Firstly, if you're new to salmon fishing, or even if you aren't,you really need to learn the regulations for the water you are fishing. There are gear restrictions and you can't keep every type of salmon or fish you may catch.

There's a few salmon in the Snohomish system right now, but you can't legally fish for them until September 1. Silvers-coho will be coming into the river in September-October,and chums will be entering the rivers from late October into December so you will have plenty of time to fish until the Snohomish system closes for salmon at the end of December.

Probably 90 percent of the salmon fishing on the Snohomish system is done from the bank, and you just need to cast to where the fish are holding, not necessarily across the river. I would find one spot on the river with bank access where the salmon hold and learn to fish it through the season like Thomas Eddy on the Snohomish (where Short School Road parallels the river), or Lewis Street on the Skykomish in Monroe. These are two popular areas and you could probably get help from other anglers as to techniques. Spinners and spoons are probably a good choice if you are a beginner.