By David M. Murray, Jr.
Salmon fishing on the Sacramento River in Northern California is everything an angler can imagine. The state record of an 88-pound Chinook salmon (or king salmon) was caught along this beautiful 364-mile stretch of water. The king salmon can be a difficult fish to land and will put up a terrific battle, swimming under your boat and turning its head violently in an effort to spit out the hook. The king salmon season opens July 16th and runs until January.
Instructions
Difficulty: Challenging
Things You'll Need:
- Trolling rig
Flasher lures
Lead core line
Cut bait
KwickFish lure or spoon
- Trolling rig
- Flasher lures
- Lead core line
- Cut bait
- KwickFish lure or spoon
Step 1
Attract the salmon by building a Sacramento River trolling rig. The rig should incorporate both color and movement in addition to the bait.
Step 2
Pair your bait with a flasher, which may be silver, pearl, blue or green. This will attract the salmon. Using anywhere from two to five feet of fishing line, include fly and spinner flashers for movement in the water.
Step 3
Select your bait. The trend is to use "cut bait," often a strip of fresh herring or smelt. On the Sacramento River, the use of fresh fish roe is very popular as the smell will help attract the salmon. In lieu of "cut bait," salmon fishermen have traditionally used a "spoon." This is a thin, artificial lure that mimics the movement of a swimming fish when pulled behind a trolling boat. On the Sacramento River, the KwickFish trolling lure is extremely popular because it provides excellent movement when pulled through the water.
Step 4
Get your line in the water. Let your line play out to between 50-150 feet behind the boat as it trolls, slowly moving forward. Salmon fishing is not surface fishing. You will be using heavy, lead core line, which will get your roe or KwickFish lure deep down into the water.
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