K
KillFishEngage
Not even trying to be rude, but you could probably up your fish count if you broadened your tactics. Try switching that snell knot to a bait loop and throw some eggs on there. Even a little yarn with some scent combined with that chartreuse corkie. You still fish for Salmon?I Fished For Salmon 22 Years, And When I Was Growing Up Things Were A Little Different.
Anyways, I Always Fished From Shore, (Lack Of A Boat....)
And I Would Usually Have An Abu Ambassadeur And My Kenai Killer, & 20 Lb. Ande Mono. I Got A Roll Of HOLLOW Core Lead And Ran My Main Line Through A Big Enough Piece, Throw On A Bead And Tie A Regular Swivel To It. Then I Grab Some Leader Of 15 Lb. Ande And Tie On A Hook With A Snelled Knot, Slip A Corky On (Your Choice As Far As Size And Color, But I Like The Chartreuse One The Best.) And Run A Toothpick Through The Corky About A Half Inch To An Inch And A Half Above Your Hook And Break The Rest Off.
Finally, Tie Your Finished Leader With Hook And Corky To The Other End Of Your Swivel.
You Have There A Sure Fire Fish Slayin' Rig.
Hope This Helps Ya Land More Fish, Til Next Time,
KFE
The snell is just fine. It still creates a "baitloop." I do not run classic bait loops for drift fishing because I can re-rig, if I bust off, in less than 45 seconds, and be back in the water. I put bait through my snells, and have caught hundreds of Winter Steelhead, and now a buncha Chinook on a simple, effective drift rig. No swivels, just knots, and hooks... There is no swivel needed, unless you are targeting Coho. Steelhead, and Chinook don't roll up enough to need a swivel really. But the only thing I would do different is run your pencil lead on the tag end of the leader, not mainline. So if the lead hangs up, you just give it a couple good pops, and the lead will slide off the tag end. If you run lead to your mainline, you will bust off everything you tied up when it hangs, leaving you back where you started, with a trailing piece of 20 lb. Ande. The Chartreuse/Black Michael Jackson is a great Chinook killer, so is the Willy Special. That 50/50, Chartreuse/Red one. Chinook need contrast. Their rods in their eyes are diminishing the instant they hit fresh water, so get something that will contrast with your bait, or yarn presentation. My best yarn/bait rig for Chinook when I bank the Clack this Spring, has been a chunk of black yarn, Red/Purple custom cure eggs by my buddy, and one #12 Black/Chartreuse Michael Jackson... Black side down. It is a small corkie for bigish hunks of eggs, but that is what they have been hitting every single day I target them. And I run slip floats normally, so a corkie really isn't needed. Thanks for the new rig advice KFE. Always great to hear what worked for others in days past. My oldest, coastal rigs have been catching a lot of fish the last couple years in the Clack. And your tip is super old school! Ande and all! Nice!