NORTHLAND GUIDE SERVICE

Guided Salmon trips on the Columbia river

Salmon | Steelhead | Sturgeon

Salmon fishing

Guided Salmon fishing trips on the Columbia river, the Cowlitz river, and the Lewis river. We fish for Fall Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, and spring Chinook Salmon. We fish for Salmon March through November and at certain times of the year you can do a Salmon, Steelhead combo trip or a Salmon, Sturgeon combo trip. We fish from a 20' jet sled using several techniques. Spring Chinook Salmon fishing is from March through May. Summer run Chinook Salmon are from June through August, Fall Chinook Salmon run from August through October, and Coho Salmon run September through November. If you need a Cowlitz river Salmon fishing guide, a Columbia river Salmon fishing guide, or a Lewis river Salmon fishing guide, give Tim a call.

We have had some awesome days fishing for Salmon in SW Washington. Our best day was a three person trip in which we caught 15 Salmon. What a great
trip that was. The biggest one was close to 40 lbs. This happened on the lower Columbia river near Longview Washington in September. We were fishing
for the big fall Chinook Salmon, also known as King Salmon. During that time of year you can also catch and release fish for Sturgeon.

We had one trip that we caught 65 Sturgeon from 2 ˝' to 5' and caught 7 Salmon in the same trip. This is a great time of year for a Sturgeon, Salmon 
combo trip. The month of September is the best time of year for the combo fishing. In September and October we also fish the Lewis river and the 
Cowlitz river for Salmon. These are great rivers for trolling or drifting for the monster King's.  In October the Silver or Coho Salmon run. These are 
a great tasting fish and a lot of fun to catch. The lower Cowlitz and the Lewis rivers are calm, smaller rivers and provide some great fishing during 
the year.

The Spring Chinook Salmon are the best tasting Salmon in the world !!!! They are a hard fighting fish that we target from mid March through April. 

We start fishing the Columbia river near Longview Washington and follow the fish into the Lewis and Cowlitz rivers.

Pacific Salmon:


Salmon found in the North Pacific Ocean spawn only once, dying after depositing and fertilizing their eggs. The best-known and most valuable species is the Chinook salmon, which is also known as the king salmon. Market specimens of this fish average about  20 lb in weight, but numerous specimens more than 5 ft in length and well over more than 100 lb in weight have been recorded. The Chinook salmon migrates farther than any other salmon, often traveling  (1000 to 2000 miles) inland to its spawning ground. Its eggs usually hatch within two months, and the young descend to the sea when 2 to 3 in long. The sockeye, red, or blue-black salmon is another valuable species, as is the Coho, or silver salmon, which has light pink flesh. Other salmon in the Pacific basin are commonly known as the pink, or humpbacked salmon, and the chum, or dog salmon.

Anglers fish for salmon with rod and reel, often using flies as bait. Commercial fishing for salmon is done on a much larger scale, employing traps and pound nets to catch the fish on the way to their spawning grounds. Salmon canning is one of the major industries of the American Pacific coast. To mitigate the decimation of wild salmon runs caused by construction of dams and over fishing, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service yearly deposits billions of salmon eggs and young, propagated in nurseries, into natural breeding grounds and constructs fish ladders for the upstream journey of mature salmon. However, hatchery-raised salmon have aggressive feeding habits-that is, they spend most of their time at the water's surface looking for food unlike the wild salmon that spend most of their time in deep water or under cover. As a result, hatchery-raised salmon consume most of the food wild salmon need to live. At the same time, this aggressive feeding makes hatchery salmon more vulnerable to predators because they stay near the surface. Hatchery salmon usually have less genetic diversity (see Genetics: Genes in Populations) than wild salmon, which can lead to lowered resistance to disease and other environmental hazards. The annual harvest of wild and farm-raised salmon in the United States averages about 477,000 metric tons, of which about 60 percent is canned.

A Migratory Path
The nearshore region of Puget Sound includes shallow saltwater, nearby wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and bluffs. These areas are important zones for young salmon as they migrate from rivers to the sea. Salmon travel through estuaries twice; first as juveniles on their way to the sea, then as adults migrating back to spawn.

A Place To Adjust
Juvenile salmon move to estuaries for weeks or months as they grow and adapt to salt water before moving out to sea. Here is where salmon make a critical transformation from a freshwater to a saltwater fish, a process called smoltification. Changes in body chemistry, appearance, and behavior occur. When salmon return from sea as adults, they pause again in estuaries to adapt to freshwater, before heading upstream to spawn.  

