West Trib setup

[ChoralTrickster]

Hey all! New to the forum. Thanks for all of the great info and beautiful pics!

I've only ever really lake-fished for pike and bass, but am stoked to land a salmon on the rivers. I hit a West Trib last night and saw half a dozen jump, but came up empty handed. It sounds as though things will pick up over the coming month.

Can you suggest rig/hardware (spinning rod) for a swift and shallow trib? It sounds like roe sacs are the way to go, but I'd rather use lures.

I used a rappala floating minnow and a lightweight jig-spinner without luck; will they take these so close to the surface? I'm sure I'd lose anything heavier to snagging.

Also, do you suggest casting into the swiftest moving waters or slower areas.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[Shmogley]

any bright in-line spinner, small spoon or rapala will work.
firetiger seems to be a popular color for hardware users. they will strike out of anger rather then hunger so you want something annoying and bright

id go with at least 15 lb mainline and a 10-12lb leader. at least.. some of the bigger guys will still be rough with that, but itll give you finesse without losing too much control.

if you cant see the fish stacking up, try to find where the swift water dumps into a pool and work that slower/deeper area. thats your best bet with lures if you dont want to lose too many.

dont be too stubborn to tie up a float rig using bead/fly/roe too. spinning rods can drift fine, just takes a bit more effort. never hurts to have a backup plan if the lures aint doing it.

 

[ChoralTrickster]

That's Shmogley, much appreciated! Those are some really helpful tips. Sounds like I was doing ok, though I've only got 10 lb test right now. Can't wait to get out there again!

 

[Joshkerzner]

i havent seen any salmon yet, gone down twice. im near don mills, and ive never seen the fish this late. last year i caught 5 salmon in 2 hours. using a spoon. two were over 20 lbs