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NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel
Getting set up..............................................pg.4
USGS and River Levels..............................pg.7
How to reduce 90% o the River...............pg.8
30% your line weight..................................pg.10
Etiquette.......................................................pg.14
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NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel
Getting Set UpDan Gregory
Choosing the proper gearn make or break your sh-g experience. For many rstme shermen the success
their rst shing trip willtermine their love for the
port. This article is meant tose the confusion while pro-
ding information to help inour purchasing decision.
here are many different types
rods, reels, and shing line.here are rods for bass sh-g, steelhead, salmon, troutd rods for ocean shing. Allese rods are built speci-lly for their own purpose.
cean rods, for example,e built to be stout wheresteelhead rods are builtbe sensitive. So choosinge proper tool for the job is
important. When embarkingon a shing trip you shouldknow what youre shing for,where you are shing and theconditions you will be shingunder. Are you shing froma boat or from shore? Areyou shing for trout or Kingsalmon? Is the water clear ordirty? If you are shing fromthe bank then ask yourselfif the river is wide or small?Knowing the answers tothese questions will help youpurchase the proper gear.
So, youre probably askingyourself, where do I start.Start by reading this articlethen visit your local sh-ing shop. They will have theknowledge to help you makea good decision. Plus if youschmooze a little with the
owner or even just keep yourears open, you might receivevaluable information regard-ing local rivers and shinglocations. Local shing shopsare a great source of informa-tion. They can answer all yourquestions and get you set upwith the proper gear.
Okay so you did your re-search and you now have alittle more information. You
now know where you are sh-ing, what youre shing forand the conditions in whichyou will be shing. Letsmake a hypothetical scenariojust for an example. All rightyou are planning a wintersteelhead shing trip on theCalawha River in Forks, WA.You know that the steelheadare light biters so you want a
sensitive rod. You know thatthe river is long and fairly atin the section you are sh-ing. This means the sh canrun for quite a distance. Youalso know that the river hasa little bit of color. You alsoknow that you can wade intothe river, so overhangingbranches are not a concern.Armed with this informationyou will know what gear tobring. We would want a longsensitive rod matched with areel that has enough spool onit to load a lot of line in casethe steelhead decides to run.Since the water has a littlecolor we can use a thicker
diameter line.
Lets talk about rods! Youknow that you need a longrod to be able to cast acrossthe river and that since steel-head are lite biters you willalso need a sensitive rod. Solets walk through the pro-cess of choosing the rightrod. First thing you shoulddo is check the spine. Notall rods are equal. The spineis located opposite the rodguides. The purpose of thespine is to add strength andexibility. Fatigue can set inif the spine is not properlyaligned. There are a few dif-ferent ways to do this. WhenI am in a store I simply takethe top of the rod in one hand
and place the butt sectionagainst the base of the dis-play shelf and bend the rod.The rod will jump, showingthe stiffest side of the rod.This is the spine. The spineshould be opposite the rodguides. Now how do we deter-mine if the rod is right for thejob? On the side of the rodyou will see some writing that
looks like this 66, 6-12, 1/8-1/38, Fast, Medium. You prob-ably gured out the rst setof numbers. 66 is the lengthof the rod; 6-12 means therod can handle line weightsof 6 lbs. and up to 12 lbs. Thenext set of numbers tells youthe lure size that this rod wasbuilt for (1/8-1/38oz). Fastis the power this tells youhow stiff the rod is and medi-um is the action. The actionwill tell you how quickly therod loads and casts. So if youhad a rod with a light actionit would ex more than a rodwith a heavy action. A lightaction rod would be used for
casting light line and lureswhile heavy actions rods arejust the opposite.
Lets move onto reels. Choos-ing the right reel is a littleeasier than choosing a rod.Just like a shing rod, reelshave a specic purpose aswell. A spinning reel is meantfor distance and maximumspool load, while a bait cast-ing reel is meant for nesse.Although a bait casting reelis great for drift shing be-cause you can control the linefeed as your bobber oatsdown the river and keep yourpresentation in the strikezone, it also limits your cast-ing distance. So be aware ofthe purpose of each reel and
match it to the shing condi-tions as well as the rod youwill be using.
On the side of your shingreel you will see some num-bers just like you did on theshing rod. They will looksomething like this... 1/4-5/8, 6/200 8/140 10/120, 5:1.Okay so you may recognizethe rst set from choosing a
rod. The rst sets are thweight this reel can hanThis may or may not bethe reel you choose. Thond set of numbers 6/28/140, 10/120. This meline weight/yards. The 6us that we can load 6lbwhile the second numblets us know that with 6test we can load 200yrdlast set of numbers (5:1gear ratio. 5:1 tells us tevery one crank of the the spool rotates 5 timecan be helpful with linetrieve, especially if youto retrieve line quickly.
this information you camatch up your reel to yand get the maximum pfrom each.
