AGREED!!! THATS FOR SURE Start the young one's off the RIGHT way and they will keep it that way their whole life thats like everything else

 

I agree as well. When my son is 10 I have already told him I will take him to Michigan and teach him how to bobber fish for kings (one of the right ways to fish them in my opinion) with skein. He is like the old man and LOVES to fish and has already fished a lot for his age (6). Can't wait to see his face when a king tears off some line from his spool and heads down the river!

He caught a 4# catfish last summer that was taking out some drag and really pulling.....he started backing up the bank and said WHOA!! It was awesome!

 

Yes, I think the only way we are going to truly end snagging is to educate the next generation. Unfortunately, Billy Bob and Earl will be doing the same.

 

Yes, I think the only way we are going to truly end snagging is to educate the next generation. Unfortunately, Billy Bob and Earl will be doing the same.

some if not most of the people you see ripping treble hooks dont know salmon will bite spinners,crankbaits,spoons,and will swallow skein..the old saying"they dont bite,this is how everyone is doing it" is said more and more to the new salmon junkies..I didnt know when i first started fishing kings that they did..it took me 3 years and a local names glen to show me i was wrong..after about 20 min of him showing me how to set up a slip rig for the river,how to feel for the take,i was hooked on bag fishing em..the same needs to be done for those that dont know..instead of walking away from a young fisherman that is doing it the wrong way..try to show him/her the right way..

 

some if not most of the people you see ripping treble hooks dont know salmon will bite spinners,crankbaits,spoons,and will swallow skein..the old saying"they dont bite,this is how everyone is doing it" is said more and more to the new salmon junkies..I didnt know when i first started fishing kings that they did..it took me 3 years and a local names glen to show me i was wrong..after about 20 min of him showing me how to set up a slip rig for the river,how to feel for the take,i was hooked on bag fishing em..the same needs to be done for those that dont know..instead of walking away from a young fisherman that is doing it the wrong way..try to show him/her the right way..

Agreed! I have been tossing around the idea of trying to start a thread with everybody posting their stories of how they started out salmon fishing, and how they learned along the way. I just wasn't sure it wouldn't create a verbal slugfest from the holier than thou folks.
I for one will have to admit that the first few years of salmon fishing resulted in more foul hooked fish than fair. I believed the old saw that "they won't bite, and they are going to die anyway".
Although I never got his name, one day while fishing at Suicide Bend, I met a guy who was using light tackle and flies, and hooking them in the mouth. Was he 'flossing'? I don't know, as I am not sure I know how people floss. Anyway, he made me realize that it was possible to hook fish fairly. It took a few years, but I have learned a lot since then. Still have a lot to learn, but my fishing is much more enjoyable.
There are some die hard snaggers, who will never stop, but there is no doubt that there are people out there who would love to know the right way to fish.

 

I started the same way as most, for me it was about three years ago on the Betsie river, snagging away.... I have family that lives in the area, and they are regulars at the dam. I mean they are there every day, rippin away... Well I have never liked to fish crowds, so I would walk down as far as I needed to get away from everyone. One day some old guy walks down river and starts throwin bags right next to me and starts hooking fish right away, meanwhile, I'm sitting right next to him, rippin away, not hookin a thing. I asked him his secret and watched him a bit, and he was very helpful with everything, except telling me his secret cure. Well after experimenting a bit, and getting a bit of help from a couple people here on MS, I now have an egg cure that puts me into plenty of fish every time I'm able to get up there.... I've now converted both of my brothers into skein fisherman, but I'm still working on my other relatives. Old habits die hard I guess . I actually think that I messed with them too much the last time I seen them, cause I ended up running out of eggs on my first trip up, and asked them if they could grab some for me. And the answer I got was an emphatic, "NOPE!" lmao.... Ohh well, I ended up tagging into a hen when i made my last trip anyhow, so all was well, and it feels better to get my own than to use the eggs of a hen that was raked anyhow.......

I'm sure most people started out this way, or have a story close to it.

Snagging will never cease to occur, its just too much of a temptation. Sad to say, but I believe its true

 

Great story! Its nice to hear the old man converted you and hopefully more just like he did you!! I have had salmon fever for a couple of weeks now! BAD Some of these treads are like watching the evening news while stuck in the movie groundhog day. Braid fisherman, long handled nets, where are the CO's this was starting to get me depressed not excited. I had a friend give me so skein from the big lake and Im attemting to cure it myself. With the help from the m/s forum peeps. I got two recipes in the freezer. Don't need your GPS coor. but if you want to reveal you special ingredent for your skein feel free to PM me. Thanks for the great storys!!