You're going to hate this reply. I think the answer is: it depends. Not every river is the same, so it depends in part on the specific river you have in mind.

In my experience, moving salmon usually hit better than holding salmon. However, sometimes holding salmon go on the snap and hit everything in sight, so I'm not sure that there is a hard and fast rule. Also, it seems that salmon, especially silvers, seem to hit better the closer I am to salt water. Yet, chinook hit over in the Hanaford reach of the Columbia, around 300 miles from salt. One thing for sure, if salmon are not there, they don't hit. Not too helpful, huh?

Sincerely,

Salmo g.