Salmon Fishing Rod

[thi2day]

Hello everyone! I was wondering If i could get some opinions on a very good fishing rod for Salmon fishing on the little salmon river in riggins Idaho. I fished it this year, but did not have the best tackle in hand. I did notice a lot of guys using G loomis or Lamiglas rods. I would appreciate any feedback since I want to make sure I get right rod for next year!! Thanks
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[phutch30]

You will want a 8'6" med/hevy rod at a min. I like a heavy action rod with a med/fast tip. Depending on what you want to spend there are plenty of good rods.

G-loomis, lamiglass and St croix have some great rods, but dont get theeir cheap versions. The warrenty isnt any good. If your going that way start looking in the $130+ rods so to get the 5 year warrenty or better yet lifetime warrenty.

W.W. Griggs makes a great rod with a lifetime warrenty. And they will jump through a hoop to make you happy. They will run you about $70-100 depending on the model.

My main rod is a relatively cheap berkly 8"6" heavy action buzz ramsey rod. Ive had it for ablut 8 years and have landed about 100 chinook on it in 3 states. I think it cost about $80 bucks. For whatever reason I love it.

Ive used a couple of the high priced $150+ rods and frankly, I dont see the difference between them and the the griggs or berkley.

I would stay away from the cheapo rods that are in the 30-50 range as the materials are substandard and they wont stand up to the yankin and pulling that come with salmon fishing in rocky streams.

The little salmon has a lot of differnt conditions. For the most part though you want something with some backbone to get them out of the heavy current.
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[maghunter]

I have caught Salmon with G loomis and Sage rods when I was working in Alaska and they are very nice. Now I use a Berkley Buzz Ramsey and love it. My Dad liked mine so much he bought one as well. The new ones are an IM8 where as they used to be IM7's. If you can afford the more expensive rods go for it, you won't regret it, however if you're on a budget I recomend the Buzz Ramsey there isn't a huge difference in feel for the hundreds of dollars worth of difference in price.
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[chrome_junky]

i suggest something in medium-heavy fast action im currently using a 9ft loomis gl2 in medium action and while its perfect for steelhead it just doesnt feel strong enough when i hook into salmon with it you have to fight them very carefully on a medium action. i suggest 8'6" to 9' in what ever brand you decide. loomis and lamiglass are top notch but like the other guys have said you dont have to spend 200 to 300 dollars to have a nice salmon set up griggs and berkley both make quality rods.i will be upgrading from my 9' medium action loomis to a medium-heavy next year now i just have to choose between loomis and lamiglass again.(it took me 2 weeks to decide when i bought my loomis because i like both so much)

dont forget a good reel is just as important as the rod.
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[phutch30]

On the little salmon in flows of 2000+ I would say a med/hevy would be a little lite in most holes. Under 2000 cfs your fine.

When the waters flowing good, I like the backbone of a hevy to get them out of the current into some slack and then play with them.

If you go too light on that river you tend to annoy the other fisherman by making them wait for you to land a fish.
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[SteelheadOne]

I've been using a Shimano Clarus 8-6" for steelhead for a couple of years, and really like it. It compares pretty well to the $350 Loomis rods my buddies use, for only around $80 at Howards. Mine is the Medium wt, fast action, only rated up to 17 lb, but it did fine on some big salmon this year (unlike my line). Would want a heavier wt for a true salmon rod, but good equip for the money, I think.
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[mikkfin80]

I just got back from Ellis today. I have a lamiglas xmg 50 in medium heavy. I have only had it for about 2 months and only used it the past couple of weeks. I hooked 6 chinook with it and landed 2 and was in love with it until this morning. I hooked a fish this morning and felt him give a couple of head shakes then he turned to run. He snapped my pole like a tooth pick. It sounded like a gun shot. I fought the fish by hand for a bit trying to tie my line to another rod but he eventually threw the hook. Luckily the pole has a lifetime warranty but I don't have a lot of confidence in it now. I don't know if this was a fluke or if Lamiglas is known for broken rods. A few old timers in Ellis said Lamiglas are always the rods that get broke. Not quite sure what to think of Lamiglas now.
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[phutch30]

Theres only two reasons for a rod to break on a fish
1. there was a flaw in the material
or
2. the drag was set to high.

