I get a lot of emails asking about the setups I use for fall Salmon. So, I thought I would talk about the setups that I employ for this. These setups depend on the number of people I have on board. As a side note, I have found that cutbait is only effective from August on. So setups that use cutbait should only be used then.
Setup # 1
This setup is my three rod, three rigger setup. On the outside riggers, I will run an O'ki Big Shooter flasher with cutbait rig. At least one flasher will be glow green. These will be put out 20 ft behind the ball to start, then adjusted as conditions dictate. Depth will be determined by the fish. On the middle rigger, 10 ft behind the ball, I will put out either a Salmon Slasher or a Triflash with cutbait. This rigger will be deeper than the outside riggers. Sometimes, instead of the slasher or Triflash, I will put out either a J-plug, mag spoon, or just a plain cutbait rig (no flasher). In this case, I will be at least 15 ft further back than the outside riggers and I may be above or below the outside riggers depending on where the fish are. Generally, I like to be below to catch the fish coming up to check out the flashers. Also, it avoids tangles.
Setup # 2
Setup # 2 is basically the same as #1, except that I will stack rods on the middle rigger. On the middle rigger, I will put either a J-plug, mag spoon or a plain cutbait rig (no flasher) on the bottom rod. I will drop it down anywhere from 3 ft to 10 ft (depending on how tight the fish are bunched up) and put either a mag spoon or cutbait rig (no flasher) on the upper rod. These lines will be back 30-50 ft. Lower the rigger down to a depth 10 ft below the outside riggers. Then I will put a free slider on both of those rods. For these, I will put medium spoons on an 8 ft leader.
Setup #3
For setup # 3 you start with one of the setups above (depending on the number of people on board) and put a wire dipsey rig on either side of the boat. For this, I pick a Dipsey out and put a 4 ft leader with either a J-plug, mag spoon or cutbait rig (with or without a flasher). Set it on a #3 setting and let out enough wire to put it where the fish are.
Setup #4
For this setup, I stop using the middle rigger and put wire dipsey's out on both sides of the boat, plus flasher rigs on the outside riggers.
Setup #5
Setup #5 is for the people who do not run Flasher rigs. For this, I will stack two rods on all three riggers. The middle rigger will always be my deepest set. Here I will stagger the rods so I am covering at least 20 ft of the water column. These lines will be anywhere from 30-50 ft back. I will also run either a fixed or free slider on at least one rod per rigger and sometimes both. This setup is also used in the summer when Salmon are not on the cutbait bite. For these rods, I will be running either spoons, cutbait (no flasher) or maybe one or two J-plugs in the 3 inch size. For the sliders, I will be running small to medium sized spoons. Another thing to try here is a mono dipsey stacked on the outside rigger. These are set to run out to the sides of the outside riggers. Run them with a 4 ft leader and a spoon. Rig them to run at or below the rigger balls. This is a deadly setup.
These are the setups I use and they can be tailored to fit your needs. However, these have consistently produced for me over the years. Hope this helps you out, and Good Luck
Team Total Chaos