How to fight Saltwater Salmon on a 6wt

speedbird

speedbird

Life of the Party
I have so far landed two salmon on a 6wt rod. The ones I lost came off from bad strip sets. The resi in my profile pic played a bad move and ran towards the beach, giving me enough leverage to beach him. The other fish was a humped up pink male off my boat. This one was a lot harder to land, he put an alarming bend in my rod and had to make multiple runs before I could net and release him, putting extra stress on the fish. I understand a 6wt is the go to for most salmon we target except chum and larger ocean coho, which makes me think my struggles with fighting fish quickly are an issue of skill rather than rod choice. Is there a magic way to efficiently fight chromers without ripping the fly out of their mouths?
 
When you talk about alarming rod bend, is it from lifting the rod when you fight them?

There are a lot more experienced folks on here than me, so I bow to them, but in I have seen folks struggle with fish (and break rods) because they high stick them. River, boat, or beach, side pressure is my preferred way to fight. Enough elevation to keep them from snagging your line on shit or breaking you off, sure, but lots of side pressure. Gain slack between line hand and reel, strip or reel to take the slack up, repeat. Keep things steady and for goodness sake don’t fight them too hard.

From what I’ve seen, the harder you fight them the harder they fight back. A few extra runs aren’t going to kill them, but conversely I’ve seen folks kill salmon trying to horse them in fast so they could catch and release, or really put the wood to them and then the fish takes forever to recover (or gets eaten by the fucking seal, Greg!).
 
What size tippet/leader do you run and how long is it? Not a saltwater salmon pro by any means but that does makes a world of difference.
 
J Watrous said:
When you talk about alarming rod bend, is it from lifting the rod when you fight them?

There are a lot more experienced folks on here than me, so I bow to them, but in I have seen folks struggle with fish (and break rods) because they high stick them. River, boat, or beach, side pressure is my preferred way to fight. Enough elevation to keep them from snagging your line on shit or breaking you off, sure, but lots of side pressure. Gain slack between line hand and reel, strip or reel to take the slack up, repeat. Keep things steady and for goodness sake don’t fight them too hard.

From what I’ve seen, the harder you fight them the harder they fight back. A few extra runs aren’t going to kill them, but conversely I’ve seen folks kill salmon trying to horse them in fast so they could catch and release, or really put the wood to them and then the fish takes forever to recover (or gets eaten by the fucking seal, Greg!).
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You're right, now that I remember I was totally high sticking the fish. That's how I was taught to fight fish on downriggers when using barbless hooks but of course that is totally different fishing. At one point I had the rod pointed somewhat downwards but at no point did I try side pressure.
jeradjames said:
What size tippet/leader do you run and how long is it? Not a saltwater salmon pro by any means but that does makes a world of difference.
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15lb Maxima 6-10ft
 
You might try a two handed strip. That will help you with a couple of things.
1. Not lifting the rod up early in the fight, aka trout setting. When you get a fish on, just keep stripping until you are really sure it is hooked well.
2. By continuing to strip, it will help set the hook, like a really good strip set.
All that said, no matter what you do you will lose coho and silvers.
They will spin like a top, change directions and slack line the shit out of you, eat at the rod tip so you can’t set the hook on them etc. Some could make Houdini blush.
SF
 
Bend from the cork, not from the tip. If you are fighting fish efficiently - using the rod as a shock absorber, not a pry bar - the line should be rattling around in the tiptop and first 4 guides. To get that leverage, point the rod 30° or so to one side of the fish with the tip below the reel seat. If you feel the cork bending, you're doing it right.
 
speedbird said:
I have so far landed two salmon on a 6wt rod. The ones I lost came off from bad strip sets. The resi in my profile pic played a bad move and ran towards the beach, giving me enough leverage to beach him. The other fish was a humped up pink male off my boat. This one was a lot harder to land, he put an alarming bend in my rod and had to make multiple runs before I could net and release him, putting extra stress on the fish. I understand a 6wt is the go to for most salmon we target except chum and larger ocean coho, which makes me think my struggles with fighting fish quickly are an issue of skill rather than rod choice. Is there a magic way to efficiently fight chromers without ripping the fly out of their mouths?
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Check this video and watch how smoothly Brian O'Keefe hooks and plays saltwater fish. The technique is similar for Puget Sound beach fly fishing (minus holding the rod high since we don't have coral heads or mangrove roots). A landing net is not necessary.

 
G_Smolt said:
Bend from the cork, not from the tip. To get that leverage, point the rod 30° or so to one side of the fish with the tip below the reel seat. If you feel the cork bending, you're doing it right.
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That's a good description.

I remember one day fishing hatchery steel at Cooks Creek or up on the Salmon & this one guy was consistently high sticking his fish. I moved away from him as I was sure he was gonna blow that rod up. Sure enough it went and he turns to his buddy and mutters piece of crap Okuma. I just chuckled to myself thinking I thought it took that abuse pretty well


c/22
 
Porter2 said:
Salmon/trout want to avoid the surface.
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Sometimes they do! But coho can be very acrobatic. I’ve had some practically jump on the beach 😆. Two hand strip set definitely helped my hookup/landing rate, also getting them on the reel if they take enough line. I’ve rarely lost fish while reeling up my excess line, and I find my Lamsons drag a lot smoother then my fingers. I’ll echo what others have said about side pressure. I’ve never fished from a boat but from the beach I use side pressure probably 70% of the time. Especially when the fish is close to the beach.
 
