Chinook Salmon gear

Quick setup

Rod	Reel	Line	Leader
Trolling: 8.5 to 10.5 foot medium to medium-heavy downrigger rods. Rivers: 8.5 to 9 foot drift rods rated 15 to 30 lb.	Level-wind or baitcasting reel holding 250 to 400 yards for trolling. Baitcasting or spinning for drift fishing.	15 lb mono for big-lake trolling; 20 to 25 lb for drift fishing for river Chinook.	12 to 48 inches to a single hook with an egg loop for drift rigs.

Rod, reel and line

Rod: Trolling: 8.5 to 10.5 foot medium to medium-heavy downrigger rods. Rivers: 8.5 to 9 foot drift rods rated 15 to 30 lb.
Reel: Level-wind or baitcasting reel holding 250 to 400 yards for trolling. Baitcasting or spinning for drift fishing.
Line: 15 lb mono for big-lake trolling; 20 to 25 lb for drift fishing for river Chinook.
Leader: 12 to 48 inches to a single hook with an egg loop for drift rigs.

Baits

salmon roe or spawn bags
cut bait
sand shrimp

Lures

spoons
flasher or dodger with a fly or cut bait
plugs
spinners
drift bobbers with yarn

Rigs

River drift rig: snap swivel, leader, drift bobber and yarn above the hook, with just enough weight to bounce bottom at current speed.
Downrigger trolling flasher and fly or spoons at the depth of 52 to 58°F water.

Tips

In big lakes, Chinook come near the surface in low light and go deep, sometimes 100 feet or more, when the sun is up. In the Great Lakes they stage off river mouths in late summer and run rivers from about mid-August.

Starter setup

A 5.5 to 7 foot light to medium-light spinning or spincast rod and matching reel, spooled with 6 lb monofilament. Spincast is easiest for beginners, and a 4 to 5 foot rod suits small kids. Carry size 6 to 10 hooks, a few split shot (pinched on 4 to 8 inches above the hook), small bobbers, a couple of small spinners and jigs, and worms. Learn the improved clinch knot and the palomar knot.

Light line casts farther and draws more strikes. Heavier line and stiffer rods are for bigger fish, heavy cover or sharp teeth, not for everyday fishing.

When to size up

Fish	Gear
Walleye, bass, saugeye, hybrid striped bass	medium rod, 8 to 12 lb line, 6 to 7.5 feet
Channel catfish	medium-heavy rod, 10 to 20 lb line
Northern pike	medium-heavy rod, 15 lb or heavier braid, steel or heavy fluorocarbon (40 lb+) leader
Muskellunge	heavy 7 to 9 foot rod, 50 to 80 lb braid, heavy leader
Trolling for lake trout and salmon	8.5 to 10.5 foot trolling rods, 15 lb mono or 30 lb braid, level-wind reels
Steelhead	8 to 10 foot or longer rods, 6 to 10 lb line
Lake sturgeon	heavy rod, 50 to 100 lb braid