Casting Crankbaits in Rivers for Kings, Coho, and Steelhead
– Part II
By Chuck Bailey
Some fishermen have theorized that once salmon and steelhead start heading up stream they have their mind on spawning and nothing else. Therefore, if an angler's crankbait does get hit, it’s probably more a reaction or anger strike, meaning “Get the heck out of my way!” or “I’m crunching you just for getting in front of me! Not that I was really hungry.”
Does our guide, Tim Roller, actively engage in the hunger verses reaction debate? “No. In fact I could care less why they hit it. And we’ll never know because I’ve asked about a million of them that very question," he laughs, "and they haven’t answered me yet.”
"But it still goes back to their genetic response – I don’t think every time a salmon eats an alewife out in the lake they are doing it because they are hungry. I think they are genetically programmed - ‘Do not let that forage go by because that may be the last one you see.’”
“So it’s totally instinct - I don’t believe they think about it. It’s like you and I in terms of our breathing; we don’t think about the next breathe we take, and the fish don’t think about the next meal they are going to eat – if it’s there, they take it. I get asked all the time, ‘Are they hitting it because they are eating it or because they are mad at it?’ And the answer is ‘Yes’ – but I don’t know which one, and I don’t care.”
Replacement Hooks and Split-rings
Over the years Tim has stopped modifying crankbaits, coming to the belief that “They are designed to run a certain way, just as they come in a box.” He has confidence in the VMC trebles that come on the Rapalas, and the fact that every lure is tank tested and hand tuned.
He does, however, carry a whole box full of replacement hooks and split-rings as a part of his tackle, along with a good pair of split-ring pliers. When fighting salmon, an angler is going to bend and break hooks off eventually. “So you are going to have to change hooks and you are going to have to change split-rings a lot. But I won’t do that until I have to. And then I will replace them with the same thing that came with the bait. You are going to get your best running when you try to keep the crankbait like it was when it came out of the box.”
Whether a bait suspends, sinks, or floats, has rattles, or runs silently does not really concern Tim when fishing in the current. “We’re not pausing our retrieve, we’re not jerking our retrieve, we’re just reeling steady and straight. After the crankbait hits the water, we point the rod at it (slightly down stream) and start reeling.”
Finding Salmon and Steelhead
Tim’s clients are transported on the river in an 18 foot sled-style boat. “But,” Tim insists, “you can do this in waders, or off the bank. We use a boat so we cover so many miles of river in a day.” The sled is propelled by a 50 horse prop engine, though Tim says “Most anglers run jets, but I’m not a big fan of them, they’re so noisy.” Yet he admits that on other rivers that are shallower and filled with huge boulders, the prop does not fair well. His knowledge of his home water and where the submerged wood is, keeps him from having any trouble on the Manistee River.
Where are the salmon hang out in the river? “That depends on where we are in the run. It depends on water conditions – in fact, there are a lot of variables that affect where they will be. They are not just anywhere. You’re not just aimlessly casting around. They’re going to stick primarily in the deeper sections, which would be the outside corners, or the slots. There are many sections of this river that may be 200 feet across, but 150 feet of it is three feet and 50 feet of it is six feet, or 8 feet. That’s where the fish are going to be.”
Most shallow river fishermen have discovered that even a drop in depth of one or two feet can make all the difference in fish location. “It doesn’t take much change at all; a little cover, some structure, a current seam, water that is funneling - it doesn’t take much at all to hold fish.”
The fish themselves will often reveal their staging areas. “You’ll know the first two hours after daybreak if they are in a location - you can’t go 15 seconds without a fish porpoising or jumping.”
Moving and Casting
Tim intentionally avoids fishing near the damn where the fish spawn. “No, in the fall we’re in the bottom 10 miles of the river closest to the lake.” He avoids fishing using a motor, and prefers to use his oars in the boat to back row against the current, keeping the boat going slower than the current is. How he positions the boat is largely dependant upon his clients’ ability to cast accurately.
“We’re constantly moving with this technique – it’s much like bass fishing, where anglers will use a trolling motor and slowly work a lily pad edge or a shoreline. There are certain areas I just know we’re going to hook up fish, and I’ll drop anchor there, because there’s times we will hit multiple fish in a single spot. But for the most part we’re on the move fishing.”
