Fly fishing for salmon

[nmullens]

Hello everyone, I have been a fly fisher for most of my life. I grew up in the Kootenays and have fished for trout exclusively with exceptions of land lock Kokanee and Dollys. I have lived on the coast for the last five years and am starting to get an itch to catch some salmon. I don't think I would be a big fan of standing on the shore of the Fraser with the other 100 people trying to snag/flossing a salmon. I am not sure if that is the only way to go about catching a nice big salmon and if it is I guess I will give it a try but I am also not sure what kind of gear I would need. I would prefer to be able to catch a nice salmon on a fly rod but all I own is a 6-7 wt and I don't think that would cut it? Basically I am looking for any pointers on getting into salmon fishing.

Thanks Nic.

[CameronT120]

Check out the salt water section of this forum for lots of discussion on this very topic. Especially if you want to get away from the rivers.

[TieFlier]

If you hit the salt the 6-7wt you have should be ok, just make sure that your reel is rated for salt water. For rivers around vancouver (this year) you will be needing a heavier set-up (8wt+). Salmon fishing and crowds seem to go hand in hand and the spots that don't have this problem are often not talked about so they can remain this way. You DO NOT have to snag or floss salmon in freshwater to catch them. This is a big misconception that has been propagated by less skilled anglers. When salmon have been in freshwater for an extended period of time and have begun to hold they can turn off and develop a locked jaw. These fish are very difficult to catch. Salmon that are moving up river or resting before moving are the most likely to bit. I would argue that probably about 1 in 50 fish will actually take a bite at a fly, so success is usually found when there are large numbers of fish in the water you are fishing. I would recommend that you cut your teeth catching chum and pinks. These fish are good fighters and are a bit more forgiving to novice anglers. Case and point I my girlfriend out for pinks last year and she caught 4 on her first time fly fishing, and was only able to cast about 25- 30' of line. Either that's saying i'm a good teacher or the fishing was really good. Pinks are not around this year, as they only run every odd year in this region and our current set-up will be more than enough for them. Chum will start showing up late september and early october (depending on the system). For chum I would recommend an 8wt plus set-up as these are powerful fish. I have had success with big colourful fies for chums, and they are a lot of fun.
Hope this helps.

[btree]

I agree - you will want to get an 8 or 9wt rod eventually, but for coho and pinks, your 6/7 should be fine. You probably could land a chum or a smaller sub 20lb spring with a 6/7, but it wouldn't be the first choice of many people. You may however want to make sure the reel that you choose to use has a powerful and reliable drag system. A click-pawl trout reel could get smoked/melted/seized if you're not careful.

[nmullens]

If you hit the salt the 6-7wt you have should be ok, just make sure that your reel is rated for salt water. For rivers around vancouver (this year) you will be needing a heavier set-up (8wt+). Salmon fishing and crowds seem to go hand in hand and the spots that don't have this problem are often not talked about so they can remain this way. You DO NOT have to snag or floss salmon in freshwater to catch them. This is a big misconception that has been propagated by less skilled anglers. When salmon have been in freshwater for an extended period of time and have begun to hold they can turn off and develop a locked jaw. These fish are very difficult to catch. Salmon that are moving up river or resting before moving are the most likely to bit. I would argue that probably about 1 in 50 fish will actually take a bite at a fly, so success is usually found when there are large numbers of fish in the water you are fishing. I would recommend that you cut your teeth catching chum and pinks. These fish are good fighters and are a bit more forgiving to novice anglers. Case and point I my girlfriend out for pinks last year and she caught 4 on her first time fly fishing, and was only able to cast about 25- 30' of line. Either that's saying i'm a good teacher or the fishing was really good. Pinks are not around this year, as they only run every odd year in this region and our current set-up will be more than enough for them. Chum will start showing up late september and early october (depending on the system). For chum I would recommend an 8wt plus set-up as these are powerful fish. I have had success with big colourful fies for chums, and they are a lot of fun.
Hope this helps.

That is great news I didn't want to snag a fish, if I cheat the fish gods they might not be so kind to me. I think a big salmon on a fly rod would be a lot of fun. So if Chum are starting to run soon, I guess I better find myself a heavier setup. What method do you use to fish them IE: line type, leader length/weight, retrieval method, amount of backing? Also when you say big colorful fly's are you talking big streamers? Can you get them to hit dry fly?

I agree - you will want to get an 8 or 9wt rod eventually, but for coho and pinks, your 6/7 should be fine. You probably could land a chum or a smaller sub 20lb spring with a 6/7, but it wouldn't be the first choice of many people. You may however want to make sure the reel that you choose to use has a powerful and reliable drag system. A click-pawl trout reel could get smoked/melted/seized if you're not careful.

