On a recent trip to Katmai country, while wading Moraine in a dreamlike trance, I lucked upon a variation in technique that allowed me to catch more trout. Using a sink-tip line and short leader, I tossed the white and ginger, articulated, dumbbell-eyed Egg-sucking Leech upstream, while stripping line from the reel to lengthen the final quartering downstream cast. In the meantime, a two-foot trout ate the fly as if it were an irresistible chunk of salmon flesh. Only after catching two more above-average size trout in the first 15 minutes nymphing that giant chunk of rabbit fur did the light come on. When I didn't hit a fish during the drift, I'd come tight on the fly and proceed to swing it, followed by hanging it in the current and then finally stripping it back. At the end of the day, I caught the most fish nymphing the leech.

Now I could have changed out reels for one with a floating line, and re-rigged to nymph an appropriate flesh fly. And surely this would have been deadly. But I would not have had the chance to swing that irresistible attractor in a way so as to elicit that many vicious strikes, nor had the opportunity to feel a trout unexpectedly snatch the fly as it hung below me in the current. And what about the thrill of a fish that chases down your fly as it is being stripped back? Techniques require different equipment and riggings, and the more ways that you can present an attractor, the more fish you will catch.

And when it comes to fishing in Alaska, although fish are abundant and eager to eat, it's all about technique. How about in the saltwater, where veterans not only troll and soak bait on anchor, but drift and jig, and both mooch on anchor and under power. Make it to the river and your guide may back-troll, down-troll, side-drift, back-bounce, anchor or pull over to shore. Take it on yourself and first decide conventional or fly. When you go for the conventional rod, you're now faced with throwing spinners or spoons, floating jigs or bait, drift-fishing attractors and yarn and choosing between baitcaster or spin rod. Fly rodders start by figuring what type of line - be it float or sink - and from there it's the range of applications mentioned in addition to drifting, skating and stripping topwater. Now mix in two-handed rods and the myriad of Spey-casting techniques, and your choices are almost overwhelming as to how to catch a fish.

So our advice is to work towards proficiency in the styles that you are familiar with and slowly expand the skill-set to include other techniques. After you've got the basics, there's reward in experimentation. I've cast to wolf packs of large rainbows as they swarmed balls of outgoing sockeye smolt and found that the only way to get on them was to motor to the school and troll the fly into the melee. Several 30-inch trout were the reward. Similarly, we've pulled plugs, fished bait and cast spinners with fly rods. It's not about making pretty casts or being traditional for me, it's all about catching fish.

And in the pursuit of new techniques and ever-larger and greater numbers of fish comes the necessitation for quality and innovative gear. Perhaps you are ready to perfect back-trolling king salmon and want to step up to a longer, softer rod and a reel with a smoother, more reliable drag. Or maybe this is the year where you crush the halibut and other range of bottomfish and you equip your boat for jigging. So in addition to those short, stiff bait rods, you can now fish with a longer more responsive stick that still has the power in the butt end to fight a triple-digit flatfish. And the collection of jigs out there grows ever larger, so like an explorer seeking treasure, you'll marvel at the range of colors, shapes and sensory emission abilities in today's jig market.

This issue is the culmination of our year's efforts in testing gear, as well as keeping a vigilant eye towards the newest products on the horizon. Use it to help you become better at the techniques that you currently employ or to delve into a new area. Please share with the rest of us at www.fishalaskamagazine.ning.com when you uncover a subtlety in technique or presentation that would help fellow anglers succeed. In the end, you become better at something when you can teach it to others.

-Marcus Weiner, Publisher