Anchor Fishing - Plunking For Salmon

The Anchor fishing or plunking rig system basically uses the same equipment as backbouncing. The main difference is where the boat is going to be - in one spot where you throw a boat anchor out and hold, so that your line can bounce in accordance with great water lanes or holes that feel salmon will likely be holding.

Most anglers will hold their setup in the water at about sixty degrees down river allowing the Springs or other salmonid to swim up to the bait that you are presenting to them - Kwikfish are often used in these scenarios as they have been known to be extremely effective.

If you ever have the privilege of fishing waters that are classified in the regulations or guided, book or reserve a charter so they can show you exactly the type of water you need to look for! If you don't have the time or money to do this then I suggest sticking close to gravel bars that aren't super fast or deep and looking for that eddie or tail out is always a good bet as well. As far as depth is concerned, you will want to be in around 10-30 feet, but there has been allot of success in waters ranging close to 15 feet.

Finding out the depth of the water is a good routine to get in the habit of before you decide to put any tackle on the end of your setup and you can do this by sending out a test anchor to see how deep the water system is. Once you've stabilized your vessel, this will give you a great idea of what kind of water you're dealing with and how high off the bottom you'll need to setup your leader material.

If you decide to use a Kwikfish for anchor fishing or plunking you can always hold the rod and wait for a bite, but allot of guys like to put the rod in a holder, set the drag up fairly loose on the "click" setting and wait for that buzzing sound when a fish smashes it, as holding the rod can lead to a premature hook set or lack of. When the fish takes the lure, you should wait until you know the fish has the line, take the rod out of the holder, place your thumb on the line on the spool and set the hook, it's kind of like mooching in saltwater trolling.

Although the techniques involved are much different than freshwater backtrolling, it's still a very hard method of river bed angling for salmon and requires patience, but is very rewarding if you can get into a big freshwater game fish like the King Chinook.

Another rule of thumb is if you decide to plunk, wrap a Kwikfish up with sardine, herring or prawn tails - this will string your leader up with something that these big guys just can't resist, but check the regs to see if it's legal in your area first because you don't want the old warden to come and nail you, put you in jail and take all your gear!

Quick tips;

Plunk? what the heck is that? Some people call this whole method anchor fishing or plunking and with the right step-by-step instruction of gosalmonfishing.com your one step closer, than you were before you came to visit us, to catching a biggun!

If you like river fishing, and want to learn more about the tackle and techniques used, I would read the article on bottom bouncing