Shelter In Shallows
Because predators such as larger salmon and sculpins tend to avoid the turbid waters often found nearshore, these regions provide some protection for young salmon. Shallow tidal channels with eelgrass and fringing marsh plants offer places to forage and hide.

A Rich Food Web
Juvenile salmon experience the highest growth rates of their lives while in estuaries and nearshore waters. A complex detritus-based food web provides rich and abundant prey. Food production by marsh plants, seaweeds, eelgrass, epiphytes, and sediment microalgae surpasses food production in open waters. Despite the vast range of prey items to eat, juvenile salmon are very selective. The food chosen by young salmon varies with the size and age of the salmon.  

Salmon & Shorelines: Habitat Loss

Although salmon spend only a part of their life cycle in nearshore areas, these habitats are critical to the survival of salmon populations. Shoreline habitats of Puget Sound have suffered significant losses over the last 125 years.

Loss of Marshes
When marshes are lost, young salmon lose food and shelter. Studies show a 73 percent decline in salt marsh habitats bordering Puget Sound. Nearly all salt marsh habitats within major urban areas along Puget Sound have been destroyed. The Puyallup River Delta, for example, lost 100 percent of its nearshore habitat.

Pollutants
Recent studies show that juvenile salmon may suffer adverse effects from passing through polluted estuaries and nearshore areas. Human-caused stresses (toxic chemicals, pathogens and parasites) can cause immune dysfunction, increased susceptibility to disease, and impaired growth.  

Bulkheads
Bulkheads, seawalls, and other hard shoreline armoring structures can disrupt shore drift, starving beaches of sediments, and juvenile salmon of food and shelter. Bulkhead construction can also destroy shoreline vegetation, eliminating cover and food sources for young salmon.  

Loss of Shoreline Vegetation
Loss of vegetation along the shore is of particular importance to juvenile salmon. Shoreline vegetation stabilizes the shoreline, provides shade, protective cover, organic input, and food (insects) to young salmon moving in close to shore.  

Docks & Piers
Docks can block light to underwater habitats such as eelgrass meadows, a source of food and shelter for juvenile salmon and other marine life.  

Saving Salmon & Shorelines

                                    What you can do to conserve shorelines and salmon:

• Consider alternatives to bulkhead construction.
• Keep or install a buffer of native plants along the beach or bluff.
• Keep pollutants from going into the Sound.
• Keep your septic system from failing with regular inspections and maintenance.
• Avoid trampling eelgrass on the beach or damaging eelgrass meadows while boating.

Wild Salmon - Our Precious Natural Resource

Protecting and preserving wild salmon has become a popular topic within the last several years, both in the media and in natural resource agencies. Although the numbers of wild salmon have been declining for more than a century, the debate over how to address the problem has been infused with a new sense of urgency. A landmark study in 1992 titled "Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads: Stocks at Risk from CA, OR, ID and WA," identified 214 wild spawning salmon stocks that were at risk of extinction or of special concern, including 17 stocks that were already extinct.

In response to this crisis, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife began developing a Wild Salmon id Policy, to focus the agency's efforts on protecting and preserving wild salmon. WDFW has reviewed practices that may be harmful to wild salmon, and is educating the public about the importance of wild salmon in our environment.

When we talk about the survival of wild salmon, we are also talking about the survival of the natural heritage of the Pacific Northwest. When thousands of mature salmon spawn and die, they do far more than produce another generation. This source of nutrition, arriving in the fall, allows many animals to survive the harshness of winter. Where salmon runs have become extinct, the local ecosystem suffers. Species such as bear, eagle, mink and river otter suffer large population losses. Other species show less dramatic, but significant declines. The result is a permanently altered ecosystem. Wild salmon are quite literally the energy that fuels our natural environment.

Each individual stock of salmon is important. A chinook salmon from one river may be quite different genetically from a chinook of another river. This vast genetic diversity has allowed salmon to survive for two million years by helping them adapt to a specific local watershed or adjust to a changing one. They have endured floods and droughts, disease, volcanic eruptions, and even ice ages. Every stock lost to extinction is a loss of important genetic information, leaving the remaining fish less able to survive.

We are fortunate to have Pacific salmon in our state, and often in our backyards. These fish are naturally found only in the northern Pacific Ocean, from California to Alaska, and from Siberia to Japan. Wild salmon are a natural treasure, and those of us who choose to live in the Pacific Northwest have an obligation to ensure their continued survival.