Local shing
shops are a great
source of infor-
mation. They can
answer all your
questions and
get you set up
with the proper
gear.
uideBeginnersginners Guide
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NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel
Rivers fucuconstantly dhigh volumerain and snomeltUsgs and River levels
How to read chartsBy Dan Gregory
Suppose you want to head out tothe river and do a little shing.Doing yourhomework can provide valuableinormation. Knowing the gageheight and the daily dischargeo your local river can give youinsight as to what the river condi-tions are.Rivers uctuate constantly do tohigh volumes o rain and snowmelt. Tese acts o nature canheavily impact the river. Groundsaturation is another thing toconsider. For example: I you hada dry spell or a while and it rains,the ground will absorb as much asit can hold. Plants and trees will
use what they can as well. Whenall the water nature can hold is ab-sorbed the rest seeps through theground and into the river.So i you have a ew rainy days thewateris more likely to seep into theriver aster because all the plantsand trees have used what they canalready and cant hold anymorewater. Tis leads to what shermen
call a blown out river.I you have ever seen a river that isrunning high and muddy in color,then you have seen a river that isblown out.Tis is why doing your homeworkis so important. No one wants todrive out to the local shing holeand nd the river to beunshable. Tere are techniques tosh blown out rivers such as sh-ing closer to shore and using bigger,brighter gear and scent. Ill get intothat in another article. For thisarticle we will be learning (i youdont know already) how to readthe graph charts on www.USGS.GOV. Tese charts will tell you the
median, mean and instantaneousvalues.So what is Gage Height Feet? Wellthis is how high the river is owing.Te Daily Discharge shows youhow ast the river is owing andthe instantaneous value show youwhat the river is doing right now!Now we go back to middle schoolmath. I know, we all dread math.Dont worry we arent going to do
any complicated calculationare just going to talk about guage.What does mean and mediamean? Well the mean is avand the median is the midue. Your probably saying, Wthat make the mean and methe same thing? No the methe value between the l oweand the highest point. Whilmean is the level the river ismally owing.With this inormation you cgather up the proper gear anturn a potential bad day intproductive shing experieninstances; i the river is ow
little aster than usual and hlittle more color, you will wause stronger shing line andscent as swell. I the river is clear; then you will want tosmaller line and gear so youscare of the sh.I hope this article helps~ight Lines~
SGS & River Levels USGS & River L
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NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel
HERE HE FISH ARE
How to Reduce 90% o the riverFish where the sh are!By Dan Gregory
AosriverP
hotographbyPestilence
In this arcle I will explain
ow to prociently sh the river. I will
ve you countless hours of wander-
g aimlessly on the river bank in
arch of salmon. The most disheart-
ning aspect of shing is not knowing
the salmon are in the parcular area
at you are shing. That is what this
cle will entail. Most of shing is
st being observant and paying aen-
on to the habits of salmon. You can
arn a lot from just watching. One of
ese days try and leave the salmon
d at home and just observe! This
how I was able to become a beer
d more successful sherman. So I
ll teach you what I have learned and
ope that this will help you as well.
he rst part of river shing is know-
g the dynamics of a river. What
elements make a river? Well the main
two are frog water or at secons and
ries. So to give you a visual of what
I am explaining think of the ries as
a hill and think of the at secon as a
level area. Now imagine that you are
out jogging and have to run up this
hill. What would you do when you
reached the at secon just before
the next steep hill? If it was me I
would rest and regain my energy. This
is exactly what salmon do. They are
spawning and need to conserve as
much energy as they can so they can
spawn. Now in between the ries is
where you will nd the sh. You can
narrow you search if you know where
to look. You want to look for anything
that breaks up the river ow such as a
boulder in the river. The water owing
around this boulder is called a seam.
The middle is called the slot. The slot
has a top middle and boom secon.
The top is called the head, the middle
is calledwell the middle and the
boom is called the tail out. The river
ow and current is broken and slowed
by the boulder providing an eortless
area for the salmon to rest. Other
areas to look are deep holes that can
provide cover and protecon. Anoth-
er thing to consider is that salmon are
looking to conserve energy. They will
run up the river in areas that provide
the least resistance. So the next me
you are out on the river look, at the
way the river ows and visualize the
path of least resistance. This is the
path the salmon will take. In order
to be a great sherman you need to
understand salmon. This requires
studying them and being observant. In
order to catch salmon consistently you
must think like one.
