Northwest Salmon and Steelhead

7/28/2019 Northwest Salmon and Steelhead

1/9NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead 1


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NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel

Getting set up..............................................pg.4

USGS and River Levels..............................pg.7

How to reduce 90% o the River...............pg.8

30% your line weight..................................pg.10

Etiquette.......................................................pg.14


3/9


Getting Set UpDan Gregory

Choosing the proper gearn make or break your sh-g experience. For many rstme shermen the success

their rst shing trip willtermine their love for the

port. This article is meant tose the confusion while pro-

ding information to help inour purchasing decision.

here are many different types

rods, reels, and shing line.here are rods for bass sh-g, steelhead, salmon, troutd rods for ocean shing. Allese rods are built speci-lly for their own purpose.

cean rods, for example,e built to be stout wheresteelhead rods are builtbe sensitive. So choosinge proper tool for the job is

important. When embarkingon a shing trip you shouldknow what youre shing for,where you are shing and theconditions you will be shingunder. Are you shing froma boat or from shore? Areyou shing for trout or Kingsalmon? Is the water clear ordirty? If you are shing fromthe bank then ask yourselfif the river is wide or small?Knowing the answers tothese questions will help youpurchase the proper gear.

So, youre probably askingyourself, where do I start.Start by reading this articlethen visit your local sh-ing shop. They will have theknowledge to help you makea good decision. Plus if youschmooze a little with the

owner or even just keep yourears open, you might receivevaluable information regard-ing local rivers and shinglocations. Local shing shopsare a great source of informa-tion. They can answer all yourquestions and get you set upwith the proper gear.

Okay so you did your re-search and you now have alittle more information. You

now know where you are sh-ing, what youre shing forand the conditions in whichyou will be shing. Letsmake a hypothetical scenariojust for an example. All rightyou are planning a wintersteelhead shing trip on theCalawha River in Forks, WA.You know that the steelheadare light biters so you want a

sensitive rod. You know thatthe river is long and fairly atin the section you are sh-ing. This means the sh canrun for quite a distance. Youalso know that the river hasa little bit of color. You alsoknow that you can wade intothe river, so overhangingbranches are not a concern.Armed with this informationyou will know what gear tobring. We would want a longsensitive rod matched with areel that has enough spool onit to load a lot of line in casethe steelhead decides to run.Since the water has a littlecolor we can use a thicker

diameter line.

Lets talk about rods! Youknow that you need a longrod to be able to cast acrossthe river and that since steel-head are lite biters you willalso need a sensitive rod. Solets walk through the pro-cess of choosing the rightrod. First thing you shoulddo is check the spine. Notall rods are equal. The spineis located opposite the rodguides. The purpose of thespine is to add strength andexibility. Fatigue can set inif the spine is not properlyaligned. There are a few dif-ferent ways to do this. WhenI am in a store I simply takethe top of the rod in one hand

and place the butt sectionagainst the base of the dis-play shelf and bend the rod.The rod will jump, showingthe stiffest side of the rod.This is the spine. The spineshould be opposite the rodguides. Now how do we deter-mine if the rod is right for thejob? On the side of the rodyou will see some writing that

looks like this 66, 6-12, 1/8-1/38, Fast, Medium. You prob-ably gured out the rst setof numbers. 66 is the lengthof the rod; 6-12 means therod can handle line weightsof 6 lbs. and up to 12 lbs. Thenext set of numbers tells youthe lure size that this rod wasbuilt for (1/8-1/38oz). Fastis the power this tells youhow stiff the rod is and medi-um is the action. The actionwill tell you how quickly therod loads and casts. So if youhad a rod with a light actionit would ex more than a rodwith a heavy action. A lightaction rod would be used for

casting light line and lureswhile heavy actions rods arejust the opposite.

Lets move onto reels. Choos-ing the right reel is a littleeasier than choosing a rod.Just like a shing rod, reelshave a specic purpose aswell. A spinning reel is meantfor distance and maximumspool load, while a bait cast-ing reel is meant for nesse.Although a bait casting reelis great for drift shing be-cause you can control the linefeed as your bobber oatsdown the river and keep yourpresentation in the strikezone, it also limits your cast-ing distance. So be aware ofthe purpose of each reel and

match it to the shing condi-tions as well as the rod youwill be using.

On the side of your shingreel you will see some num-bers just like you did on theshing rod. They will looksomething like this... 1/4-5/8, 6/200 8/140 10/120, 5:1.Okay so you may recognizethe rst set from choosing a

rod. The rst sets are thweight this reel can hanThis may or may not bethe reel you choose. Thond set of numbers 6/28/140, 10/120. This meline weight/yards. The 6us that we can load 6lbwhile the second numblets us know that with 6test we can load 200yrdlast set of numbers (5:1gear ratio. 5:1 tells us tevery one crank of the the spool rotates 5 timecan be helpful with linetrieve, especially if youto retrieve line quickly.

this information you camatch up your reel to yand get the maximum pfrom each.

