As the lures approach the depth at which I think the salmon may be holding, I’ll have the clients lock their reels into gear and hold steady at that depth for a while. Remember, kings holding in deep, slow pools are often suspended, so you don’t want to rush straight down to the bottom without fishing the whole water column first. If we don’t get bit, I’ll instruct them to drop down a little more and hold—until we find where the fish are hanging. Don’t worry if your rod tip is barley thumping—the faintest of wobbles in these spots will get the job done. And that’s where FlatFish like the T-55 and T-60 really shine. They are lighter than other brands and have a different shaped bill, which allows them to have more action in the slowest of water. K16’s and KF 16’s work great when there’s a touch more current, but FlatFish are the kings of the slow stuff.
And the salmon don’t have to be huge to eat these massive lures. I routinely fish them on streams where the kings average 10 to 15 pounds. I think that when those big plugs get down in the fish’s kitchen and start that slow, seductive thump, it’s hard for kings not to try to pulverize ‘em.
That may be the coolest aspect of this whole technique: When a king decides to smash a jumbo plug in slow water, it can be an amazingly violent attack. You may get a quick “warning shot” when a king comes up and nudges the lure with his nose or tail and then the rod usually slams down as if it were attached to a 500-pound anchor. The slow water bite is epic!
Obviously, your best bet is to have the rod in the holder, but I usually go against tradition with this method and have my guys hold the rods because I want them to be able to let line out from time to time. That does create a problem, however, as aggressive bites are hard to refrain from jerking back on prematurely. But with some teaching, patience and repetition, I can usually get them on board with the program.
When holding the rod, one thing I always prep guys on is to be careful that the fish doesn’t slam the rod onto the gunwale. The strikes are so crazy that sometimes rods get broken…you have been warned!
So, next time you come across that big, deep frog-water hole that’s full of fish you’ve got a way to catch them. Give the big plugs a try this season.
To learn more, check out my new eBook: Plug Fishing for River Salmon, available at Amazon, iTunes, Nook or in PDF format at my website: www.fishwthjd.com