King salmon rig setups vary based on fishing location and technique. Join us as we build our salmon rig setups in preparation for the upcoming fishing season.
Getting Your Salmon Gear Ready
Hi, and welcome to Scent Striker's how-to video blog series. You can see Alaska is in its deep freeze cycle. What an excellent time to go indoors and prepare for next year's fishing. I'm Don Habeger, Founder of Scent Striker Luers. Alaska made - Alaska tested, and Alaska proved. Let's go indoors.Baby, it's cold outside, but it's warm and comfortable here indoors, with visions of king salmon dancing in our heads. So, let's begin getting ready for next season's king salmon fishing.We strip off old rigs from last season's salmon roll and discard hooks, monofilament line, and other beaten-up tackle. We'll recycle old tackle only if it is in pristine condition. Building new king salmon rigs means salmon setups at our fingertips when needed out on the water.
Tying The King Salmon Rig
So, let's begin this year's king salmon tie-up by taking a six-foot slice of monofilament line. I use 40-pound fluorocarbon. A heavier line transmits more movement to your Skirted Vortaks when behind a flasher.First, tie on a terminal hook with an egg-loop Snell knot. I use 6/0 hooks. One of the things that research suggests is that salmon gauge their prey by their mouth size. A bigger bait/hook hopefully means a bigger fish.Next, tie on a lead hook using a second egg-loop Snell knot. The distance between the lead hook's bend and the terminal hook's eye is about one inch. I'd like to have opposite hook points on my salmon rigs, one up, one down.
Because we believe in the bait bite triangle – salmon hunt food with their senses of sight, sound, and smell - all riggings must activate these senses. Therefore, we add two Scent Striker Originals in front of the lead hook. To do so, slide the line through their center hole. Dip your Originals in Dinner Bell Smell when out on the water next season, and get your gear into the water fast. It's that easy.Slide two plastic spacer beads in front of the Scent Striker Originals. The spacer beads provide a little distance between the fibers of the Scent Striker Original and improve the lure's spin. Plastic to plastic means less friction and better spin. I like a ten-millimeter bead next to the Scent Striker and a six-millimeter bead in front of that.
Black Fox Pattern – A King Catcher
Finally, we put on our Black Fox Skirted Vortaks. The mylar skirt has three king salmon-attracting colored fibers, all imitating a herring. The black fiber is the herring's back, the holographic silver fiber provides scale flash, and the Transparent UV Extreme lights up ultraviolet blue and is seen by Kings.To complete your first King salmon rig, tie off the end of the leader at 42 inches overall. I've begun using an easy-to-tie overhand loop knot to finish off my leaders. Out on the water, I'll loop the leader's eye through a snap swivel ring. This method allows for quick gear changes, and you don't have to buy too many expensive stainless steel roller bearing swivels since all you change out is looped riggings.You can wrap your first Black Fox Skirted Vortak onto pipe insulation and begin this year's King salmon roll.
Part II Next Month
In next month's blog, we'll finish the King Salmon gear roll by discussing colors attracting Kings. Fill your fish box with Alaska-made, Alaska-tested, and Alaska-proven Scent Striker lures.Happy Fishing!
Don Habeger, Founder.
Tying The King Salmon Rig
Tying The King Salmon Rig