Fly line.

[Salmonriver]

I am wanting to start fly fishing for salmon this year. What is the best type of fly line? I plan on fishing areas like the AR and not sure if sinking or intermediate or floating line is best. Any advice would be appreciated

[Rossflyguy]

Ya the intermediate Skagit head from Rio. Then add your mow tip types depending on the current speed. The intermediate skagit head will get you lines down quicker. Kings like to stay in deeper holes and normally on the bottom. This is if you’re using a two handed rod of course.

[tcorfey]

I am sure you will get all kinds of answers to your question but my two cents is:

If you want a line for overhead casting then I like the SA Mastery Anadro line (use to be called their Salmon/Steelhead taper). You can add poly leaders to these to get the sink rate you want. The Anadro is a long belly long rear taper wf floating line. There are other manufacturers making similar lines. I like these long belly/long rear taper lines because they are great for mending indicators or mending on the swing.

If you want to use single hand Skagit/Spey techniques, I can vouch for these lines put out by OPST.

9' 6 weight setup (This set up works good with my 3wt trout spey rod also)
225 Gr. Commando Smooth Integrated Skagit line with Commando Tips
12’ SHS 90 Gr. Floating Tip
12' 96 Gr. S2/3 Riffle Sink Tip
12' 96 Gr. S3/4 Run Sink Tip
12’ 96 Gr. S5/6 Bucket Sink Tip

9' 8 weight setup
275 Gr. OPST Commando Smooth Integrated Skagit line with Commando Tips
12’ SHS. 90 Gr. Floating Tip
12' 132 Gr. S2/3 Riffle Sink Tip
12' 132 Gr. S5/6 Run Sink Tip
12’ 132 Gr. S8/9 Bucket Sink Tip

I also make my own leaders out of mono and sections of T11 or T14 in place of poly leaders or in place of sink tips, using what I learned from Ard Stetts up in Alaska (look up his youtube videos). On my Spey rod I use a custom Skagit line from Steve Godshall (highly reccomended).

Hope that helps.

Tim C.

[Jcolin]

Im also interested in trying to get a king swinging. Are most of the American fish pretty dark? Ive only fouled them on the feather swinging for steelhead in the fall, which obviously is not very fun or desirable. Ive heard that coastal chinook on the swing are an even tougher proposition than winter SH, but valley fish are a better possibility

[Salmonriver]

I am sure you will get all kinds of answers to your question but my two cents is:

If you want a line for overhead casting then I like the SA Mastery Anadro line (use to be called their Salmon/Steelhead taper). You can add poly leaders to these to get the sink rate you want. The Anadro is a long belly long rear taper wf floating line. There are other manufacturers making similar lines. I like these long belly/long rear taper lines because they are great for mending indicators or mending on the swing.

If you want to use single hand Skagit/Spey techniques, I can vouch for these lines put out by OPST.

9' 6 weight setup (This set up works good with my 3wt trout spey rod also)
225 Gr. Commando Smooth Integrated Skagit line with Commando Tips
12’ SHS 90 Gr. Floating Tip
12' 96 Gr. S2/3 Riffle Sink Tip
12' 96 Gr. S3/4 Run Sink Tip
12’ 96 Gr. S5/6 Bucket Sink Tip

9' 8 weight setup
275 Gr. OPST Commando Smooth Integrated Skagit line with Commando Tips
12’ SHS. 90 Gr. Floating Tip
12' 132 Gr. S2/3 Riffle Sink Tip
12' 132 Gr. S5/6 Run Sink Tip
12’ 132 Gr. S8/9 Bucket Sink Tip

I also make my own leaders out of mono and sections of T11 or T14 in place of poly leaders or in place of sink tips, using what I learned from Ard Stetts up in Alaska (look up his youtube videos). On my Spey rod I use a custom Skagit line from Steve Godshall (highly reccomended).

Hope that helps.

Tim C.
Very helpful

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

On the Bob Simms Outdoors radio show this morning he talked with a guide up on the Sacramento river near Red Bluff who was

catching some really bright, fresh King salmon. He was also getting a few Half-pounders and an occasional 5# Steelhead.


Not many salmon come in this time of year but they are usually very fresh.

They sneak up all the Valley rivers ending up at the base of the first dam or fish hatchery.

Some anglers go out at "Dark Thirty" where these fishing are sitting upstream as far as they can go.

_______________________________

He said they were getting fresh salmon at the mouth of the Klamath river.

[TahoeJoe]

Kings are a handful on 6wt rod or a 3 wt spey. I hooked a few on my 3 wt spey rod last year fishing for steelhead, let's just say it wasn't a fair fight and I lost a few steelhead flies.

I've been fishing that 225 gr commando head on a switch rod and find that it throws line like a slingshot. It's perfect for swinging streamers or soft hackles on the Yuba or for steelhead on the Feather. With that combo, it might feel little light for salmon but if that's all I had it wouldn't stop me.

I'd go with at least an 8 wt with a sink tip for single handed. The OPST 275 gr on an 8 wt with an appropriate sink tip mentioned above sounds like fun. You could add a fast sinking polyleader to a floating line too, if that's what you have already and you're not ready to buy more gear.

For a spey rod, a 7-9 wt rod with a skagit line and 10' T11 or T14 tip would work well.