Jigging & Spooning for Salmon in Rivers (Bonus Tips for Tidal Waters)

Fighting salmon is one of the biggest thrills of river fishing! I’ve been targeting salmon for decades and have figured out where to find them and how to get them to strike. Tides definitely make a difference because the movement of water in outgoing tides creates more oxygen and causes the salmon to be active in those few hours. Water temperature is another crucial factor in finding active salmon and I’ll discuss where you should be fishing and the depth.
I’ll demonstrate how to jig for salmon the proper way. Jigging for salmon is a very effective method to catch salmon in the river because you stay right on top of them. When salmon get up in the rivers on their way to the spawning grounds, they lose their appetite and quit eating. But they do strike out of anger and kill small fish that get in their way. So bouncing a jig in front of them will usually draw a strike!
My fishing partner Denise is new at catching river salmon and you’ll see how she plays the fish under my guidance. You need to put pressure on the salmon or you can’t land them.
I cannot overstate the importance of boat control in relation to the weight of your jig/spoon. You need to drift slowly with the current pushing you downstream using the electric trolling motor to keep the boat straight. I’ll teach you how to set up your rig with the correct rod, reel and terminal tackle to get the jig working right to keep it fluttering vertically in the water. The time when the salmon strike most often is when you drop the jig back down to the bottom and feel a tick…Set the hook hard!
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THANKS FOR WATCHING!
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#chinooksalmon #kingsalmon #salmon #sacramentoriver #sacramento #sanfranciscofishing #sacramentofishing #jigging #jiggingfishing #spoonfishing #feather #featherriver #americanriver #spooning

[@cheapshotfishing9239]

I love your guys' intro song lmao

[@cheapshotfishing9239]

When i saw that ike reel, i subbed. Amazing taste and amazing advice. Do you have any tips on pulling off this same technique horizontally from pier?

[@AlanFong]

Yes you can vertical jig or make long casts and bounce off the bottom

[@salaboytes6918]

Mr fong tanks for your time and your videos I’ll like your Reports have a great evening or night tanks

[@artstufflebeam329]

Hi I watched your jigging video. your jig had a treble hook is it legal to jig it at the mouth of the American or do you need a single hook on it? I enjoyed the video. Art.

[@AlanFong]

We were doing the demonstration down stream. But yes as I tell everyone you have to use a single hook north of the Hwy 80 freeway that goes to SF at Miller Park

[@randychappell5955]

Heading to Michigan tonight to jig in the morning. I was going to use fluorocarbon for my leader? Is that a bad idea? Might be as bad as the braid?

[@AlanFong]

I alway put a 20" mono leader to braid when jigging. Join with an Alberto knot or a barrel swivel

[@theresareclusado2533]

Good Video Alan!

[@AlanFong]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mikegreathouse513]

Thanks A. and D. I think I’ll give it a shot this week.

[@s.o.gnastynate2148]

Definitely in Sacramento

[@timbonguyen]

Once again, another educational video.

[@AlanFong]

thanks hope it helps

[@sacju6517]

Thanks for the video Alan. I'll have to go back to trying this method. Can you explain more about break line? Is that something your looking for on the sonar (structure?) or on the water surface (water current behavior?)? Thanks

[@AlanFong]

I try keeping the boat in 18-22 ft water and follow that break line Thats a depth that the salmon travel in like a comfort zone.

[@robertromo1107]

Great videos thanks for all the information! How do you decide when to jig vs when to troll? Thank you again.

[@AlanFong]

I like to jig as I can cover the water column better and I can graph better drifting seeing what the salmon are doing. But trolling is very effective as you can cover more ground. It's mostly just preference to what you have the most confidence in.

[@PhillipSiddiq]

"Just bring the thing in"! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@AlanFong]

not that easy lol

[@Halfdead211]

Look for the deep holes on your graph with good water movement

[@leepechin2764]

Hey Alan, was wondering if you've heard anything about the Mokulumne system down here? I believe it's open to salmon fishing again, not sure about the hook regs for jigging.

[@AlanFong]

Pretty sure the Mokulumne river is open for salmon fishing. Might check on line at DFG n make sure. Don't think there are any hook restrictions there either.

[@leepechin2764]

@@AlanFong , thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated

[@quylu9861]

You are not just making the show, you are running the show because I don’t see anyone else catching them ❤.

[@AlanFong]

hey I'm just really lucky lol

[@quylu9861]

@@AlanFong the Alan I know he doesn’t go by luck he goes by Technique and skill

[@jameskramer5614]

Where are the break lines on Sacramento river

[@AlanFong]

Break line are where the contours get deeper. If you have a GPS and have the correct mapping you can see these break lines

[@RM-uo4jg]

Loving all your videos! Watched your flutter spoon video for bass from 6 mos ago. Would that Flutter Spoon you used then, from Blade Runner Tackle with the photofinished color, work under this technique also or is it too wide a blade?

[@AlanFong]

I think so! If your in shallow water like 5-10 feeet I'm sure them salmon will try n kill it!

[@user11111n]

Hey Alan can you try twitching jigs and see if those work? Seems to be pretty popular in Washington and Oregon but I've never seen anyone try it down here. I'd imagine they'd work considering how well jigs work compared to anything else.

