Salmon stalker bobber, snap swivel and 1 oz cannon ball rigging

U
upperroguepirate
I've looked at a few dudes showing people online how to rig up for salmon using bobbers and an overhand loop for his cannon ball with a bobber as big as a football. another guy didn't even show us the set up clearly.

anyone know where I can see how the finished rig looks like?
 
M
Modest_Man
A couple modifications of troutmasta's masterpiece and you'll be set.

1) I add a bobber stop below my bobber, right where the swivel is. In the unfortunate instance of breaking off above the swivel you get your bobber back. (This will almost never happen after #2).

2) Instead of a snap swivel I use a barrel swivel and tie on the cannon ball with a lighter pound test than the leader and main line (usually about 10-15lbs). That way, if the weight gets snagged up all you lose is your weight, instead of your hook, weight, and bobber (or save your bobber by following #1).

I haven't bought a bobber in years and have a bag full of 20-30 that I've picked up along the river.
 
U
upperroguepirate
right on troutmasta. zoom, right in the zone :) I got it and thanks MM. now I will shut up and fish
 
H
HereFishy
I like the red "spraypaint" as bait.
 
U
upperroguepirate
I like the zigzags :) I totally like the snap. Think I might try some of those big black 3/4 oz weighted Mad River Drifter sinkers that I have.
 
T
troutmasta
In my experiance the snap on the swilvel will give long before 80lb braid and I dont always fish the weight of the bobber. Ie. If its really flat water I fish more than the weight so it rides deep and if its got some undercurrent sometimes less so the bobber doesn't get pulled under. So I prefer the snap swivel on a bobber setup for easy change and less to tangle around. I do use a lighter line and weight when Im trolling or backbouncing though.
Also Ive heard of a lot of people using the bobber stop under the bobber as well, I'll have to give it try- although again Ive never 'snapped' 80 lb line, you cut it and when you do its usually far above your bobber-
Thanks all for the kind words on my next level graphic!
TM
 
M
Modest_Man
I tie on the cannonball with a loop that makes it easily removable. Make it just large enough to fit the cannonball through. It's not usually an issue for salmon, but when I go light for steelhead my mainline will break well before a swivel.
 
U
upperroguepirate
Well, i'm fishing the upper suislaw on the coast. it seems to be a river without a lot of deep holes for salmon. average I would say 10 ft or less. I just moved here in sept. so someone tell me if i'm wrong as I've only been up that way twice from where I live and again i'm a bankE.

what sz snap should I buy? I know...just get a size that could break if snagged up. I'll make up my mind if I wish to do use the snap which seems much quicker and close to the same results as to tying on some lighter leader from the weight dropper. Makes no difference.

and I do HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, nobody here in town has those salmon stalker floats. bi mart can order them but that will take a week to get IF, they are able to order just 1, 2 pack. Or i'll just buy online some place.

on the Suislaw, a 1 oz cannon ball or i'm sure I could use a bank sinker right? any advantages to how a cannon ball moves through the water as to a bank sinker? However, do any of you guys use a heavier float type bobber than the oz of weight your throwing? Did troutmasta touched on this I think? for instance, if I buy a 2 oz stalker bobber and only using a 1oz cannon ball, does it make the bobber float any different? It's been my experience so far that I usually just feel the bite instead of looking at the bobber. I mean I enjoy watching my float move down river but i'm more trained to feel and I do keep an eye on the bobber as to being hung up or if it stops etc...With a good rod it's fish on the bank anyway.

or, if say I buy a 3oz bobber for different conditions and i'm only using a 1 oz weight, it might make the bobber ride all bouncy. i'm thinking you should not have all the rocking action but I would like to know how you guys see all this. Thanks and I do appreciate this. i'm new at float fishin. that pic of my gorgeous rogue steelie in January came from a float and 4" mad river pink worm
 
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T
troutmasta
Makes sense. I may give it a whirl this steelhead season!
 
M
Modest_Man
I use a heavier weight than the bobber is rated for most of the time. Going lighter your bobber ends up just floating sideways...
 