WHERE HE FISH ARE FISH WHERE HE
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0 NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel
Have you ever been shing
d hook into that monster only to
ve him snap your line immedi-
ely? You thought that you had your
ag set properly, but your line was
apped like a thin piece of thread. Ive used a technique that is simple
d eecve. You will no longer have
ur line snapped in two.
hats the secret? Set your drag to
% of line weight. You can always
just your drag once the salmon is
ooked, but this method is great for
ng your drag before you head out
the river.
You will need a 5 gallon bucket or
any heavy object will do a digital
or spring scale. If youre using a 5
gallon bucket, then ll it with water
or anything to weigh it down and
then aach the scale to the bucket.Tie you shing line to the top end
of the scale. You want to pull up on
the rod while incrementally adjust-
ing your drag unl it reads 30% of
your line weight. For example; if you
are using ten pound test then 30%
of ten pound test is 3 pounds. Once
the scale reads 30% of your line
weight you are ready to head out to
the river. Once you hook into that
salmon you will sll need to adjust
accordingly to the salmon and river
condion. What this method does is
take the shock out of your line when
that salmon hits your oering like a
freight train and keeps your line in
one piece.
Must have Technique
HERE HE FISH ARE THEFISHARE0% OF YOUR LINE WEIGH 30% OF YOUR LINE W
By Dan Gregory
30 percent your line weight
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2 NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel
PLA
CEADH
ERE
Gator Rods
Even the toughest o thesea meet their matchGator rods are built tough and built to endure. Landhat lunker with condence!
Pick yours up at your local tackle shop today. You just
may need a bigger net!
Gator Rods
Even the toughest o thesea meet their matchGator rods are built tough and built to endure. Landthat lunker with condence!Pick yours up at your local tackle shop today. You
just may need a bigger net!
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4 NorthWest Salmon and Steelhead NorthWest Salmon and Steel
Lets talk about equee!
is is an important topic to cover.
ne thing that can ruin a good day of
hing is a sherman with bad e-
uee. You know the guy! The one
at just hooked into his rst sh of
e day and is whooping and hollering
blivious to the fact that he is playing
s sh into everybodys line. This can
e very annoying. Not to menon the
ct that you cant sh unl he lands
e sucker. So
ule #1 : If someone hooks into a sh
u should bring your line in.
ule #2 : When you hook into a sh
e polite thing to do is move down to
e end of the line so everyone else
n keep shing and you wont tangle
p anyones line.
ave you ever gone down to the river
d were limited on good shing
holes? Well take a chapter from the
dri shermans equee. The rule
says that it is impolite to hog a good
hole. As long as no one i s wanng to
sh it then it is fair game, but if there
are others behind you then work the
water and keep moving. You can even
rotate every now and then so each
angler has a chance to sh the whole
hole.
Rule # 3 Dont be a hog. Work the
area and either rotate in line or moveto the next hole.
How about this one! Fishing with
inexperienced anglers. This can be
rough. They dont know when to cast
or what or even how! Your lines get
tangled and you exchange apologies.
Aer four or ve mes you are bound
to get annoyed . When you are shing
with experienced anglers they know
when to cast and where. For example
when you shing with a oat sher-
man and a dri sherman they know
to take turns casng so the lines dont
get tangled. And as a experienced an-
gler it is up to us to teach those who
are not so experienced. We all started
somewhere. Why not set them o in
the right direcon. Then maybe they
will eventually spread their knowledge
someday.
Rule # 4 Know your skill l evel.
Crowding out is an issue at mes. Ev-
erybody wants to sh a good hole. If
you know the river then you know the
good holes. Chances are you may be
the rst person to it. So youre enjoy-
ing the brisk morning when someone
walks up and says good morning or
Have any luck? Then they cast in
about four feet from ya. Huh! I mean
I dont own the river, but a mind if
I throw in next to you would have
been nice. Now his buddy comes
walking up and they exchange hellos
and he starts shing too. Prey soon
you get crowded out of the hole you
were rst in. It is just plain inconsider-
ate.
Rule # 5 Be considerate of others.
(you dont need permission, but it is
appreciated)
I will say that there are more rules,
but these are the most common is-
sues on rivers these days. Not every-one thinks of equee when they
go shing. A lile equee goes a
long way. I havent run into too many
people that were rude. Most are in
fact fairly polite and easy going. I usu-
ally chat up just about anyone. Never
know what they will tell you. Maybe
they will spill the beans about a secret
spot! We can hope right. The main
thing is to have fun and treat others
with respect.
y Dan Gregory
Etiquette
HERE HE FISH ARE THEFISHAREEtiquette Etiquett
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