IME you "can't go wrong" with a shallow running blaze orange/yellow Reef Runner or a crawler under a slip float in the area of the state park swim beach. Back in the early '00's a kid down there was the only one catching shit on a Rebel Crawdad crank(?!)...Another time a couple kids aggravated all by shitslamming them on old, sun damaged, ratty "white" twister tail jigs on tackle which had to have been dug out of the very back of their granddad's barn. The blue mono line was straight out of KMart and would loop on the surface like a Slinky. They whipped the "Eagle Claw" rods so hard to cast I was amazed they never snapped. Anyways they had the Lord on their side and left with 50lbs of fish.
Additional advice would be: Come prepared with a variety and experiment. Have quality replacement trebles on hand as salmon mouths are like hard, slick glass. As with all salmonids they writhe like eels, run like carp and jump like bass: IME these shore salmon make a game out of spitting hooks. Whatever this says of my ability; it took me three years to land my first: Even as I hate throwing spoons I will say gold has provided the most strikes and was the color which earned my boy his first on the Dale Jr. 33 Combo.
SIDE NOTE: I still have the rod and spoon. One night on a beer lark I decided to fill it with 6/20 PowerPro. Holy shit. I would've never believed how well and problem-free this stuff worked in a spincaster. One day I noticed his drag was wobbly; so on another beer lark (at home) I sprayed the poor plastic deal with Reel Magic. This locked the drag tight and I broke the poor reel trying to overcome what I surmise was some sort of hydraulic effect. This proved a mixed blessing as the next spring I was the proud papa of an eight year old throwing spinning and baitcasting with ease. His first fish on baitcasting tackle was an eight lb pike on a Jitterbug shortly after ice-out.
SIDE SIDE NOTE(2): Braid is now round and works AMAZINGLY well in closed face reels. It may be a bit like nitrous in a Prius and reduce "barrel life". Also, IMHO/E: Don't just teach your kids how to cast. When they've "mastered" casting(rod position etc); go "downrange", grab the plug, simulate a strike and then ingrain a HOOKSET. This MAY take a while (IDK--does a kid subconsciously believe he/her is jerking the bait away?!!). DON'T BE A DICK. When the hookset is "mastered" move on to the dynamics of fighting the fish by letting the child reel you in. This is when the drag/rod importance is demonstrated.
(C): Kids need to catch bluegills etc without critique. As you may have noted I had a bit of a problem in the boy's early years. One day on an Alabama pond I was slapped on the head with this epiphany when Meemaw's biscuits and gravy sent me running to the bushes. This is when I realized YOU can't really FISH with a child. All attention must be on the KID. The boy did his first C/R on a bluegill with a long shanked barbless hook while I spread wolf bait (Weird Science). He then baited his own hook, caught a couple more and became a fisherman.
When the child asks: "Why you aren't fishing?" it's bittersweet and time pick up your rod. You're still needed to untangle a line or some such but you can fish. DON'T BE A DICK.
