Summer Chinook - the Anglers`s Xperience

ANGLING ACADEMY
By Seth Burrill of axfishing.com, with Rich Landers
Summer Chinook
A look into the techniques used to catch these tasty fish.
Timing
July 1st-August 31st
Equipment
Rod - 8’6” -9’ Heavy power moderate
action bait cast.
Reel - Abu Garcia 6500 LC line counter
reel or similar model.
Main line - 15 - 20# Suffix Elite
Leader - 42 - 60” of 30# Fluorocarbon.
Presentations
Set up #1 Eleven inch Hot Spot or
Pro-Troll flasher with 5” Bait Buster or cut
plug herring.
Set up #2 Storm Wiggle Wart or Brad’s
Wiggler.
Attractant - Smelly Jelly Pro Guide
formula sardine or herring. Canned tuna
fish packed in oil.
Properly scenting your plug
Place a small dab of Smelly Jelly
under the bill of the plug. Do not
over power the plug with scent.
Location
Lake Pateros on the Upper
Columbia River.
Seth’s angle
To be a successful
salmon angler you must first
be clean. Salmon smell in
parts per billion and it is
imperative that you keep all
lures free of foreign scents.
Always wash your rods and
reels before salmon fishing.
Wash your hands and lures
before you send them out.
Never set a clean lure on the
floor of the boat. Wash all
items with a non ultra
lemon detergent. If you are
handling herring be sure to
wear non powdered latex
gloves. This prevents amino
acid transfer from hands to
natural bait.
Technique
In the early morning hours from 4-6:30 troll a green glow flasher with a glow bait-buster packed with tuna fish. Place this presentation 15-25’
behind the downrigger ball and set the downrigger to a depth of 20-25’ feet. Trolling speed is typically 1.5-2.0 m.p.h. The vibration and glow
of this combination generates more strikes during low light hours.
From mid morning through late afternoon focus on the plugs. We have found that the medium sized plugs produce better then the magnum
sizes do. If boat traffic is low long line the original wart 75’ straight out the back. This works well until the sun gets straight up in the sky.
Once there is maximum light penetration run the plugs off the downrigger in order to follow the fish down as they flee from the light. We
generally run 30’ back from the downrigger ball and set the downrigger to a depth of 15-25’. Speed for the plugs is 1.2-1.7 m.p.h. Vary your
trolling speeds to trigger strikes. Remember nothing in nature swims at 1.5 m.p.h. for 15 hours straight.
Utilize your electronics to locate the depth that the salmon are moving at. General rule, shallow during low light hours and deep during bright
hot hours. Move with the salmon and you will have a greater success rate.
There are times when a cut plug herring will out produce the Bait-Buster. This typically occurs early in
the season when the fish are still fresh in the system. As the season progresses and the fish start to
turn they tend to prefer the plugs and Bait-Busters.
Placing tuna in Bait-Buster
Open Bait-Buster and place small
ball of tuna towards head
For up to date information contact Bob at Triangle Shell in Brewster 1-509-689-3473
For accommodations contact Lake Pateros Motor Inn 1-866-444-1985
Top view
48-72” 30# fluorocarbon leader
Green label cut-plug herring
42-60” 30# fluorocarbon leader
Bait-Buster
With tuna in place velcro Bait-Buster
together creating a slight bend to
acheive one revolution a second.