Having the Right Trolling Gear

A fun way to catch salmon is by trolling.  When fishing on a large lake with various depths, having a line counter on your trolling rod allows you to get the depth just right, which is going to be key for finding fish.  There are different setup variations but, when setting up your trolling rig you want to consider a sliding weight attached to your line, a strong bumper around 2 feet in length, and a 360⁰ flasher.  Coming off the 360⁰ flasher can be a leader attached to your bait of choice at the end of the line.

Locating Salmon in Deeper Zones

Being able to locate or mark fish will definitely help your chances of success.  Weather can dictate where salmon are located and how you should go about locating them.  When daytime temperatures are warm and the sun is heating up the surface water, most salmon will be in the deeper aphotic zones.  Setting the depth is crucial for connecting with these salmon on the bottom.  Another challenge is maintaining your speed, so you are moving fast enough to ensure the 360 flasher is working properly and making full revolutions to accurately mimic a fish that is turning or flashing.  The 360 flasher with a spinning bait behind it is a great way to entice a salmon to bite.   Fishing for salmon is super fun, especially on a kayak, and its always a challenge to net the fish from a smaller boat.  When on a boat that sits low to the water the angle of your rod tip is important when trolling.  Having the angle of your rod so the tip is pointed towards the water will help your bait stay at the right depth.