Shore fishing for salmon on Sakakawea.

[svnmag]

Where's Nean Delson?!..perhaps he would understand.

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I see you just meant males. You can call the G&F and debate Freud vs ham sandwiches!

 

[tikkalover]

Anyone been going shore fishing lately? I'm thinking about going in the early AM tomorrow.

 

[Ericb]

So, these salmon change the color of their meat that quickly between August and October, from pink to dark brown/black?

The meat in Sak is never really pink. I believe it the differnce in diet or lack of shrimp that causes this. There skin starts to turn darker and the meat gets mushy during the spawn.

 

[Nean Delson]

I do understand. I know what this means.

Where's Nean Delson?!..perhaps he would understand.

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I see you just meant males. You can call the G&F and debate Freud vs ham sandwiches!

 

[svnmag]

 

[Allen]

Anyone been going shore fishing lately? I'm thinking about going in the early AM tomorrow.

I was up there last week, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Wednesday I fished along the face of the dam from shore and both bays to the east and west as the rain came and gone. Had several follows and one really nice salmon hit my lure about 15 feet from shore. That one jumped out of the water with my spoon sideways in its mouth and the hooks hanging out the far side only to have it spit the damn thing up on the rocks.

Saturday, I took my GF and her two boys and fished the bay by the emergency spillway. You could see salmon hitting the surface all damn afternoon, but I could only see a couple that followed my lure into the shallows, without hitting it. We were there for almost 5 hours and only saw one fish caught, and the same fella had one from earlier in the day.

Sunday, I took the boat and we pulled cranks, tossed spoons, mepps spinners, and the friggin tacklebox at them. Not a damn thing, again didn't see much else caught but one boat late in the evening caught two in about 10 minutes pulling cranks. Also saw a guy at the Govt bay boat ramp catch a good one tossing a spoon.

Salmon fishing from shore has been really hit or miss this year! I am blaming inconsistent weather, my own ineptitude, and just bad damn luck (we were using the same stuff as those few who caught fish were using). I'm sure someone else was spanking them, it just wasn't us or anyone else that we talked to.

They are definitely present in the shallows now, just not as easy to catch as one may hope.

 

[svnmag]

Allen,

Stop at the Honey Hole and get a box of Mustads. I can't stress enough the importance of fresh needle sharp hooks. Damn these fish can be exasperating as hell. I prefer shallow Reef Runners (blaze orange) over hardware due to the multiple hooks and less leverage when they shake their heads during a jump. Scott used to have a good selection. Haven't been in there in a while. Used to get terminal tackle at the HH and cranks in Scott's.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Allen,

Stop at the Honey Hole and get a box of Mustads. I can't stress enough the importance of fresh needle sharp hooks. Damn these fish can be exasperating as hell. I prefer shallow Reef Runners (blaze orange) over hardware due to the multiple hooks and less leverage when they shake their heads during a jump. Scott used to have a good selection. Haven't been in there in a while. Used to get terminal tackle at the HH and cranks in Scott's.

#4 triple grips are very not bad.

 

[Allen]

While I use sharp hooks, the hooks have to enter the mouth to be effective, regardless of brand. It was a good two inches out and away from that fish's minnow hole when it spat the lure in my general direction.

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and yep, if it were a reef runner, it'd been game on. But it was a spoon with a single treble at its tail end.

 

[svnmag]

And that heavy ass spoon with a nice free pivot point...I stopped using the damn things.

 

[Hookin8easy]

If you're set on spoons due to cast ability, you really should put a barrel swivel in between hook to remove the leverage that will occur, and a 3-4 odd siwash hook, they'll never wrench that sucker out

 

[svnmag]

What is this sorcery? I have a bbl on the front for line twist...

 

[DerHornen]

The salmon that are in full spawning mode won't actually bite anything to eat it, it's more of an aggression thing. That could explain some of the trouble getting a bite. The adults in saltwater country completely stop eating when they hit the areas where freshwater from rivers meets saltwater, at least I was told by an Alaskan charter fishing captain.

I caught a salmon once in the shallows of the Beulah bay sod house area in late fall, and it hit the spoon on 5 separate casts before I got the hook to stick. It was starting to turn color but still tasted pretty good after it came off the smoker.

 

[Hookin8easy]

What is this sorcery? I have a bbl on the front for line twist...

By taking the treble in your hand and rotating a spoon there comes a point where it becomes solid and will pull a lightly set hook out of the fish, if you put a barrel swivel on the tail end of the spoon and pinch a opened eye siwash hook on that whole contraption can spin freely never causing the the hook to be wrenched out by a jumping circling salmon

 

[svnmag]

I see. I didn't know what the hell a "siwash" hook was. I believe I'd feel more confident with a split ring and treble on the bbl. Good concept.