We start by looking at rods, since rods seem to be the most commonly asked about piece of equipment when it comes to Salmon fly-fishing gear.

Rods:

Salmon are a very large and ferocious fighting fish so you will need a rod with plenty of backbone in the butt section. This doesn't mean you have to spend a small fortune on a rod, nor do you need a super sensitive tip on a salmon stick; a strong butt section with an overall fast or moderate/fast action will be good. A fighting butt on the reel seat is also a big help during a long battle with a big King Salmon.



Rod size depends on the size of the water you plan to fish. Personally, I will never go under an 8 wt. rod for salmon. I know of a few guys that use 7 weight sticks, but they are the exceptions to the acceptable "rule." An 8 wt. will help control these fierce fighters much better. As to length, I prefer a 9 ft. rod but a 9’6” is also a good choice. Spey rods in 10-12 wt. are also put to use on the larger river systems.


Reels:

A good quality disc-drag reel capable of holding a larege amount of backing is a must. I've witnessed inexpensive reels almost literally “explode” when fishermen have hooked into 30 lb. Salmon that decide they want to head downstream in a hurry. Reels such as the Harris Solitude and Ross Reels are well worth the money spent when mounted on a salmon rod. Load up with as much backing as the reel can handle to have plenty of margin on a big run, as well as giving you more line retrieval with each turn of the handle.



Lines:

Lines depend on your style of fishing. If your chuck&ducking, use lines such as Amnesia, Cortland running line, Zip line, or the new Jim Teeny C&D line. For indi rigging then a normal floating line in WF is always a good choice.


Flies: There are a great number of flies for salmon and they vary from region to region as to the patterns. Here are some of the better Great Lakes patterns will want to have with you.

Black Stoneflies, Green Caddis, Egg flies (moe egg & glo-bug style), Egg-sucking Leech, Marabou Speys, Wooly Buggers, Simple hairwings like a Skunk, Hex Nymphs, Hare's Ears (large sizes) and Pheasant-tail Nymphs.





Leader material:

Fishermen are pretty set on the brands of leader materials they use, but I will give you my thoughts on this.

I prefer to use Maxima Ultragreen. This is a very abrasion-resistant material that is suited to the wood-clogged river systems I fish; it holds it's strength very well in any water temp and is thin and supple enough to provide exactly what I am looking for in a leader material. I use 8 lb. test most of the time and would not go lower than that breaking strength. Anything less and you will not have good control over these large fish. I will go to 10 or even 12 lb. if the water is high and stained, but 8-10 lb. seems to be the most commonly used by myself and others.



Where to look for Salmon:

Salmon are on a mission when they enter river systems; they are keyed in on spawning and will search out the gravel spawning beds, sometimes moving many miles upstream as soon as they enter the river. One of the best spots to seek them out is to find some spawning gravel and work the first deeper hole just downstream of the gravel. Many times you'll find fish up on the gravel but those fish are preoccupied with spawning rather than hitting a fly. Find a hole about six feet deep downstream from some good spawning gravel and you'll find active fish that are resting between their spawning and moving duties. If you find a hole with a current break such as downed wood in the hole then all the better!

A final note:

Salmon fishing is what you make of it!

I have seen many conversation/websites get out of hand during the season due to people's views and opinions of others' tactics and even the fish themselves. Fewer than 20 years ago it was believed that Salmon did not strike a lure/fly at all once they entered a stream, so many people resorted to snagging them.

About 15 years ago, people's views began to change, as it was then and has since been proven again and again, that, Salmon will take a properly presented lure/fly/spawn bag while they are in the river. While it is true that they do not “feed” once they enter the river, they will take a fisherman’s offering, whether out of hunger, aggravation, or instinct is still unknown....it does happen.

If you think that every Salmon you hook is because that fish struck your offering willingly or out of need, then salmon fishing is probably not for you; foul-hooking fish DOES happen - it’s just the nature of the game. When you have 20-30 fish in a hole the size of the average front yard you can't help but line a few fish; as long as it is unintentional and the fish are released, then it should be excepted as something that happens. There are many biters out there though, so don’t believe people that say they are all foul hooked -

Put in the time it takes to find the fish; learn what to use and how to present it to them, and you will be rewarded with some legal biters.

 The thing to remember is to have fun. Salmon are a wonderful, fighting gamefish that will just about tear your arm off if given the chance. Get out there and enjoy them!