The Proper Casting Pattern
Is it just a matter of casting in all directions? Hardly. “You never want to cast upstream,” insists Tim. “You want to cast across stream or slightly down stream. So if you are looking straight across the river (and that is 12 o’clock), and the river is running right to left, you want to cast to 11 o’clock. If your river is running from left to right, you want to cast at 1 o’clock.”
The reason Roller gives for this casting pattern? “It’s not natural for forage to swim downstream in a river situation. They may do so when they are spooked or something, but it’s not a natural thing to do. The fish and forage need to be facing upstream, simply because they need the water gong through their gills, certainly not from the back.
It's important to have the upstream-facing crankbait to swing across the current - cutting a wide swath in front of the fish. “That way they’re going to see it. By pulling it across stream you are putting the crankbait in front of the most possible fish available in that drift. And it’s going to be a much more natural way to present the forage, than if it is coming down stream with the current.”
When comes to the retrieve, “Slow is better than fast. After you cast across the current and click your bale shut, the current is going to dive that bait, once the line get taunt. So we catch more fish retrieving slowly than we do fast.”
With a guide who knows the river and fish location, there is no need to grid the river like you would if you were going to a new piece of water and trying to attack it on your own. “If an angler IS going to do that, then it’s no different than when you are fly fishing, bait fishing, or bottom bouncing, …you want to start out close-and-work-out, and top-and-work-down. You just grid it, and you will cover the whole thing. You’ll find out the sweet spots, you will find out where there is trouble, (as far as where snags are and so forth), so you’ll find out where those fish like to sit in any given pool.”
There is no need to work the bait, for the current alone will give the crankbait plenty of action. Tim stresses, “You will miss more fish doing that (working the bait) than you will get.”
Fish On!
The strike is one of the most exciting aspects of this presentation because the rod is always in the angler’s hands when the crushing hit occurs. (Many other techniques result in the strike occurring while the rod is in a holder on the boat or shoreline). When casting crankbaits, a strike is like the salmon or steelhead is attempting to rip the rod the angler’s hands. At that point the instructions are simple, “When you feel that hit, you want to pop them.” A strong hookset is essential at first contact.
And how does Tim suggest and angler play that fish from that point on? “You want to hang on,” laughs our guide. “Actually, this is when the extra money you invested in your reel is gong to come in handy, because that reel's drag is going to play an essential role in fighting that fish. You also want to keep the rod up.”
Hanging on, however, is not going to get the fish into the boat. “These fish are so quick and they are so strong, that a lot of times they do something that you have to counteract it with the rod. If you don’t anticipate it, or see it coming, you are going to be too late - and that’s when they are going to toss the bait. These fish like to jump a lot and they will come 3 or 4 feet out of the water, and if you are rearing back high on the rod they are going to pitch it right back at you most of the time.”
When They Jump - It's All About Rod Position
When a fish is heading for the surface and about to jump, Tim coaches his beginners by telling them “You’ve got to lower your rod. A lot of times they will come up and thrash around on the surface and you’ve got to get that rod real low. Sometimes we will stick it right in the water. But remember; you never want to lose the bend in the rod, you just want to go right down to the water’s edge, right to the surface of the water, or down in it.”
“You want to keep the head of fish down in the water,” insists Tim. “If you have a high stick when they come up on top and are shaking their head around, there is no where for that slack to go – they take all the slack out when they swing their head the opposite way, and something is going to give. And normally it’s going to be the hook ripping out of their lip."
"If you keep their head down in the water, they will still shake their head, but you have the water and current slowing them up and absorbing a lot of their movement. So keep those fish in the water, keep a big bend in the rod, and let that reel work.”
Tim insists that proper rod position is essential when fighting a big fish in current. Keeping the rod bent but low to the water helps guide the streamlined fish through the current. But… “If you get a fish 50 to 60 feet out, and your rod is pointing right up at the sky, you’re angling the fish’s head up and presenting its entire lower body to the current. So the river is fighting you as well.”
