Lovely fish, Just started salmon fishing and i am wondering what depth should i be trying to run my lures at and what direction to cast in relation to the river? Seen plenty of salmon rising or jumping but have failed to get takes making me think i'm doing something wrong. I normally use abu tobies, flying c's and original floating 11cm rapalas but to no avail so far.
Just because there are fish jumping doesn't mean we are going to catch it just means there are fish about. The water conditions can greatly affect the fishing but usually when there is a bit of rain and fresh water on the river it excites the salmon and moves them around and thats normally the best time to hook up. Normally casting upstream and working the flying C as close to the bottom as possible will move fish, this can get them aggressive and lead to takes and hook ups. The old saying is that if you're not taking weed on your spinner you are not getting deep enough. The most important thing in salmon fishing is location, once you know where they are it's just covering them properly with the spinner or fly to get a take. The best times are definitely early morning and late evening just before last light.
How do you play a salmon. I have been fishing for brown trout and white trout all my life and catching them no problem but when it comes to a salmon I have no clue on how to play the fish. Any tips ?
The main tip is to have the right tackle for the job, don't go in there under gunned. You haven't said if it is spinning or fly that you are using. Spinning with the right tackle you can bully the fish a bit but the old saying is when it wants to run let it run and when its not running gain line.The most dangerious time in the fight is always in landing the fish.So make sure the fish is played out well and always take the fish above you facing upstream and not below you as it will use the current to pull against you. If you can beach the fish on grass or something soft as not to damage the fish, tailing it is good as you can hold it in the water for release.
In high water the chances of taking a salmon on fly are slim due to access to certain spots, water speed and getting the fly down fast enough to cover the fish. With spinning you can cover more water with less access, can achieve better depth, cast upstream and follow the river contours better. In medium to low water the fly can be fished slower with better control and it can be held in the area longer by mending etc. To maximize your chances of catching a salmon you need to understand the area you are fishing and depth you need to achieve with your fly / spinner, then apply the right tackle. If I'm fishing a pool that's 6 ft deep in normal water the the fly is ok but if it floods and the pool is now 12 ft deep and fast then spinning is the best method.
High water and very little bank space make it impossible to fly fish plus it gets very busy with other anglers that don't or won't understand bank etiquette so you are very limited in your angling methods. Upstream spinning allows for the spinner to achieve greater depth and better tracking along the salmon lies.
Hi Doug, we fish for Atlantic salmon and don't have the amount of salmon running our rivers that you have. In some instances it's how many miles per fish not how many fish per mile. You could cover a large amount of water at this time of year and not see a fish and trust me it's very rare to snag an Atlantic salmon in high water.
I have a few a Hardy 10 ft... 10 to 50gr, a Daiwa 10ft.. 15 to 50gr and an Abu travel rod 9 ft ..10 to 35gr. Depending on water levels the daiwa and Hardy are heavy water rods and the Abu is if I just need an easy access rod when I'm fly fishing in the car boot or bank that's not in the way.
Yes they can be caught on a fly rod but it all depends on your location and water height. If you are fishing the start of season with heavy flood water and bigger salmon then a double hand salmon rod it better suited but in summer with medium to low water and smaller salmon then a standard 6/7 or 7/8 will do well.
I'm hoping to get down in june if all gets back to some kind of normal I was talking to noel in the tackle shop so I'm I'm hoping to get a state salmon licence down there can I ask Alan when I come down in June where would you recommend to fish a few people say the dam and fly or spin
Lovely salmon Paul, great fight, tight lines Keith in Carlow 🎣👍
Thanks Keith.
Lovely fish Paul it's nice to see them go back
Lovely fish, Just started salmon fishing and i am wondering what depth should i be trying to run my lures at and what direction to cast in relation to the river? Seen plenty of salmon rising or jumping but have failed to get takes making me think i'm doing something wrong. I normally use abu tobies, flying c's and original floating 11cm rapalas but to no avail so far.
Just because there are fish jumping doesn't mean we are going to catch it just means there are fish about. The water conditions can greatly affect the fishing but usually when there is a bit of rain and fresh water on the river it excites the salmon and moves them around and thats normally the best time to hook up. Normally casting upstream and working the flying C as close to the bottom as possible will move fish, this can get them aggressive and lead to takes and hook ups. The old saying is that if you're not taking weed on your spinner you are not getting deep enough. The most important thing in salmon fishing is location, once you know where they are it's just covering them properly with the spinner or fly to get a take. The best times are definitely early morning and late
evening just before last light.
MrKingfisher3 excellent, I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m down the river. I’m confident that my luck will change soon. Thanks for the tips!
Great video, i can almost feel the same excitement as you are
Thanks for the comment and tight lines.
Nice catch and release
Hi Robert , thanks for the comment.
Nice video! Can you please tell me something about your setup? What casting weight + reel size? Thanks a lot!
I have a video showing my salmon spinning set up on this channel.
