This article was written for a friend of mine a Mr. David Hess of Brookings Oregon

In the Pacific Ocean there are maybe eight lures or bait setups that probably catch ninety percent of the salmon.

If you have these lures in the popular salmon colors you are loaded for bearand can expect action. In bait holders type rigs the Rotary Salmon Killer leads the pack. It is the small plastic clip with a diagonal fin on the side that makes it rotate. It comes in two sizes and several colors. In lures the most effective are the E Lures. All of these come in a variety of colors and sizes. before buying a lure,flasher or dodger go to your nearest tackle store and pick out a sardine , anchovie and herring. Hold them in the palm of your hand under the ceiling light now slowly move the bait fish around , just a little. What colors do you see? This should be an indicator of which colors will imitate bait fish, this is the first key to being a very effective salmon angler.

Terminal tackle: Flashers and dodgers are simply the single most important item you can have on board your boat to attract salmon. Both of them have their own purpose and attract salmon to your boat by distributing a swishing vibration in the water this imitates the feeding sound of salmon on a bait fish school. I have fished many different flashers and dodgers from many different companies and have found tat the OK'I Flashers and dodgers with out perform Luhr Jensens Abe and Al's and Behholds Flashers up to three to one while using the same color.

The flasher will attract salmon to your baits from over forty yards away. The lateral lines on a salmon are what pick up the vibrations from the flashers and dodgers and triggers them to feed. They will charge the flasher like a homing missile on a radar track.

The Pro Troll E Chip and Standard flashers and dodgers are by far in my books one of the world leaders when it comes to attracting and hooking salmon. It is hooked to your fishing line with a bait, lure or hootchie trailing behind.

Lure colors can also be important. The most popular salmon colors are chrome, dark greens, blues, white, black/white combo. Salmon are color sensitive and can distinguish what looks natural and what does not. Many tackle companies produce lure color combinations that simply attract the buyer and not fish. Pro troll colors and combinations catch fish. I have heard many pro salmon guides tell you to try different colors when kings are not biting, I have found more times than not when I very my trolling speed I connect when most do not. Case point how many times have you been trolling and nothing, you decide to troll back through an area and begin your turn when , Whamo the inside rod goes off ! What happened is your inside rig dropped off the speed curve just a tad the king liked the action on your bait and slammed it.

Another method I use to bring my success level up is try and match the water with my Flasher color. This could be another reason why I tend to like chromes and diamond tape finishes, they reflect the surrounding water color.

Depths: Every season I hear on the CB anglers telling their buddies we just picked one up at 90 feet, I myself refus to fish that deep and never have. Some guides and tackle manufactures I have fished against say that is where the big ones are . That statement could'nt be further from the truth I boated 44 kings last July in four days fishing no more than four hours a day and never did I exceed 35 feet on my down riggers. I have even told me I was crazy for using Chrome flashers when fishing shallow (top 30 feet) and the bright sun is on the water. You can get a mirror reaction and spook the salmon they say. I say Kings in the ocean are as silver and reflective as a dime and other salmon have to see these flashes from their buddies when they are feeding. If anything Pro troll's chrome flashers also act as decoy to bring them in, and boy has it.

Trolling Speed
I really do not believe one speed works well rather than every flasher,dodger and lure has it's own working speed. This is why you need to hook you rig up to your down rigger and watch it work at the side of your boat before sending it down. After a while then you will know which combination works at what speed. Remember the key is lure action not the speed. Just as a key though most of my hook ups have come right at 2.5 mph.

Tricks you should know:
Remember that a salmon has an incredible sense of smell. During salmon season in the saltwater their will be Jellyfish. If your bait lure, flasher or dodger snags into a jellyfish do not expect a salmon to hit it. Change your entire rig. The same goes for gasoline, motor oil or even tobacco on your hands. Keep your bait and lures clean.

Salmon will quite often follow your bait or lure for a long period of time. They are particularly likely to follow a dodger or flasher. I have one video sequence showing a salmon following a bait behind a dodger for four minutes. He periodically hits it but never gets hooked. The lesson: Do not be over anxious to pull up your bait once you have a hit. If the bait is still acting properly, even though it is damaged, you may catch the salmon yet.

Salmon frequently do not get hooked even when they hit the bait clean. We have watched hooks bounce off a salmon's mouth in every possible direction. It can be hard to believe this until you see thye incredible speed and violent slashing action of a charging 20 to 30 pounder. Our movie showed one salmon grab a bait to kill it with the hook sticking right out the side of his mouth - and when he lets go to grab again, the hook slides right through his mouth, clean as a whistle. Fortunately, he kept returning for more until we finally hooked him. The lesson: A single relatively large (4/0 to 6/0) and extremely sharp hook is your best bet. It will dig in better and will not bounce off off or miss hooking like a treble or smaller hook.

Mistakes
Time and time again we have watched fishermen do everything right until they finally hook that monster they have been after for five years. At that point something upstairs can click into gear and Mr. Salmon's chance of survival improve dramatically. We've seen fishermen literally freeze in their tracks unable to perform. Even worse, some will forget all logic and proceed to do everything wrong. They suddenly act as if that fish must be in the boat in 20 seconds or it will get away. Mistakes are common but the solutions are just as simple.

Mistake No. 1: Tightening the drag.
A large salmon hits and your reel is screaming as the fish makes that first frantic run for freedom. Your reaction: I've got to set the hook and stop him. Result: You tighten the drag and boom -- something breaks or the hook tears out, and he is gone. This error probably causes the loss of more big salmon than all the other mistakes put together. When you hear the story, "He was so big that he broke my line," then you know exactly what happened. Some people never learn. Instead, after a hookup, partially loosen the drag immediately so the fish can run. Meanwhile you can assess his size and lay a plan to work him in slowly. As long as you hold your rod tip up with some tension on the line, he will rarely get away. Sometimes a little mental exercise will help. Keep in mind that that somewhere, your line likely has a cut or nick in it and if you tighten the drag, it will break at that weakened point. This outlook can do much to help fight a fish properly. Since I use light line, I always loosen the drag when a fish first hits. My salmon rigs are wound with 20 pound test line.

Mistake #2: Trying to land a fish too quickly.
Even if they handle the drag properly, most fishermen still get an anxiety attack and try to bring in the salmon far too quickly --- quite a distressing experience for the fisherman and often a lifesaving one for the salmon. A big salmon has a tremendous ability to fight and thrash about in the water. The closer he is reeled to the boat, the more he wants to dive, jump and spin in an attempt to throw the hook. The first time he sees the boat you can expect to see another frenzied burst of energy --- this is when many salmon are lost. By far the best technique is to exhaust the fish completely before bringing it to the side of the boat. This takes a light limber rod (held tip up), a light drag set so so you wind line only when he is resting, and a lot of patience. With a large fish, this frequently can take 30 minutes to an hour. Believe me, however, you will come home with far more salmon if you use this technique, and a lot more excitement to boot. Don't worry about the salmon throwing the hook. I only use barbless hooks and haven't lost a fish yet as long as I keep a steady tight line. Don't ever let the line go slack, or you are likely to loose him. The extreme in trying to land a salmon too quickly is hand lining. I cringe every time I see someone grab a fisherman's line and start pulling it in hand over hand. It not only removes the sporting element, gut the salmon is frequently lost.

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