by Str8line, August 02, 2011

COMBAT RIVER FISHING 101 - A primer to help you survive fishing shoulder to shoulder with 100 other anglers.

Types of Fish

Chinook Salmon (King), Coho Salmon (Silver), Chum Salmon (Dog Salmon) and Pink Salmon (Humpy), Steelhead or Cutthroat Trout, and Jacks (usually immature Chinook).

Types of Bank Fishing

· Casting with corky and yarn, spoons or spinners.
· Float fishing, usually with roe.
· Plunking, usually with roe.

These different types of fishing don't mix. Try to use the same type of fishing as those around you. If you try to mix styles, it's a recipe for disaster.

Fish are living creatures; kill them humanely. Once you have decided to keep a fish, bonk it on the head and put it on a stringer tied to shore. Before casting again, fill out your catch card. If releasing a fish, don’t remove it from the water. Gently remove the hook, hold it by the tail facing up river, wait until the fish has regained its strength, and then guide it back into the main river. Snagged or foul hooked fish are not “fairly caught” and must be released. It is unethical and illegal to keep a fish not fairly caught.

Offering/Bait

Corky and yarn is the most common. Corky is usually size 8 or 10 mm (about 1/4 to 3/8 inches in diameter). Corky color is usually somewhere on the red end of the scale (red/orange). Yarn color is generally on the red end of the scale, but some folks use purple, white or black. Scent is sometimes used--usually shrimp oil or salmon egg.

Gear

One may use casting reel or spinning reel (a spinning reel is easier to cast). Whichever you use, it should hold at least 200 yards of 25 to 30 lb. test line. Leader strength should be just below line strength (most often between 15 and 20 lbs.). E.g., if using 30 lb. main line, use 15 to 25 lb. leader. The leader will break before the main line does. Usually leader is between 4 ft. and 6 ft. long. A rod used for salmon/steelhead should be 8 ft. to 10 ft. long, 1/2 to 1oz. lure weight. Hooks sizes usually range from No. 2, 1 to 1/0, 2/0, or 3/0 (commonly 1 to 1/0). Check the regulations regarding barbless hooks. Weight varies from 1/2 to 1 oz. Lead weight types used are ball, pencil or slinky (commonly 3/4 oz. pencil lead). Swivels used are single or triple.


Clothing

Waders may be neoprene or breathable, waist or chest high, and stocking or boot foot style. Stocking foot obviously needs boots. If wearing chest high waders, it is important to always wear a belt because, if submerged, they may fill with water and pull you under. The neoprene waders are warmer and worn in the colder months. Wear layers of insulation under breathable waders to adjust for water temperature. King County recently passed a law requiring people on the rivers to wear personal flotation devices.

Fishing the River

Cast across and slightly upriver, wait a moment to let the weight settle to the bottom, and then reel up one or two revolutions to take the slack out of your line. Keep a slight amount of tension on your weight, so you can feel what is going on. Let your offering bounce every 3 or 4 feet or so on the bottom. As your offering swings downriver with the current, follow it with the rod tip feeling the weight bounce along the bottom. When you feel something different, set the hook.

Casting

If there are a lot of people fishing an area, it is very important that the person fishing the farthest downstream cast first, then the next upstream and so on. This prevents lines from getting tangled. If you need to miss a rotation, turn away from the fishing area to let others know not to wait for you. When you are ready to fish, you will have to wait your turn in the next sequence to cast again.

If your offering stops, set the hook. If you feel movement, IT’S A FISH trying to get off. Alert those around you by saying something like, “Fish on.” This allows them to reel up out of your way to prevent getting tangled up with the fish as it tries to throw the hook. The person playing the fish should move either behind the line or downriver to play it to shore. Once the fish is out of the way, the casting rotation can begin again.

If you set the hook and DO NOT feel movement, you are hung up. Quickly pull loose with several quick jerks or you need to break off your line. If you are unable to free your line quickly, other lines behind you will get tangled up with yours. Braded line is difficult to break. Wrap it around your covered arm (for protection) and pull. Braded line will cut bare skin. When one uses a lighter strength leader than line, the leader breaks first and you get to keep your line.

Salmon Runs

If, when you get to the river, those fishing are standing less than 10 or 15 feet apart (combat fishing) casting out into the river, you might want to observe what’s what for a while.
Notice when and where they cast. Rotations should start with the furthest downstream first, then the next, and so on. Notice what happens if someone misses a turn; do they turn away from the fishing to let others know they are out of sequence--signaling not to wait for them to cast? Notice where they cast (just upstream?) and what they do just as the offering hits the water. Watch how they follow their offering downstream with the rod tip. How long is the leader and what colors of yarn/corky are being used by those catching fish?


First-Come, First-Served

When you are ready to fish, select a spot. If several others already occupy the spot you want, ask if there is room for one more. There is almost always is, but it’s still polite to ask. Those in particularly coveted positions likely secured them by arriving extra early. If so, someone will probably suggest where you should stand. The vast majority of the time everyone is there to have a good time and catch fish. They want you to do the same. If you want to join in and are already familiar with river fishing etiquette and casting sequencing—the experience will be enhanced for all concerned.

If your line gets tangled with another’s, one person must release and the other must reel in until the tangle is within reach. The person who reeled the tangle in must untangle it and toss the other offering back into the water. When the lines are untangled, say something like, “You’re free.”

If your line gets tangled with a hooked fish, you should not try to pull it free. Doing so may cause the fish to get off the barbless hook. Instead, open your reel to allow your line to go free. Your line may come off the fish; but, if it doesn’t, you will have to follow the person playing the fish away from the others in line. When someone near you hooks a fish, reel in immediately. When they move out, you can then continue fishing. Do unto others as you would have them do to you, as the old adage goes.

Combat Fishing

If someone moves out of line for whatever reason, don’t move into the vacated spot unless you are sure he has quit fishing that area. It may be a coveted area that the next in line is waiting to get into. If someone next to you moves out of line, it’s okay to move over a little until they return; but once they do, move back where you were. If someone moves out of line and it’s obvious they will return, it’s considered poor etiquette to move into that spot. If this happens by accident and you have moved into a preoccupied spot, just step back out and let them move back in. It’s just common courtesy.

It’s important that your offering be somewhat similar with others in size and weight. If you are fishing in a line, an offering (lighter or heavier than the rest will tend to move downstream at a different rate (larger tend to move faster; lighter, more slowly). Usually about 3/4 oz. works well.

When walking behind those fishing, remember to leave plenty of room for them to cast.

Knots

The most common knots used are:

· Improved Clinch
· Palomar
· Egg or Bait Loop

FISH ON!

If you bring small children along, don’t let them throw rocks, build minidams, or splash in the water. Sound carries a long way under water. Keep pets out of the water, too. Their scent carries downriver and can affect the fishing.


Str8line
July 2011