout angler.

The Alaskabou fished in these areas will often bring a savage response especially when fished along the edge of the muddied water. Wind and wave action can also mask a fishes presence as under cover of low light or overcast days these fish will move in quite shallow to search for this food, so standing well back from the shore and casting your fly into the waves may also bring you an unexpected response.

On those beautiful calm blue-sky days of late winter and early spring when polaroiding is an option you can use this fly to ambush cruising fish; the fly makes a reasonable imitation of a yabby. After you have spotted the cruiser position yourself ahead of the fish trying to maintain visual contact with it. Lay the fly well out in front of the fish and let it settle, as the fish moves within range give the fly a twitch to assist the fish finding the fly, on most occasions the fish will react positively.