Lamiglas Salmon / Steelhead Rods

Lamiglas Salmon and Steelhead Rods are among the most popular choices among anglers targeting trophy salmon and steelhead. Salmon and steelhead angling is about as technically-diverse as you can get. Pick any mile-long stretch of river and there's just cause for having a dozen different rods on- board to fish it effectively. Hence, the reason Lamiglas Rods crafts more technique-specific rods than any other manufacturer. Jig, drift, back-bounce, troll, hover, back-troll, throw spinners, boondog, side-drift, pull plugs, side plane, mooch, etcetera, etcetera, and etcetera. Yeah, Lamiglas has got specialized rods to do that. But they're also realists, understanding that when the rods in your garage start taking precedence over the food in your fridge, people will begin to ask questions. Consider where and how you fish most often, the environment, the gear, and the size of the fish, and Lamiglas will deliver superior performance. Fact is, there's not a known technique Lamiglas Rods doesn't make a rod design for. If one of you ingenious anglers happens to invent one, you'll likely find a rod for it in Lamiglas' catalog next year.

Choosing a Lamiglas Salmon Rod

Salmon and Steelhead equipment selection is largely based upon the technique you plan on using while targeting Salmon and Steelhead. Unlike other types of fishing, Salmon and Steelhead techniques vary greatly from very heavy weights to lighter, small lures and therefore necessitate the use of very specific gear for the desired technique.

The most commonly used salmon and steelhead technique is called drifting and is effective when used from shore or a boat. Drifting makes use of the natural current of the stream or river to naturally present a bait to the fish that are waiting to ambush their prey. The drifting technique requires a lot of modifications in order to meet the variables presented by the changing current of the water and the positioning of the fish. The basic idea is to present your lure or bait as naturally as possible by weighting the setup in such a way that the bait bounces along the bottom in increments of a foot or so at the same speed as the flow of the water. The heavier the weight the slower the bait will drift and vice versa. The most effective technique involves the angler identifying their intended drift line and making a 45 degree cast to the upstream target. As the bait drifts down the angler may alter the speed and direction of the drift by taking in or letting out line until the bait is at about the 45 degree angler downstream . Increasing the weight will slow the drift and reducing the weight will speed the drift up - there is no exact science but most angler prefer to mimic the speed of the water's flow as closely as possible.

When using the drifting technique anglers most commonly choose a rod between 8 1/2 and 9 feet in length with a line rating of 12-25lbs. If a larger fish, such as chinook, is your target then you may want to consider the use of a rod rated for 20-30lb test and conversely if targeting a smaller fish its possible to get away with a 10-15lb test rated rod. Rod choice between spinnign or casting is still split and largely based upon preference. The difference will lay largely in the casting accuracy vs casting ease. A baitcasting model of rod can be cast much more accurately by an experience angler, whereas the spinning model is a safer choice for ease of casting and fishability for anglers of all levels of experience. Drifting can be done with either prepared bait such as Salmon roe or with small inline spinners or spoons. When using the prepared bait its best to use a snap swivel with a 12"-36" leader tied to a single circle style hook. Typically anglers thread a small corky on the line directly above the hook and attach an additional piece of yarn the hook shank. From the snap swivel anglers will attach a special pencil weight that will serve to keep the bait bouncing along the bottom.

When using spoons or inline spinners the same setup will be applicable with the sinker omitted. The preference of a spinner or spoon is based upon the conditions and the position of fish. Anglers will cast the lures and allow them to drift with short intermittent retrieves through the areas presenting the most opportune conditions for hookups. This is known to be a good technique when fishing in crowded or space restrictive areas.