Lovely clip very well done
Thanks for the comment and tight lines.
What line pound was it? I have a 9ft spinning rod. Its 7 pound line. What spinners do you use?
Beautiful looking river Paul! Well done on the release. What month was this filmed?
Hi Jeremy, it was filmed in June this year.
Love from Pakistan Lovely fishing eat bbq fry
Thanks.
How do you play a salmon. I have been fishing for brown trout and white trout all my life and catching them no problem but when it comes to a salmon I have no clue on how to play the fish. Any tips ?
The main tip is to have the right tackle for the job, don't go in there under gunned. You haven't said if it is spinning or fly that you are using. Spinning with the right tackle you can bully the fish a bit but the old saying is when it wants to run let it run and when its not running gain line.The most dangerious time in the fight is always in landing the fish.So make sure the fish is played out well and always take the fish above you facing upstream and not below you as it will use the current to pull against you. If you can beach the fish on grass or something soft as not to damage the fish, tailing it is good as you can hold it in the water for release.
@@MrKingfisher3 thanks for the information.
Nice fishing brother ❤️👍🙏
Thanks for the comment.
Nice fish silver bar beauty...what was the lure that was used to entice the strike..?
Hi Paul it was a size 4 Black / Silver flying C spinner.
Congratulations this is a lovely Salmon which river is this? I love how you allowed the fish to recover before returning it to the river. Respect.
The river Lee in Cork.
@@MrKingfisher3 do u need a permit?
Yes Ben you need a permit. It's twenty euros for full day and ten euros for half day starting at 4 pm.
@@MrKingfisher3 👍
If you can explain ..is fly fishing better than spinning or how do you decide to spin or fly?
In high water the chances of taking a salmon on fly are slim due to access to certain spots, water speed and getting the fly down fast enough to cover the fish. With spinning you can cover more water with less access, can achieve better depth, cast upstream and follow the river contours better. In medium to low water the fly can be fished slower with better control and it can be held in the area longer by mending etc. To maximize your chances of catching a salmon you need to understand the area you are fishing and depth you need to achieve with your fly / spinner, then apply the right tackle. If I'm fishing a pool that's 6 ft deep in normal water the the fly is ok but if it floods and the pool is now 12 ft deep and fast then spinning is the best method.
@@MrKingfisher3 thanks for your reply
Lovely fish. Are you fishing the Lee?
Yes.
Where are you fishing
The River Lee in Cork Ireland.
Lovely river, why spin? And upstream cast ?
High water and very little bank space make it impossible to fly fish plus it gets very busy with other anglers that don't or won't understand bank etiquette so you are very limited in your angling methods. Upstream spinning allows for the spinner to achieve greater depth and better tracking along the salmon lies.
@@MrKingfisher3 ok understand, we don't allow upstream casting due to the amount of people trying to snag fish instead of getting them to take a bait
Hi Doug, we fish for Atlantic salmon and don't have the amount of salmon running our rivers that you have. In some instances it's how many miles per fish not how many fish per mile. You could cover a large amount of water at this time of year and not see a fish and trust me it's very rare to snag an Atlantic salmon in high water.
What spinning rod do you use ?
I have a few a Hardy 10 ft... 10 to 50gr, a Daiwa 10ft.. 15 to 50gr and an Abu travel rod 9 ft ..10 to 35gr. Depending on water levels the daiwa and Hardy are heavy water rods and the Abu is if I just need an easy access rod when I'm fly fishing in the car boot or bank that's not in the way.
What lure were you using
Size 4 Black/Silver flying C spinner.
Congratulations
Thanks Vincent.
@@MrKingfisher3 can you catch salmon on a fly rod
@@MrKingfisher3 6-7 wt 10 foot Shakespeare odyssey
Yes they can be caught on a fly rod but it all depends on your location and water height. If you are fishing the start of season with heavy flood water and bigger salmon then a double hand salmon rod it better suited but in summer with medium to low water and smaller salmon then a standard 6/7 or 7/8 will do well.
That should be fine just make sure you have plenty of backing.
Hi Alan any salmon fishing in Cork this year
Due to covid 19 unfortunately its beyond the 5km so i cannot fish there. There are a few fish being caught by locals.
I'm hoping to get down in june if all gets back to some kind of normal I was talking to noel in the tackle shop so I'm I'm hoping to get a state salmon licence down there can I ask Alan when I come down in June where would you recommend to fish a few people say the dam and fly or spin
You can spin,fly,shrimp and worm at the dam for salmon. Only in September the shrimp is banned but fly and spinner are okay.
This is in Limerick?
Hi Sergio it is Cork. ESB Dam salmon fishery on the River Lee.
@@MrKingfisher3 Very Nice, I live in Limerick, I was a fisherman in Brazil, I really would like to fishing here in Ireland, you have amazing rivers.
Thanks Sergio and yes we have some great fishing rivers in Ireland.