How to floss a sockeye salmon

[@drdrums1]

Going to Soldotna for the weekend tomorrow (ah, the joys of living only a few hours' drive away) and plan on trying this!

[@bobcalvert7194]

That fish was hooked in the body, that's why it took off downstream so fast! c'mon now!

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

It was let go for sure. Now heres a guy who knows his stuff :). Good Job

[@Randy_Savage_ohyeah]

We use a similar set up with 6-8ft leader. Don’t understand the split shot mid way on your leader as I would think if the line is in the fishes mouth they would bump off when they hit the split shot prior to the hook. Just seems to defeat the purpose of a longer leader. We use 3/0-4/0 hooks on lower river… you will not snag very many if you don’t yank it out of the water at the end. Simply let the drift finish and slowly pull your line up for another flip.

[@deancarver6899]

Hoping to try plunking bait for sockeye up there.. that's how they're caught here in Washington when we get a river season.

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

Good luck. Would love to try those rivers sometime.

[@AKMan-m4k]

No bait needed up here. It’s just snagging. No skill involved. It’s a pure meat harvest.

[@TrapperScottyAlaskan]

I've seen that on video's I've tried con stripe shrimp for many hours and never got a bite. Flossing is hard repetitive fishing, I plunk whenever I can. Just down river people are dipnetting, it all about the meat for the freezer. Trapper scotty,Alaskan

[@Randy_Savage_ohyeah]

Pretty sure bait is ILLEGAL

[@Chuakiagx3]

Cool channel I'm from Alaska too

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

Its interesting to see all the comments. Haven't read for awhile. Its a simple as this. Those who have fished the Kenai, understand this is the standard method for catching sockeye. Those who have not done it, you ought to give it a try. Its a legal method to catch the sockeye by flossing then in the mouth. I have fished side by side Fish and game officers and its pretty much the best way to catch the sockeye and they AGREE. Its not justified for those who haven't done it, do not understand this legal method. For you new guys, rest assured, its the right way to do it. Every sockeye fishery in Alaska, including the Nushagak which has the largest run of Sockeye, this is how its done legally. Do not listen to the guys who have not ventured onto the Kenai during the sockeye run. I can guarantee you 99% of the guys do it this way. Its legal the most effective. Why, because sockeye typically do not bite like a normal fish. Thats the long and short of it. See you on the river.

[@AKMan-m4k]

And don’t listen to anyone who says sockeye will strike a lure or bait. Out in the ocean they eat plankton, so good luck getting that on a hook. Plus, sockeye stop feeding once they enter fresh water. You may get a reaction strike if the sockeye feels spooked by your lure, but you won’t get a true feeding strike. That’s why sockeye fishing isn’t looked upon as “sport” fishing up here. It’s just snagging. No sport involved.

[@deancarver6899]

We have a couple rivers here in Washington where flossing is the way it's done but we use a 6-10 ft leader with a no.2 hook tie yarn to line and instead of a bead we use a lil float called a corky.. might try this as well up there

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

Good luck. I have fished the solduc river in WAshington and had a great experience.

[@josephboisvert8213]

Cool thanks for the tip

[@Mooseracks]

My favorite is Coho Clear

[@angelprincess4414]

While fishing the Kenai and Russian rivers, I never heard of flossing fish. We always knew it as snagging them in the mouth.

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

Thats fine. You call call it that as well. We try to clarify flossing is in the mouth and snagging is in the body. Just a nice way to differentiate the 2.

[@andypartney4597]

They called it “ripping” when I was there 3 years ago :)

[@andypartney4597]

AND they are not biting the hook, they are swimming with their mouth open

[@AKMan-m4k]

@@andypartney4597 Correct. No skill involved. Toss in a hook, let it drift down until it snags something. Repeat. You’ll see little children doing it, it’s that easy.

[@mcchickenmcflurry3636]

@@AKMan-m4k so how do you catch them with skills ??? When they don’t bite on that area of the kenai river?…. It’s not suppose to be sport fishing idiot….its harvesting

[@AKMan-m4k]

To clarify for those outside of Alaska, this is NOT sport fishing. This is snagging. “Flossingi” is a method of snagging, not a sport fishing method. Our sockeye fisheries are nothing more than a meat harvest. It’s a lot of fun, but little skill is involved. Also, please don’t use a fly rod. As you can see in the video, those who use fly rods have an extremely difficult time controllng the snagged fish. Unless they’re using a stiff enough rod, which they never seem to use. We actually avoid being near people who use a fly rod because it’s not if but when those people have zero control over their fish and end up making you stop your fishing because they’re chasing the fish up and down the shore. On a side note… no, sockeye do not bite after they enter freshwater. People say they’ve had sockeye strike their lure, but it’s not because it thought it was food. Sockeye “strikes” are nothing more than a reactive strike to eliminate something the fish considered a threat. It’s not a strike for food as in sport fishing. Those who say sockeye bite like a sport fish after they enter freshwater are simply fooling themselves so they can make believe the got a fish that doesn’t strike to strike. That being said, if you’re up here definitely give it.a try. You’ll walk away with a lot of meat to send back home and you’ll have a lot of fun. But be honest with yourself and just accept it’s snagging, not sport fishing, and little to no skill is involved.

