Salmon fishing in the UK and Europe differs from bass fishing in that you may need to spend part of the season with spinning tackle, rather than using fly tackle throughout as you would for Atlantic salmon angling in North America. The all-round salmon angler, then, may well opt for one or two spinning outfits and a similar number of fly outfits. A lot will depend on where and when you are going to fish: big rivers in early spring are very different to small spate rivers in summer, or any lake or impoundment you might want to fish from a boat.
Initially, you might be content to start off salmon fishing by concentrating on spinning, although it’s not always the most productive method. For fishing small rivers, there’s little to beat a 7 or 8-foot graphite (carbon fibre) spinning rod with a medium-sized fixed spool reel and 8-pound test monofilament line.
Most rods of this length are singlehanded and don’t need much effort when casting. They prove ideal for casting” into little crannies in a small river, and the bait can be brought quickly under control and into action in the most likely-looking water. You might have to cast more accurately than you would with a longer, double-handed rod on a big river, but spinning on small rivers is tremendous sport and a very effective way of catching a few fish. ,
For spinning on bigger rivers, two double-handed outfits worth considering are a 9 1/2-foot rod with a fixed spool reel and 12-pound test line, which would be ideal for medium-sized rivers; and a stout 10-footer with a multiplying reel and 15- to 25-pound line for heavier baits of up to an ounce on large rivers.
The great advantage of the multiplying reel is that it gives good control over the heavier baits but use it with baits that are too light and you’ll get frequent overruns and loss of casting distance. With the fixed spool reel, though, you’ll get good casting distances with lighter baits, and perhaps a little more accuracy.
Screw reel fittings are ideal for all spinning rods, and it’s important to have a large butt ring and good open bridge rings out to the tip. The large butt ring proves very useful with a fixed spool reel, where there may be a build up of friction as the line comes off the reel in wide spirals.
For fly fishing on small to medium-sized rivers you can use a singlehanded rod of 9 or 10 feet and a number 7 line. On larger waters, a 12- or 13-foot, double-handed model with a number 9 line makes an ideal all-round salmon fly rod. But for the really heavy work, when you’re fishing with large flies and lines of size 10 and upwards, you need a double-handed rod of 14 to 18 feet.
In mid season, where the water’s low and clear, you can often use a good, medium-action 10-foot trout rod. This, with a number 7 weight-forward floating line, will handle the smaller sizes of salmon fly (8s, 10s and 12s) very admirably.
It’s important to remember that the longer and more powerful fly rods will need stronger terminal tackle to cope with the stress of playing a big fish. For early spring and late autumn you should rarely use leaders of less than 14 pounds test, and go to 20 pounds or more when using the large and heavy tube flies in the colder months. During the low water of summer, when fishing with shorter, single-handed rods, there’s little need to go stronger than 8 pounds test. This also frequently proves more than adequate when casting from a boat on still waters.
For much Stillwater boat fishing it pays to use as long a rod as you can comfortably manage. A single-handed, 11-foot graphite rod, for instance, will enable you to trip the fly over the waves and to bring it close into the boat before making your next cast. Very often, a salmon will take the fly just as you are about to retrieve for the next cast. This behaviour is unlike that of sea trout, which are more likely to take your fly only following a long cast and a quick retrieve.
If you can afford it, for all-round salmon fishing you should go for at least two spinning outfits and two for the fly. For spinning, you should be able to handle most situations with a singlehanded 8-foot rod and a fixed spool reel, and a double-handed 10-foot rod capable of being used both with a medium-sized fixed spool reel and with a multiplier.
For fly fishing, a good choice is a 15-foot, double-handed graphite rod with a number 11 line, and a singlehanded 10-foot rod carrying a number 7 line. As with trout rods, there is a variety of rod actions available. Avoid tip-actioned rods like the plague, and consider only those with a steely through-action down to the butt and the ability to put great pressure on a strong fish. Remember, the rod has to serve two principal functions: it has to act as a spring when you’re casting and as a lever when you’re playing a fish.