It’s that time of year again; the chinook salmon are coming over the Bonneville Dam and it’s time to start salmon fishing. We’ve been taking the salmon gear out on the last couple fishing trips to make sure everything is working so we don’t lose any big fish because of equipment problems. We’ll be out on the river before sunrise among the power boats so we’ll be using the kayak light to try and not get run over.
The gear we use is pretty simple. We’ve learned from experience that time tested, simple setups continue to catch the most fish. Different spots and conditions determine what kind of fishing and which setup should be used. Kayak fishing for salmon is a little different than fishing from a power boat or casting from the bank so you must pay attention to the situation and use the setup that will work best for those conditions. We have a rig for casting plugs and spinners, a basic trolling rig and a couple bait rigs. The trolling rig has 20 lb. test braided line, the others are 20 lb. test monofilament. We use mostly plugs and spinners that local fishermen have been using for decades to catch fish.
From now until the fishing rod guides start icing up, we will be fishing for salmon every day the weather cooperates.