Chinook Salmon

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Other names: king, tyee, blackmouth (immature)
Average size: 10-15 lbs, up to 135 lbs
Fall spawner; fall, spring, and summer runs

Chinook salmon are the largest of the Pacific salmon, with some individuals growing to more than 100 pounds. These huge fish are rare, as most mature chinook are under 50 pounds.

Spawning - Most chinook spawn in large rivers such as the Columbia and Snake, although they will also use smaller streams with sufficient water flow. They tend to spawn in the mainstem of streams, where the water flow is high. Because of their size they are able to spawn in larger gravel than most other salmon.

Chinook spawn on both sides of the Cascade Range, and some fish travel hundreds of miles upstream before they reach their spawning grounds. Because of the distance, these fish enter streams early and comprise the spring and summer runs. Fall runs spawn closer to the ocean and more often use small coastal streams. All chinook reach their spawning grounds by fall, in time to spawn.

Rearing - Chinook fry rear in freshwater from three months to a year, depending on the race of chinook and the location. Spring chinook tend to stay in streams for a year; fish in northern areas, where the streams are less productive and growth is slower, also tend to stay longer. Rearing chinook fry use mainstems and their tributaries.

Cutthroat Trout
(coastal subspecies)

Oncorhynchus clarki clarki

Other names: sea-run cutthroat, harvest trout
Average size: 1-4 lbs, up to 6 lbs
Spring Spawner: upriver migration in late summer and fall

Of the 13 subspecies of cutthroat trout indigenous to North America, only the coastal cutthroat is anadromous. But coastal cutthroat have complex life histories, and not all fish are anadromous. In any given body of water, some may migrate to sea, while others become resident fish. In fact, the offspring of resident fish may migrate, while the offspring of anadromous fish may "residualize."

Spawning - Sea-run cutthroat spawn over a long period, from winter through May. They seek smaller streams where the flow is minimal and the substrate is small, almost sand. They prefer the upper-most portions of these streams, areas that are too shallow for other salmonids.

Rearing - Most cutthroat rear in-stream for two to three years before first venturing into salt water. Emerging fry are less than an inch long, and are poorly able to compete with larger coho and steelhead fry for resources. To compensate, cutthroat fry use headwaters and low-flow areas that coho and steelhead avoid.

Unlike other anadromous salmonids that spend multiple years feeding far out to sea, cutthroat prefer to remain within a few miles of their natal stream. They do not generally cross large open-water areas. Some will overwinter in freshwater and only feed at sea during the warmer months. In rivers with extensive estuary systems, cutthroat may move around in the inter-tidal environment feeding, plus run up-river or out to sea on feeding migrations, wherever their nose tells them the food is. Protected estuaries and Puget Sound bays are excellent cutthroat habitat.

Steelhead

Oncorhynchus mykiss

Other names: steelhead trout, sea-run rainbow trout
Average size: 8-11 lbs, up to 40 lbs
Spring Spawner: summer and winter runs

Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species, but rainbow are freshwater only, and steelhead are anadromous, or go to sea. Unlike most salmon, steelhead can survive spawning, and can spawn in multiple years.

Spawning -Steelhead spawn in the spring. They generally prefer fast water in small-to-large mainstem rivers, and medium-to-large tributaries. In streams with steep gradient and large substrate, they spawn between these steep areas, where the water is flatter and the substrate is small enough to dig into. The steeper areas then make excellent rearing habitat for the juveniles.

Like chinook, steelhead have two runs, a summer run and a winter run. Most summer runs are east of the Cascades, and enter streams in summer to reach the spawning grounds by the following spring. A few western Washington rivers also have established runs of summer steelhead. Winter runs spawn closer to the ocean, and require less travel time.

Rearing - Steelhead fry emerge from the gravel in summer and generally rear for two or three years in freshwater, occasionally one or four years, depending on the productivity of the stream. Streams high in the mountains and those in northern climes are generally less productive. Due to their faster growth, hatchery steelhead smolt at one year of age.

Fry use areas of fast water and large substrate for rearing. They wait in the eddies behind large rocks, allowing the river to bring them food in the form of insects, salmon eggs, and smaller fish.