Local shing

shops are a great

source of infor-

mation. They can

answer all your

questions and

get you set up

with the proper

gear.

uideBeginnersginners Guide


4/9


Rivers fucuconstantly dhigh volumerain and snomeltUsgs and River levels

How to read chartsBy Dan Gregory

Suppose you want to head out tothe river and do a little shing.Doing yourhomework can provide valuableinormation. Knowing the gageheight and the daily dischargeo your local river can give youinsight as to what the river condi-tions are.Rivers uctuate constantly do tohigh volumes o rain and snowmelt. Tese acts o nature canheavily impact the river. Groundsaturation is another thing toconsider. For example: I you hada dry spell or a while and it rains,the ground will absorb as much asit can hold. Plants and trees will

use what they can as well. Whenall the water nature can hold is ab-sorbed the rest seeps through theground and into the river.So i you have a ew rainy days thewateris more likely to seep into theriver aster because all the plantsand trees have used what they canalready and cant hold anymorewater. Tis leads to what shermen

call a blown out river.I you have ever seen a river that isrunning high and muddy in color,then you have seen a river that isblown out.Tis is why doing your homeworkis so important. No one wants todrive out to the local shing holeand nd the river to beunshable. Tere are techniques tosh blown out rivers such as sh-ing closer to shore and using bigger,brighter gear and scent. Ill get intothat in another article. For thisarticle we will be learning (i youdont know already) how to readthe graph charts on www.USGS.GOV. Tese charts will tell you the

median, mean and instantaneousvalues.So what is Gage Height Feet? Wellthis is how high the river is owing.Te Daily Discharge shows youhow ast the river is owing andthe instantaneous value show youwhat the river is doing right now!Now we go back to middle schoolmath. I know, we all dread math.Dont worry we arent going to do

any complicated calculationare just going to talk about guage.What does mean and mediamean? Well the mean is avand the median is the midue. Your probably saying, Wthat make the mean and methe same thing? No the methe value between the l oweand the highest point. Whilmean is the level the river ismally owing.With this inormation you cgather up the proper gear anturn a potential bad day intproductive shing experieninstances; i the river is ow

little aster than usual and hlittle more color, you will wause stronger shing line andscent as swell. I the river is clear; then you will want tosmaller line and gear so youscare of the sh.I hope this article helps~ight Lines~

SGS & River Levels USGS & River L


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HERE HE FISH ARE

How to Reduce 90% o the riverFish where the sh are!By Dan Gregory

AosriverP

hotographbyPestilence

In this arcle I will explain

ow to prociently sh the river. I will

ve you countless hours of wander-

g aimlessly on the river bank in

arch of salmon. The most disheart-

ning aspect of shing is not knowing

the salmon are in the parcular area

at you are shing. That is what this

cle will entail. Most of shing is

st being observant and paying aen-

on to the habits of salmon. You can

arn a lot from just watching. One of

ese days try and leave the salmon

d at home and just observe! This

how I was able to become a beer

d more successful sherman. So I

ll teach you what I have learned and

ope that this will help you as well.

he rst part of river shing is know-

g the dynamics of a river. What

elements make a river? Well the main

two are frog water or at secons and

ries. So to give you a visual of what

I am explaining think of the ries as

a hill and think of the at secon as a

level area. Now imagine that you are

out jogging and have to run up this

hill. What would you do when you

reached the at secon just before

the next steep hill? If it was me I

would rest and regain my energy. This

is exactly what salmon do. They are

spawning and need to conserve as

much energy as they can so they can

spawn. Now in between the ries is

where you will nd the sh. You can

narrow you search if you know where

to look. You want to look for anything

that breaks up the river ow such as a

boulder in the river. The water owing

around this boulder is called a seam.

The middle is called the slot. The slot

has a top middle and boom secon.

The top is called the head, the middle

is calledwell the middle and the

boom is called the tail out. The river

ow and current is broken and slowed

by the boulder providing an eortless

area for the salmon to rest. Other

areas to look are deep holes that can

provide cover and protecon. Anoth-

er thing to consider is that salmon are

looking to conserve energy. They will

run up the river in areas that provide

the least resistance. So the next me

you are out on the river look, at the

way the river ows and visualize the

path of least resistance. This is the

path the salmon will take. In order

to be a great sherman you need to

understand salmon. This requires

studying them and being observant. In

order to catch salmon consistently you

must think like one.

