relatively new to salmon/trout fishing. i've been a bass fisherman for as long as i can remember, but i've now broadened my horizons i guess you could say. i've caught several salmon before, but was always on someone else's boat. i now have a boat more suited to salmon and trout fishing (as well as bass) and want to go after some salmon, lakers and rainbows.
i mainly fish winnisquam simply because of easy access (my folks live on the lake, i can dock my boat there). but i also have been to many of the usual spots on winni.. meredith, weirs, paugus, ellacoya, black point etc. i've been out probably 15 times now and have yet to catch a salmon. 2 small lakers so far.
i currently only have 2 lead core rigs, but plan to add some downriggers soon. i know i need to change the leaders on those lead cores to some fluorocarbon line, but what pound test should i go with? i was thinking about 50 ft. for leader length as well.
as for lures, i don't have too many just yet. 2 db's, one blue, one red. 2 needlefish, one gold with colored dots, one silver with dots. 2 6" dodgers and 2 streamers. i'm gonna head to martels and aj's and ask what the hot lures are at the moment and add to the selection.
for depth, i've been running one at 8 colors, or about 40 ft, to try for a laker. and the other one is usually down about 20-35 ft. (depending on time of day) for salmon. and i usually have spoons on both, just different ones.
i seem to be having some trouble catching salmon. i often mark fish on the fishfinder in the 20-30 ft range, which i would imagine some could be salmon, but they never hit. i could use some help, some tips, and of course any critiques are welcome. thanks!
Just a suggestion, Morse Sporting goods is close to newbie and have a good selection of salmon gear.May want to stop in and ask whats working on newbie.There are alot of small rainbows in the lake that you could be marking on your fishfinder.You may want to try trolling live bait, nothing fools stingy fish like the real thing.alot of bait in that lake sometimes hardwear wont work.I have heard they like chev chase lures over there though.Just a thaught, good luck
Never fished winnisquam. But early is best for salmon O dark 30. Orange copper or all orange DB smelt lure. Works just about any where for us. For salmon.Right now early 20' and go deeper to 35' as the sun gets brighter. Rainbows always have good luck with Copper back and copper purple front top gun. Rainbows may be a little shallower.Then just find the bait fish the salmon sould be near.Points and humps bait will usually hang arounds these areas.Any where there is a sharp change in depth.This usually works for us.Find the bait you will find the salmon.
For leadcore I use about 75' of 12 lb. fluoro with 6-8' of 6 lb. test fluoro for a leader with a fast lock snap for easy changing of lures. Your boat speed should be about 2.25 mph (+/- .25mph) for salmon and rainbows and 1.5-2.0 mph for lakers. I usually target salmon/rbows and troll 2.25-2.5 mph but still pick up lakers if they're in the mood that day. As far as lures, AJ will set you up right, but I recommend orange and copper for colors. Your depth for salmon seems about right. These are just my preferences.
First light always gets a few bites even in a slow day. Can't beat Orange and Gold on our lakes, streamers or spoons.
2.2 or so, faster if you use all streamers, adjust spped by a GPS.
If the fish are at 35, fish at 25 (maybe 30) no deeper, Salmon are sight feeders and they feed/look UP, not down. They have no problem coming up into warm water in a heartbeat to grab a meal and your bait can be seen allot better if it's several feet above them. We seldom fish deeper than 25' unless we are desperate.
thanks a ton for the tips guys, much appreciated! i definitely need to take a ride up to aj's...
side note/question.. i've always figured a 5' drop for every color on lead core. is that correct? i have 2 of the yellow eagle claw rods/reels that came pre-spooled with line. they didn't indicate which diameter line was on there though.
Estimating leadcore depth is not an exact science as it depends on many factors. That being said at about 2 MPH I assume my leadcore sinks about 5 feet per color.
thanks guys. next time i go out i'm gonna bring my hand held gps, see if i can figure out what my speed it. right now, i just put the motor in gear, but i don't know how fast i'm going. it's enough to make my spoons dance though. i really wanna get a new fishfinder. got my eye on the hds 5 but money is tight at the moment. just spend some on downriggers so i'll have to wait a while before the next upgrade.
Yeah, I'm still a relative newbie myself although slowly coming out of my rookie phase. I finally got the HDS5 this year as my first toy (lead core only, no riggers or planers, etc... yet). Anyway, the GPS has opened a new world to know speed and also target specific areas with the 1 foot contours navionics chip. I find the depth finder/fish finder a little less useful thus far as it seems I never catch the fish on the finder and seem to catch ones that don't appear there. go figure. however, it does confirm what i see on the gps is accurate or not and approximate depth where they are hanging out. Anyway, knowing my speed has been huge for me this year. With 150HP and a trolling plate, I didn't realize how difficult it was to stay in my target range. With the plate down, it wants to 'idle' at about 1.3 - 1.5 or less. Kick it up to the next level and it wants to go to 2.3 to 2.6 or higher(depending on wind, current, etc...) I don't really know the answer but rightnow I'm trying to stay in the 1.8 to 2.2 range with spoons. Last year, I had no chance and now realize I was going either way too slow or way too fast. This year, I know and can constantly adjust and it has really helped a lot to catch more fish. So, I would strongly suggest saving your pennies for the HDS. Really, I don't know how I ever lived without it. Good luck!
thanks for the offer grinnin, but i just ordered two manual cannons last week. hopefully they'll get here before the weekend so i can get em mounted. i appreciate the offer though.
for now, i'm just gonna have to go without on the hds. i just don't have the coin right now. i have an x67c on there now, but i don't think it'll show speed. i see stuff in the menu for it, but nothing is displayed. i'll give my hand held gps a try and see what it'll tell me.
thanks for the offer grinnin, but i just ordered two manual cannons last week. hopefully they'll get here before the weekend so i can get em mounted. i appreciate the offer though.
for now, i'm just gonna have to go without on the hds. i just don't have the coin right now. i have an x67c on there now, but i don't think it'll show speed. i see stuff in the menu for it, but nothing is displayed. i'll give my hand held gps a try and see what it'll tell me.
thats all i use, cheap fishfinder for depth and handheld gps for speed. check your email
For lure depth, do the math: estimate the distance from rod tip to water and divided by the estimated length of line between rod tip and water entry, then multiply by the total length of line out. Let's say rod tip is 5' above the water line and there's ~25' of line not under water. Your lure is down 1' for every 5' of line your running.