Snagged In The Log Jams
Naturally, there are times when the angler has to chase a big salmon peeling line, but with all the wood in the Manistee, getting hung up in the log jams is a more common occurrence. “In a split second, a salmon can be down in a log jam, so we just maneuver the boat and get in there after them to try and get it out.”
One imagines that a salmon that has wrapped itself around logs would be a lost cause, but Tim says, “You’d be surprised. We’ve landed an awful lot of fish where that line was wrapped or knotted around logs. Many times I have reached down with my line-retriever pole and found the line on the other side of the log, was able to lift it up to the surface of the water, cut the line, blood knot it back together and land the fish. Many times!”
The Proper Hookset and Fighting Technique
Among the common mistakes made by beginners, (such as not reacting quick enough to the fish’s movements, keeping the rod too high when the fish is coming to the surface), has to do with the hookset. “Beginners don’t set the hook hard enough. I tell people to try and break the rod when you set the hook. It’s not a jerk, jerk, jerk, motion – it’s a quick-snap from the elbow up. Some people want to use their whole arm and bring it up so the reel is above their head, but you don’t get nearly the hook penetration.”
“And once the fight begins – keep the bend in the rod. Inexperienced anglers do not keep enough pressure on them. They see a big fish like that and because the rod is doubled over - they think the line or the rod is going to break. That’s the biggest challenge I have with beginners is getting them to trust the equipment, and apply constant pressure on them.”
Wet Verses Sunny Weather
What’s the perfect weather conditions to go out fishing with cranks on the river for monster Kings, Coho, or Steelhead? “When it’s raining,” says our guide. “Raining…low light…cloudy. Our raining days are going to be our darkest days and salmon and steelhead are most active in low light conditions. We do catch them when there isn’t a cloud in the sky, but to go out and catch great numbers… rain!”
“A couple of years ago, I had two clients who were here for three days. And the first day – sunny with not a cloud in the sky. High pressure had set in and it had been here for a week. We went out that day and got three fish. Over night a front came in and the next day it rained. I don’t think it stopped for more than 10 minutes all day. Those same two clients, (fishing the same section of the river), got 24 that day. That front moved out later that afternoon and the next day we went back to sunshine with only a couple of clouds, and we got three that day.”
Roller believes that salmon from the lake coming into the river are definitely affected by a change in weather. “Barometric pressure definitely affects them. But again, I think it’s the light more than anything else. These fish have spent their entire life in a pitch black environment. Two, three, four or even six hundred feet down – its pitch black. At that depth they’re not affected by a whole lot of boat traffic, and they are not running into much. Dark water has been their primary natural environment.”
“And now, suddenly, (almost over night), they’re in a new environment where eight feet might be deep. Now there’s always some level of light. They’ve got boats running up and down. They are seeing all kinds of stuff; running into sticks, logs, fishing line that’s in the water – a million things they have never dealt with before. And I think they don’t like it, obviously. So the brighter light may cause them to shut right off on many days.”
" A beautiful sunny day may be a good day for us, but it’s not so great a day for the fish.”
Trying to Figure Them Out
Are there adjustments that can be made to increase the catch ratio when major weather changes occur? “We’ve tried everything over the years and haven’t found one thing that allows me to say ‘Yep, this will make a difference on bright sunny days!’ Ironically, there have been many sunny days when inexplicably we were knocking the snot out of them. And then for the next 10 identical days you can’t buy a bite after the first two hours - doing all the same things.”
“There are so many variables affecting a migratory fish; are they just coming into the river? Have they been here 5 days, 7 days, 10 days? That all makes a difference. What are the water levels doing? Are they stable, are they rising, are they dropping? Is the water clear, or getting cloudier? Is the water temperature rising or dropping? Is there more pressure on the fish from an angler’s perspective? Is it cloudy, is it bright, is it raining? Is the barometer going up or down? All these things individually impact the fish. When you start putting 5 to 10 of them all together at once - it messes with them bad.”
“The fact is, if they don’t want to eat today – they are not going to eat today. It can be a humbling business and you just have to deal with it. You just have to keep saying with each new cast, ‘This is the one!’”
It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!
Tim’s passion for casting crankbaits in rivers for salmon and steelhead is infectious. His goal is to get anglers who have never tried throwing hardbaits to take a chance. “Once you have felt that first fish crush that crankbait, that’s all it’s going to take. If you just do it long enough until you have the first salmon or steelhead hit that crankbait; that’s all you are going to need. You will want to do this for the rest of your life.”
