PA Newbie first try for Salmon/need advice

[gizmo55]

I will be visiting Golden Hills State park 1st week of Aug. Pulling a 22ft Islander there to try for Salmon(tired of Walleye on Erie!) Can anyone give a real novice some trolling advice for Salmon,depth,speed,area..I dont want your secrets,just dont want to get skunked. Actually want to prove to the girlfriend I know what Im doing. Any help appreciated Thanks in advance.

[TOP SECRET]

Not sure where that is, but start at 80fow, troll north. Put a lure down 60, 70, 90 & go till ya hit one. If you have a temp probe put your highest lure at 50deg and stagger every 15ft down from there. If you have dipseys put one at 225 the other at 325. Adjust based on what gets hit. Speed is the most important, 2.8 gps speed will get you close enough.

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[motoman]

we could help ya a little better if we new what kind of gear you have on the boat, rigger's, dipsys , copper , leadcore ? also do you own flasher and fly set ups like pro trolls or spin doctors? and what do you have for spoons NK , stinger , dream weaver"s ? weather and wind will play a factor on how deep and where the fish will be holding so it would be a good thing too keep an eye on the reports section here on this site closer too the date you are going too fish.

[Paul Czarnecki]

I will be visiting Golden Hills State park 1st week of Aug. Pulling a 22ft Islander there to try for Salmon(tired of Walleye on Erie!) Can anyone give a real novice some trolling advice for Salmon,depth,speed,area..I dont want your secrets,just dont want to get skunked. Actually want to prove to the girlfriend I know what Im doing. Any help appreciated Thanks in advance.

If you have more than one day to fish it would be a VERY smart move to book an on the water class with a reputable captain for your first day on lake O. I do several of these classes a year and everyone says it greatly shortens their learning curve. You will get CURRENT info on a spot, baits, depths and rigging techniques as well as a huge amount of other pertinent info.

PM me for details. If you don't want to drive the 15 miles to the better fishing off Oak Orchard I can direct you to a captain closer to Golden Hill that could help you.

Good luck and be prepared for an addiction like no other. These salmon are NOT the walleyes you're used to catching.

Paul

716-390-0085

[gizmo55]

Just what I need,another addiction! Thanks for the help. I have a 22' Starcraft Islander 9.9 kicker,hardtop,downriggers,planer reels and boards and have researched the tackle,have bought and made cowbells (ford fenders),flashers, and have made a bunch of flies, plastic squid rigs of every color,michigan stinger spoons, dipseys, temp gauge and beer. Can you guys send me some luck?...Golden Hills is a State Park 20 mins east of Olcott. I spent too much on gear so I have to camp in a state park....Thanks again for the info. Fishermen in Erie are very tight lipped about any technique that might help. I will check into the water course,might be fun. Ill be there for 4 days.

[Mortigan]

You've got (some of) the right gear and the boat's good unless you go from 1-3 ft waves to 3-5's. The riggers will work with your spoons and flasher/flies. The planers may not, unless you have a way to get your lure of choice down a bit.

Paul gave some good advice. My buddy and I started with a charter - we had a blast and suddenly everything we'd been reading made a lot more sense. We're still not very good but we're learning...

[Squid]

Check out at the Oak fishing reports. That is very close to there and will give up to date info on depths, places, and lures. Very informative and you can trust the information is true. It is a tremendous resource.

[John Kelley]

Good luck and be prepared for an addiction like no other. These salmon are NOT the walleyes you're used to catching.

Paul

716-390-0085

Have to agree 100% with Paul on that, and I used to be a huge walleye guy! Wait until you feel the pull of these salmon they call "Kings", and you will never be the same again!!!LOL