i have been having problems hooking into these silvers,it's not because they are not in yet because i see them jumping all around me and i know thats what they are i have gotten a good look at them i just cant get them to hit i have been trying hard every day from 4:00pm until dark it is getting very frustrating i can catch steelhead and kings fairly regularly when they are in but am not sure if i am fishing these silvers right they are a new game for me i never done them before not to many in the minnesota rivers where i recently moved from.this is how i set up the rod is a 10'6 graphite spinning rod the brand is america yad professional carbon line weight 2-10lbs,line is maxima ultra green 10lb the leader material is the same from 18 to 24 inches aprox. 1/4 inch dia. lead about 1 inch to about 1 1/2 inches long on a slider with bead to protect the knot ,i use a corky about 3/8 dia.with #2 gamagatsu hook and yarn i have been adding about half of a night crawler or a sand shrimp tail to this set up but i sure get a lot of smolts and jacks hitting i have also got a few cut throat they were a first for me i haven't got any fish to get fresh eggs from yet so this is what i use,a guy at work is supposed to bring me some tommorrow and will try them then,the reel is a shimano fx 4000 and i fish the river with waders and i am not in the river any farther than i have to be so i dont spook the fish the water is gin clear.tonight at 7:45pm i finally hooked up with one on a orange corky with a night crawler no yarn and boy did he go nuts 1 fast run out to the stronger current a couple jumps and he was gone that really bummed me out i really want to land 1 of these fish bad so if anyone has any suggestions i will definetly try them because i will not give up all i do is work and fish and when i am at work i am thinking fishing can't get enough of it the wife thinks i am nuts oh well it keeps me out of trouble i will keep you all updated if anything works for me, later Bruce

ive never done the corkie/yarn thing for silvers so i cant help you with that set up. what ive found that works the best are cured eggs, but i usually like to use hardware, no sticky mess and i can keep my line in the water covering more area. use eggs if you can get them. when you run out of bait try a copper #4 or #5 super vibrax and drift it just fast enough to keep the blade spinning.

Try using ¼ oz. marabou jigs! Best colors can be pink & white, blue & white, and orange & yellow. Colors may change depending on the river that you are fishing.

Cast jig out and let it sink to almost the bottom (look for slow deep holes that have current lines). Reel the jig in just like you would if you were fishing a lead headed bass worm, but make the jerks a little faster. Sometimes you will snag into a fish but that's ok because you can release them if that happens. The rapid jerking makes the silver think that something is wrong, and the silvers want to kill your jig. Spend a lot of time trying and refining this method, and you will catch silvers.

Let me know if it works for you. Good luck!

Cowlitzfisherman
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

You don't say whether you are fishin from the bank or a boat. Almost all my freshwater fishin fer silvers has been done from the bank. Spinners are my best bet for silvers. Spoons also work. I usually make my own from PennTac or Mortac components. I use Vibrax or Mepps if I hafta use pre-made. I've caught them on a variety of sizes and colors altho they seem to prefer oranges and reds. W/gin clear water you might want to start out w/small, drab spiners as suggested in previous post, Copper or brass should work well (never tried black for silvers, might work very well?). Altho if that doesn't work go to a 4/0 or 5/0 in silver or, a bright flourescent orange or red. Someitmes you just hafta really piss them off!!. I usually replace the trebles w/a siwash and sometimes place a lil piece of flourescent tubing on the hook shank.

Many rivers require the use of single hooks and, while I've been in exile for a while, I seem to remember htat there is also a rule about the maximum allowable distance between the hook point and the shank. Wa has the most F'd up fish n game regs of just about anywhere so be sure and check em out (and the emergency closure website) before you go fishin.

I'm a firm believer in washin yer hands and use a scent to coverup any people smell (i.e. L-serine (sp?), my personal pref is Pro-cure w/a drop of Dr J.

Another trick is to add the smallest hootchie you can find (you might even hafta trim a few of the tentacles to get it to fish right) to the spinner. Unlike fishin silvers in the salt I have found that a slow retrieve, just barely fast enough to make the blade spin to be very effective on lockjaw silvers. Also if you can find a concentration of fish that aren't jumping too much they seem to bite better than the jumpers, IMHO. Another very effective method is to use plugs, Hot shot SEs and wiggle warts, altho they can be a lil hard to fish from the bank. Spoons that have the lil flipper thing at the rear work well at times also.

If hookin the large mature hooknose who've been in the river for a while I will set the hook two or three times since their mouths get very hard and bony after they have been in freshwater for a while.

Kind of puzzlin since fresh, chrome bright silvers usually bite fairly well (for me anyway). Cloudy days w/a lil drizzle or recent rain seems to help put them on the bite.

Maybe try a different river or part of the river you're fishin?

Good luck and let us know how ya do

Take care

Sincerely,
Roger

The Snohomish/Skykomish coho are famous for being non-biters but lots are caught on small Dick Nite spoons.

Mudslinger-
I sent you an email
Matt

And whatever you do, be there for the first good rain. This is the light switch that will turn the bite on and move them up the river.

well guys today was the day,i moved to a different part of the river and boy am i glad i did,i started at 8:00am and didn't see any fish right away but about 9:30 they started jumping and 9:45 i landed a nice 5 1/2 lber very fresh still had lice on it.i caught her on a orange #3 vibrax spinner.thru out the day i caught 5 more the largest was a few ounces over 9lbs all had lice a lot of fish started moving in today i must have saw at least 200 swimming by me in shallow water usually about 20 at a time it was really exciting.i also caught 3 dollys with the biggest around 3 1/2 to 4 lbs first time catching those i released all of them,i just thought they were to pretty to kill.not a bad day at all two nice fish to bring home both hens,i thought i would let you know how i did thanks again for all the info,Bruce