WHERE HE FISH ARE FISH WHERE HE


6/9

0 NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel

Have you ever been shing

d hook into that monster only to

ve him snap your line immedi-

ely? You thought that you had your

ag set properly, but your line was

apped like a thin piece of thread. Ive used a technique that is simple

d eecve. You will no longer have

ur line snapped in two.

hats the secret? Set your drag to

% of line weight. You can always

just your drag once the salmon is

ooked, but this method is great for

ng your drag before you head out

the river.

You will need a 5 gallon bucket or

any heavy object will do a digital

or spring scale. If youre using a 5

gallon bucket, then ll it with water

or anything to weigh it down and

then aach the scale to the bucket.Tie you shing line to the top end

of the scale. You want to pull up on

the rod while incrementally adjust-

ing your drag unl it reads 30% of

your line weight. For example; if you

are using ten pound test then 30%

of ten pound test is 3 pounds. Once

the scale reads 30% of your line

weight you are ready to head out to

the river. Once you hook into that

salmon you will sll need to adjust

accordingly to the salmon and river

condion. What this method does is

take the shock out of your line when

that salmon hits your oering like a

freight train and keeps your line in

one piece.

Must have Technique

HERE HE FISH ARE THEFISHARE0% OF YOUR LINE WEIGH 30% OF YOUR LINE W

By Dan Gregory

30 percent your line weight


7/9


PLA

CEADH

ERE

Gator Rods

Even the toughest o thesea meet their matchGator rods are built tough and built to endure. Landhat lunker with condence!

Pick yours up at your local tackle shop today. You just

may need a bigger net!

Gator Rods

Even the toughest o thesea meet their matchGator rods are built tough and built to endure. Landthat lunker with condence!Pick yours up at your local tackle shop today. You

just may need a bigger net!


8/9


Lets talk about equee!

is is an important topic to cover.

ne thing that can ruin a good day of

hing is a sherman with bad e-

uee. You know the guy! The one

at just hooked into his rst sh of

e day and is whooping and hollering

blivious to the fact that he is playing

s sh into everybodys line. This can

e very annoying. Not to menon the

ct that you cant sh unl he lands

e sucker. So

ule #1 : If someone hooks into a sh

u should bring your line in.

ule #2 : When you hook into a sh

e polite thing to do is move down to

e end of the line so everyone else

n keep shing and you wont tangle

p anyones line.

ave you ever gone down to the river

d were limited on good shing

holes? Well take a chapter from the

dri shermans equee. The rule

says that it is impolite to hog a good

hole. As long as no one i s wanng to

sh it then it is fair game, but if there

are others behind you then work the

water and keep moving. You can even

rotate every now and then so each

angler has a chance to sh the whole

hole.

Rule # 3 Dont be a hog. Work the

area and either rotate in line or moveto the next hole.

How about this one! Fishing with

inexperienced anglers. This can be

rough. They dont know when to cast

or what or even how! Your lines get

tangled and you exchange apologies.

Aer four or ve mes you are bound

to get annoyed . When you are shing

with experienced anglers they know

when to cast and where. For example

when you shing with a oat sher-

man and a dri sherman they know

to take turns casng so the lines dont

get tangled. And as a experienced an-

gler it is up to us to teach those who

are not so experienced. We all started

somewhere. Why not set them o in

the right direcon. Then maybe they

will eventually spread their knowledge

someday.

Rule # 4 Know your skill l evel.

Crowding out is an issue at mes. Ev-

erybody wants to sh a good hole. If

you know the river then you know the

good holes. Chances are you may be

the rst person to it. So youre enjoy-

ing the brisk morning when someone

walks up and says good morning or

Have any luck? Then they cast in

about four feet from ya. Huh! I mean

I dont own the river, but a mind if

I throw in next to you would have

been nice. Now his buddy comes

walking up and they exchange hellos

and he starts shing too. Prey soon

you get crowded out of the hole you

were rst in. It is just plain inconsider-

ate.

Rule # 5 Be considerate of others.

(you dont need permission, but it is

appreciated)

I will say that there are more rules,

but these are the most common is-

sues on rivers these days. Not every-one thinks of equee when they

go shing. A lile equee goes a

long way. I havent run into too many

people that were rude. Most are in

fact fairly polite and easy going. I usu-

ally chat up just about anyone. Never

know what they will tell you. Maybe

they will spill the beans about a secret

spot! We can hope right. The main

thing is to have fun and treat others

with respect.

y Dan Gregory

Etiquette

HERE HE FISH ARE THEFISHAREEtiquette Etiquett


9/916 NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead

Northwest Salmon and Steelhead

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