Fishing Articles
Deep Running Giant Salmon!
These techniques work wonders for these well-learned
finicky monsters!
Timothy Kusherets
 This
angler is casting to the far side of the river where a deep slot has
formed two seams; note the line animations. To fish it properly the
angler casts upstream, beyond the slot, and then drifts through it as
the leader makes its way downstream, this kind of presentation is the
hallmark of “drift-fishing”. Note that the current of this
river flows from the left to the right.
It’s true that fishing popular spots will produce more fish but
those same reaches of water are usually devoid of giant salmon, but
that’s not where I want to fish. Fantastic fishing stories are
born from equally fantastic salmon and the best place to find them are
in deep, fast, turbulent waters; this is where adventurous anglers want
to be. There are several things that need discussing before heading
out to fish for giant salmon. Anglers must embrace that conventional
fishing is not a factor here and to hook into these fish they’ll
have to do is gather all the gear and put it together, which includes
using light line and heavy weights, read water, relearn to cast, and
employ fighting techniques designed specifically for light-line fishing
for monstrous salmon. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean that
fishermen will have to use really small test, just “smaller”
than normal test for salmon fishing. All of these techniques and applications
come together nicely and can be learned on a single fishing trip. Remember,
the larger a fish is the older it tends to be and consequently more
finicky, so the first thing to consider is fishing gear put together
prior to heading out the door.
Light line, heavy weights, and longer leaders are key elements of fishing
gear that get down to giant salmon. Leader line should never be heavier
than twelve-pound test, limber, and invisible. Really huge salmon are
relatively old fish, for their species, and have learned to survive
by avoiding large line that is easily seen. Heavier weights get down
through fast water into the slow currents found beneath them. Weights
almost never need to be more than two-ounces. If the water is so fast
that even two ounces can’t get down simply cast further upstream
to give it more time to get down. Longer leaders will keep the attention
large salmon focused on the hook with drift presentations. Terminal
gear close to the leader’s offering can sometimes be distracting
and that means fewer solid hook-sets. Use these three basic elements
of gear and giant salmon will stay on the bite; they keep the pressure
off and the bite on. With all the gear gathered and put together it’s
time to hit the river.
Being able to read water means anglers will be able to find the best
holds before a single cast is made. Water surfaces that are slick, slow,
and dark are indicative of deep holds known as pools and drop-offs;
it’s a great place to start. At the head and tail of a pool is
where you’ll find most huge salmon running deep. Pools often have
gradient variation where one side is steeper than the other, this is
known as a drop-off. Huge fish hold on the deep side near the bed of
the river. It takes time to fish deep holds and depending on the depth
and speed the current dictates weight sizes and how long leaders should
be. Cover the water thoroughly before moving on.
There are three premises to successfully covering each seam of a drop-off:
first, cast to the close seam first, cast to the far seam second; and
cast beyond any drop-offs. Fishing seams of drop-offs requires some
unconventional thinking when it comes to casting for giants. It’s
important to cast to the closet seam first along the ledge of the drop-off.
Giants holding near the ledge will either strike immediately or let
it drift on by sot it’s very easy to figure out fast if fish are
biting along the ledge before moving to the far seam. Make each far
cast well beyond the seam so the offering has plenty of time to make
a proper presentation as it moves downriver. So long as the offering
gets down fast enough, lunkers will take a good look at it and strike
in just a few passes through. After covering both seams it’s important
to fish the seam that forms below the ledge of the drop-off, which almost
always ends up near tail-outs and pools. In conjunction with the slot
formed by the drop-off, cast upriver and let the offering sink without
reeling in the slack. When the mainline has drifted to the twelve o’clock
position, reel in all the slack while keeping the offering as close
to the bed as possible. As the mainline begins to swing around the bend
watch the line for any hesitations or stops, if it does set the hook
hard! Fishing these holds properly gets results fast, so anglers can
expect to effectively cover a lot of territory.
Purposefully fishing for giants means that every time the line stops
anglers need to set the hook hard and hold on for those first vital
seconds. When the first headshakes come they’ll feel like the
fish is slowly pulling on the line like tug-of-war, but don’t
be fooled, it’s not a snag and it will fight back…you just
have to wait sometimes for as long as fifteen seconds before a good
reaction; don’t try to reel in the slack and just hold on and
prepare for the run. Under most circumstances, giant salmon will make
a single long tear down river, and with light line that can be pretty
easy.
Bolting giant salmon heading for whitewater can only be turned by doing
the one thing that almost all fishermen have a problem with doing, even
me. They have to rely on science and “flip” the bail open
so the mainline pays off the spool. This technique is called “free-bailing”
and it works for any kind of reel. Freeing up the line like that gets
the leader in front of the fish forming a loop. The pressure from the
line being pulled in front of the salmon will trick it into turning
around tricking it into swimming back upriver. “This technique
requires a lot of trust that it will work…and it will.”
As the huge fish bolts back upriver let it go past your position and
you will have the advantage of keeping maximum tension on the line even
if it’s no stronger than six-pound test.
All spools drag tension increases the farther a fish runs and the closer
the line gets to the center of it. “Thumbing” the spool,
also called “palming”, adds maximum tension by applying
pressure to the side of the spool for a few seconds at a time so that
the giant will have to fight using all its energy a hundred percent
of the time. Repeat this process for as many times as needed. While
using this technique it’s possible to land seventy-pound fish
with six-pound monofilament! I’ve used this particular technique
thousands of times over the last twenty-five years! It’s a fantastic
way to stop them!
Remember, to find giant salmon it’s essential to take the path
less traveled, and that means often times fishing alone as other fishermen
cast at jumping fish. Fishing like that is fine for those satisfied
to get a “good” fish…an “average” fish…a
“fine” eating fish. To find that special fish…that
dandy fish…that once-in-a-lifetime fish anglers will have to look
for them in deep water and that means really thinking about the gear
necessary to garner strikes and to get them on the hook, it means taking
the time to really read water, and learn what fighting techniques it
takes to land these lunkers on light line. These applications and techniques
are different from mainstream fishing and they really work. When it
comes down to it, the best an angler can hope for is to thoroughly understand
what it takes to get these giant fish and then to have confidence in
all the applications. If you want to hook into these behemoths then
you have to fish where they swim and that almost always means fishing
alone, at least until you hook that first monster, then of course the
area will be crowded with fishermen asking you everything you can possibly
tell them so they too can hit into those deep running giant salmon.
 This
absolutely perfect fish is one of my favorites. I had to beat the water
of the hold he was hiding in from the head to the end of the reach.
It had been hiding in the deepest recesses of a slot directly below
a riffle where the bed of the river dropped to a very deep hold. Having
no physical fish signs on the surface, I speculated that the largest
fish in the area would be there and here it is for all to see! Seconds
after deploying my “Seam-riding” technique this salmon was
on the hook putting up a legendary battle I will never forget! This
monster was so bright that it was hard for the camera lens to filter
out the glare of this chrome-bright trophy fish, which was fought and
landed on four-pound test!
© Timothy Kusherets, 2008/09 |
