what pound test do i need?

[fitterdent]

i am going to tillamook salmon fishing saturday and i was curious what pound test i should use. i have 30# braid on there now, and i was using 15# leader for coho this year and it worked great, but i'm afraid if i catch a chinnok that might not be enough. any suggestions? oh, also i was told to use herring, is that a good idea?

 

[luv2fish]

if your fishing from boat yeah herring is a good idea...are you fishing in bay or tidewater river...i don't think from bank its a good idea to use whole herring..people actually use strip of sardine or herring under a bobber with atleast 1/2 ounce jig....sand shrimp is the key or a shrimp coktail...if you want to get a hen pinch the claws of sand shrimp..and if you want to ctach a big buck..leave them on
.if you fish from behind the burn down guide shop...its a steep place to fish but its a good hole...so be careful if you do
.......you can try on saturday but all tillamook rivers are muddy and full of debris...leaves...if i'm you i'll probbaly head on tuesday at the very least or next weekend...but its your choice...
most of people are going and then have lunch at ALice's and BS and come back...cuz the rivers are like jamoqua shake

I was having some doubts bout my 20# leaders ...although i know its not a big task to reel fish in with 15 or 20# but then you gotta have lots of "real state" to play with and unfortunately if you fish in tide water thats what you don't get and on top of that ..fish will run to the place for sure where you don't want it to go....chinook are not at all line shy....i'll put atleast 20# or 30# leader..especially if i fish in tide water



Fish On

 

[joesnuffy]

what ever happpened to 10lb test? don't you guys like to make it a challenge or do you just like to horse them in?

 

[luv2fish]

sure....i'll try it but we are talking here of tidal waters....which is like narrow and lots of brushes and trees hangin..with all the logs and sea weed which comes along with tide.....so its different ..its not horsing....you know the other day i was watching this guide fighting the fish from boat in the T Bay and he had 50# leader and the fish snapped the leader...we didn't got to see the fish..but snappin a 50# leader is a work of some massive brute...fall fish is different story..especially if your fishin in tidal water

PS: my friend had actually caught a 30 lb er on 6 pound line....but he was not fishing for salmon..he accidentally caught it and landed it too. He played good 30 minutes..mebbe more..


And fisch.. yes it will...30# is lot of thickness...

 

[fisch]

I got #30 main and #25 leader for fall chinook. I use #15 for silvers. But again I'm a newbie to salmon fishing. I like light gear and I got couple of 20+lb pikes on 6-8# main on lakes but that's another story and lot's of room to play with.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

I have banked, or boated plenty of true slaty, tidewater Chinook in AK of all places on 10, and 12 pound leader. Many, many in excess of 50 real pounds. Not those pictures of 40 inch fish...We're talking 5 foot, 60 or so pound fish... Salty Coho require more, as they are a much more aggressive fighter, with the rolls, and crests. But still the fish that will come into Tilly, and similar are in no way "large" fish. They require no more than 15 pound leaders. And wait until you run 12 lb. lo-vis leaders on a hot day of Chinook fishing in the bays...You will retract the statement that the fish are not line shy for sure. Horsing a fish is far more damaging to it, than wearing it out and playing it to the boat. The fish is not able to properly orient its body when baing yanked from the water, rather than played. Fish tire a lot quicker when they run up the rivers in low water. Thy do know hoe to rest. So even if you play a fish for an hour, and have to release it, it will surely live if you don't mis-treat it, unless you just let it side plane against the current, and slowly pulled it in to the boat/bank completely sideways with your 50 lb. braid, and 25 lb. leaders. Not so great for the longevitity of the fishery. I dunno, a lot of people are afraid of using light leaders...Buy a bunch of high quality leader lines, and do some testing. If one seems more resilient, and tougher than the rest...Sufix Siege. Stick with it. I run 6-8 lb. leaders for the spooky E.C. Coho, and I can pull the big keepers(40+ inches and 15 pounds) up onto the bank at full rod deflection with 8 lb. Siege. The liughter you go, the more fun you have catching fish. Using lighter gear will also drastically improve you fish playing abilities. I dunno, use what you feel comfortable with, as that is the only way you will catch any fish. But try other stuff out there as well. Angling gear in this day 'n age is pretty tech. Especially lines, and leaders, lots of moeney goes into the design of the stuff on the shelves.

 

[osmosis]

most guides run #40 and #50 in tillamook.
Some like #30 for their herring.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

I heard in the Wilson, low low Wilson, some guides are running steel leader for Chinook??? I do know there is a lot of B.S. out in the lower Wilson to bust you off, but that is weird to hear your common sailfish string is what some frusterated dudes have switched to.

Oh yeah, you are banking, correct Fitterdent? Boat leaders are a different game in Tillamook. This one crazy plunker that I know of says he only runs 15 lb. leader from the bank in Tilly. Says he catches more fish because of it. He also says 15 is plenty strong if you hook it fairly,(in the head, not the dorsal, or worse, tail.) and the fish isn't overly toothy. From the boat I do run at least B.G. in like a 25 if I don't have the normal U.G. in the proper diameter. Don't get me wrong those big AK Chinook had the depth to not worry about busting off on something like a log, or rock, just busting off from a wickid high stick maneuver... Tilly was 18" deep until last week, so yes you should gear up for that particular inlet, and from the bank, your coho gear with some new leader will work fine I imagine. I have only bank fished in the Bay down there three times, every time I was out gunned for Chinook, but still managed limits on 15 lb. leaders, and 20 lb. main.

 

[carl hungis]

I would use a minimum of 25# (I use 50# braid and 40# leader for my bobber rod). The current is pumping and these fish avg. 25lbs and have big teeth. Also, there will be a mix of bright and dark fish this time of year. It is always good to get these fish in quickly if you need to release it. they don't seem to be line shy either.