To protect Chinook salmon in the low flows of Oregon’s Chetco River, the Oregon Depratment of Fish & Wildlife has extended a fishing ban for most of the river until Nov. 30.
Here’s what the ODFW has to say…
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October 2008
I just got off the phone with my pal Gill McKean of West Coast Fishing Adventures in Terrace, B.C. and he told me I should hop on a plane immediately and head for Canada, where he has been absolutely whacking big steelies to 20 pounds like the 20 pounder above (on flies!) and lots of rainbows.
“It’s been nuts, eh!” said Mckean. “The other day I had 4 guys out and they had a fish hooked up literally on every cast! Of course, it’s not always like that, but we have been having some awesome late-season fishing.”
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I know, I know…it’s generally been a pretty rough year for salmon fishing — especially here in California — but I know you guys are still out there catching some scrotey, skanky soretails that you haven’t been sending in to our Smoker of the Year Contest.
Upper Klamath guys — how come you haven’t chimed in yet with some of those black beauties? And with chums headed upriver soon, I’d expect to see some Emerald Staters checking in. There’s no excuse!
Don’t worry, there’s still time as the contest runs until New Years Eve, but you’d better step it up and send those pictures in…the 2008 entries are way behind last year’s epic event.
And this year’s prize is even better than the one in 2007: The Smoker of the Year winner in 08 wins a free on-the-water seminar on how to “dorsal-line” spawning suckers!!
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Though they/ve long been treated like the red-headed stepchildren of the salmon world, chum salmon are starting to gain a pretty dedicated following these days. When you take a closer look, it’s easy to see why — chums are plentiful and can sometimes top 20 pounds; they bite great and are absolutely tenacious when hooked.
The only real downside to them is they are not as tasty as kings, reds and silvers. But that’s really not a problem — just keep a couple reds for the freezer and then have a ball catching and releasing chums all day long!
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Okay, so it’s been a while since our last installment of the Name that Fish Contest, and you’re probably a bit rusty, so I’m gonna throw a nice, straight batting practice fastball at ya here.
What’s that? You need a hint? Okay, let’s just say that if you live near Seattle’s Lake Washington, Northern California’s Copco Lake or Iron Gate Reservoir or in the Midwest, this one’s a piece of cake…
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JD
On your idea of using a #50 hot shot for spring Chinook: When you change out the hook and use the barrel swivel– do you remove the split ring and attach the barrel swivel directly to the screw eye? Or do you attach the barrel swivel to the split ring?
Thanks, Chris
Hey Chris, I take a small set of needle nose pliers and open the screw eye on the plug and attach the swivel there. With a split ring and barrel swivel, run you run the risk of adversely affecting the plugs action.
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JD,
I live in NZ and recently heard about some new wiggle action lures, single hook that are very effective on trout – rainbows and browns.
Can you enlighten me or recommend any flies I can purchase.
Thank you in advance, Peter
Well, I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to, but the good ol’ Pistol Pete is a great fly/lure for all varieties of trout. It’s not exactly new, but maybe it hasn’t reached your shores yet. Check ‘em out HERE
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Hey JD, I read the article on your website that you wrote on flatlining plugs. . . I was wondering if you always use a 10ft 20-25lb flouro leader? I have never put much thought into having low visibility line when pulling plugs for salmon(trolling I do). . . I’ve always done ok tying a bright colored braid to a swivel then have a 4 or 5-foot flouro or mono leader.
Do you think, in clear waters like the upper Trinity or the Sac(when it gets low), that having a long(10ft) flouro leader as opposed to a 4 or 5 footer will bring in more fish?
Great article by the way!
Thanks, Danny
Danny,
Yea, in clear water I think it really helps to have a longer leader. However, kings can also be pretty oblivious to leaders when they’re aggressive and on the chew. I’m not quite confident enough in that to run braid straight to my plugs, however, so the abrasion resistant qualities of flouro help keep big teeth from sawing through your leader…
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