springers their unique flavor. Spring Chinook will flood into vari- ous watersheds throughout the Pacific Northwest, but not all support a spring salmon run. The lower Columbia river and many of its tributaries receive the earliest returning fish. Eventually rivers deeper inland will welcome spring Chinook, followed by the coastal streams. By April and early May, most watersheds that support a spring Chinook run will be in full swing and, depending on this year’s run prediction (not available at press time), fishing will either be over or peaking. Between the beginning and the end of the season, though, a lot of thought, debate and hand-wringing will be put into determining what
methods you will need to use in order to punch your salmon tag. I would argue that back-bouncing
cured roe and trolling herring are two of the more effective methods for tar- geting springers. Trolling herring is often used in larger rivers like the Columbia, while back-bouncing roe is effective on smaller rivers. It is simply a case of knowing what cards to play, and when.
BACK BOUNCING
Back-bouncing bait is arguably the most exciting way to catch salmon. With a lead sinker ranging between 1 to 6 ounces, lower your bait to the bot- tom of the river and bounce it up and down where a salmon is presumably
holding. In theory, it sounds pretty simple, but it becomes complicated when a salmon picks up your bait. Where people get crossed up is imme- diately thinking that a salmon has it in its mouth, so they set the hook. That salmon is only picking up the bait and “mouthing” it. Patience is needed for the salmon to actually “take” it, and there’s a fine line on when to set the hook and when not to set the hook. It’s all about the bite. Determining when the salmon has taken your bait is prob- ably the most exciting 10 seconds you’ll spend on the water.
If you can imagine what’s happen- ing while it is happening, you will hook more fish than you will lose. My rule of thumb is that after a salmon
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