Chum
Salmon Fishing Techniques and Tackle
 Here
in the Fraser Valley, BC where we are located, the Chum
Salmon start to return to spawn in our local rivers
as early as middle September. The majority of the Chums
return in the middle of October until right thru November.
Lifecycle and Coloring!
The Chum Salmon is locally known as Dog Salmon
because of the large teeth they develop as they near their
native rivers to spawn. They also develop vertical bars
on their sides which can be purple, pink and green.
After spawning which takes place from October thru December,
the eggs will generally take a couple of months to hatch,
depending on water temperatures. Once the fry have hatched
they immediately start their journey to the sea where they
will live for 3 to 5 year before returning to spawn and
complete their life cycle.
 Chum
Salmon Fly Fishing Techniques and Tackle!
Fly fishing is one of our most popular and productive
methods when fishing for Chum. Marabou flies in pinks, cerise,
purple and black being the most consistent colors. These
fish can be very aggressive and put up a great battle for
the angler. We use 8 to 10 weight rods with reels that have
a very good drag system such as Ross Reels. These fish average
between 12 and 15 pounds with some of the larger males in
the 20 pound range. Leaders in the 15 to 20 pound range
are used here, as these fish are very strong and the males
have large teeth which make short work of the lighter leaders.
Chum are responsible for a lot of broken rods every year.
When hooked they generally do not make long runs or jumps
as some of the other salmon species do, but they pull very
hard and just don’t give up easily.
 Another
method of fly fishing is using spey rods.
With these types of rods it allows the angler to cast longer
distances with less effort than single handed rods. I like
to use a spey rod when I am fishing on the Fraser River
and its many gravel bars. The area is wide open with long
expanses of beach, perfect for Spey Casting. We generally
use rods in the 14 foot range with the same weights as single
handed rods. My favorite is the G Loomis 14 foot 9/10 weight
Dredger, with either an Airflow Skagit head or the Delta
Spey multi tip lines. When using the new short head Skagit
line from Airflow it allows the angler to cast heavy sink
tips and flies with relative ease.
Generally Chum Salmon do not chase after your fly such
as Coho do, they tend to take the fly as it is drifting
by them in the current.
 Chum
Salmon Float Fishing Techniques and Tackle!
Another method that we use here is float fishing
with a spinning rod and level wind reel in the medium to
heavy action range. The G Loomis STR 1265S and the SAR1363C
are fantastic rods for this type of fishing.
With this method we attach a float on the mainline and
a marabou lead head jig below the float. A mainline 20 to
25 pound test and 15 to 20 pound test leaders are commonly
used. The float length to the jig depends on the water depth
that you are fishing and is adjusted until you find the
right depth at which they are biting at. When float fishing,
you must adjust your float so the bait or attractant is
not dragging on the bottom. Set it so your lure or bait
is presented above the fish so they can see your jig as
it drifts by.
We use the same colors of marabou for the jigs as with
the flies; cerise and purple combinations being the most
consistent. These fish literally attack marabou jigs; at
times your float has not even settle for the drift and a
Chum will have already taken it.
Want to try something different? Colorado blades is another
good lure to use along with different colored wool combinations.
You can be creative and add almost anything under that float
you think will attract these fish. You just never know.
It is a lot of fun when you see your float go straight down;
set the hook and the battle is on.
When to Fish Chum Salmon!
My favorite time to fish for Chum here on the Fraser and
Harrison rivers is November. The fish that return at that
time are in great shape and still have lots of silver coloring
on them. Some of them still have sea lice attached to them,
which indicates they have not been in freshwater for a long
period of time.
If you like to fish for salmon and have not tried fishing
Chum Salmon I would highly recommend this fishery. You do
not have to worry about being able to make 80 foot casts
all day for these fish, which can be a little tiring. Just
make sure your arms are in good shape as your muscles will
let you know after you have played a few of them.
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