I went to the Stave River today. It was my first time back in at least 15 years.
It took me about an hour to get dialed in. Once I was, quite a few of the Chum came to the beach. Unfortunately, the 2 brightest and cleanest Chum were foul hooked, so no salmon dinner for me tonight. I hooked into 2 Coho, but they were long line released.
Here is what worked well for me today with my CP combo:
Main line - 12 lb
Leader - 10 lb / 18 - 24 inches long
Hook - #1
Float to weight - about 24 to 30 inches
Wool - It seemed whenever I switched up colours, there would be hookups. My best colour combo was a sparse combo of Peach & Red. The next best colour combo was Bubblegum Pink & Light Purple. Again, a sparse amount was needed.
I also brought along a spoon / spinner rod. I also tossed a few spoons and spinners in the seams of the flow and frog water. My homemade spinners did better than any spoons. This is what I lost the Coho on. I think I was playing them too gently, and they eventually became unbuttoned.
There were lots of fish being taken home. I must admit that my eyebrows were raised at the state of the green / purple / gray Chum that were being kept. However, I try not to judge too harshly, especially when one does not know the experience level of the angler.
It felt great to be welcomed back to the Stave. She treated me well.
Sorry - No Photos. I was on my own, as my fishing buddies had other things going on today.