VOL.39 • ISS. 14
>
Fish
Sniffer editor
Cal Kellogg
is seen
here with
legendary
salmon
angler Buzz
Ramsey.
They
teamed up
to fool this
fall run king
with an
inline flasher
and a rigged
herring.
Delta Salmon Primer
^
Spinners have a well
deserved reputation for producing
trophy caliber kings. Spinners
seldom hooks as many fish
as rigged bait, but typically
the spinner fish will average
significantly larger.
^Some days spinner color
matters, other days it
doesn’t. Chrome, pink, white and
green or combinations of these
colors are proven performers.
<
While most anglers think
of sardine wrapped Flatfish as
“up river” baits, they work well for
trolling Delta waters. Keep the
sardine wrapper fresh and consider
adding a little shrimp or crawfish
meat to sweeten the deal.
HOW TO...
FISH SNIFFER
HOW – TO
by Cal Kellogg
June 26, 2020
Are You Ready For Delta Salmon?
S
almon
trolling is a Delta favorite
during the late summer and fall when
anglers flock out of resorts like Vieira’s to
pull spinners on the Sacramento River.
Delta salmon trollers have been relying on
spinners for untold decades
and there is no denying their
effectiveness, but might there
be another way? Perhaps a
method as effective or even
more effective than pulling
spinners…
If we travel a few hundred
miles to the north and take
a look at how anglers chase
kings in tidal rivers in
Washington and Oregon there
are definitely lessons to be
learned that can be applied to
our Delta fishery. Northwest
tidal rivers are very similar to
the tidal section of the Sacramento,
so why wouldn’t the approaches
used up north work down here in the Golden
State.
While I’ve trolled for kings in the
Willamette and other northwest rivers I am
nothing but a beginner if that, so I got in
touch with Buzz Ramsey of Yakima Bait to
help me out with information for this piece.
Buzz is one of the nation’s foremost authorities
when it comes to chasing salmon so his
insights are beyond valuable.
In recent years three way spreader trolling
rigs armed with in line Fish Flash Flashers
and rigged herring have become the gold
standard for pulling big kings out of tidal
rivers. These are rivers where spinners have
been a go to offering for many years just like
the Sacramento. The big flash and vibration
of the flasher draws the fish in and agitates
them.
When they hit the natural bait they tend to
hang onto it and mouth it, making for very
secure hookups that you just don’t get with
hardware. Let’s take a closer look at this
fascinating, perhaps revolutionary rig and
technique. Give it a try this year and you
might just find yourself on the cutting edge
of a Delta salmon trolling revolution!
The Rig
The rig I’m about to describe is extremely
popular on the Willamette during the spring
chinook season, but with a few tweaks it is
the standard bait trolling rig used throughout
the northwest these days.
Starting out with a fairly stout rig armed
with 50 or 65 pound braided line. Tie a
23
three way to the end of the main line. To the
lower eye of the swivel attach a 12 to 18
inch dropper of 15 pound mono tipped with
a snap. This is where you’ll attach a weight
ranging from 6 ounces to a pound.
The actual leader attaches to the
third eye of the swivel. To that
eye you attach 24 inches of 40
pound mono. Then you snap on
a Fish Flash inline flasher. These
plastic flashers put out a bunch
of flash and vibration without
creating much drag. To the rear of
the flasher connect a 50 to 60 inch
25 pound test mono leader tipped
with either a rigged herring or a
rigged anchovy. You’ll want to put
a swivel at the mid-point of the
leader to help eliminate line twist.
The baitfish can be rigged on
a standard two hook rig or you
could go with a bait rotator like a
Rotary Salmon Killer from Pro-Troll. I’d go
to the river armed with standard double hook
leaders, Rotary Killers and E-Chip model
Rotary Killers and I’d feel pretty well armed.
Some anglers substitute the baitfish for
lures, like spinners, Flatfish and Wiggle
Warts.
Buzz Ramsey Talks Presentation
In the following comments Buzz is
speaking specifically about the Willamette,
but I firmly believe that the ideas and style
of trolling he refers to will work well on the
Sacramento. Yet, only actual on the water
experimentation will answer the question
definitively.
“Surprising to some, ocean tides affect the
Willamette all the way to the falls at Oregon
City and can influence the river more than
one might realize; for example, a large flood
tide can slow, stop or reverse the current of
the lower Willamette,” says Ramsey. “Willamette
salmon respond positively to tide
changes in the same way as ocean salmon
– with the best bite often occurring around
the tide change. Because tides affect when
and where there will be current, their timing
makes a difference.”
“Forward-trolling is best when tides are flat
or flooding. You can enhance your forwardtrolling
success by maneuvering your boat in
a zigzag pattern. By trolling in an irregular
pattern your lure or bait will change direction
and action, which can trigger strikes from
following salmon. You should realize that
zigzag trolling may not be possible when
CONTINUED ON PG 9
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