The magic begins with the strike. “The ‘take’ is everything. It really is! From an angling perspective, it is one of the most exciting explosions you can experience. The fight is incredible. Everything about this technique is so enjoyable, so gratifying.”
“And it’s such a great time of the year, especially in the fall. When people come up and fish the Michigan rivers in the fall, and see what we have here in the way of a fishery – they are amazed. When they see how absolutely beautiful the rivers are – they realize they are in the middle of God’s country. And the fishing itself is phenomenal. It’s not uncommon to see 10 to 20 eagles during your day, deer along the river, the river is full of fish during the fall jumping all over the place, there’s always some amazing happening around you.”
Proactive Fishing!
Tim believes that casting crankbaits in the rivers has many appealing characteristics, but the primary feature is that it makes the angler 'proactive' rather than 'reactive'.
“One of the neat things about this technique is you are constantly doing something. It’s not like you are plugging, dropping, or hot-shotting, where you’ve anchored up watching rods bounce all day in rod holders in the back of the boat. When the rod goes off you may go over and pick it out of the rod holder and reel it in, but you have missed the best part – the violent strike that comes when they crush it. In my opinion, you are missing everything good about these fish by doing it that way.”
Tim’s clients definitely prefer to cast crankbaits because of the great feeling of personal achievement. “The guide can put the boat in the position it needs to be, and tell a client to cast to that stump right there and bring it back through that seam – but the bottom line is they have to cast it to the right spot, and they have to work that bait, and they have to be on top of their game when that fish hits.”
“That’s what separates this type of fishing from the other techniques – 1) you’re making the fish come to you; which is different from all the other types of bottom bouncing or drift fishing methods. And 2) you are doing everything. You’ve got the rod in your hand, and you are doing everything from putting the lure in the water to getting the fish to the net. Casting crankbaits is a pretty cool way to do it.”
Gaining Confidence
Like all new techniques, the trick is stick with it until the key ingredient arrives: confidence. If you can get to Michigan and look up Tim Roller, confidence will come quickly. But book early in the year for a fall trip, because the season gets filled fast, especially with so many return customers.
The next best thing to build confidence is to see the technique with your own eyes through Tim’s DVD “Crankin’ Kings”.
There is also a second DVD in the works. “We’ve got another one that is coming out in a few months - a sequel we’re calling ‘King Crankin 2’. The first video was a primer; a way to introduce people to the concept of fishing for salmon with crankbaits. With the second video we want to address all the questions we’ve gotten since the first DVD.”
Casting crankbaits in rivers for Kings, Coho, and Steelhead caught on quickly in the Great Lakes region of the country. Here in the Northwest, no one in the tackle stores we have contacted are aware of anyone using this technique. If there are any, they are keeping it a secret. My guess, they are about to curse Tim Roller for letting the genie out of the bottle.
But for the right kind of pioneering spirit, a new possibility has been opened to enhance the river fishing experience. It’s an active, hands-on technique that will add a new dimension to the taking of Kings, Coho, Steelhead… (and, as Tim recently proved, world record brown
trout)!
As our guide insists, “All our migratory fish will hit crankbaits when presented properly.”
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To return to Part I - Click Here.
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Tim Roller started Ultimate Outfitters in 1993, guiding anglers on the rivers of western Michigan for Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout. Tim is regarded across the Great Lakes as bringing the technique of casting crankbaits for Salmon and Steelhead in river situations to the public with the release of "King Crankin", a dvd which focuses on the technique.
Tim achieved world-wide acclaim in September 2009 when he guided an angler to the new all-tackle world record Brown Trout of 41 lbs. 7 oz., caught while casting a crankbait for Salmon. When not guiding, Tim is either producing the next dvd in the "Migratory Madness" series (highlighting the Salmon and Steelhead river fishing across the Great Lakes), or hosting and producing "Tim Roller's Wild Addiction" outdoor television show which is seen nationally to over 22 million people on The Sportsman Channel.
You can contact Tim Roller at tim@ultimateoutfitters.com
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