Personally, I am happy landing ~60% of my beach hooked coho. I’ve had years when I was below and above that. Not much more to add outside of what others have already said. I’d reiterate that you should not horse them though I know that can be tough dependent on the beach. That said, most beach guys get it and have no issues getting out of your way and most times helping you land a fish that’s run into their area. Early on, I lost way too many fish horsing them so they wouldn’t disrupt the fishing of the guy next to me. I personally do not make a concerted effort to get them on the reel. In fact, I can count on two hands the number of fair hooked salmon (all species including kings and chum) that have gotten me on the reel the last ten years. That said, I have definitely lost fish for not having them on the reel. Honestly, probably as many as I have lost trying to get them on the reel when they did not earn it. So, in that regard, do what you feel most comfortable with. One benefit of getting them on the reel is not having to deal with the line mess all over the beach that inevitable happens once they are landed. Side pressure is important and of course experience. You cannot get good at hooking and landing coho on the fly in the salt if you do not commit to it. I did not catch a salmon on conventional gear until 8-9 into my salmon fishing journey. I grew up fishing conventional gear but when I moved to WA, I was DEEP into fly fishing snobbery, to the point I no longer owned any conventional gear at all. That forced me to catch salmon with a fly rod or not at all. 8-9 years in, I’ve diversified especially when it comes to kings.

If you want to learn to hook and land salmon in the salt on a fly rod in Puget Sound… commit, commit, commit!

Edit: oh, two handed strip. Definitely do that if you are losing a lot of fish. I still do not find it as fun as hooking them with a single handed strip for some reason but no doubt the land ratio for me is significant higher with the two handed strip.
 
A great discussion that underlines the need to be able to convert those all too rare salmon takes to fish to hand. My approach/system to achieving the highest conversion rates of garbs to fish to hand as possible (something north of 80%) is essentially the same in any of my fishery where I'm retrieving the fly (whether fishing chironomids under an indicator to any of the streamer variations).

It starts with the hook. I always attempt to use a sticky sharp hook which usually on the lightest wire I think I can get away with. A finer wire hook will penetrate more easily (the fish often will hook itself). I check my fly frequently and touch up any hook that is not sticky sharp or replace the fly. The goal here is convert as many grabs as possible to a hook up. Hint if you don't have a file or a replacement you can do an emergency sharping of the hook using a flat cookie size rock of fine material as a whet stone. Keep in mind that not all hooks are created equal when it comes to holding a hooked fish. If following the advice given in this discussion you are losing too many fish, consider testing other hook styles. While there probably not an universal best hook depending on the fishery or the angler I found in a number of case a little experimentation with my hooks have resulted in significant increases in that garb to fish to hand ratio.

To achieve a solid hook up I retrieve with a low rod tip pointing directly at the fly and with a garb I use a strip hook set followed immediately with lifting the rod to about 45% creating good bend in the rod which operates as a spring to maintain constant direct pressure to the hook. With salmon and many other fish a lot of fish are lost shortly after the hook set as the fish. Many of those fish are those that upon feeling the pressure of the hook set start shaking their heads, rolling, etc. all of which tend to potentially produce temporary produce slack allowing the fish to shake hook free. The next potential step in the fighting the fish where slack is a concern is when attempting to put the fish on the reel (reeling in the slack). With the traditional "trout hook set" the rod often ends at a near perpendicular position where, as the angler moves to fighting the fish the rod is lower a brief slack is created. The strip set to that lower angle eliminates that potential slack. While attempting to get the line on the reel if the angler is not careful there is the potential for creating that potential slack. To minimize that potential slack, don't be in a hurry to get that loose line on the reel (I would say the majority of the fish I land that loose line is never put on the reel). I will fight the fish of the reel if takes all the slack or I feel I need to get that loose line under control (as the fish is taking the line I allow it to flow light pressure under a finger on my rod hand while reeling with the other hand}.

As I move into the main fight, I prefer to allow the fish to go through its antic on a relatively long line keeping a nice bend in the rod (again with less than a perpendicular position which allows the rod to absorb additional or sudden pressure from the fish). As the fight moves towards the end (whether boat side or the beach) I will often ease up on the drag to help absorb sudden lunges common at those last stages which can result in a pulled hook. With salmon if additional pressure is needed, I apply it with hand pressure. If the fish is to be released, I leave it in the water and if necessary (a deeply hooked fish) I clip the leader rather than trying to dig out a deep hook.

Hope some of the advice in this discussion increase your success!

Have fun!
Curt
 
One thing that I have noticed when trying to net or bring fish to hand in a boat is that a shorter rod helps. And I agree that there is simply no substitute for experience.
 
