Elite Salmon Trolling Tips: Master Your Downrigger Strategy

Originally published in 2018 and fully updated and expanded in 2026.

Have you ever wondered why some boats consistently catch more salmon than everyone else, even when they are fishing the same water? Usually, there isn’t one secret technique. The boats that consistently outfish the fleet are often simply doing more of the small things right. Each detail may provide only a minor advantage on its own, but together they create a cumulative advantage that puts more fish on the boat.

The salmon trolling tips in this article focus on those small but important details: preparing your gear in advance, keeping your lines fishing effectively, managing your boat and crew efficiently, and making the most of short periods when the bite turns on. While these strategies focus primarily on Chinook salmon fishing with downriggers, many of the same principles can be applied to other salmon fishing techniques.

This article focuses specifically on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of your trolling system. For a broader look at salmon fishing—including gear, techniques, tides, species identification, catch management, and regulations—see the FishinBC.com Ultimate Guide to Salmon Fishing.

Pre-Rig Spare Rods for Fast Bait Replacement

When I am trolling for Chinook, I normally run two primary rods—one on each downrigger. I also keep two complete spare rods pre-rigged and ready to fish. I installed forward-facing rod holders alongside the cabin specifically for this purpose, keeping one spare setup ready on each side of the boat.

Before fishing, I make sure the hooks are razor-sharp and rig each spare rod with a fresh cut-plug herring. I drape the hooked herring loosely over the reel handle and place the rod in the forward-facing holder, where it stays out of the way but is immediately available.

If I pick up weeds, lose a bait, or land a salmon while the original rig is still tangled in the net, I can grab the spare rod, clip it to the downrigger, and have a fresh bait fishing again in less than 60 seconds.

That may seem like a small amount of time, but this is exactly where small efficiencies begin to add up. Salmon bites can turn on quickly around a tide change, and having your gear prepared in advance means more of that limited bite window is spent actually fishing.

Salmon Trolling Gear Checklist

Before putting these salmon trolling tips to work, make sure your boat is set up so you can fish efficiently and respond quickly when the bite turns on:

• Rods & Reels: Two primary trolling setups plus two complete pre-rigged spares. I spool my reels with at least 900 feet of 30-pound Maxima Ultragreen, giving a large Chinook plenty of room for a long run.
• Downriggers & Weights: I use Scotty downriggers paired with 15- to 20-pound cannonballs to reduce blowback and keep my gear closer to the intended fishing depth in stronger currents.
• Release Clips: I use Scotty release clips that hold securely while trolling but release cleanly when a salmon strikes.
• Flashers: I attach salmon trolling flashers directly to the downrigger cannonball using a two-foot leader.
• Leaders: Clear fluorocarbon in the 30- to 40-pound range.
• Herring: Brine your bait in salt or a saltwater solution to toughen the flesh and help maintain a consistent roll.
• Bait Rigs: Keep multiple sharp tandem-hook rigs prepared and ready for fresh cut-plug herring.

Check Your Trolling Gear for Weeds Regularly

When I’m trolling for salmon with downriggers, I like to check my gear every 15 to 20 minutes. A quick press of the downrigger button brings the assembly straight to the surface. It only takes about 30 seconds to raise the gear, check the line for seaweed, and make sure the bait is still rolling properly.

You don’t even need to unclip the fishing line from the downrigger release to check the roll. Simply lift the rod tip enough to bring the herring close to the surface where you can clearly see it spin. If everything looks good, drop it straight back into the strike zone.

If you find weeds or the cut-plug herring isn’t rolling properly, deal with it immediately. Clear the weeds from the line or grab one of your pre-rigged spare rods and get a fresh bait back down to depth. With a practiced routine, the entire check can take less than a minute, or less than 90 seconds when swapping in a fresh setup.

Think of it as the downrigger Olympics and challenge your crew to see who can be the fastest and run the most efficient side of the boat. A little practice makes these gear checks almost automatic.