Coho Salmon

Oncorhynchus kisutch

Other names: silver
Average size: 6-12 lbs, up to 31 lbs
Fall spawner

Coho are a very popular sport fish in Puget Sound. This species uses coastal streams and tributaries, and is often present in small neighborhood streams. Coho can even be found in urban settings if their needs of cold, clean, year-round water are met.

Spawning - Coho spawn in small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers. They prefer areas of mid-velocity water with small to medium sized gravels. Because they use small streams with limited space, they must use many such streams to successfully reproduce, which is why coho can be found in virtually every small coastal stream with a year-round flow.

Returning coho often gather at the mouths of streams and wait for the water flow to rise, such as after a rain storm, before heading upstream. The higher flows and deeper water enable the fish to pass obstacles, such as logs across the stream or beaver dams, that would otherwise be impassable.

Rearing - Coho have a very regular life history. They are deposited in the gravel as eggs in the fall, emerge from the gravel the next spring, and in their second spring go to sea, about 18 months after being deposited. Coho fry are usually found in the pools of small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers.

Chum Salmon

Oncorhynchus keta

Other names: dog salmon, calico
Average size: 10-15 lbs, up to 33 lbs
Fall spawner

Male chum salmon develop large "teeth" during spawning, which resemble canine teeth. This many explain the nickname dog salmon.

Spawning - Chum use small coastal streams and the lower reaches of larger rivers. They often use the same streams as coho, but coho tend to move further up the watershed and chum generally spawn closer to saltwater. This may be due to their larger size, which requires deeper water to swim in, or their jumping ability, which is inferior to coho. Either way, the result is a watershed divided between the two species, with all the niches filled.

Like coho, chum can be found in virtually every small coastal stream. In the fall, large numbers of chum can often be seen in the lower reaches of these streams, providing opportunities to view wild salmon in a natural environment.

Rearing - Chum fry do not rear in freshwater for more than a few days. Shortly after they emerge, chum fry move downstream to the estuary and rear there for several months before heading out to the open ocean.

Sockeye Salmon

Oncorhynchus nerka

Other names: red salmon, blueback (Columbia and Quinault Rivers),
kokanee or "silver trout" (landlocked form)
Average size: 5-8 lbs, up to 15 lbs
Fall spawner

Sockeye are the most flavorful Pacific salmon. In Washington, sockeye are found in Lake Washington, Baker Lake, Ozette Lake, Quinault Lake, and Lake Wenatchee.

Spawning - Sockeye are unique in that they require a lake to rear in as fry, so the river they choose to spawn in must have a lake in the system. This seems to be the most important criteria for choosing a spawning ground, as sockeye adapt to a range of water velocities and substrates.

Large rivers that supplied sufficient room for spawning and rearing historically supported huge runs of sockeye, numbering into the millions. One such run still exists today on the Adams River in British Columbia, a tributary to the Fraser River. The Canadian government has built viewing platforms for visitors, and annual runs of over a million sockeye are common.

Rearing - Juvenile sockeye rear for one or two years in a lake, although they are also found in the inlet and outlet streams of the lake. Sockeye fry are often preyed on by resident lake fish, and because they use freshwater year-round, they are susceptible to low water quality.

Pink Salmon

Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Other names: humpie, humpback salmon
Average size: 3-5 lbs, up to 12 lbs
Fall spawner

Male pink salmon develop a large hump on their back during spawning, hence the nickname humpback salmon. This is the smallest of the fall-spawning Pacific salmon. In Washington, pink salmon runs only occur in odd-numbered years.

Spawning - Pinks use the mainstems of large rivers and some tributaries, often very close to saltwater. Because their fry move directly to sea after emerging, the closer they spawn to saltwater the better. The shorter journey reduces predation and increases survival. Sometimes pink salmon spawn right in saltwater, avoiding freshwater altogether.

Pinks have a very regular life history, living for two years before returning to spawn the next generation. This is why pink runs in Washington only occur every other year; there are no one-year-old or three-year-old fish to establish runs in the other years.

Rearing - As mentioned, pink fry do not rear in freshwater. Immediately after emerging they move downstream to the estuary and rear there for several months before heading out to the open ocean. Because of this, pink fry have no spots, which provide camouflage in streams, but are bright chrome for open water.

Did You Know?

- Coho and sockeye are found in freshwater year-round; coho in small coastal streams and sockeye in lakes. These fish are very susceptible to poor water quality, such as high temperatures and pollution.

- Salmon species have adapted to use virtually every part of every stream in the northwest.

