Limited salmon season in '25

Hey all, So I have had some experience bottom bouncing for halibut and a bit of trolling herring or anchovies for rockfish/Ling.

 How well do Brads cut plugs do in the area for Salmon? I know some people swear by them and use different scents to customize it. But on a practicality from a kayak level, they seem pretty nice. No bait cooler, no dealing with changing bait after bycatch etc.

Also, are those deep six trolling divers a good idea from a kay or do they end up just being another thing to be a point of failure?

For salmon you are generally targeting specific depths where fish are being seen on your depth finder, correct? So its a bit more finesses than bottom bouncing where you just get down and can easily tell how far you are by the action?

One day, years ago, off of Humboldt Bay, I was heading for 100' of water, just out past the Whistle Buoy.  I wanted to just get there, as that's where the bite was reported, so I put out a Brad's and got a fish quick.  I put it back out, and BOOM!  Another fish.  I was done with my limit, and I hadn't even gotten to where the bite was reported...  I'd used Brad's prior to that with a fish here and there but nothing special, and I didn't use them often.  Same thing goes for Coyote trolling lures, Apex, hoochies...etc.  The next time out after that quick limit on the Brad's I wasn't getting bit on it, so I went back to the best all-around presentation.  Haven't used a Brad's CP since.

No, you don't generally see salmon on your sonar.  They aren't just milling around - they come up on you.  The exception is when you see a bait ball with slashes around it - those are often salmon, and it's good to target them for sure.

Even when the salmon are mostly at a certain depth (based on reports from the fleet), you can catch one anywhere in the water column.  I had a father and son out with me at the Cove some years back.  We were at the Whistle on a gorgeous day.  Son suddenly declares, "I feel seasick", and I said, "we need to get in now!"  So we start paddling really flat water toward the point at around 3 MPH, and I see that my offering that I left out is basically flat-lining - right up on top, even though I've got 8 ounces of lead out.  I'm chuckling about it and even pointed out to my client - "check out how my troll is right on top!"

BOOM!  I hooked a 20 pounder, got it to the boat, had the net behind it, the hooks suddenly fly out of its mouth, and I scoop and get it anyway!  Kid felt better for a minute, having seen that action happen right by him, but we wrapped it up soon, as the quease rarely fully dissipates. 

The name of the game in salmon fishing is to increase your odds of getting bit however you can.  Yes, following the local intell and trends is important, but there is a huge "lottery" factor.  Those who fish the longest, have acceptable offerings in the strike zone and who are ready for the challenge USUALLY fare best.  It's salmon fishing - a sometimes total mindfuck, and that's a big part of why we love it so much.  When you catch one, you cannot wait to have that experience again!  And when you almost catch one, you cannot wait to get that chance again!

Good luck out there.   

Brad's Cut Plugs are always a good tool to have in the salmon toolbox. I use Brad's Cut-Plugs regularly for salmon trolling in Oregon, particularly when covering open water. They always have the "right" spin and you don't have to worry about a missed bite screwing up the bait. They can also work in a pinch if you don't have good-quality bait on hand.

Eric's 100% spot-on in his summarization of ocean salmon fishing. You can increase your chances of success by looking for salmon "sign", especially bait. If you see birds working on bait on the surface, absolutely go troll around them. If you see bait schools on the depthfinder, get your gear to the depth you're marking the bait. Troll along rips, trash lines, color gradients...whatever looks like it could concentrate bait. Look for water in the 52-58 degree range for best results.

Avoid cold water below 50 degrees. Avoid areas that are thick with jellyfish.

That being said, I've had many times where the conditions looked perfect, and yet no salmon seemed to be around. I've also had times where the conditions looked bad (very cold and clear water) where I somehow happened to luck into fish. The key is to just keep fishing, keep that line in the water, believe in your presentation, and you'll eventually score.

I followed a bait line more than a mile up at dux and not a salmon in sight. You could tell just looking at the bait which was lounging close to the surface with nothing chasing it

Years ago at hmb i went into a bunch of boats all herded into a spot asking how deep you fishing they all said 30 feet but no fish being caught

You could see the bait was shallow so I peeled a sun-dried chovie off my hull and started fishing 10’ hooked up first drop then popped a couple more and was done. Limit was 3 then. Going in people were asking how deep? and I said 30 feet

Will be interesting to see how this shakes out

Harbors will be a mess

And where to fish? with no notion where the fish are it’ll be like pre-internet times

Hey all, So I have had some experience bottom bouncing for halibut and a bit of trolling herring or anchovies for rockfish/Ling.

 How well do Brads cut plugs do in the area for Salmon? I know some people swear by them and use different scents to customize it. But on a practicality from a kayak level, they seem pretty nice. No bait cooler, no dealing with changing bait after bycatch etc.

Also, are those deep six trolling divers a good idea from a kay or do they end up just being another thing to be a point of failure?

For salmon you are generally targeting specific depths where fish are being seen on your depth finder, correct? So its a bit more finesses than bottom bouncing where you just get down and can easily tell how far you are by the action?

Deep Six is a good alternative to a downrigger if you do not have one and are fishing deeper than 30ft (in my opinion and limited exp). They cause a lot of drag though and require a stiff rod.  You also have to tune the release right so it unclips, bring a screwdriver on the water for adjustment. But I haven't had to use one in Half moon Bay where I last caught one, as it was less than 40ft where I was fishing.  What worked for me was a 3 way with a 10-12oz weight and a FBR https://outdoorproshop.com/shelton-products-fbr-rigged/?srsltid=AfmBOor8XtWQrBH4FFFKGFHo0T3fY6UNBKy2WvLvVEGcUE9K9JOSlI3A which I like because it gives a good rolling action.  The others rotator setups work too of course, FBR was just what I used and scored on.  What I like is it can be trolled fast, which was what got me a bite when no one else was getting one.  Good luck!