A Better Understanding of Salmon

• Salmon like to travel in loose schools, taking their feeding and navigation cues from each other. Unless their biological spawning clock has taken over, salmon remain in search of their food source and ideal water temperatures.
• Salmon prefer large schools of baitfish 3-7 inches in length and in water temps of 55-57 degrees.  They will enter warmer water if driven to feed or spawn.
• Salmon do not like water that is bright or clear.  These can scatter or drive them deep in a hurry.
• Boat noise in calm waters may spook salmon in depths up to 25 feet. Troll 50-60 feet back or set your cannonball deeper.
• Baitfish tend to school more horizontally than vertically.

• Salmon attack schools of baitfish from underneath and drive them upward. Frantic churning at the surface and/or seagulls hovering overhead can be a giveaway.
• In preparing to feed, a salmon will first crash through a school of baitfish, attacking with its head and tail so as to cripple them, or by nipping their tails. Trolling a lure that is wobbling or rolling fast in an erratic manner near the edge of a school can be most effective.
• A salmon will often follow your lure for a period of time, particularly if attached to a dodger or flasher. It can strike aggressively, grazing your lure two or three times before getting hooked (video 1; video 2).  This is especially true when attacking from underneath or the side. A successful hit comes when the approach is from behind, often just grabbing it by the tail.