[@AlanFong]

If your thinking about using jigs for salmon yes it works. I know guys who throw white jigs of salmon. I use gitizs a lot for salmon too.

[@cheapshotfishing9239]

Twitching is awesome. Give it a shot. It's mainly effective in the non tidal waters from what I've experienced, n you wanna pitch upstream, let the jig hit bottom, n bounce it back to you like you're flipping a bass jig. If u pitch straight out or downriver you're just gonna snag if you do hit something, but throwing upriver lets them see it coming n get pissed about it.

[@dennisodaniels9171]

Show us the spoon or the jigs and colors you use .

[@AlanFong]

I make a lot of my own 2 & 3 oz painted hunter green. I also use gibbs minnow, silvertron and bladerunner spoons.

[@gligh01]

Awesome video! What are you looking for on the graph? Have you tried using panoptix or live target to catch these salmon?

[@AlanFong]

I usually try staying in 18-22 ft water and yes I use lowrance live target and can see the salmon

[@maxhudock9798]

Thanks! Not a lot of jigging videos out there.

[@AlanFong]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@tomhuynh7556]

Just curious, for jigging you use 2-3ft mono or fluorocarbon leader. What is the advantage over braided as a leader?

[@deltaexplorers2690]

never use braid as leader. teeth will cut it over time, breaks on rocks or obstructions much easier and it also can slice through fish. also line shy fish

[@AlanFong]

Yes he is right but also with the stiff mono leader it keeps the spoon from turning over and the hook getting tangled

[@Bub61fd]

Alan- love the old Shimanos- hard to get new reels when the old still works- except this old dog

[@AlanFong]

My favorite are the old gold shimano chronarch reels

[@chuckmerkins1631]

Not sure but I've been told you have to use a single hook on a jig in the area you're showing?

[@AlanFong]

Yes when your north of the 80 bridge. If your south you can use a trebel and I was not fishing just demonstrating lol.

[@deltaexplorers2690]

we got 3 salmon over 30 lbs in the last 3 days throwing spinners

[@AlanFong]

nice with this rain it should pick up

[@fdsaffff]

where?

[@tonyspangler1201]

Flying fish are great to catch

[@AlanFong]

There fun catch n release

[@RB-pr4er]

Alan! Thanks for letting my buddy joe make you some lead blanks ,That was super nice of you. Thank you Capt Rich btw great info🦀

[@AlanFong]

Any time!

[@johnnymcclain6684]

Alan , was there any other fish caught when you were out there?

[@AlanFong]

Yes I saw a couple more caught.

[@joshuabradley5776]

Nice video 🎣

[@AlanFong]

Glad you enjoyed

[@beastmode8089]

Wheres the fish Alan? Its been slow sacmetro sept.19>>>>

[@AlanFong]

Water temps in the high sevenities salmon just shoot thru suspended. After this rain and when is cools down about ten degrees should get good

[@finoistimeless]

Would you mind sharing the different places we can launch for salmon fishing? Also, is it almost crappie time?

[@AlanFong]

Discovery Park, Garcia Bend are the best places to launch in the Sac river metro area. Crappie season starts about another month in the delta

[@tjhoss6729]

😃🤗👍😊👋

[@brettnener9307]

Hype people up for nothing 😆

[@AlanFong]

There are lots people catching lots salmon this last week up in the Feather river and in the American river. The fish are chrome and averaging over ten pounds.

[@markweber4854]

Alan - I've got to say I'm a bit disappointed in this video. You demonstrated the technique then showed 2 foul-hooked fish and you have a treble hook on a jig over 1 oz.? Jigging is already a bit controversial the way a lot of anglers snag their fish. I'm not sure this is helping? Can you explain?

[@AlanFong]

If you ever attend any of my seminars I've done in the last ten years on salmon jigging I have explained in detail why these fish get fouled hooked. As salmon head up the rivers to spawn their bodies start to turn. I'm pretty sure when this happens they also lost some mobility. So when your jigging and as the jig falls it darts side to side and when the salmon strike at it they miss it because of the radical fall but the line is still straight up and down and you'll snag them on the lift. These fish have to be released! Doing two videos a week we don't have a lot of time on these videos. I make a lot of my spoons and I do use others too. When we shot the video I grabbed the gibbs minnow with the treble to demonstrate. If your fishing south of the Hwy 80 bridge that goes to SF you can use treble hooks. I wasn't fishing as I was doing the demo. Sorry for the miss understanding as I know n tell everyone about whats legal. I also troll flatfish in the Feather river for years and have foul hooked plenty trolling too.

[@markweber4854]

@@AlanFong - Thanks Alan. My main concern was that when people see a respected figure in the angling field showing foul-hooked fish and treble hooks that they might get the wrong idea and start justifying some shady tactics. I think that if you were able to show the fish with the hooks in their mouths and a single hook on the lure... it would have made a big difference. Thanks for your response.

[@deltaexplorers2690]

@@markweber4854 there’s no need for shady tactics man. fish are biting right now if you know what you’re doing!!