# Salmon from the shore - Lures and Leader



## punchanello (Oct 6, 2011)

I've got myself a light beach/rock fishing outfit for flicking 7-25g lures and my intention is to target Salmon and if I'm lucky other yummier small pelagics.

I'm running 20lb braid but I'm wondering what weight leader I should be using? I'm worried about something toothier taking my lure.

Also, has anyone got any recommendations for lures you like to use. I have a few metals but wanted to mix it up a bit.

Thanks guys.


----------



## windknot (Nov 15, 2009)

I like to tie on a leader that's lighter than my main braided line, that way if it lets go, it will usually be at the lure end. This will mean that you don't have to tie a new leader on each time you get broken off. The most common reason for getting broken off is getting a little too vigorous during the cast, with wind knots wrapping around your guides coming a close second.

To save yourself getting lots of wind knots, it's best to leave your leader very short. I run mine at about 1 metre. The fact that the leader knot doesn't have to travel through the guides on each cast will save you a lot of heartbreak.

Lure wise, I prefer metal jigs, simply because they can be cast a lot further than anything else. Find a good metal lure that is weighted at the rear. They will be thicker at the back. These ones cast the best of all as they don't tend to spin, rather they go through. the air like a bullet. I use a lot of Japanese jigs, but I also find the Black Magic 25g metal is excellent. In your area, I sometimes use my Maria Duplex lures as they're more likely to be taken by a kingfish, IMO. These lures are a 32g weighted bibbed minnow. They also come in a lighter 18g model. Salmon like them too. I take the rear treble off and replace it with a good jigging single hook, like a Decoy Sergent in a size 2/0.


----------



## Guest (Aug 16, 2013)

I guess it depends what you call shore. I mainly fish for Salmon from the beach. My current outfit is a 10' composite fastish taper with Shimano 4000 reel loaded with quality 10lb braid. I use 20lb leader and never found a reason to switch to the 40lb leader I carry. The only times I've lost fish due to breakage is when 1) Tailor nip the knot from leader and mainline or 2) Too much pressure too early and the fish dodges below the sand ledge. I've never yet lost a lure due to a fish running behind a rock, despite 20lb leader. My best Salmon on the above outfit this year is 62cm. Be patient and use a slower taper and you could easily go lighter much.

As with most fishing, its not so much the lure as where you cast it. The lures I use are metal - 15 gram to 50 gram, depending on wind, required cast distance, etc. Salmon and Tailor will chew on almost anything, paying little attention to brand or price. I prefer a lure that reflects light at different angles (as scales might reflect light). Colour doesn't seem important. Just be careful if you buy cheap lures. Some of these have rubbish split rings that straighten on Salmon over about 45-50cm. One type of lure I bought over the internet bent in the middle after a 50cm Salmon.

Sometimes, fish might be 70 meters or more out, when a 40 or 50 gram lure is a must. When fish are closer in, the lighter the lure, the harder it is for them to spit.

Replace trebles with singles. Singles are far easier to remove if the Salmon swallows the lure; you are less likely to end up pinned to a thrashing fish; there is no discernible difference in hookup rate. I normally use 3/0 long shank, straight eye, non-stainless, whether 15 gram of 50 gram lure.

Some people I know use HBs. When fish are wide, I catch while they get few. However, HB's seem effective when the fish are close to shore.

I have a 10'6" carbon rod on order. When that arrives, I should be able to diversify and start tossing SP's to see if this gets more variety into the catch. One reason not to use SPs is Tailor often accompany Salmon.


----------



## Guest (Aug 16, 2013)

windknot said:


> I like to tie on a leader that's lighter than my main braided line, that way if it lets go, it will usually be at the lure end. This will mean that you don't have to tie a new leader on each time you get broken off. The most common reason for getting broken off is getting a little too vigorous during the cast, with wind knots wrapping around your guides coming a close second.
> 
> To save yourself getting lots of wind knots, it's best to leave your leader very short. I run mine at about 1 metre. The fact that the leader knot doesn't have to travel through the guides on each cast will save you a lot of heartbreak.
> 
> Lure wise, I prefer metal jigs, simply because they can be cast a lot further than anything else. Find a good metal lure that is weighted at the rear. They will be thicker at the back. These ones cast the best of all as they don't tend to spin, rather they go through. the air like a bullet. I use a lot of Japanese jigs, but I also find the Black Magic 25g metal is excellent. In your area, I sometimes use my Maria Duplex lures as they're more likely to be taken by a kingfish, IMO. These lures are a 32g weighted bibbed minnow. They also come in a lighter 18g model. Salmon like them too. I take the rear treble off and replace it with a good jigging single hook, like a Decoy Sergent in a size 2/0.


I see by your name, you enjoy wind knots, as well :lol:

Three tips for wind knots:

1) One day I had a couple of line wraps around the lower guide during a cast. Two lures down, I trimmed the tag end of the flouro a little more. I never had the issue again. If you like, you can burn the end with a lighter, which will leave a small blob that is less likely to pull through undoing your knot. Obviously, be careful how close you burn.

2) Some metal lures seem to spin a little in the water on retrieve, twisting the line. Every now and then I walk out about 100 meters of line, retrieving it unweighted to remove any twists.

3) Be careful your bail arm picks up the line properly when you begin to retrieve. If the line is a little loose it can lay part of a wrap across the face of the reel. When this happens, at best you'll lose some casting distance and hear the line fluttering. At worst you'll end up cutting out a knot. Often, you'll be able to undo the knot with a little patience and a fish hook.


----------



## Slazmo (Oct 18, 2010)

I have the same sort of setup - 30lb braid and I send 20 to 40 gram raiders and twisties way out the back of the breakers. Great fishing for tailor & salmon.

I use 20lb Fluorocarbon - Berkley Vanish line works well or even Maxima Ultragreen.

