Top 5 Fall Salmon Boat Techniques & Stocking Up for Fall Chinook

For the most Addicted anglers in the Northwest & Pacific Coast, fishing “Season” is 365 days a year.

Even so, Fall Salmon is a special time of year that we anticipate and get ready for. Many who enjoy fishing but aren't doing it all year will dust off the rods and reels and spend a few days, or even full months fishing for Chinook and Coho in August, September and October, making it their “Fishing Season.” 

Above: Chinook Salmon caught while running a 360 Flasher, which rotates imitating a Salmon feeding, attracting in other Salmon.

The Biggest Salmon Run of the Year

The Columbia River & West Coast Fall Salmon run is known to start at the beginning of August, but on certain rivers these runs of Chinook and Coho will continue all the way to the end of the year. Early August is primarily a tidewater and estruary fishery, with Chinook and a few early Coho washing in and out with the tide, and warm temperatures in the river keeping most of them from moving upriver.

The most famous of these is “Buoy 10” which describes the Salmon fishery right at the mouth of the Columbia River. With Astoria on one side, and Ilwaco Washington on the other, boats will fish this area heavily and may alternate between the Ocean and river. 

The largest run of Salmon starts off and numbers climb continuously into September, with large numbers of Chinook moving upriver, some into lower tributaries with “Upriver Brights” moving past Bonneville Dam all the way up to the accessible upper reaches, with Coho hot on their tails, lasting into November in numbers 

Fall Salmon Gear & Techniques

While lots of changes have occurred to the Fall season lures & techniques, the majority of boat anglers are either trolling or anchoring up with stationary lures to intercept Salmon.

When I was first writing articles for Addicted in the early 2010’s, the most popular techniques by far were a triangle flasher with cut plug herring, or a trolling spinner behind it.

For the anchor fisheries upriver of the mouth, Wobblers and plugs were the favorite. In just a decade, the landscape has changed dramatically on what anglers are using. 

Without a doubt, 360 Flashers have become an absolute standard for Fall Salmon.

The massive flash looks like other fish feeding on a bait ball, and behind it, smaller blades like 3.5 soft spinners or stuffer baits (Such as Brad’s Superbaits and Cut Plugs) with Tuna in them are incredibly effective and popular.

Above: Spinner-Blades of different colors and finishes, which can be tied on a soft-spinner (blade rotating on the line) or hard-spinner (blade rotates on wire)

Originally, anglers still tended to fish the 360 methods upriver at first, but they've now become quite common at Buoy 10 and other estruary fisheries like Tillamook Bay and Southern Oregon “Bubble” fisheries.

I've seen the madness right in the middle of the season, anglers picking shelves dry, people painfully seeing the last of their “hot” color getting taken by a person just a few moments before them. 

It's the only season I've seen insane results like 3 species caught at the same time, and people are frantically trying to maximize on their opportunities. 

Stocking Up on Columbia Salmon Gear

There have been seasons I've done proper inventory and ordered gear early, before people start stampeding towards the Shortbus 360s & Brad's Cut-Plugs. There have also been seasons that I basically forgot, or procrastinated…so this year I am ordering in July, so that I can minimize driving around looking for gear at 8:30pm the night before.

While certain items like herring or shrimp are still a local purchase, just about everything else is ready to ship from a long-time favorite retailer...FishUSA

FishUSA Stocks West-Coast Fall Salmon Gear

It's hard to find a better reputation from both customer and manufacturer perspectives than FishUSA. They grew from their roots as the Great Lakes premier tackle retailer, notably stocking speciality tackle that very few box stores had.

When FishUSA decided to build a full selection of Northwest tackle, they did their due diligence. Speaking with prominent anglers, connecting with local manufacturers, they built a selection that truly represents what Buoy 10, Columbia and Pacific Coast anglers actually use. Not to mention, those that want to try to incorporate new gear from Great Lakes or Canadian fisheries have a vast set of options to get a unique edge. 

