32 lb Salmon
Had a business trip setup for June, 2006 in Portland Oregon. Flew out there and my supplies were not there for me to complete my job. So as any fisherman would do, I began to look for somewhere to fish. Found this captain for $75 for 6 hours of fishing to fish the Columbia River on the start of the Salmon run. DNR of Oregon just release the Salmon season the day before I arrived.
Met the captain the next morning at 6:00 am at the dock and immediately proceeded to the fishing hole that was less than a mile away. Tied up to an anchor and within an hour we boated this nice 32 lb King Salmon.
Within those 6 hours, I caught 6 Salmon and not one of them being under 25 lbs. There was another captain less than 5 ft off our star board and he was catching Salmon as well. This type of fishing was very easy to do and it did not hurt the fishing being so close to another boat. Those guys were great. Roughly anchored in 8 ft of water fishing less than 50 ft behind the boat. Current was pulling about 6 mph.
The rig we were using was as simple as it could get. The main line was 65lb test braided line tied to a three way swivel, 4 to 5′ leader of mono to a in line spinner like a 
Blue Fox Super Vibrax Painted Spinners and 3ft leader of mono with about 12-16oz of weight on the other side of the swivel. The weight will hang down as the lure stays in the current of the river. You bounce the weight on the bottom of the river and let the current take the lure downstream until desired distance behind the boat. Stick it in a rod holder, wait and hold on.
We had a 2 rod system setup behind his boat in each corner. Typical rods and reels for 20lb game fish. I would use 7ft Shakespeare Ugly Stick Rods with Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5600’s, but that is just me and what I currently have.
Breakdown: $30 for a license, $10 long sleeve shirt, $20 jacket, $75 charter fee and six nice Salmon. What a day!!!
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That must have been an incredible adventure. I hope someday to catch a Salmon as this is one fish that sits near the top of my “still to catch” list. I really enjoy this website and look forward to sharing my fishing adventures along with the many techniques and tricks that I have picked up through the years. The links are great and full of information!
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