OREGON SALMON FISHING TIPS
We use three different types of lures for salmon: sardine-wrapped Quikfish, custom spinners, and wobblers. The trick is to use the right lure in the right water and get them tuned correctly. The other trick is to get your lead line at the right depth. This is a secret that I talk about when I am doing seminars. Remember a fish can always look up but can’t look down too well. Therefore it is always better to have your bait a little higher then too low.
At the mouth of the Cowlitz River, most people will run about a 4-foot lead line, while I am running about 6-7 foot and I seem to do very well. So remember to use longer lead lines if you are in 40-50 feet of water, where we are a lot of the times at the mouth of the Cowlitz and Sandy river.
Also, get your Quikfish and wobblers running true. A Quikfish can be tuned by turning the eye ring very little one way or the other. If it is running off to the left, turn your eye ring to the right. If it is running off to the right, then turn it back to the left. Again, it takes a very little turn.
For the wobblers, you can bend them a little to slow down or speed up the action. You don’t want a wobbler running like it is on crack. It is supposed to resemble a small baitfish swimming up river.
Another good tip is to prepare your hooks. We all know how important a sharp hook is, so I will not get into that too much. But I put an extra ring on the hook just to get them down a little bit more. This has really helped my fish stay on a lot better.
Sometimes in the fall, we set up on anchor and fish the deeper spots that we know salmon are coming through, maybe 48-50 feet of water. Now when fishing this deep you want to use long lead lines. I have been using 7-9 feet of lead line. Remember, you don’t want to be too low when fishing. Fish can look up but they can’t look down very well. The lure that works the best is a wobbler of some sort. I like using what they call Alvins or Clancys. Green has been the best color to use.
No matter what kind of wobbler you are using, if you don’t get the right level of your lead line down to keep your wobble to where the fish are, then it won’t matter what you use. I have found through the many years of fishing the Columbia River that 25-30 feet seems to be the magic depth where the salmon like to run. Here's how I learned that.
Several years ago we were fishing at the mouth of the Cowlitz River at about 37-45 feet. We always did all right, but with all the fish going through I thought we should have been getting more. What I did was start messing with how much lead line I was using. Usually it was common to use a 3-4 foot lead line. Well, I lengthened them out to 6-7 feet and that was the ticket. We were catching lots more fish.
When I am fishing less then 25 feet, then I use 3-4 foot lead line and sometimes shorter when we are up at Bonneville Dam fishing on the gravel bars. But you have to get your bait to where the fish are. That’s not too different no matter where and what you are fishing.
Once you get your lead line right, then it is time for your wobbler. A wobbler is a thin piece of metal that is bent up in to represent a small feeder fish swimming. There are so many different shape, size and color wobblers that I can’t keep track so I have two that I use depending how fast the river is running. Then when I get up to the Bonneville gravel bars, I use sardine-wrapped Quik-Fish and spinners. The wobbler I use are the Alvins and the Clancys and I like green or blue.
One key thing about using wobblers is tuning them. Not many people know about this. The river speed changes so much because of the Bonneville Dam and the tides, and you have to adjust your wobbler. You don’t want your wobbler to go like a caffeine-overdosed rabbit. You want a slow wobble back and forth to represent a fish that is calmly swimming around. If your wobble is going too fast, then straighten it out a bit to flatten it out. If it is going to slow then bend it a bit. Now when I say a bit, that is what I mean. It does not take much to change the action. Next time you are out with me, just practice a little and you will see what I mean.
Salmon Fishing Oregon Fishing Guides