My catch rate of salmon went way up when I learned these basics - when the salmon takes the fly, give that rod a strong double pump to make sure that hook is firmly embedded, and once the battle begins keep the rod deeply bent and to one side or the other with the tip low, always leading the fish through pressure. Capture line, flop the rod to the other side, force the fish to turn and change course. Line in the water is an excellent anchor helping to wear out the fish and helps cushion direct pressure on the tippet/hook.
Conversely, if your tip is high with rod axis lined up directly with the salmon and flyline out of the water with only the tippet immersed, you're no longer leading the fish you're in a direct pulling contest with advantage to the fish.
If you're fighting salmon and not sweating, you're not working hard enough.
 
SurfnFish said:
My catch rate of salmon went way up when I learned these basics - when the salmon takes the fly, give that rod a strong double pump to make sure that hook is firmly embedded, and once the battle begins keep the rod deeply bent and to one side or the other with the tip low, always leading the fish through pressure. Capture line, flop the rod to the other side, force the fish to turn and change course. Line in the water is an excellent anchor helping to wear out the fish and helps cushion direct pressure on the tippet/hook.
Conversely, if your tip is high with rod axis lined up directly with the salmon and flyline out of the water with only the tippet immersed, you're no longer leading the fish you're in a direct pulling contest with advantage to the fish.
If you're fighting salmon and not sweating, you're not working hard enough.
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We talked about this the other day at a club meeting. I became a proponent of the same basics when I took up fixed-line (Tenkara, etc.) fishing in 2018. The basics apply to all species, and both fixed line or rod and reel.
  • a strong double pump - I don't hear a lot of people talk about this but any time I sense I've got a real player after a hookset I will do a second deliberate but controlled hookset to increase penetration. I have not lost many fish after doing this even if I don't employ the other basics.
  • keep the rod deeply bent and to one side or the other with the tip low, always leading the fish - I too have found that regardless how strong the fish is that it will almost always follow rod's direction of travel when using side pressure instead of totally resisting.
  • flop the rod to the other side, force the fish to turn and change course - :unsure: I think of the change of direction action more like smoothly mending a line while keeping tension on the fish. :unsure: I also do not think of this as forcing the fish to turn because it seems to follow the rod offering less resistance. When repeatedly done in a random fashion I believe it may confuse the fish that contributes to it following the rod's direction of travel. I can repeatedly lead fish back and forth; upstream against the current and then downstream again and soon notice significantly less resistance from the fish with each change. This is also very effective with a rod and reel but essential for a fixed line rod where there is no reel to allow a fish to run. In tight quarters I have kept many fish away from snags and undercut banks by using side pressure and changing direction. One club member said he uses the side to side and change of direction techiques for tarpon in mangroves.
  • Line in the water is an excellent anchor helping to wear out the fish and helps cushion direct pressure on the tippet/hook - I hadn't really thought about this but do not disagree, especially with the drag a western conventional fly line has through the water.
  • if your tip is high with rod axis lined up directly with the salmon and flyline out of the water with only the tippet immersed, you're no longer leading the fish - :unsure: with the rod tip low the fish is following the rod and line in a horizontal plane and almost never see fish jumping out of the water when using side pressure. I think a fish may also follow a high high rod tip leading to aerial acrobatics that may look cool but I believe it gives the fish the advantage with a much greater ability to spit the (barbless) hook.
 
Fun discussion.

My number one focus when dealing with saltwater coho is to land them as quickly as I possibly can. Even if everything is done perfectly, a coho is very likely to manage to spit the hook if given enough time to do so. So the biggest thing, for me, is just absolutely putting the wood to them and landing them as quickly as possible. I do not let them on the reel (with VERY few exceptions), I do not let them run much...as SF says..."give them no quarter!'

As far as techniques to land them quickly, a strong leader and rod helps. I find that I like to use low rod angles as much as possible (keep in mind I'm out of a boat the bulk of the time where this can often be easier), and I also like to change that angle as much as I can to try to stay a step ahead of the fish and potentially confuse it a bit. And I am constantly trying to make ground. If that fish isn't running the opposite direction, I'm yardin it towards me. I love coho, but these aren't the most powerful fish on earth here.

There are different methods one can use to accomplish the same goal, but IMO for any of our saltwater fish the key is to just be aggressive and land the damn things. I think anglers tend to fight fish far too timidly for the most part. You'd be amazed at how aggressive and how much pressure you can actually apply to a fish when using an appropriate rod and leader and take advantage of the physics of the rod.

Next time you're hooked up and feeling frisky, just throw caution to the wind and just go for it....see just how aggressive you can be and how much pressure you can put on a fish. There's a good chance you'll surprise yourself. Don't worry about pulling the hook, or snapping the leader, just give it hell and see what happens

The longer a coho is hooked the higher the chance it either succeeds in it's many attempts to shake that hook, or the angler on the other end slips up. I say keep that time to a minimum and get em in quickly, and these days I apply that to all of my saltwater fishing
 
_WW_ said:
One thing that I have noticed when trying to net or bring fish to hand in a boat is that a shorter rod helps. And I agree that there is simply no substitute for experience.
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One of several reasons my favorite Puget sound rods from beach or boat are 8’4”
 
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