Let’s start off by looking at the colour of lures instead of techniques as we look at summer fishing techniques for Pink Salmon.

Bright colours work very well at catching their attention. However, this is generally so only at the upper 20 feet of the water column. Below this and bright colours appear dull and don’t have the same effect.

Therefore, when fishing for Pink Salmon work the surface, work with pinkish red hues. These colours work better than most other bright colours, including oranges and yellows which appear brown and white at deeper depths.

Fly fishing should be done with medium weighted robs. For rivers and streams that are not very deep and offer moderate current flows, a 5 weight rod should be sufficient. For rivers with faster currents and deeper water, go with a 6 or 7 weighted fly rod.

Fly Fishing Tips

When fly fishing for Pink Salmon, locate those parts of the river that are deep and relatively calm, called pools or riffles. Pink Salmon and other Pacific Salmon can be found schooling in large numbers in these parts of the river.

A floating line with a long leader or a sink tip is highly effective at catching Pink Salmon, but be sure to go with a slow sink rate. While floating fly will work, success is not as high as using a sinking tips.

The other method often used is spin casting with ultra light rods. With this type of fishing gear go with a spoon. Float fishing for pinks with marabou jigs is a lot of fun also.

Pink Spawning Summer

You may have picked up that summer begins the spawning season for Pink Salmon or why else would we be covering river fishing techniques when Pink Salmon are only found in rivers and streams when they are spawning or are just hatched from their eggs.

Spawning begins in July along the northwest of North America as well as in Japan and the Russian and Chinese coast.

In Southern British Columbia, adult Pink Salmon return in large numbers during odd years, while the northern rivers will have their peak runs of pink salmon in even years.

The Fraser River will see a stunning return on millions of Pink Salmon, but their spawning starts in late August until late September in odd years.

Catch Limits

If you have been fishing for a few hours and have caught nothing. Your best bet is to try another location or pack it in for the day. Pink Salmon are not lone fish. Don’t spend more than about 15 minutes for a section of the river before moving to a different location.

However, if you manage to get action and catch one or two, stick it out in the same are as these are schooling fish and there are likely to be many more to catch.