A fouled line can spend 30 minutes or more trolling without realistically having much chance of catching a salmon. Regular gear checks cost you only a few minutes over the course of a day, but they can prevent far more time from being wasted fishing ineffective gear. It’s another small detail that adds to your cumulative advantage.

Get Your Gear Back in the Water After a Catch

Catching a big Chinook is an incredible experience. Take photographs, enjoy the moment, and celebrate the fish—you are out there to have fun. But when the bite is on, the order in which you do things can make a big difference.

Once the salmon is safely in the boat, my first priority is getting a line back in the water. I swing the downrigger boom back out, grab the pre-rigged spare rod from the cabin holder, clip it in, and get a fresh bait back down to trolling depth. With everything prepared in advance, I can usually be fishing again in about a minute.

Once I know the gear is fishing and the next angler has a chance at another salmon, I can turn my attention back to the fish—getting it out of the net, taking photographs, weighing it, bleeding it, and getting it properly chilled.

Afterward, I reset the rod that caught the fish. I check the hooks for sharpness, inspect the leader for damage, rig a fresh cut-plug herring, and return the rod to its forward-facing holder so it is ready for the next hookup.

Again, none of these steps saves a huge amount of time on its own. The advantage comes from having a system: one rod catches the fish, the prepared spare immediately takes its place, and the original rod is reset when there is time. During a short bite window, those saved minutes can mean another opportunity at a salmon.

Move Offshore When Playing a Chinook

When trolling for Chinook around structure such as points and kelp beds, you will often be sharing the water with other boats circling through the same productive area. When I hook a fish, I keep the boat in gear and, when conditions allow, begin steering offshore toward deeper, open water.

A big Chinook may initially run toward shore, but I don’t immediately chase it. With plenty of line on the reel, I can usually let the fish make its first run while gradually moving the boat away from the structure. Often, the salmon will eventually turn and follow the boat into deeper water.

Moving offshore gives the angler more room to fight the fish and gets my boat away from the fleet. Just as importantly, it opens the productive water for everyone else to continue fishing.

I’ve been in situations where a skipper stopped directly on the sweet spot and remained there for 40 minutes while fighting a fish. During a short bite window, that can effectively block every other boat from trolling through the area where the salmon are being caught.

Getting away from the fleet also reduces the chance of another boat trolling too close to your angler or crossing the line while you’re fighting the fish. It’s a simple piece of boat management that gives your crew more room, keeps the hotspot open for everyone else, and makes the entire situation easier to control.

Clean Your Fish on the Boat to Save Fishing Time

Another way I maximize my fishing time is by cleaning the catch while we are still on the water. Rather than returning to the dock and spending an hour cleaning fish at the end of the trip, I can often get much of that work done while the boat is still trolling and the gear is fishing.

On my boat, I built a large custom fish-cleaning table that mounts across the transom specifically for this purpose. Once a salmon has been properly bled, I can clean it when there is a quiet period between bites while the other anglers continue fishing.

The cleaning table has become one of the most useful efficiency upgrades I’ve made to the boat. It gives me a dedicated workspace for processing the catch and, more importantly, turns time that would otherwise be spent cleaning fish back at the dock into additional fishing time.

Consider a typical fishing day where you leave the boat launch at 5 a.m. and plan to be back by 5 p.m. If you return at 4 p.m. so you can spend the final hour cleaning fish, you’ve effectively given up an hour of fishing. Clean those same fish during quiet periods on the water and you can keep trolling for an extra hour. On a good day, that extra hour might put another fish—or two—on the boat.

This is where the cumulative advantage starts to become obvious. Pre-rigging spare rods might save a few minutes. Regular weed checks prevent long stretches of ineffective trolling. Getting a fresh line down immediately after a catch saves a few more minutes, and cleaning fish while the boat is still fishing can recover another hour at the end of the day. Add all of those small efficiencies together and you can end up with substantially more productive fishing time—and more fish on your boat than the other guys.

Related: See How to Build Your Own Fish Cleaning Table for details on the custom setup I use on my boat.

