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Catching Pacific Salmon |
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| As the water temperatures in Alaska & British Columbia are colder than UK waters, the salmon are found generally at or near the bottom and unless the lure is presented at the correct depth , there is little chance in catching anything. There are many methods used to catch pacific salmon in rivers , some of these methods are listed below. |
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 Spoon Fishing. Use larger spoons for cloudy water and small for clearer . Copper and silver colours with scale marking are best and some advocate red and orange colouring. These should be cast at 45-90 degrees downstream and retrieved at a slow an variable rate , to keep the spoon near the bottom. As Pacific salmon have hard jaws it is best to use sharp hooks and set the hook firmly on the take. |
| Plugs. These are often trolled from boats allowing the plug to probe the bottom holes where the fish are lying using such plugs as Hot Shots and Quickfish. The technique normally uses 'back-trolling ' from either a jet boat or drift boat where the boat is held in the river and slowly drifted back over the fish, often with a planner to help reach the correct depth. |
| Plonking/ Spin-N-Glo. These are like a fat stubby Fluorescent "Devon Minnow" which are cast out into the river using a variable weight and either held still or retrieved , which allows the Spin-N-Glo to spin freely but clear from the bottom . It is even more effective if salmon roe is attached to the barbless single hook. |
Bottom bouncing uses a pencil weigh attached to a three way swivel at the end of which is often a 'Hoochie' or a sack of 
salmon roe. The weighted hoochie or salmon roe is cast out and allowed to bounce and drift with the force of the current which enable the lure to move freely close to the bottom where the salmon are lying.
| Float Fishing normally uses salmon roe, either alone or attached to a barbless hook with flourescant wool, and an appropriate weight to achieve the optimum weight. It is necessary to set the hook as soon as the salmon takes and the float is pulled. |
 Jigging. Jigging uses an oversized mackerel feather with a eccentric weight which is cast out on a spinning rod , and allowed to sink to near the bottom . This is retrieved in small jerks , keeping it close to the bottom and is very effective in covering the salmon lies, but expensive on jigs when the bottom is full of snags. |
| Fly-fishing. Pacific salmon flies are large 2-5/0 tied on single high quality barbless hooks. Most work best when fished close to the bottom so weighted flies are excellent. Bright coloured patterns are the rule like Woolly buggers and the Egg-Sucking Leech (below). |
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| Egg fly patterns and a leech fly , which is an excellent all round pacific salmon fly. Salmon egg flies work salmon and trout |
Pacific Salmon Flies are gauche in name and appearance, Woolley Bugger , Sparkly bugger , Sperm coloured egg fly. All seem to work well, although one you should never be without is the Egg Sucking Leach. This should be in a range of sizes, as it will work both for rainbows most salmon species, and always tied on a good quality hook that won't bend open. Weighted are perhaps best. Egg/flesh patterns are flies and streamers tied in colors and shapes to imitate salmon roe on flesh. They're  extremely effective in Alaska, especially late in the season when the rivers are pumped full of spawning salmon, and all the resident species (such as trout, charr,and grayling) are keyed into feeding on loose drifting roe and the flesh of spawned out fish. They're best fished on a deep drift or with a very slight strip.Attractors are a broad catch all group of flies that trigger instinctual, aggressive responses in salmon and trout with their bright colors and tantalizing action. Like forage imitations they can be effective nearly any time and place and should be fished similarly deep, with lively action. The Fly must be presented at the correct depth, which besides chums that can be caught on the surface, must be near the bottom. Ideally a heavy sink tip, like the new range Airflo Depth Finder lines or the Teeny T300 is best, but equally versatile, is to use large lead BB shot crimped on the leader, ranging from one to four, although these will invariably be lost when a large fish take the fly. Backing is essentially , ideally 200yds. |
Fishing the fly at the correct depth is essential. Generally the deeper the better. The new Airflow Depth Finder lines, are excellent and easier to cast the the Teeny lines. |
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Leaders should be strong 20lbs is ideal as these salmon are nor leader shy, anything over 25lbs will lead to snapping of the flyline rather than the leader on a large fish! The leader is ideally attached to the fly line which is made into a simple loop and tied with a knot . Braided leaders and a 'nail knot' will frequently slip with a large fish. |
Rods. It is possible to land even Chinnok on 7-9 wt rods although this is slow and a 10-11 wt is perhaps best. Single handed rods a the norm in North America. Take a few extra as it's easy to snap a few on Chinook.. |
Fly Fishing Techniques. Pacific Salmon are not easily spooked and so long cast are not necessary. It may also be possible to sight the fish in clear water with polarised glasses. Ideally cast a short well sunk line across the pool, working the fly in sharp retrieves. When the salmon take strike hard at right angles to the fish to set the hook, and repeat this if in doubt. Fishing at the neck of the pool , will often result in lost fish as the hook is set in the lip rather than the scissors af the mouth. Side pressure is important to control the fish, the rod is pulled horizontally in the opposite direction of the way the salmon is swimming, and invariable the salmon will alter direction. Regular use of this confuses the salmon, which is landed more quickly than simply holding the rod vertically. Salmon are beached rather than netted, this is ideally done when the fisherman is back from the bank and the fish is only approached when the salmon's head in held on the shore under tension , when it cannot easily return to the water. Catch-and-release. This is the norm for most salmon caught. Barbless hooks are therefore obligatory. Statistics reveal than only 10% of Coho and Kings are killed if caught and release. T.Gjernes, fisheries dept ,Washington State showed a 93% survival found in a catch and release fishery. Handling didn't appear to be that important it was the hook injury which seemed to determine mortality, particularly haemorragh through the gill arches. The formula for estimating the catch and release wt of a king is =girth squared x length x 1.53 divided by 1000. Steelhead: girth squared x length x 1.33 divided by 1000 (inches)
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| Other things to take: Polaroid glasses  scissors or snips, short nose pliers for debarbing and unhooking, a hook file, AAA shot, Sun block, lip chap, hand cream, plasters, Insect repellent and midge net are essential, see photo Camera and lots of film. Tackle bag, waistcoat, fly boxes and a peaked hat |
| Excellent site, view his line and fishing trips |  |
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