Tips on downrigger fishing for Salmon from
Tom Nelson of Salmon University
Notes by Brian D.

Tom Nelson, from Salmon University, spoke last night at the Edmonds Yacht club, sponsored by PSA Sno-King Chapter. He shared 50 years experience salmon fishing, explaining which techniques consistently catch fish in Puget Sound and BC. Many people from beginners to advanced, came to listen to his informative talk and learn how to catch more fish. Tom states that there are three things with cause fish to strike, sight, sound and smell.

The most effective way to cover water and find fish, is to use a downrigger. Tom suggests using a 15lb ball on the downrigger cable, to keep your lure at the depth which holds fish. The majority of the fish are at or near the bottom, so a heavier ball is better at maintaining the correct depth and keeping your line more vertical in the water column. Tom also suggested using cast iron balls, instead of lead for the downrigger weight. He explained that when fishing deep, losing the ball is less likely with cast iron, because it is less grabby than lead. Lead tends to stick more than cast iron, to snags on the bottom. Cast iron tends to bounce off. Adding a snubber will also decrease your chances of losing a ball when it comes into contact with a snag. Many times when your downrigger ball comes into contact with the bottom, it causes the fish to strike your lure, so it is important to be able to confidently bounce the ball without getting snagged.

The black box topic was discussed briefly and explained how it can help catch more fish. There are two well made boxes on the market, one made by Scotty offered at $250.00, and one made by Pro Troll offered at $99.00. Black boxes can be effective at helping catch more fish because they turn negative charges emitted from the downrigger cable to a positive charge. Tom says that the ideal positive charge emitted from the downrigger cable should be .6- .65 volts. Aluminum boats are more susceptible to negative charges than fiberglass, so it is a good idea to test your boat before investing in the box. Visit Pro Troll’s web site for more information on testing.

Scent was discussed at length as being important in helping to catch more fish. Scent not only attracts fish, it also masks offensive odors that turn fish away. The most effective scents on the market are herring, shrimp, shrimp anise mix, and anchovy. Use scents liberally on all lures, flashers and even leader. Be careful not to let scent come into contact with downrigger release clips, as they are extremely slippery and will reduce their effectiveness to hold your line! Tom has developed a new product, which was designed to be used as a chumming stick, attached to the downrigger cable. It is a thin black tube, about 6 “ long, that holds a specially developed mixture, used to attract salmon. This stick is very effective at attracting hatchery fish, because the ingredients in the mix are the same food the fish are fed before they are released. Success rates when using the stick were sometimes as great as 25 to 10. He will be selling this innovative product at the Puyallup Sportsman’s show Jan 22- 26.

The most effective lures used to catch salmon are green, purple and black in color. As lures are fished deeper into the water column, colors like red and pink turn gray and therefore, not as visible to fish. Green, glow green, purple, and black continue to stay visible even as the lure is trolled in water as deep as 150 feet, where visibility is low. Spoons have the best action if they are tied on lighter leader, 15-20lbs. Hoochies are best tied with 40lb-60lb leader, since they do not have any action on their own and are typically rigged behind a flasher. The heavier leader causes the squid to move more erratically and yields a higher percentage of strikes. Flashers are excellent at attracting salmon to your lure because of the vibrations given off by it’s action, as it is trolled through the water. Salmon key in on this vibration and bring them close to your lure. The vibrations mimic an attacking salmon. Color does not matter so much with the flasher, because the salmon are attracted by it’s vibration. It is important to use ball bearing swivels on the flasher, because the spinning action can cause severe line twist and lead to breakage.

One mistake that often occurs when fishing with hoochies is the hooks are buried into the squid’s tentacles and fish are often missed because they don’t get hooked. Salmon are not very good catchers and will often come after a lure several times before they are actually hooked. It is best to have your trailer hook well exposed so that salmon attacking the lure from the side, have a better chance at getting hooked. Salmon don’t know what hooks are, so exposing them will not frighten the fish away. Tom likes to use 6/0 barb less hooks. Not only do the rules specify barb less hooks in Washington and BC, but he believes you get a better and deeper hook set.

Some of Tom’s favorite lures are Coho Killers and Sonic Edge made by Silver Horde, in green and glow green, lathered in Smelly jelly on 15lb leaders. He runs these behind flashers for even better action. He rigs his hoochies with clear, translucent and green skirts to add bulk. He removes every fifth tentacle on the squid, slips the hoochie over the skirt, then uses glow beads on the leader to be sure that the hooks are well exposed on the back of the bait. He runs his hoochies behind a flasher, using 6/0 hooks, on 40-60lb leader. In the summer, use 42-44” leader length, in the winter use 32-36”. Again, apply scent liberally. Make sure you troll fast, 2-6 mph ground speed. If the release clip on your downrigger cannot handle the speed, purchase an adjustable tension clip, like Scotty’s hair trigger release clip. It is common for anglers to troll too slow, causing the action of the flashers and spoons to suffer. Also, it is important to troll with the tide flow. Salmon face into the water flow and will turn and chase down a lure as it passes by.

Tom stresses that technique catches fish. Using the proper techniques, lures, and scents will help you catch more fish. His experience comes from fishing Puget Sound for over 50 years and has developed his proven methods to put more fish in the boat for every angler.