The lifetime warrentys are really nice when they break. If you have only had it a couple weeks Id bring it back to the store you bought it at. Sounds like a lemon
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[lonehunter]

G Loomis , pfffffft .
"Only cool guys buy them " , sorry I don't need to impress everyone else with a "cool" rod just to have something that can't cut the mustard . I have a rod that can take anything a fish can throw my way and has class all over it .
Google Jim Grandt rods , I have had mine for ten years now , lifetime replacement that I have yet to use and I have fought some mighty big kings on it with 6# and 8 # test mono . It has all the backbone you need and then some yet it can detect the lightest bump a finicky steel-head can give you .
I use my old St. Croix rods for crappie now , I wouldn't buy one today they are just junk being peddled under a label that once had a fine reputation .
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[AverysAdventure]

Is that a typo lonehunter? You're not going to land a king w/ 6 or 8# line here. I always fish on the lite side with 17 or 20#.. Most guys I know use 30 or 40# lines. It takes a pole with a lot of backbone to turn these fish in the current. There are exceptions but this is kinda the norm around these parts.
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[wyfisher]

my brother has lamiglass poles and routinly fishes for salmon and stealhead in eastern oregon. He has had the tip break on 2 of his poles now over the last 4 years. The first one they fixed no questions asked but took 5 weeks to do it and the second time they said they didnt cover tip breaks under warrenty and when he had it fixed it took them 5 months to get the rod back even after calling them 4 or 5 times to try and get them moving so he wouldnt mss the this years spring steal head run. He ended up having to fish with a much cheaper pole but at least it didnt break on him.. I would stay clear of lamiglass but thats just my opinion.
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[lonehunter]

No typo in the line , I use 4# and 6# on steelhead .
I fish the AuSable and Manistee rivers here in Michigan , there are enough guys here that use heavy lines like you guys do but I myself don't see the need for it .
You could check the past posts of fish I have cought on the Michigan board , I have several years of posting them on it to see . I'll have more in a couple weeks to post , the kings are just about ready to spawn soon , Right now it's the begining of another steelhead run .
Here is a few of the past fish ....
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[AverysAdventure]

Impressive catch. I still don't think you're going to pull a idaho king salmon out of the LSR with 8#. Odds maybe 50:1 of landing it after it runs you a mile up and down the river. That's gonna make all the fellow fisherman really made. That has a lot to do with why the heavier lines are used here. Anyway the original question was about rod and what will hold up. I check out the JG website and looks like they make some sweet setups. Still to expensive for me. For the last few years I've just been getting those Cabela's Pro Guide IM6 in whatever size I need for $40. They work just fine for me.
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[phutch30]

Having grown up back east and fished many of the rivers coming into lake Mich and Ontario for salmon I can tell you its way differnt out here. You would not hold many salmon in most of these rivers for very long on that line. These rivers typically are in the 2000+ cubic feet per second range and are about 100' or less across. When we are salmon fishing we are typcally dealing with spring runoff. Back east the fall runs were coming into the rivers at low flows. I used a 9 1/2 foot noodle rod with 10-12lb line and landed 15-25 kings without much problem. Not out here. They would spool that outfit 99% of the the time without stopping. Ive tried them on medium action rods and 20lb line and have landed a few but mostly because I got lucky.

Maybe you might be able to land one in a big slow pool but My money would be on the fish.
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[prvrt]

I use 12lb line for Steel Head and 20lb for Salmon. The 20lb this year was put to the test with high water and fish over 20lbs. I did land all my salmon on a Medium/Fast GL3, but a Medium-Heavy/Fast would be much better.
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[chipmunksniper]

Ugly stik lites are good rods and under $100. i have a heavy action for fishing high flow areas where i want lots of backbone. A med. heavy will be fine for most salmon fishing though. i have landed lots of salmon on rods in the $40-60 range and they have held up. just depends on what you want to spend.
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[hulapopper]

i agree i lived in anchorage and saw a ton of tourists catch dime bright kings full of life on wallyworld 40 $ combo's . was always amazed by this. i use a fiberglass surf rod an ancient diawa 10' for the little salmon. cost 5 bucks at a yard sale 15 years ago. works awesome.....i wouldn't use a 400 $ set-up on the little salmon. sensitivity really isn't an issue as you are watching your line to stop anyway. but i will say graphite is better in terms of fishing all day as that big diawa gets mighty heavy after a day of flip n' ripin........
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[mudsucker]

Search for images of historic salmon fishing and take a look at those old rods and reels and lines of 100+ years ago. They managed to land a few, somehow.
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