If there are a lot of bighters I use Halco 20lb multi strand wire with a ball bearing swivel at the join - this helps with twist.


----------



## windknot (Nov 15, 2009)

I have noticed that you mentioned that you're using a rod that's capable of casting lures ranging from 7 to 25 grams. In my view this is an enlightened and refreshing choice. I can't see any reason why you would need anything heavier than 6kg braid and a 3000 size reel with this outfit. Even the largest salmon can be handled easily on 6kg and you're not likely to break off many of these relatively lightweight lures when casting either.

In my view there's no real reason to use heavy, stiff rods for salmon and similar sized species. The big heavy rods make mincemeat out of a salmon. It's like catching tiddlers everytime, even with big fish. It's far more enjoyable to use what I would call a suitable rod. Your rod sounds close to being ideal, IMO. A scaled down outfit that's perfectly suited to casting 25g lures will cast very nearly as far as a rod, that's far heavier, casting 50g lures. Personally, I don't think you need to be able to cast 50g lures for small to mid sized fish like salmon and tailor.

I know there's plenty of surf fishermen out there who swear by their heavy rods, 30lb line and 50g lures and I can see their potential when larger fish might be on the cards, but for standard salmon fishing, I believe they're missing out on a lot of the enjoyment that can be had from this activity. No offense guys.


----------



## Guest (Aug 17, 2013)

windknot said:


> Personally, I don't think you need to be able to cast 50g lures for small to mid sized fish like salmon and tailor.


That depends where the fish are. Some people seem to think you only catch Salmon close in. On some days, they are right. However, around here at least, there are days and places you won't catch fish unless you can land a lure 80 meters out. In one place, some days I need to wade through stingray territory to lob a lure among them. In those situations, a heavy lure gives you the meters and keeps the shorts dry.


----------



## windknot (Nov 15, 2009)

SteveR said:


> windknot said:
> 
> 
> > Personally, I don't think you need to be able to cast 50g lures for small to mid sized fish like salmon and tailor.
> ...


I can cast a 25g lure 80 metres on my Daiwa Seajigger 315 easily. The rod is the lightest in the range, so it fully loads up with a lure of this weight when casting. This gives me a range comparable to you with your heavier gear. You, with your heavier gear, would struggle to cast a 25g lure any distance because your rod wouldn't load up to achieve the desired 'slingshot' effect with such a light lure. In my experience, casting lures that are at the lighter end of the spectrum, for any given rod, is a certain recipe for getting wind knots, as well as disappointing distances.

Since discovering the joys of fishing light, I would never go back to using powerful surf rods. I'm not knocking you though. If you're happy with your gear, that's all that matters. ;-)


----------



## Guest (Aug 18, 2013)

windknot said:


> SteveR said:
> 
> 
> > windknot said:
> ...


I fish most days so, if it was only about the meat I'd probably try 4lb line. I sometimes fish my 7' slow-taper Bream rod with 6lb line. While its a lot of fun landing 50cm+ Salmon in surf on 6lb line, I find they take quite a bit of reviving before swimming off, which makes me feel bad. 10lb gear still give a lot of enjoyment and the fish are ready to go as soon as they are unhooked. I am definitely not trying to win you over to heavier fishing, which would be inconsistent with me spending about 30 years trying to wean a mate from his 25lb Bream outfit! The days he catches fish after fish and I don't get a bite are the hardest to bear :? Fortunately, that doesn't happen too often.


----------



## windknot (Nov 15, 2009)

Yes agreed, it's not wise to go too light. I was fishing at Narooma about a month back and all I had was my little 3lb bream outfit. After wandering around without any success for a while, I ended up near the entrance. My small HB lure was slammed by a big salmon and it took ages to land it and by then it was well and truly done in. It was a great fight, but it didn't finish the way that I would have liked. Personally, I think 6kg is about right. It's still fun and the salmon can be released in a good condition. You're very lucky to be able to fish the NSW south coast on a regular basis. It's a beautiful and productive area.


----------



## punchanello (Oct 6, 2011)

windknot said:


> I have noticed that you mentioned that you're using a rod that's capable of casting lures ranging from 7 to 25 grams. In my view this is an enlightened and refreshing choice. I can't see any reason why you would need anything heavier than 6kg braid and a 3000 size reel with this outfit. Even the largest salmon can be handled easily on 6kg and you're not likely to break off many of these relatively lightweight lures when casting either.


I chose the lighter outfit (Samaki 10ft 1/4 to 1 ounce) for a number or reasons. I'm fairly experienced with fishing for Bream and Flathead and it makes sense to go as light as possible if you're intending to hunt out fish and cast continuously. I was about about to get a 3000 size reel but then thought that I might experiment witha 2500. I have a a Rarenium 2500 ci4. That gives you 10kg drag (instead of say 7kg or 9kg with a 3000 or 4000 size Stradic) and if you are using good quality 6-10lb super thin braid you should still have more than enough line to handle runs. If it's too small I can always use it to drag Bream out of the racks on another outfit rather than getting my Kayak draged under them  .

IMO, there really is a market for rock and beach fishing rods for casting light lures that aren't traffic light poles that feel like they are made out of bamboo. It wasn't easy finding the right fit for my budget. I'm also interested how it would go in blue water when you want to cast across large areas of activity.


----------



## lightly (Oct 25, 2012)

I have trouble getting salmon on most lures, only thing seem to work for me are rapala x rap "walk" stickbaits one in blue is best


----------



## punchanello (Oct 6, 2011)

lightly said:


> I have trouble getting salmon on most lures, only thing seem to work for me are rapala x rap "walk" stickbaits one in blue is best


Thanks for the tip 

I've also picked up a couple of the large Sebile ****** Minnows to see what else might be out there.


----------