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

APPRECIATE your opinion. 1. Fly rod is the best method. Its not true you have no control. If you do it right, your drag, set at the proper friction, does the fighting for you. Most of the people I fish around use a fly rod. They are the experience guys. 2. To floss the fish takes skill. Ask the guys who get frustrated the first few days who dont quite master the technique.

[@AKMan-m4k]

@@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS Then in 20 years fishing the Russian/Kenai I have yet to see do it right. Because without exception is a cluster-you know what and I end up moving away. Flossing takes no skill. No snagging takes skills. Toss out a hook, let it float down, repeat. When you snag one, drag it to shore. Unless you’re using a fly rod which means you’ll lose control of the fish and be running up/down the river. 🤣

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

"Well, flossing a sockeye salmon might seem easy to some, but let me tell you, it's a delicate dance of precision and finesse. It requires the dexterity of a concert pianist, the patience of a saint, and the ability to outwit a salmon who's probably thinking, 'Not today, human!' So, yeah, it takes some serious skills to navigate those slippery scales. 😄🐟"

[@AKMan-m4k]

@@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS Flip the line out, let it drift down, repeat. No reeling, no casting, no skill involved. No dexterity needed, no patience, and they can’t “outwit” you because Mother Nature is having them do one and only do one thing - swim upstream. If you don’t snag one, repeat. If you snag one, drag it to shore and repeat. There’s no fighting the fish (one has to be rather pathetic to fight a snagged fish). Just drag it to shore like the meat harvest it is. Snagging is geared towards people who have zero fishing skill. That’s why children go out and pick up the technique in seconds.

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

Haha OK. I can see we will go back and forth on thus. Are you from Alaska? Just curious why you have a negative attitude towards something that many take pleasure and have taking a few years to develop the skills necessary to perform this correctly. Your in the minority who feel the way you do but thats OK. Not everyone can enjoy this sport.

[@Patrickdoyleoutdoors]

hvordan fange en sockeye laks

[@jeffreyhoward6441]

Captions not working

[@mikehewitt2146]

Three pronged hook is best for snagging fish😂😂😂😂

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

funny

[@Randy_Savage_ohyeah]

Not legal

[@craigf3624]

Hate to break the news to you, but "flossing" salmon is not fishing, it is a form of snagging. Not sure why anyone would want to do this?

[@KODIAKFISHINGFORFRIENDS]

Have you fished for Sockeye before?

[@Chuakiagx3]

Hella fun

[@mikevrabel5349]

Keep yo ass in the Lower 48, you too soft for Alaska.

[@Kolby9241]

Are you a game warden? Also just about everyone does it here for the Salmon that don’t tend to bite. Snagging is using a weighted hook and that’s bad but this is a lot of technique and takes a lot of practice.

[@randytrimble3493]

Seems like you will always find someone arguing definitions. It is possible to find joy in other peoples success. Fish how you want, let this man lawfully floss his reds. Tight lines brother

[@adincasarotti2701]

You are what is wrong with fisherman catch one the right way

[@DevinAK49]

You wouldn't catch any. Flipping is the technique you use for sockeye. They aren't going after bait. They aren't trying to eat.

[@adincasarotti2701]

@@DevinAK49 yea no shit don’t mean that it’s ethical to snag them

[@DevinAK49]

@@adincasarotti2701 I'm replying to an ignorant comment that says "catch one the right way" What way is that? People also net them to feed their families. Is that "unethical" too?

[@mollies13]

Fight

[@adincasarotti2701]

@@DevinAK49 no it is unethical in my opinion to let your line drift down stream into a fishes mouth when they had no intention. of bitting the fly. that is ignorant now catching one with bait or a fly or a lure by letting the fish want it going after it then hooking it is the right and ethical thing. fisherman floss fish and when they miss it and hook it in the back or anywhere it tears the skin and the fish will get infected so research before you talk

[@thatsme7805]

Or you could quit playing grabass and just use a dip net

[@AKMan-m4k]

Most of us take advantage of the early runs by snagging AND then take advantage of dip netting at the mouth of the Kenai. Then move up the Kenai and continue snagging. Not sure what your “grabass” comment is about.