Re: How to Troll for Salmon in River?
There's no substitute for local knowledge. Find out what the locals are doing.<br /><br />I used to fish in Tillamook Bay, and they used a spinner. I also fished in Nehalem Bay, and used herring.<br /><br />At some point, salmon when in the estuaries quit feeding, although they may still strike at lures. My first experience fishing for salmon in a river was in the Duwamish River just off downtown Seattle. We had an old Japanese guy who was a neighbor, and he took me out there. He used a small dodger with hooks right on that. He said the salmon would hit it out of anger, as it would imitate a sea-run cutthroat, and the trout liked to bash the salmon on the sides to dislodge eggs in order to eat the eggs. All I know is that when a fish hit that dodger, they hit it very very hard.<br /><br />And the stomachs were always empty.<br /><br />A salmon hitting in Tillamook would hit a lure very gently--you'll miss it if you don't know what to look for or are slow to react.<br /><br />Good Luck.
<br /><br />Looking forward to talking to you!