Spinning for salmon setup

[Tyro]

Just treated myself to a hopefully good basic setup. Shakespeare Sigma 10 ft. And an Okuma  Epix 55 loaded with 15 lb nylon. A few Toby spinner things, couple of Flying Cs and ready to go.

Len

[Wildfisher]

Where are you fishing?   I used to do a bit of spinning for salmon on the Don years ago if the water was high. For some reason I always ended up with a really sore back.

[Tyro]

Hi Admin,
I've taken out a membership with the Perth and District Angling Association. Lots of beats on the Tay. There is a balloting system which I have just entered to get a days fishing. River high so suspect spinning where allowed is the way to go. I'm even more of a beginner in the salmon world than I am at the trout fortunately one of my pals is about to give me a few lessons at the Spey casting and a few tips on spinning ironmongery, swivels, weights and that.

Len

[shanksi]

Use ball bearing swivels to stop line twist .

[Tyro]

Thanks for that Shanksi.

Len

[zeolite]

Devons!

Use them on a flying trace with a weight. Chuck it out square and bounce it along the bottom. In high water it is the best way.

[haresear]

Wooden/plastic Devons are good in that you can pretty much fish them like a fly and just vary the weight up above the swivel to suit the depth/current/angle of cast.

It has been a few years since I did this, but I used to hang a short length of mono off the up-line eye on the trace(hooklength) swivel. To this I threaded a drilled bullet, stopped by a split shot, with an overhand knot below to stop the weights flying off.

If a change of weight is needed, just nip off the shot and change the size of the bullet and then squeeze the shot back on.

Alex

[Part-time]

It's been a while but like Zeolite and Alex I mainly used Devons when I used to spin for salmon. Red/gold used to be my favorite, especially at the back end. Sometimes used a silver Toby or Atom spoon in coloured water. using a good ball bearing swivel is essential even if you use one of those anti kink leads with the built in swivel. Spiral leads that you can take on or off or to change weight are also handy but the method Alex mentions has the advantage that, if the lead gets caught, it will often break off without losing the devon - especially if you use a slightly lower breaking strain nylon than the reel line to attach the lead.

John

[Wildfisher]

The most effective lure I used for salmon was a black Rapala Spoon similar to this one, but with a treble. It's also worth remembering that these days some rivers no longer allow muti-hook or multi-treble lures (like standard Rapalas)

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[Tyro]

Thanks for all the very useful info guys. I inherited a pile of Devons, both wood and plastic so it's useful to know about setting up the weights. I also got a boxful of plastic things like worms, crabs and centipedes. What was the old boy fishing for?

Len