Salmon on the fly?

[Natekursow]

I've been thinking about trying to land my first king salmon on the fly rod this season, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips? Also locations? Like would the feather river be better then the American? Or is it too deep? Etc. Is fishing for the kings around here even that productive? Also when would be the best time? (September? October?) Anything helps! Thanks!

NK

[Rossflyguy]

I've been thinking about trying to land my first king salmon on the fly rod this season, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips? Also locations? Like would the feather river be better then the American? Or is it too deep? Etc. Is fishing for the kings around here even that productive? Also when would be the best time? (September? October?) Anything helps! Thanks!

NK

Yes you can and either river works. You just gotta know where they sit during the day and move through in the early mornings and late afternoons.

[Jcolin]

Hi Nate, I havent had much luck myself but then again havent spent nearly as much time swinging for chinook as i have winter steelhead. From what ive gathered its pretty similar, if anything even more important to get the fly real deep. I use heavy weighted flies with bead chain eyes and at least 10’ of T14 tip. From what i gathered you have the right idea with the valley rivers, on the coast on the smith and eel have heard its much harder on the fly and extremely dependent on fall rains. Good luck hope you get one! Wish we could target them for C&R out here on the russian still

[Mark Kranhold]

Chinooks, like fighting a muscle car! Early morning and evenings, or overcast and rainy days are good times to target them. Honestly I hope they shut down salmon fishing for the next few years or more. Do your Indian rain dance and let’s hope we get lots of rain and snow for the years to come.

[Rossflyguy]

Chinooks, like fighting a muscle car! Early morning and evenings, or overcast and rainy days are good times to target them. Honestly I hope they shut down salmon fishing for the next few years or more. Do your Indian rain dance and let’s hope we get lots of rain and snow for the years to come.

Two years from now and it’s guaranteed to happen. Then California DFW will blame climate change while farmers have acres of green massive almond trees by some miracle but you won’t hear how all those smolt died because of poor water management. You shut salmon season down then there’s no reason to meter how much water is given away from the rivers. No fisherman paying attention means less prying eyes. We are the #1 conservationists for anything wild. Removing sportsmen is like removing the best player on the team.

[Darian]

Lets get back on topic. I fished Salmon on the fly in coastal/valley rivers for many years before concluding that the effort wasn't worth the result. I'd qualify that statement to say that I would fish Salmon in the Trinity/Klamath/Smith Rivers if conditions were better. Sadly, most coastal rivers have few if any Salmon returns any longer.

If you're new to Salmon on the fly and want to be consistently successful, there's a lengthy learning curve involved and involves an investment in time/effort/equipment. With that in mind, I'd recommend getting hold of the latest version of the book titled: Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon by Fergusn/Johnson/Trotter or most any book by Russ Chatham. Lots of written material on the subject. If you're more advanced, communicate with Tony Buzolich, Ken Hanley, Jay Murakoshi or any other fly fisher who targets Salmon and ask questions. You won't get all the info you need on a public Forum.

[Natekursow]

Thank you everyone for your responses, hopefully this gets me on the right track! Thanks!

NK

[Zepher]

My fly club had an outing at Eagle Lake, maybe 20 yrs ago. A buddy and I were planning on meeting up with the club, but got word that the lake was blown out. The winds were horrendous, there and here. So we jumped on Hi 5 not knowing where we would end up. We found a spot, south of Redding, don't exactly know where, on the Sac. It was an absolutely amazing weekend for me. I landed 7 bright kings, legally hooked, during those 2 days. Had many more on and lost, had many more foul hooked. Just goes to show you that a blind squirrel can find an occasional nut. BTW - the hot fly was a Blanton squid. I don't know why, you'll have to draw your own conclusions. I was elated, for once, I was the "boss of the beach." Nate, your day is on the horizon. Best of skill and luck.