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So You Want To Catch... Salmon Up River

So You Want To Catch... Salmon Up River

So You Want To Catch... Salmon Up River

Catching salmon is all about timing

The Chinook salmon is highly prized as both a sport and table fish and it attracts a good number of people to have a go at catching them. This South Island salmon fishery continues to bring angler from all over the country and the world to try their luck. Knowing how to catch them relies on fishing the right water at the right time with the best methods for the conditions and this may be a challenge even for the experienced angler out there.  There are a few things that increase the chances of success and we would like to share these with you so you have a better chance of success.

Salmon run our rivers from late October through to the end of March, with the peak season between mid-December and the end of February in most rivers. The Waimakariri and Waitaki rivers have the peak of their run in March and April and are considered late run rivers. Salmon will hang around a river mouth in low, clear conditions, and run up the river during a rise in water levels due to rain, or run at the end of a major flood as the river drops. As long as a river remains high and discoloured, salmon will continuously move up it. As the water becomes low, clear and warmer again, salmon will settle down and hold up in large pools or beneath undercut banks, awaiting the next fresh.

The very best conditions for Salmon are when the water is 'milky blue' in colour, with about 1-2 feet of visibility. In this kind of water, salmon are moving through the river system and tend to be in an aggressive mood. The lure suddenly appears out of the murky water beside them and instinct triggers a positive response. Salmon can be caught all day in these conditions but by far the best time for catching them is early morning from very early light and dusk. The clearer the water the shorter time that you have before they become unresponsive with increasing daylight. Bright days and clear conditions generally means hard fishing, but this can be improved by moving around and using lighter gear – trout gear can work well at times.

The next most important thing with salmon fishing is finding the right piece of water. This takes some experience but here's what you are looking for:

Ideally you want to be somewhere where all the river is reasonably well concentrated. Rivers like the Rakaia Rangitata and Waimakariri, braid and split into several sections. Salmon will normally pick the biggest section of river, but not always, and you may be fishing a particular braid only to find the fish are moving through a completely different arm of the river. If most of the river is concentrated in one spot, you at least know the Salmon have to come past you!

You want to look for a side pool close to the main flow. This will be something that isn’t dead still, or too big, but just a nice side pocket that fish will rest in briefly before attempting the next run. Ideally this still has a steady slowed down flow through it and is around a meter to 2 meters deep. Picking this water well does take experience, but is a key factor in successful Salmon fishing.

Once a good piece of water has been scouted out, you can fish it and then return in the morning. Fish rest up during the night and will run again and be aggressive at first light. Being the first person to swing a spinner through a good piece of water, just after sun up, puts the odds highly in your favour! After the first few casts, you are now waiting for fish to move in to the pool as they run up from below you. We would normally fish from sun up until about 7-8am and then return in the evening to fish a good possie.

You want the lure to be just tapping the bottom. The method is to cast across and slightly upstream, let the lure sink for a few seconds then wind the line tight and swing the lure around in the current. You should just be able to feel the odd stone and 'tink tink' with the bottom. Different runs and pools will dictate variations on this method, but the idea is to get that lure bumping onto the salmon's nose. If a salmon rises in a stretch of water, take note of its position as this could give away where they are sitting.

 

The Gear - What To Look For?

Standard fishing equipment for Salmon River fishing is a seven to eight foot rod in the 4-8kg range and a high quality reel capable of holding around 200m of 6-10kg line, with a smooth and powerful drag.

 

Rods:

When it comes to salmon rods for the river, high modulus graphite is where it's at. You want the rod to weigh as little as possible as you will be holding on to it possibly all day! These rods not only weigh very little, they are also effortless to cast, and transmit every little bump and tap on the end of the line. Overhead style or spinning style is up to you. The key here is light weight and ease of use. 

Length: 7-8 foot is the most popular length as it's a nice mix of light weight, cast ability and shock absorption.

Some anglers use 8-9 foot rods up river. Longer rods give you the ability to fish water on the other side of the river by holding your line high above the water and preventing drag (more on this later). They also play and tire big fish really well acting like a big bungee that absorbs all the head shakes and sudden lunges. If a fish is lightly hooked it can make the difference to landing it or getting a lure thrown back in your face!

Shorter rods in the 6 foot range and even 5'6" are used by some anglers. These little rods can be a lot of fun to fish with and are often light weight. Fighting big fish on short rods can become drawn out, as the rod doesn't tire the fish like a longer rod does. The reel also ends up doing a lot more work as there is less rod to take up the slack and absorb a thrashing fish! You also lose some of the ability to pick up line quickly and strike a fish.

Action:  Simple. 'Fast' action is our preference. Soft tips and strong buts allow effortless casting, high sensitivity, better hook setting and efficient playing of the fish. 

Check out our Salmon Rod Range

Reels:

The reel is a very important part of the salmon fisherman's set up. Fishing for salmon involves long hours and constant casting and retrieving. The environment is also tough on gear. Riverbeds are full of silt and when the wind blows this ends up in the air and consequently inside everything else! Cheap reels die quickly when salmon fishing.

Drag: The drag needs to be top notch! Salmon are hard fighting, powerful fish. You need a drag that will give line smoothly throughout the fight. The drag in cheaper reels may be very unreliable with jams or fades that can lose you a 20 pounder when it panics. Once you have a top quality reel with silky smooth drag, you will agree that it is worth the money for the peace of mind.