Troll With Only as Many Rods as Your Crew Can Actively Control

Downriggers make it relatively easy to stack multiple lines and fish several depths at once. More lines in the water can certainly create more opportunities to catch salmon, but only if your crew can actively manage all of them.

When I’m trolling for Chinook, I normally prefer to run two rods—one on each downrigger. With two rods, I can keep a close eye on the gear, check frequently for weeds, and react quickly when something needs attention.

I’ve also spent plenty of time fishing four rods, with two lines stacked on each downrigger. Four rods can be very effective when you have an experienced crew and the water is clean. But when anglers start getting tired, or kelp and debris are constantly fouling the lines, those additional rods can quickly become a liability.

The important question isn’t how many rods you can put in the water; it’s how many you can keep fishing effectively. Four lines don’t provide much of an advantage if two of them are dragging weeds or nobody wants to bring them up for another gear check.

As captain, I keep an eye on the crew and adjust accordingly. Sometimes running fewer rods actually makes the boat more efficient. I’d rather have two baits fishing properly all day than four baits in the water that aren’t being actively managed.

Target Moderate Tide Swings for Downrigger Trolling

When I have some flexibility in choosing my fishing days, I prefer moderate tide swings for downrigger trolling. Strong tidal currents can create significant blowback on the downrigger cables, make it harder to maintain a consistent trolling speed, and pull more kelp and debris into the water.

Floating weeds become particularly frustrating when you’re trolling around a popular point or kelp bed with several other boats. You’re already concentrating on your course, trolling speed, downrigger depth, and the boats around you. Add heavy current and lines of floating kelp, and keeping your gear fishing cleanly becomes much more difficult.

On the West Coast, I’ve found that a tide swing of around 10 feet provides comfortable trolling conditions. A 15- to 20-foot swing can create much stronger currents, and when I have a choice, I generally avoid those larger tidal movements for downrigger fishing.

Large tide swings often occur around the full and new moon, so I check the tides when planning a trip. You can’t always choose perfect conditions—and sometimes you simply fish when you can get off work—but when I have flexibility, moderate tidal movement makes it much easier to keep the gear fishing effectively.

How to Trigger a Trolling Double-Header

Chinook salmon often travel together, so when one rod goes off, there may be another fish nearby. Instead of immediately clearing every line, I like to keep the boat in gear and leave the second rod fishing for a short time.

As soon as the angler has control of the hooked fish, I continue trolling with the second line still down. A Chinook will often make an initial run or dive, giving you some time to keep that other bait working while you see how the fight develops.

I usually give the second rod another 60 to 90 seconds. If you’ve just passed through a group of feeding Chinook, that extra minute can be enough to trigger a second strike and turn a single hookup into a double-header.

At the same time, don’t push it too far. If the second rod doesn’t go off, the hooked salmon starts moving toward the other line, or it becomes obvious that you’re dealing with a particularly large fish, clear the remaining gear. Raise the downrigger weights completely out of the water and give the angler room to fight the salmon while leaving the netter a clear area to land it.

The key is knowing when to keep fishing and when to clear the deck. Leaving that second bait down for another minute creates an opportunity for another salmon without unnecessarily complicating the fight.

Your Turn: Put These Salmon Trolling Tips to Work

None of these salmon trolling tips is going to transform your fishing on its own. Pre-rigging a spare rod might save a few minutes. Checking for weeds keeps your bait fishing properly. Managing your crew, choosing manageable tides, getting your gear back down quickly, and making the most of a hookup each provide another small advantage.

Put all of those details together, however, and the difference can become significant. Over a full day on the water, you spend more time with properly rigged bait fishing in productive water and less time dealing with problems that could have been avoided.

That’s the cumulative advantage. There isn’t one secret technique that suddenly puts more salmon in the boat. It’s the result of consistently doing the small things right and creating as many opportunities as possible for the next fish to bite.

What small details have made a difference on your boat? Maybe you have your own system for keeping gear in the water, managing a double-header, or making better use of a short bite window. Share it in the comments below—I would like to hear what’s working for you.

If you found these strategies helpful, share this article with your fishing crew.

Tight Lines! — FishinBC.COM