What is the best fishing technique for Red Salmon?

Red Salmon are a little different from Kings, as they don't really pick up egg sacks in their mouths. For that reason, we almost always fly fish for Reds. Fly fishing makes it possible to better control the drift of the fly. Also, the Reds seem to often hold really close to the shore. It is very common for Reds to be fining above the water all around a fisherman as he fishes.                         
                                  

Red Salmon cruise in the water, facing upstream, with their mouths open. While they often strike a fly (probably just because they're cranky), it's also common to hook them in their open mouths. If you snag a salmon on the body, you're required to release it immediately. So, you'll want to get a mouth hook.

You will want to cast upstream and keep your line fairly tight. Picture the Reds, down in the current, with their mouths open. Now, picture your fly line floating into their mouths. To make that happen, you pull your line at a diagonal to the current in order to maximize your chances of placing your fly and line right in the salmon's mouth.

The weight on your fly and line is very important. If your fly isn't sinking to the depth of the fish, you won't be able to touch a fish. Weighted fly line works well, but that limits you on your depth. It's easy to overweight your rig and just drag along the bottom. Weighted flies make a difference, as you'll be able to vary your depth.

Whenever you feel your line catch, whip back on your rod. If it's a Red, you should feel your fly snapping into the corner of the salmon's mouth. Then, the game is on!


     

Is the Red Salmon meat still good once they reach   the Copper River Basin? 
       
Both the Red and King salmon are still perfectly good once they make it up to our rivers. In fact, they are some of the best tasting fish in the world. The skin turning red does not effect the meat for quite some time.

The redder a fish becomes, the longer it has been in fresh water. As you may know, Salmon go through a transformation as soon as they begin to spawn. They enter the fresh, river waters and their skin, skelature and flesh begin to change. Eventually, they will exhaust their bodies and die.

However, they are always fit for the table during the fishing season. The biggest thing to check for is if the meat on the fish is firm. Late in the year when the salmon turn very red their flesh becomes obviously mushy. Salmon can be quite red on the outside but sill have really firm meat. Those fish are still good to eat.

       

How do the Red Salmon get into your rivers?

The Red Salmon come up the silt-filled Copper River From Prince William Sound, Then they push into the Klutina and Gulkana and many more rivers that all dump into the Copper. If you look at the Copper, you'll be amazed that fish actually swim up it. It is the color of chocolate milk and is totally opaque. Additionally, the salmon have to deal with strong current, seals, bears, eagles, and rocks as they head up Copper River. Because of this, they may have abrasions on them from the long trip.  However, Copper River salmon are known all over the world as some of the very best tasting salmon.

Where do Red Salmon hold ?

Red Salmon like slack water, eddies, and just spots out of the main current. You can tell that there are lots of Red Salmon in a group by their splashing, breaching and fining. Reds tend to jump when they are in big groups.

If you are driving up, the best thing to do is watch where others are fishing. Normally, you can pick out a hole by the people that are fishing there. Then, I would suggest getting up early and beating everyone to the hole.

When do the Red Salmon come into our rivers?

Red Salmon come into the Copper river in May and the first runs make it to the Gulkana and Klutina rivers in early June.  Most of the time the early runs contain few fish, and they pass quickly.  From then, they seem to come in spurts.  They are actually in the river throughout the whole King Salmon run, however the big runs of Reds don’t get here until the end of July.  So, we see some overlap of Red Salmon and King Salmon, many days during the Peak of the Klutina King run.  You still have to hit it right.  August and September are best our months for Red Salmon.  This is when the thousands of fish hit the river and they are in every hole.  This is a fly fisherman's dream.  WE love to fish the reds in August and September.

Is it possible to miss the Red Salmon run?

The water conditions play a big factor in this.  If you come in June and July and want to be able to fish for King Salmon and Red Salmon it might be possible, however, the Red Salmon in those months come in waves.  You can miss them if you try to hit both the Kings and Reds.

We can almost say for certain that, if you come to catch Red Salmon in August, you will not miss them.  However, if the water were to rise because of inclement weather, the fish might still be in the river, but you may have a harder time catching them.

Can the Red Salmon run stop cold?

Sometimes, a run can stop on a dime.  However, they always seem to pick up quickly. If the weather is right, the salmon run will not stop for more than a few days.  Also if the run stops coming in, all KingFisher's Perch guides do is fish the upper part of the river where the fish are that already came in.  We will keep fishing them until  the new fish start back up again.

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What are the best flies for Red Salmon?

If you are fishing for Red Salmon with the right technique you can catch them on almost any fly.

The guides at Kingfisher's Perch all have there own favorite fly, but we all come back to the same size 6 heavy shank yarn fly.

There are many different theories on what color to use. Some swear by their white flies saying that they resemble the ocean food of the salmon. Though the salmon don't eat in fresh water, perhaps there is some instinct to snapping up white bait objects.

Another theory is that the salmon are very territorial and that when small fish come around, they snap at them. In that case, a dark blue or black fly works the best.

The last idea is that they are spawning and, much like the King Salmon, the bright red or orange works the best.

We catch fish on all of these flies. We believe that the technique used to catch Reds is far more important than the color or kind of the fly. If you want to purchase flies before coming up, keep them simple and in size 6, heavy shank. Also, a variety of different weights of weighted flies can be helpful. Heavier flies will work best in deeper or faster holes.