Above: "Stuffer Baits" are popular for their spin, color and profile, with the ability to fill them with bait like tuna or sardine being an additional benefit to put off a scent-trail.

As an Addicted partner, FishUSA is part of a wonderful team of sponsors that support the continued creation of tutorials, fishing videos, live feeds, podcasts and events.

Those that have already shopped with FishUSA likely know their excellent delivery and customer service, but those that haven’t yet, should take a look at their Fall Salmon tackle selection, and get stocked up before those Chinook, Coho & even Chum Salmon start stacking up! 

Even if you need to pick up more gear in the middle of the season, FishUSA’s vast selection will get you the gear you need quickly for a mid-season restock!

Click to View Salmon & Steelhead Gear

Below are the top 5 Salmon Fishing techniques from the boat for Buoy 10, Lower Columbia and Coastal Fall Salmon fisheries. They’re also popular upriver, into the tributaries and other boat fisheries for these amazing Salmon!

Top 5 Fall Chinook Salmon Boat Fishing Setups (Buoy 10, Columbia River & Beyond)

1. 360 Flasher & Spinner/Stuffer Bait: Without a doubt, in the 2020’s the rotating 360 flasher, with a weight (sometimes on a dropper, often without) and a leader to a 3.5 spinner blade or stuffer bait like Brad’s Super Bait are the ultimate Fall Salmon setup on the Columbia River & Coastal Estruary fisheries. They can be fished suspended and trolled in a variety of depths to call in Salmon that may be far below, or far behind the lure. They’ve taken over as the most popular trolling lure, but some anglers have even anchored up with this setup and caught Coho & Chinook.

2. Triangle Flasher & Bait, Stuffer Bait or Spinner: While 360’s are very popular, it should not be mistakenly thought that the triangle (spinning) flasher is not as effective. Triangle flashers will perform better in swifter currents that are too much for a 360, and are also a bit more subtle, while still bringing fish in to look at the bait. Triangle flashers are also ideal for trolling cut-plug herring behind, and excellent for a dropper weight setup fished close to the bottom. They can be fished with real baitfish, stuffer baits or spinners and certain fisheries will outfish 360’s. 

3. Wobbler (On Anchor): While Wobblers aren’t as popular as they were 10+ years ago, they’re still massively effective as an anchor technique. A simple dropper & leader of varying lengths (some say 5x5, others 3x5…and a few other options) can get the metal enticingly swinging back and forth in the current, which leads to some heavy takedowns. Bank anglers have also taken to running Wobblers from the bank, with floats halfway down the leader, an ultra-effective Chinook technique. 

4. Trolling, Backtrolling or Anchoring w/ Plugs: Salmon have been caught on plugs everywhere they exist for longer than most readers have been alive, and there is no doubt they are still just as effective. Plugs like Maglip 4.0s and 4.5s are incredibly popular, whether fished bare or with a bait wrap. They can be casted, trolled, backtrolled in current, or simply anchor and let them dig. Usually in deeper water, they’ll be setup with a weight dropper, but in shallower flats or tributary waters, flatlining plugs is ultra productive. 

5. No-Flasher Troll: There are some situations where subtle stealth is key, not to mention setting yourself apart from the rest. While 90% of the time, using 360 or Triangle Shortbus Flashers is key, there are certain times where running your spinner or cut-plug bait on a simple dropper setup may be the ticket to getting wary fish to bite. It’s also a great choice for rapid currents.

Above: The 360 Flasher craze (Such as Shortbus Super-Series) has changed how anglers troll at Buoy 10, Lower Columbia & Above Bonneville.

Don't forget, FishUSA has much more than just flashers, spinners, terminal gear and your favorite lures, stock up on Okuma Rods & Reels, braided, mono or flour line, and just about anything you'll need for your next trip out!

View Current FishUSA Sales & Specials!