Salmon fishing is a great way to escape the everyday pressures of life whether you fish from land or boat. Experienced salmon anglers will tell you there is nothing like hooking and landing a salmon and if it's a large fish of 20 lbs. or more, it will leave you shaking from excitement! On the other hand, if you hook and lose a big salmon, it might leave you feeling dejected and maybe even a little upset with yourself!
People have enjoyed salmon fishing around the world since the 1800's and the love for this sport is still going strong. There are 2 types of salmon species to fish for and the first one is the Atlantic, in which is the Atlantic Salmon or salmo salar. The Atlantic salmon can reach a weight of over 70 lbs. but this is not common. The other type of salmon species is the Pacific, and some of the more recognized are the Chinook or king, which is the largest, known to reach a weight of over 100 pounds, the Coho or silver and the Sockeye or red.
Fly fishing for wild Atlantic salmon is very popular and you can do this by wading or from a canoe. Some anglers prefer to tie their own flies to fish with. There is a feeling of great satisfaction if you are able to catch a salmon using your own hand-tied fly. You can fly fish using a floating line with a dry or wet fly, a wet line with a wet fly or a sinking line with a wet fly. All will work if your presentation is right and the most important thing to remember is this: if an Atlantic salmon comes to your fly, do not try to set the hook, let the fish turn and set it for you. This is probably one of the most common errors an angler can make when salmon fishing for Atlantics.
Who wouldn't like to take a salmon fishing trip to Alaska? If you are one of the lucky ones that have, you will never forget it! Huge runs of Pacific salmon still make their way into the rivers and streams to spawn. There you can catch Chinook, Coho and Sockeye to name a few. Make sure you try eating some of what you catch as salmon is very tasty and you can even try canning some to take home.
You can also fish for salmon from a boat in the rivers bays and catch huge salmon. Anyway you go salmon fishing is a good way, so plan a fishing trip soon, it'll do a world of good!