Size & Capacity:  Most anglers fish with 6-10kg line for salmon. Your reel needs to have the capacity for around 200 meters of this. Line diameter has dropped significantly in the last few years and drag systems have also improved, meaning anglers can now fish with smaller, tougher reels than in the past. This really helps in the other prerequisite here - weight. The lighter the reel is, the longer you will be able to fish with it, comfortably. As already discussed, salmon fishing often (but hopefully not always) involves long hours. A light weight, quality set up pays off in the long run as the hours tick by.

Corrosion resistance: Your salmon reel is going to be exposed to all sorts of nasty elements while it hunts its quarry. If you fish in the tidal zone, saltwater becomes an issue, but the main antagonist anywhere on the river is silt and grit. Salmon run the big glacial river systems that scour out the high country when it rains and floods. Consequently, glacial sediment and grit are an ever present element in the riverbed. The famous Canterbury Nor-wester uses the salmon riverbeds as a speedway! It'll blast grit and sediment through everything when it blows. You will be casting and retrieving with it constantly while you fish. As you cast and retrieve line this sand paper like material works its way deeper into your reel. This stuff kills a cheap real in no time. Make sure you get as many high quality bearings and stainless parts as possible. Salmon reels are worked harder than just about any other kind of reel.

An Overhead or Spinning Reel? The choice is up to you. There are advantages and disadvantages with each system, but casting ability, long term reliability and line twist are need to be considered.

Overhead reels in the hands of an expert will outcast spinning reels when it comes to distance. The problem is they are a little tricky to get used to for a beginner. If you don't 'thumb' the reel just right when making a cast, you can end up with a frustrating time of unpicking the 'birds nest' in the reel! Once you develop an 'educated thumb', these reels are a pleasure to use and will give you a distance advantage where that is important. Upriver, most of your fishing will be with quite short casts, so the issue becomes less relevant here.

Spinning reels are more prone to line twist, especially when you have a fish on and keep winding. This is not normally a problem when just retrieving, but it really escalates when playing a fish. With good technique (pumping a fish, which involves raising the rod and winding down the line) twist is minimized but is still an issue with spinning reels, particularly with lighter line and extended fights. It doesn't often result in a lost fish, but can cause severe tangles and 'snarl ups' when you go to cast again.

The advent and wide acceptance of braid has impacted the quality of spinning reels in particular, where small tough spin reels are now commonplace giving anglers some top quality options.

Spinning reels are easier to work with for the beginner, and this factor alone is why a lot of first time anglers select a spinning style set up for salmon angling. Again it's up to you. Being in the right place, and your fishing technique will catch you the salmon, not which style of reel you choose!

Check Out Our Overhead Reel Range

Lures:

When it comes to salmon lures, it's pretty simple.

When our Chinook Salmon enter fresh water, they stop feeding and concentrate on their spawning run. Unlike other salmon species such as the Atlantic salmon in Europe our Chinooks make one run and then die of exhaustion after spawning. They take a lure out of aggression and instinct, as if snapping at a small fish. The lure needs to be 'in their face and flashy', although not too much so. The lure that does this with just the right ingredients and catches most of our upriver Salmon is the silver zed spinner.

Armed with a box full of 17-28gm silver Zed spinners, you are pretty much sorted for upriver salmon fishing. It's that simple. Lures like Colorado spoons can be highly effective in deep slow pools, and smaller duller coloured zed spinners such as 17gm black and golds can become effective in clearer water. When the salmon are running and the river is milky blue then 22-28gm silver zed spinners will produce the goods in most cases.

Selecting the right weight of lure is important in fishing a piece of good water. As previously mentioned, you want the Zed to be just tickling the bottom and getting in the fishes way. In deeper, faster water, when the river is higher you may need to go heavier, perhaps to a double Zed spinner. This is effectively two Zed spinner blades glued together. These get down fast but don't have quite the same action as a single blade. However it is more important to be in the strike zone, and getting the lure down to the fish outweighs the slight decrease in lure action. Worth having a couple in the box!

So that’s it! Not much else you need as far as lures go! If water is heavily fished, salmon get to see a lot of Zed spinners. In this case it is good to have different shaped and coloured lures to get that prized strike.

Check Out Our Metal Lure Range 

Hooks:

The 'standard issue' treble hooks that come on the Zed spinners are generally ok. However, you can replace them with aftermarket hooks that are sharper and stronger. We recommend that you get the best hooks possible as they are the connection point to your fish. Blunt hooks not only miss fish, they can fall out during long fights especially when the salmon is thrashing around in shallow water! Needle sharp hooks keep working in as the fish is played, sinking the barb and ensuring your fish won't throw the lure when he gets into the shallows and panics!

 

Line:

Monofilament has been the normal line for catching salmon for many years. However the last few years have seen a huge increase in the number of salmon anglers using braid. The reasons are simple, braid is thinner, stronger, less water and air resistant and has virtually no stretch. This gives a superior medium for general fishing. Having said that it is important that you follow some simple rules when choosing braid. Firstly choose line by diameter rather that breaking strain and secondly get a good quality make, cheap poor quality braid costs you fish and fishing time.

Check out our Braid Range

 

Reflective Tape:

There are various highly reflective prism type tapes around in an array of colours. It's a total hoot dressing up some of your lures with these, and when the water clarity gets less than ideal they can really make a difference. Adding a large strip of reflective tape down one side of a silver zed is a favourite trick of many successful salmon anglers.

Check out our Witchcraft Tape


 

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