U
upperroguepirate
ok, as long as I'm not pulling the bobber under the water i'm good. but geeze, u don't go too much heavier do you?

well, then I guess i'll get 1 oz bobbers and a 2 oz. I don't need any more than that
 
T
troutmasta
upperroguepirate said:
ok, as long as I'm not pulling the bobber under the water i'm good. but geeze, u don't go too much heavier do you?

well, then I guess i'll get 1 oz bobbers and a 2 oz. I don't need any more than that
Dont think about all that stuff I said. Just focus on matching the bobber weight and fishing the bottom of the hole. That'll get em
 
U
upperroguepirate
well I float fished for salmon for the first time today on sat. I didn't go for the dawn at first light trip but after making the cool 9 mile drive up over the mnts, nobody was parked along side the road so it felt great being able to find the spot open.

after 3 hrs not a single take down. I need to be sure of my slider float distance in the 8 or so ft. hole that I was fishing for the 1st time. maybe I wasn't on the bottom or if i'm a foot above it i'm happy with that.

Can someone tell me if the bobber in this picture is a salmon stalker float? or is it a slip float style? I used 1oz sinker and all went well. When I was floating through the small riffle section this bobber bobbed perfectly straight up and down. Anyway, no sweat. This is the float I found one day stalking on the rogue for summer steelhead one day. A spot I hadn't been to since H.S. Fish God, was looking out for me.

I was playing around with leader lengths because i'm used to tying at least 7, 8 ft leaders. From my sinker drop I started out 5ft, then finally had my first boat come by and they said go 9 in this hole.

im thinking in order to fish the hole properly, I need to adjust the slip bobber length between weight and rod tip and maybe just stick with whatever leader length say 5'? If I get stupid and tie on a 9 ft leader, the eggs won't make the zone.

when drifting fishing the rogue, heck, we had the 3 way and 8 ft leader back in the days....now f&w outlawed leaders over 6ft. on that river.

Enjoyed getting rained leaving the rain coat up at the truck. I was sure hoping I could have packed home some meat. Oh well, maybe tomorrow
 
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M
Modest_Man
I usually run my bait 18-24" under the main weight. Much more than that and the bait just swirls around in the current and you're not fishing effectively.
 
U
upperroguepirate
wow that's not much. the sinker doesn't spook them? ok thank you MM, darn i can't imagine nooks hitting with a rig so close together but if that's the way it's done then ok. Appreciate all the help you guys have given me.
 
T
troutmasta
when bobber fishing with bait, like MM said, only run 24" leader. These fish dont get spooked otherwise 30 pound leader would not work either.

To find the bottom, keep dropping the depth of your bobber until it 'leans' forward while drifting. This means your stuff is dragging pulling the bottom of the bobber backward. raise it 6" to a foot and your in the zone.

Also mix up your bait, not just eggs, use fish, shrimp, or a mixture of them
 
U
upperroguepirate
right on trout, TY. took off for the riv around 2. fished for 3 hrs again til dark. not a hit. As I was fishing I couldn't wait to get back to town on Monday so I can buy me some sand shrimp. Using the shrimp will be my first time rigging it up. The guy at bi mart showed me weeks ago but i'll ask again if he's working. nooks just blew off my entire small jar of silver eggs. darn pautzke fire cure didn't even get a nibble but for a dink trout. saw some good rolls, one a pretty big splash. 2nd cast I lose my darn bobber set up to some rock slab across the river that is hard to make out. I rigged up another weight and hook, made my cast and was able to free it and drag it back. The bobber was on the surface. eggs still fresh on the hook. gonna throw some spinners too if I can get my back up reel repaired. piece of eagle claw junk.
 
J
JeannaJigs
They have all touched on some great points, my two cents of advice is get some different eggs. Seems like everyone and their mother is using fire cure eggs this year over there. I usually use fire cure as one of my 3 go to base cures that i add stuff to, and I didn't get touched until I switched to a different batch of eggs that didn't have a single granule of fire cure in em.
Also fish seem to be suspended more than usual. Start at the bottom and work your way up through different depths.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
U
upperroguepirate
thanks for the reminder JJ, that you don't always need to be on the bottom but growing up drifting for kings has always been the bottom factor. that river is rough to bounce. I've lost 2 rigs in 2 casts on that place up there. I don't doubt I wasn't in the zone. just one of those things. I need to try the borax cure. But need more eggs and Im not gonna kill a wild hen
 

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