Good to know about the reel, I would have used one of my light click-pawl trout reels on my 8wt setup (currently looking) as it has 8wt fly line on it already. You probably saved my reel. Thanks. Any tips on what makes a reliable drag system?


Thanks.

[btree]

I have a couple snowbees that have served me very very well in both salt and fresh. No issues, solid drag, smooth as can be and salt friendly, plus low maintenance. I also have a Phleuger Trion that has done me well so far. lots of other options for reels - lots of posts on this topic elsewhere...A reliable drag will likely be some sort of disc drag. Cork is sweet, but high maintenance.

Dry fly action is few and far between with salmon, especially once they hit the fresh. lots of vids of alaskan salmon taking poppers, but that's hard to do down south here. Purple or black ESL (Egg Sucking Leech) in #1 to #6 seem to be the most consistent takers for a variety of salmon, but there are other flies that work - check the photo posts here for more ideas. I usually start with a #6 purple ESL in new waters for any salmon until someone tells me different. My next choice would be a black bead head stonefly and then a black General Practitioner followed by some sort of gaudy orange or pink fly.

As for leaders, get a couple 4 to 8ips or fast to ultra fast sink poly leaders and a clear 1.5 ips poly leader and that should do you.

As far as line type, go with what you feel comfortable casting. I over line my rods by one wt. and us a fast sink poly tip most of the time with an unweighted fly, or the same dry line with a 12ft leaders and a weighted bead head fly. I mix up my retrieve - some people just swing, others strip fast, some feed line and dead drift. It can depend on the fishery and the day.

The amount of backing depends on the size of the water. On a small stream that is less than 10m across, you could get away with no backing. On a big river that is ~30m across, you'd want a minimum of 100m of backing depending on the water. Mind you, I've landed coho on a 5wt with a click pawl reel with no issues, but a friend of mine has melted reels before on chum and springs, so it's up to you.

[nmullens]

Thanks for the great info Btree! Should be enough to get me going, I am currently looking at a setup in the classifieds from Robin. A Bloke 8/9 wt 9' 4 piece rod with a Dave McNeese Bonefish 8 wt reel. If all goes well I should be able to get out there with in a couple weeks to try and get my first salmon.

[ggp]

I just want to share another opinion on this topic....As far as rods are concerned, a six or seven weight is all that is needed for coho and pinks, for chinook and chum, an eight or nine....I use my Hardy Marquis #6 click and pawl reel on my 6 wt. and a Marquis 8/9 on my 7 wt....For the larger salmon I use a Marquis Salmon #1, none of these reels have ever let me down....It is not for fear of a reel seizing or melting that I move up, but rather too make sure I have sufficient backing for the larger fish....When I first started fishing for salmon, I bought two very expensive disc drag reels and added two more a few years later....Although these reels have seen a lot of use I was never really happy with them....They all have an irritating quality about them, which is that you must constantly adjust and readjust the drag, as it never stays where it is set....So several years ago I went back to using my old Marquis in both fresh and salt, they have never let me down....It is important to have a good reel loaded with enough backing for the species you intend to fish....When fishing rivers and playing big Chinook rather than cranking the drag all the way up just set it so as not to get back lash, and palm it when necessary....The more pressure you apply to these fish the more they will run, however by allowing them to run with medium pressure, my experience has been that the majority will go for an initial long run, then they slow down, thrash around a little bit, and come right back to the area in which they were hooked....At this point they are pretty much beat, even though they may still go for another one or two shorter runs....I realize that in crowded rivers it may not be feasible to allow fish this much running room, but it works if you can do it.

[mcallagan]

I also over weight my rod. I have a 8wt rod / reel and a 9wt line for it.
I also use RIO - Versa line which I find works well for me and is easy to change from floating to quick sinking quickly when needed.
The line was expensive but you only need 1 main line with it's various tips.

All of this works great for me and I've battled a few hogs on it of different species.

[nmullens]

If my new/used reel doesn't come with fly line already then I will look into getting one with a replaceable tip, but cost is going to be an issue if it is pricey. My wife is going to kick my but for getting another rig already, but she will be pumped if I bring home some Salmon. How are the different tips attached? Do they use a loop connection or would I have to tie a nail not or something and loose a bit of line every time I change them?

Also my trout reel only has room for about 20-30m of backing so I better invest in a more suitable one, anyways.


Thanks again to everyone for the help.