Salmon Flies

[Darian]

Not sure whether you're referring to the pattern, Karluk Falsh Fly or flies with flash in them.... I've never bothered using the Karluk Flash Fly around here. I've been told it was originally designed for use on the Karluk River on Kodiak Island for Silver Salmon. like other Pacific Salmon patterns, it probably works at many other spots as well, at any given time.

There're many patterns available that're flashy or incorporate flash in them. Such as, gold/silver Comets, Goldsmith/Silversmith, to name but a few. Tony can better answer your question then I but I believe that he was referring to incorporating flash into patterns he was using for Stripers to imitate baitfish for taking spring Salmon. Clousers (grey/white, olive/white, chartreuse/white) for example..... All of these patterns are baitfish imitations.

Use of these patterns makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Springers come into the river systems early and are still feeding as their egg/milt sacks are not yet developed. Springers summer over in the rivers and spawn in the fall/winter. They spend more time in the rivers than their cousins and must feed to sustain themselves until ready to spawn.

The closer Pacific Salmon get to spawning time the more constricted their stomachs become and feeding becomes increasingly instinctual. That dicatates a change in bait/fly/lure types. Then less flash and darker patterns become more effective. (you'll find that this idea is very controversial to some but it makes sense to me )

[Moose]

I am hopping they will get a "slot limit" here in CA.

Even a slot limit would require enforcement, the one thing we are lacking. There is already a limit on how many fish you can keep and hours of fishing/using the parkway, etc., but if the rangers and wardens don't go out at night (or at all for that matter)....

One of the saddest things going on in the "System" here in California is the time and money spent on creating and implementing new laws when simply enforcing the laws already in place would solve so many of the problems, but then that would keep our elected officials from grandstanding and spending our money in the name of progress....But that's a whole other thread I suppose.


Photgraph the guys keeping all those stripers and guilt a warden into checking on them to determine waste of game and over posession at their homes. That will slow down the carnage. Again, the laws are already there, but you have to force the enforcement

[steve sullivan]

Hi Steve,..... Not sure I understand where you were going with this.... Tony's points about large stripers are valid for continuation of Striped Bass and are supported by statements made in the Health Warnings sections of DFG Regs.

It's your choice how you want to interpret or use the info/warnings in those regs and if you choose to take an occassional fish, as many of us already do, so be it.

The whole point is, that most of us occasional do take a fish, and I think some of us would take a nice bright chrome salmon, but this may be a mistake.

[Gregg]

Thank you for your input, Steve. You have enlightened us all.

[David Lee]

Hi Steve -

Salmon and Steelhead spend much less time in the Delta/Bay estuary than Stripers do . Salmon are usually fine to eat because they are feeding in a lower-risk environment (open ocean) than the Stripes are .

I personally wouldn't eat any Stripe over 4 or 5 lbs. -

David

[Tony Buzolich]

First, "thank You" HC. A couple of my favorite books on salmon are"Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon" a Frank Amato Publication and includes a wealth of informantion and wonderfull examples of flash fly and baitfish patterns used for salmon. My other favorite is Dick Stewart's "Flies for Steelhead". Yes, I use steelhead flies for salmon and vise versa. Both fish take both flies equally well and the patterns I favor can't be seperated as to "just" steelhead, or "just" salmon. Heck, I've taken salmon on striper flies.
Remember, flies are just imitations of food, irritations designed to cause a strike, or attractors designed to cause interest. Presentation is the rest.

Hey Steve?! My references to toxin levels in the flesh of fish was about STRIPED BASS. I made NO mention of toxins in salmon though I'm sure they may contain some.
I believe the dark meat under the skin at the lateral line, and in some of the organs, contain most of the toxins in all fish.
Striped bass, because of their preditory nature feed on smaller fish, crustaceans, etc. that live in a highly polluted enviroment thus working the toxin levels up the food chain to the larger predetors. The older a large predetor is, the more he would have eaten and toxin levels will have continued to grow with age and size.
Salmon spend the majority of their life at sea. Yes, the ocean does have pollution too but nothing to the degree of the bay/delta.

Enough of this stuff.

I stopped by one of my favorite spots yesterday(not to fish) but to show my kids what ol' dad's been fishing for. Put on a good set of poloroids and watch the bottom for a few minutes. GEEEZ, Look at that! Look, more over there!
Nice to see a smile on their faces and helps to validate a lot of the stories I've been telling them over the years.

Hope to see you guys out there,
TONY

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Back to flies for salmon again.

I have seen that Andy, Brett and others had taken steelhead and salmon while fishing with a Clouser Minnow for Stripers that is suppose to respresent a small salmon or steelhead fry/smolt.

[HC]

Tony, Ok that helps a lot knowing the earlier runners will chase and eat bait. I agree with everyhting you said about toxic accumulation inthe tissues of older fish. I especially avoid the dark meat even on resturant fish. Its fun to share with kids and others what lies beneath the surface. I think the casual observer misses alot. HC