RTL,

You certainly did ask a mouthful...here're my shots...

1. Color is certainly important, but I'd say it's probably 15% important, compared to 85% important for how you fish a spinner or spoon. If you take a spoon/spinner rookie, give him all the colors in the rainbow, and a copy of Jed Davis' book and put him on a river, and give an experienced spoon/spinner fisherman one silver Vibrax, he'll kick the rookie's butt for a long time until the rookie stops being a rookie.

2. I'm not sure this hole really exists anywhere, but if it did and I had to find a fish in it, I'd fish the head and tailout for the steelies, concentrating on the head in lower/clearer waters and the tail in deeper/more colored waters. For salmon, especially kings, I'd fish the deepest/slowest part of the hole. If it's all the same, then I'd also fish the head.

3. This is covered pretty well above, especially in regard to head and jaw shape.

4. Downstream fish fight less, fish that have just been caught in the last hour or so, too, not to mention a fish that may have just ripped up a big set of rapids or falls. For the most part, however, they have different personalities. Some fish fight like hell, and some don't. I'm glad most of them do...

5. Seams are the money. In high water they provide a current break with easy access to heavy water for cover. Not only do they do that in the summer, but if the water is low and clear they provide a bit of "cover" by creasing the surface. The only ones I would consistently pass up are ones that I've fished many times without a strike.

6. I never carry two rods, but I would if I fished stuff like Reiter and Blue Creek where I'd plant myself and stand there all day. The hassle it causes is much worse than the benefits it would bring. First off, I never fish spinning rods, and secondly, I can do pretty much all I need with my drift rods. Nook and cranny fishing depends on the time of year, the particular river, and the particular water conditions. If the water is low and clear, then I'll fish every spot where I can't see the bottom, and half the ones where I can. If the water is very high and/or dirty, I'll mostly just fish the spots where the seams are long and provide good resting/holding water. It also depends on how well I know a river. Some little streams just consistently have a fish behind a particular rock, and I'll never pass it up. Other spots look good, but never produced yet. I'll probably hit them with a cast or two and high tail it up to the next producing spot.

7. I'd add that summer runs may be entering fresh as late as the end of September on some rivers, and that a small percentage of winter runs are spawning as early as December, but not many until February, with the end of March through June being the biggest months.

Fish on...

Todd.