Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: smokedfish56 on January 07, 2014, 10:09:47 PM
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Any pointers on how to detect a salmon bite on the end of a lure while spincasting for salmon? what it feels like? etc
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A little hesitation on your retrieve.
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Depends on the fish that's on the other end.
Sometimes you will feel a tap tap through the rod, sort of the same feeling as when you tick bottom, but different enough to know it isn't necessarily bottom.
Other times you will feel as if you've snagged up, or sometimes you'll just feel the weight of something on your rod when it grabs it.
The best advice that most fishing resources out there will give, is that if you are unsure, set the hook. Worst case scenario you set yourself into a snag, best case, you'll have a fish on. Either way, the more you practice, the better you become at knowing which is a fish, and which is a snag.
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Usually, the lure just stops. Occasionally, there is a vicious strike. It's the "stops" that can fool you. The biggest "secret" to all fishing is being in constant "touch" with your fly or lure. It can be a very subtle thing and takes time to recognize. With a quickly retrieved lure it becomes obvious, but most often you want your lure to be drifting at the same speed as the current and the lure working slowly. Every lure is unique and requires different retrieves for maximum efficiency. Current speed affects them all differently. Also, the distance a lure can casted depends on its weight and design. It is impossible to put into words how this is achieved. All you can do is experiment.
I have a great love for spinners, but spinners are usually lighter than wobblers and spoons. Spinners usually require additional weight on the line. Different blades and how close the blade lays to the wire shaft also affects its action.
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With 30 years of guiding I can tell you that is the most common question a guide is asked. "How will I know if I get a bite?" It is the question a guide askes when fishing a new species or method they have not fished before.
Experience is something you get just after you needed it.
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I just giver a good rip back every couple cranks just in case. ::)
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It might help to try using a low stretch line like braid, or my personal favorite, Berkley NanoFil. Sensitivity as well as casting distance is greatly increased.
Good luck.
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Some good advice here indeed. When not using a float an angler gets more of a straight line to the lure and you feel it stop and move in a different way, or a tap, tap or the rod just keels over. Hold your rod firmly and try to run your line thru your fingers, when & if you can.
A friend of mine had line guides futher down than most people and when float fishing could have the line thru his fingers while holding the rod.
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Im no expert but my limited experience tells me aside from the obvious hits and couldnt miss it if you tried bites it can be anything as subtle as losing feeling of your spinners rhythm as you reel or your line losing a little tension if fish takes and keeps swimming direction lure was going.
Last year was my first where I tried to catch salmon without a float as it was all I had been shown by my fishing mentor. He would never go and participate in the cast and retrieve fishery, especially in the fraser. This year I said screw it and started going alone. Well after hearing tales of my tenth chromer without driving to chilliwack he relented. He hooked 5 or 6 but all escaped he says because he had never used a spinning reel before....
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Im no expert but my limited experience tells me aside from the obvious hits and couldnt miss it if you tried bites it can be anything as subtle as losing feeling of your spinners rhythm as you reel or your line losing a little tension if fish takes and keeps swimming direction lure was going.
Last year was my first where I tried to catch salmon without a float as it was all I had been shown by my fishing mentor. He would never go and participate in the cast and retrieve fishery, especially in the fraser. This year I said screw it and started going alone. Well after hearing tales of my tenth chromer without driving to chilliwack he relented. He hooked 5 or 6 but all escaped he says because he had never used a spinning reel before....
What kind of fish are your chromers from the Fraser? If they are pinks from this last season, then it is pretty normal as there were millions swimming by and I am not sure why your mentor wouldn't spin for them. If they were coho, then you are pretty good and you can call yourself an expert for that, and you sure don't need a mentor. There ain't many here on this forum who can spin for 10 chrome coho on the Fraser ;D
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are you fishing the lightest rod you can ? braid is good for feeling spinners aswell, but a properly balance rod reel and line for the job is most important.
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I may be going a little heavy on the gear if that effects anything. I use a medium- heavy action spinning rod rated 12-30 lb test and is about 9ft long. I use 20lb test line.
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When spincasting with the proper rod for your gear, you will be able to feel your hardware on the end of your line. You will feel the thump-thump of your spoon and you will be able to feel the buzz-buzz of your spinner.
As others have said, sometimes you will feel a solid strike or a sharp tug. There is no mistaking it.
And, as others have said, sometimes you will feel something "different": your lure will stop, your line will feel heavy, you can feel your spinner blade stop buzzing...
Generally, I find that a hit from a pink tends make the line feel heavy or stop. Generally not a slashing strike, more just a heaviness. On the other hand, coho strikes tend to be more of a sharp tug. Generally...
As you get used to your gear and what it fishes like and what it normally feels like, then a fish is something that doesn't feel "normal"
The gear you describe is probably too heavy to detect the subtleties of a salmon hit that people have been talking about.
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yeah, thats way to heavy. spinning is one of the lighter techniques. dont forget almost all salmon can be landed on 12lbs leader.
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I may be going a little heavy on the gear if that effects anything. I use a medium- heavy action spinning rod rated 12-30 lb test and is about 9ft long. I use 20lb test line.
If you are targeting big chums and springs that will be adequate but you won't feel the lure very much. If you go down to a lighter rod rated 6 to 12lbs, you should be able to feel the wobble of your spoon and the vibration from your spinner as you retrieve.
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9 foot spinning rod, 8-10 pound test does it for all my jigging, swinging spoons and retrieving spinners. Handles pinks and coho no problem and have landed many chum and a few chinook in the 5-10 pound range just fine.
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What kind of fish are your chromers from the Fraser? If they are pinks from this last season, then it is pretty normal as there were millions swimming by and I am not sure why your mentor wouldn't spin for them. If they were coho, then you are pretty good and you can call yourself an expert for that, and you sure don't need a mentor. There ain't many here on this forum who can spin for 10 chrome coho on the Fraser ;D
Ill state for certain that Im no expert. It wasnt 10 in 1 day but over a weeks time. Tho I had caught lots of salmon on spinners under floats I hadnt caught one just casting. I kinda misused the mentor term as he is my friend who taught me river fishing 15 yrs ago. My knowledge has grown alot in the last 2 yrs thanks to internet and the forums while he resists change in his ways . Tho I dominate during salmon he consistently gets more steel than me. Due to work I didnt get out much the last 5 or 6 yr and havent caught one in that long. I am going to get one this year if it kills me. Been out 5 times in last 3 weeks but havent even seen one hooked.
It started with the pinks getting me into the casting spoons and spinners and when I hooked a coho in september in ft langley area I was "hooked" for certain. He still couldnt be swayed to going and would only fish the vedder. Well, when the coho started to move past and the pinks disappeared I had some great days where I only had 2 or 3 hours to get out and would land 2 and lose 2 or 3. I landed some of the chromest coho Id ever caught in freshwater, with the blue sheen on them. When I told him that the last 10 I had caught were all wild he finally went. Over 4 or 5 trips he hooked 5 or 6 but lost them all. Earlier in the run I had hooked and lost 8 fish in a row, which generally doesnt happen to me. I came across a thread talking about hooks and switched all my spoons and spinners to sickles and I started to land a higher percentage.