Northwest Fishing Reports

i am new to salmon fishing and i was wondering how you rig-up an corky and yarn setup? i have heard they work great for pinks. also what kind of rod/reel setup should i use for salmon fishing?

Tie the yarn directly into your bait loop knot and the corky goes right above the hook on the leader. The leader should be anywhere from 2-3.5 feet long depending on the conditions. Anything longer and I would consider it "flossing". If you don't already know what "flossing" is, it is where you use a leader so long as to intentionally run the leader through the fish's mouth until the hook makes contact. You see this a lot when the fish are in thick and the "snaggers" don't want to get caught. This method is applied more than anywhere else on the Cowlitz River at Blue Creek. I have seen "anglers" use as long as 12' leaders here, they role the leader up behind them before they cast, it is so long. Not very sportsman like.

As for pinks you are better off using a jig or a Dick Nite spoon. And the type of rod you should use is a medium action 7'-8'6". It really all depends on the conditions and species of fish. The rod you use could be heavier or lighter than this.

so, does the corky go behing the yarn because i undertsand the corky part i just got understand how to get the yarn on the line, do i somehow thread the lin through the yarn and then tie on the corky and hook or does the yard just get tied on one end and kind of drift werever it wants?

The yarn should be put onto the line in the last loop of line in the process of tying a normal bait loop. Clip off about 1-1.5" of yarn and put it through this last open section of the knot evenly on both sides and tighten your knot. This should leave you with the normal loop to cinch your bait in after the knot is complete.

wait, so first of all is a "bait" knot like a regular fishermans knot or something special. and so how much yarn do you acually use? does the yarn even make a difference? does the corky touch the yarn?

No, a bait loop is not the same as a regular fishermans knot. It is a knot where in the end result you have a loop to help keep your bait on the hook. I don't have any visuals for you on this knot and it is to hard to explain, but I am sure that you can look it up somewhere on the web. Like I said about 1-1.5" of yarn will be sufficient. And yes in certain conditions the yarn does make a difference. One of the upsides of yarn, as long as you use a good brand is that when the fish takes the yarn will tangle in it's teeth a bit and allow for more time to set the hook (I use Glo Bug yarn). Yarn is not always needed though. The corky should slide freely up and down the leader, so it may come in contact with the yarn at some point or another.

well i guess i just dont get the reasoning of the set-up, so they corky is just like a small ball of plastic the slides up and donw the line, and you use a small peice of yarn above that somewhere to attract the fish? and how does the hook ge them if they bite the yarn or they bite the corky while its up high on the leader..

If tied correctly the yarn should be on the hook in the knot, so it is below the corky. The corky slides freely, so when you are drift fishing the corky will slide back down your line to the hook. This is because your lead will slow down faster than your hook and corky when it is bouncing along the bottom of the river, which keeps the corky at your hook. The true reason behind the corky is to float your bait up off of the bottom a little bit and keep your bait in the fish's strike zone/vision better. And the corky is actually not made out of plastic, it is made of a high density foam.

I found this good picture of the knot I use, putting the yarn into the Egg Loop knot instead of eggs. The corkie just stays on the line above the hook keeping it buoyant. You can buy them pre-assembled at the fishing store as "cheaters".

http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/reso ... erknot.htm

thanks lou i ahve been to this site before and it has helped me a ton but i never have seen this perticular page, thanks

Yea we don't want to see any flossers out there..Don't let anyone tell you that a tiny bit of black yarn works for salmon. Keep away from those guys. Good luck out there, pinks should be finishing up here really soon, and you can get pinks on just about anything. I had three rods I brought over the course of the season out there.
One was a 5'6" Light action with 8lb test, another was a 7' Medium with 8lb, and the last was a 8'6" ML with 8lb test on it.

good info