Big rivers are used by pink salmon in the lower reaches, chinook in the mainstem and larger tributaries, coho in small tribs, and steelhead in the uppermost tributaries.

Small streams are used by chum in the lower reaches, coho next, and cutthroat in the headwaters.

- A moving fry is much easier to see than a motionless one. This is why salmon tend to spawn in parts of the stream that their offspring use for rearing; the emerging fry do not have to travel far to find rearing areas.

- The size of a salmon is usually related to its age. Pink salmon are the smallest fall-spawning salmon and are also the youngest, at two years. Chinook can live up to nine years, the longest, which is why some chinook can grow to over 100 pounds. Cutthroat, which live longer than pinks, are smaller because they live in less productive areas of the watershed.

- There is a sixth fall-spawning salmon, the masu, or cherry salmon, which is found only in Asia. This fish occupies the same niche that the sea-run cutthroat trout occupies in North America.

- Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species of fish; rainbow are the freshwater form, and steelhead the anadromous form.

- Steelhead and cutthroat trout were recently added to the salmon genus, Oncorhynchus, from the trout genus, Salmo. Also, the scientific name of steelhead changed from Salmo gairdneri to Oncorhynchus mykiss.

TERMS

Alevin - The lifestage of a salmonid between egg and fry. An alevin looks like a fish with a huge pot belly, which is the remaining egg sac. Alevin remain protected in the gravel riverbed, obtaining nutrition from the egg sac until they are large enough to fend for themselves in the stream.

Anadromous - Fish that live part or the majority of their lives in saltwater, but return to freshwater to spawn.

Emergence - The act of salmon fry leaving the gravel nest.

Fry - A juvenile salmonid that has absorbed its egg sac and is rearing in the stream; the stage of development between an alevin and a parr.

Kype - The hooked jaw many male salmon develop during spawning.

Parr - Also known as fingerling. A large juvenile salmonid, one between a fry and a smolt.

Smolt - A juvenile salmonid which has reared in-stream and is preparing to enter the ocean. Smolts exchange the spotted camouflage of the stream for the chrome of the ocean.

Substrate - The material which comprises a stream bottom.

New marine nearshore study affirms salmon reliance on entire ecosystem

Newly released research provides insight into how juvenile salmon use Central Puget Sound nearshore marine areas and provides evidence that it is the entire nearshore ecosystem, and not individual habitats or small areas within it, that supports salmon.

The report, titled Juvenile Salmon Composition, Timing, Distribution, and Diet in Marine Nearshore Waters of the Central Puget Sound in 2001-2002, concludes that juvenile salmon use a diverse array of nearshore habitat types that have been significantly altered by human development activities. It connects salmon and both land and aquatic environments, which serve to support salmon and other species in the nearshore. For example, the report affirmed that juvenile chinook depend on food from both marine riparian vegetation on land and shallow water habitats such as eel grass.

Released in August, the study was intended to increase understanding about the early life history of salmon in the Puget Sound. Jim Brennan, the senior ecologist for King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks who led the research, said the study will be valuable for natural resource managers working to evaluate factors affecting the decline of salmon and helpful in shaping actions toward recovery.

"While it is generally agreed that early life stages in the marine environment are critical to the survival and productivity of salmon, we wanted to know more about the composition, timing, distribution and diet of young salmon in marine nearshore waters prior to the study," he said. "This research illustrates the linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and the importance of managing the nearshore landscape from a regional perspective."

The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, and WRIAs 8 and 9 Watershed Forum of Local Governments through the King Conservation District funded the research. The study included 591 sets of beach seine netting along the shores of King County, including Vashon and Maury islands, and south Snohomish County. Between spring and fall of 2001, and spring into winter of 2002, nine species of salmonids were captured in the seining – chum, pinks, chinook, coho, cutthroat, sockeye, steelhead, Bull trout and Atlantic salmon. The fish were measured, weighed, checked for coded wire tags to distinguish between hatchery and wild fish, and checked for stomach contents.

