Salmon on My 5wt? (need advice)

[TaylerW]

my family always goes to shelter cove the fourth of july week, and its mainly a gear fishing trip. Every time we go i talk about flyfishing but my uncle and dad tell me i cant land a shelter cove salmon on a fly rod ( these fish are huge, i have hooked and landed monsters, biggest at 45lbs).
I finally convinced my dad to let me fly fish, and the deal was that if i played skipper while they fished i can have a fly fishing day. What i need help with is if it would be feasible to go extremely light tackle, and fish with a 5wt. My plan is to see how much T-14 loads the rod perfectly, and then fill the rest of my galvan with 15lb power pro. After i hook the fish I am going to launch my kayak off the back of the boat, and use the kayak simply as extra drag. Any help would be very appreciated. And yes, i am serious, i am going to land a salmon on a 5wt.
Tight lines,
Tayler Wells
P.S. If anyone is ever at the salem G.I. Joes ask for me, i work in the FF'ing Dpt.

http://a181.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/34/l_0e396d6b3ed830d5a2cc77df24b8d98c.jpg

[Loren E]

Tayler, i've fished for salmon in california plenty of times with gear trolling like it sounds you do, and i've thought about trying to do it with a fly. Because it is open water, and the fish are scattered and often deep, the 2 main keys to having a chance with the fly rod in my mind are covering a lot of water and getting down. I'd imagine that a 5 weight would max out with a pretty short section of t-14, so it would be tougher to get down with this lighter setup, and less efficient for longer casts. a, 8, 9, or 10 weight rigged with a longer section of leadcore could get you down faster, and cover more water with longer casts, so for these reasons i think a heavier stick would really help your odds. However you go about it good luck, and if you stick one write up a report with photos! tight lines -Loren

[David Lee]

Tayler -

While this could be done , it's a bad idea .

Even a small (8-10 lb.) King can wreck your gear beyond repair .... and the time it would take to land one would likely kill it . Seems cruel to play any fish until dead .......

Just my opinion -

David

[aaron]

You will have no leverage to keep it away from a sea lion on a 5wt.

[Darian]

Tayler,.... If, as it sounds, you intend to keep some fish. So, it probably doesn't matter if you have to over-play them. As to whether it can be done with a 5 wt rod, I agree with Loren. You'll have a difficult time reaching the depth necessary to hook King's in the salt with an limited outfit. Lotsa time waiting for the fly to sink....

If you're truly serious about doing this, I'd recommend reading, Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon by Ferguson, Johnson & Trotter. There are some chapters included that discuss how to approach fly fishing for Salmon at depth.

There are exceptions to the depth rule. In the northwest, one was to troll for Salmon (Silvers, I believe) using a technique called "zip trolling". The fly/lure is trolled in the prop wash (up to 20' behind the transom) at above average trolling speed. Not sure how popular this technique is these days.

Anyway, good luck....

[Adam Grace]

I don't doubt that landing a Salmon on a 5wt couldn't be done but why risk your gear like that? Do not try this if you plan on releasing the Salmon, you'd play it to death.

A fresh Salmon could bust a 5wt rod like a twig if played incorrectly. The amount of T-14 would be very small due to the grain weight that 5wts are designed to load with, like Darian said your would have to troll or something, forget casting.

[FISHEYE]

I agree that a 5 wt won't cut it for saltwater kings. I catch alot of kings and lots in the salt and many big fish. We mostly gear fish but if I am fly fishing I use at least an 8 wt. Often when we are trolling in lower Cook Inlet where there are massive tides and when the fish are deep (say 25 to 50 feet), if we get in a good bite on trolled herring, I will rig a herring and put it on the fly rod in the downrigger. Its not fly fishing but it sure is fun. If the fish are on or near the surface and if we have a fish on, there will often be followers. I then just let a herring float out behind the boat. If there is lots of bait they won't touch a fly- silvers (coho) too.

A few of my buddies are now experimenting with fishing off the beach for kings. In a few spots the fish are close and we'll look for the trollers working close since they find the fish. If there is not too much surf or kelp, they are doing quite well with clousers, fishing with a floating line with a long leader and an 8 wt with 200 or more yards of backing. The biggest fish to date is 52 pounds.

[JerryInLodi]

Fisheye, kings from the beach on clousers, WOW! How about some pictures! That sounds like the most fun salmon fishing I've ever heard of!!!!!

[FISHEYE]

JinL, I'll see what I can do for you from June 30 - July 4. That is the beginning of the second run of kings to the Kenai and Kasilof rivers. They hug the beaches on the way. The biggest I have caught trolling was 65 pounds! I'd love to have one like that on a clouser. BTW, we tie them sparse to look like sand lance.