Recent content by AK Angler

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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    The thread was started because I've heard a surprising number of people here in Oregon tell me that "fish are eating in the river because they are hungry." WIth a fish that is 100 miles upriver and turning into a boot, I just don't believe this is true at all. As many have pointed out here...
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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    I've read a theory that some people believe the salmon are trying to scoop up the eggs, carry them upstream and plant them somewhere in the river. I find this proposition a bit dubious. Spawning grounds can be tens, hundreds, even thousands of miles upstream. Exactly how far will does the fish...
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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    I think these two statements summarize what's going on nicely.
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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    From the bay… to the estuary… to the reach-of-tide… to one day up river… maybe two days… out to three days… yes, the kind of fish that are still bearing sea lice are still probably in an actual "eating mode." What salmon do instinctively after that may resemble "eating" as they go through the...
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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    A guide told me the same thing the other day — that salmon's throats cinch up so tight they can't swallow anything even if they wanted to. Everyone keeps talking about "fishing in a box." I don't think that's what this discussion leads to at all. Understanding how salmon biology works, when the...
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    The big corky question

    Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. I drifted about a six mile stretch of the Umpqua in a boat just outside of Roseburg the other day (3 for 3). As we were drifting along, I noted a number of potential plunking spots. I also noticed that there were a lot less squawfish, making it much easier...
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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    I wonder if the fish get grouchy like we do when their stomachs shrivel up. Maybe lack of food contributes to their irritability. Maybe they get angry at food the same way people on a diet hate things they can't eat. Like us, maybe the longer they go without food, the angrier they get over just...
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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    I agree that salmon are generally strong morning biters, but I'm not sure how you can draw the conclusion that they are feeding. Why would a morning bite equate to "feeding?" I'm interpreting "feeding" as "they are after food," but maybe you just mean salmon spend their entire lives eating and...
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    The big corky question

    I've tried plunking in a number of spots — from Graves Creek to the Hatchery, including a number of popular holes. I'm ashamed to admit I've spent nearly 200 hours on the Rogue without landing a single salmon. I've even tried flossing to see if that made any difference. But in all fairness...
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    Spawning salmon don't eat

    Hunger is not a factor. But don't take it from me. ================================= “For salmon, fat is where it’s at. When they’re living in the ocean, salmon eat a lot to store up plenty of fat. This fat is the fuel they need to get to their spawning grounds. Once salmon enter freshwater...
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    The big corky question

    Here is my Corky box for Alaska. I lean towards blue + green metallics, but I fish flat chartreuse + flat lime green quite often as well. I'll throw in some orange + yellow into the mix, some pink + silver, and some other random combos. This year, it seemed like pearlescent gold + pearlescent...
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    The big corky question

    I believe the situations you are describing are all boat situations, correct. I don't know if there's even any place to fish the bank from the Anchor river. I stay away from Kenai. I concentrate on the *other* major bank fishery there, along the Susitna/Parks Highway. My theory on the Kwik Fish...
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    The big corky question

    Instinct. It smells like food they ate back when they were in the ocean. Whenever they smelled herring in the ocean, they went after it. That's what they did every day for 2-6 years. "Me salmon. Me smell herring. Me strike." Genetic programming. It might help to think of it as someone who says...
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    The big corky question

    I'm going to go back and draw on my Alaska experience again. I’d estimate that at the hole I primarily fish, 75% of the fish that get hooked are in the mouth. Newbies and novices almost always hook fish in the mouth, mostly because they are late with the hookset or don't even bother setting the...
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    The big corky question

    My understanding is that spawning salmon stop eating period. They may instinctively strike something that smells or looks like food they ate back in their sea-going days, but everything I've heard through the years indicates that "hunger" has nothing to do with why salmon strike. Inasmuch, I'd...
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