Among the interesting findings shared in the report:

• Juvenile chinook were found for extended periods of time and found to use shallow shoreline areas of Puget Sound. Water currents may help explain the larger distribution patterns of juvenile salmon in the Central Puget Sound area.
• Juvenile chinook stocks are broadly distributed and intermix in central Puget Sound. Coded wire tagged chinook recaptured in the study area originated from 22 different hatcheries and 13 different watersheds
• Hatchery chinook are more abundant than wild chinook in the nearshore.
• Juvenile chinook have diverse diets that are a product of the diverse habitats that make up the nearshore ecosystem.
• Chinook appear to feed opportunistically on whatever prey are seasonally available and shift from a diet of insects, marine plankton and epibenthic organisms to fish at approximately 130-150 mm in size.
• Juvenile chinook depend on food from both marine riparian vegetation on land and shallow water habitats such as eel grass.
• Hatchery and wild chinook significantly overlap in space, time, and diet in the marine nearshore.

The study also recommends actions to protect or improve nearshore habitat for juvenile salmon, suggests that marking and coded wire tagging programs should be more consistent, and that more research is needed to aid in scientifically-based decision making. It recommends protection actions through regulation, enforcement, acquisitions, incentive programs and public education.

Backbouncing - Backtrolling for Chinook Salmon:

On the Columbia river, there are three primary methods used to fish for Spring Chinook. They are: Back trolling/Back bouncing; Anchor fishing and Forward trolling. Back Trolling and Back Bouncing are essentially the same technique. The only difference is that which is used to get your bait down to the bottom. Back Trolling uses a diver and you want to be close to, but not on the bottom. Back bouncing uses lead and you are maintaining contact with the bottom. Normally you will be fishing with bait (usually a cut plug herring) or a Kwikfish/Flatfish type plug as your terminal offering.

To rig for back trolling is quite simple and the attached diagram hopefully will clarify any questions you have. A 3 way swivel is attached at the end of your main line. Off of this three-way swivel you have a 6"-18” dropper that leads to your diver. Off of the last remaining swivel eye you attach a 4'-6' leader that has your terminal offering attached. If you are going to fish a twirling bait, like a spinner or herring, a bead chain placed on the leader will reduce line twist. The key to making back trolling or back bouncing effective, is to work your boat against the current at a speed that brings you down stream very slowly, directly in the fish traveling lane. Here's a link to a Luhr Jensen article on back trolling:. I use the Luhr Jensen  Jet diver, but there are other divers that will also work.

The back bounce is similar to the back troll but a bit more complex. The rig is essentially the same, but lead is substituted for the diver. Once you are set up above the drift, bow upstream, fisherman and rod facing down stream, lower your gear to the bottom.

As soon as you make contact with the bottom wait 3-5 seconds and lift your rod tip to about the 2 o'clock position. When you reach 2 o'clock release your thumb from the spool and release line until you make contact with the bottom again. Repeat the process until your line reaches about a 45-degree down angle off the back of the boat. When there, engage your drag. By lifting the rod to 2 o'clock every 3-5 seconds, you should now be able to bounce through the drift and slowly lower the boat downstream. If you aren't feeling your lead make contact with the bottom on the bounce, you may need to let more line out while bouncing or use a heavier weight. Also if the bottom is getting shallow, you may have to reel in line to maintain your bounce. When bouncing you may need to experiment with the length of dropper from the swivel to your lead to find the traveling depth of the fish. Once you find the traveling depth and lane, your offering will constantly be in fish's faces. Good bait presented with this method is hard for springers to resist.

Fishing at anchor utilizes the same setup as a back bouncing rig; however you anchor over a fish traveling lane. You bounce out your offering to about a 60-degree down angle and let the fish come to you. This is where Kwikfish work extremely well. Since half the battle of anchor fishing is choosing where to anchor. We normally look for inside bends of the river with gravel bars that gently slope. We fish in anywhere from 8' to 30' of water depending on the location and current flow. At anchor dropper length experimentation is also a good idea. Until you find what's working. Also downriggers work well in this situation.

When fishing a Kwikfish place your rod in the holder with the drag set loosely (a clicker really helps in letting you know you have a bite if you're not looking). When your fish takes the lure you want the rod tip pegged down and line peeling steadily off of your reel, before you pick your rod up. Then, lift your rod, place your thumb on the spool and drive the hooks home. This takes the utmost of patience but increases your hooking percentage. I haven't met anyone yet that has the patience to fish a Kwikfish with a rod in his or her hand. Everyone I've seen attempt this has set the hook at the beginning of a takedown. For this reason back bouncing a Kwikie requires nerves of steel and isn't for the feint of heart, if you want to try it go ahead. I'm just warning you now it's a formula for many missed fish. Normally we wrap our Kwikfish with sardine or herring fillets.

Salmon | Steelhead | Sturgeon