Lee Wulff's buoyant attractor dry fly. White calf hair wings, peacock herl body with red floss band. Rides high in rough water and is visible at distance -- perfect for Alaska's big, turbulent streams.

Yarn egg pattern in fluorescent colors. Dead-drifted through salmon spawning runs. The universal currency of Alaskan rivers from June through October.

Realistic egg pattern with a contrasting dot of red or orange yarn in the center, imitating a fertilized or developing salmon egg. The blood dot trigger dramatically increases strike rates compared to plain eggs.

Hard acrylic or glass bead pegged two inches above a bare hook. The most realistic egg imitation available. Controversial in some circles, devastatingly effective in all of them.

The same universally effective nymph that works everywhere in North America. Peacock herl body, white biot wings, brown hackle. In Alaska, it fills the gap when fish are not keyed on eggs or flesh.

John Barr's tungsten-headed nymph, sized up for Alaskan waters. The extra weight and flash make it effective in the faster, deeper runs of salmon rivers where standard nymphs cannot reach.