Northwest Fishing Reports

I took on Steelhead river fishing last season and had a blast! Now Im ready to attempt to tackle River Salmon fishing... Anyone have any tips, pointers, or advise for me? Anything would be appreciative!

Thanks

There's a lot of discussion about this in this forum. The best place online to check out is http://www.salmonuniversity.com Hope this helps. Otherwise find out where everyone else is going and watch and learn from the guys fishing the holes.

One thing that I have learned from last year, is every river is different. I really suck at drift fishing and have been focusing on fishing with hardware/bait a lot more since the year started and it has been paying off for me ten fold. Salmon U is a great info site and call local tackle shops too, some of those ol timers are like gold mines. They aren't zipperlip whatsoever.
Good luck.

Off to check out salmon university. Thanks guys

Man where to begin lol. I am very far from a pro or even a "good angler" but I could write a book on the topic. Best advice I can give, put as much time on the river as possible. Stick to a local river and fish the hell out of it. There are a number of different tactics, and even more different types of water to a river. Not all tactics (baits) can be fished in different stretches of the river. I would rather be OK at everything than be really good at say jig fishing. (which I am the exact opposite of lol) Oh and TIDES, TIDES, TIDES, no matter how far up the system you are. But like I said, this is a very, very broad subject. Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.

GPC is right, fish, fish, fish. It has taken years of drift fishing to figure out the difference between bottom snags, old line, rocks, etc..... and real BITES. Ive fished mostly drifting corkies and yarn. But Ive started trying different techniques. Bobber and Jig is supposed to be the easy beginers technique. Ive actually never caught a fish using it or gotten a bite. Spoons worked well for me last year also. It was the first time I used them and I caught some fish with them. Just remember using a spoon or spinner cast upriver and retrieve slow. I use a jerk reel jerk reel type jigging motion on my retrieve alot of the times. It puts a different look to the spoon and can cause a reaction bite. Time with the different techniques is what it will take. Find one that feels good to you and try that till you feel you got the hang of it. Then work a different one into the mix. Fish new areas of the river also. I usually start out in a hole and work my way up river drifting untill I start getting bites. When the bites start Ill stick to it for awhile. Then work your spoons or spinners on your way back to the vehicle. You can cover alot of water this way. Try to learn about reading the water. There is many articles on the net about this. I have gone to seminars at the sportsman shows to hear about reading water. Also Like Jens said talk to old timers you run across. They Have a ton of info usually on the rivers they fish and what to use. I dont know alot about areas on the east side. But Im sure that its not a huge difference. Oh also usually right at daybreak and just before sunset have been best for me. I still catch fish all day. But not as many as morning and evening. Good luck with everything.

i am a drift guy. i have hooked more fish that way then any other way. the trick is scout the river b4 u fish it or while you are fishing throw heavier leads to learn the bottom. this method worked for me fishing the wallace, skykomish and many more. the trick is u want ur lead ticking every 3 to 4 feet and be able if u have to cast a 1/4 to 1/2 inch pencil lead into the middle of the river in shallow rivers in the summer months. but like others said rivers change so dont be afraid to change a little bit. salmon are like steelhead so alot of the same tactics will work for them.

I fish from the banks and use a bluefox lure directly on the main line or a 50/50 dick nite and 1/2oz weight on a 3 way swivel. Either way just cast and let the current take it and reel in. I think I get a lot of anger strikes with the dick nite because of the clacking noise the weight makes against the rocks.

Yup, I think it's all been summed up here. Fish, fish, fish... And when in doubt, fish some more. Study the river, find the bottom and the substructure, slow holes and fast drifts. Tides are important too. Find a technique that fits and stick with it until you know it blindfolded, then switch it up. Talkin' to the guys at the local tackle shop is a great source of info too. They're usually in the know when it comes to what's goin' on. All good stuff to know. Stick with it and good luck out there!