Fishing Live Squid for Chinook Salmon

The sportiest way to catch salmon in my opinion is fishing live bait. On the west coast there is generally two common ways to catch salmon. Troll with downriggers or cut plug herring.

But there is another way  most people don’t know about and that is to catch Chinook salmon in shallow water with live squid. And what is significant about shallow water? By instinct most Chinook like to dive deep when hooked, so when you get a Chinook on the line in shallow water they often give you a good really good run. Also, because the fish is closer to you, you will feel more of the action and will be more involved in reeling the fish in.

So when can you fish live squid? The best time to do live squid fishing here for the returning Chinook is late June/early July. (Last year we had good squid fishing right up to the end of July). There really isn’t anything like it. First you have fun catching the squid early in the morning and then you get to use your own caught bait while holding the rod to hook a Chinook salmon. For all those of you who are looking for interactive fishing,  this one is for you.
 

Video

There is a short video below showing a couple double headers from one of our guides Fred Perron. If you haven’t done it before, you need to try it. It is one of those things that should be on every bucket list. When you decide that you just have to do it, plan on coming in late June or July. One thing to note is these Chinook were a little smaller than what we normally get here during July.

I hope you enjoy the video!