River Conditions vs. Presentations

Conditions should impact your tackle choices

Knowing the conditions of the water color, clarity and water levels is important to a fisherman. This will greatly impact the sizes, colors and a variety of other factors in regards to fishing tackle and bait. This tip provides basic tackle recommendations based on water visibility/category: High, Medium & Low.

Important Note! First and foremost, this table is more geared to a species like Salmon/Steelhead. It certainly wouldn’t be applicable to small trout, bass or other species. The goal of this tip is to highlight the correlation of river visibility/conditions to the tackle/presentations you’re using. And with that in mind, you can use this same approach to other bigger/smaller species you are fishing for.

>= 6 feet

Low & Clear

Single Egg - Dime sizes

2-4 hooks (avoid "flashy" hook colors)

- 24-36 inch leaders
- 8-12 lb Fluorocarbon leader material (rec Seaguar Blue Label)
- Don't go less than 8 lb leader weight (I personally never go below 10lb)