December Kings
December 6, 2005
While conventional wisdom says that most king salmon runs along the West Coast peter out by the beginning of December, there are several coastal drainages that pump out excellent Chinook action until Christmas and sometimes later. The really cool thing about these late-running kings is: they’re usually BIG…like this 48 pounder.
From the bank, you can catch good numbers of fish on red sulfite-cured eggs on either drift gear or under floats, but the best way to hook a real bruiser is to backtroll sardine-wrapped K15 or K16 Kwikfish out of a boat. Big kings are typically very aggressive and the wobble of a properly-tuned plug (see the salmon tips section for how-to’s on plug tuning and plug wrapping) makes them go crazy.
In many streams, it’s not a bad idea to carry some steelhead gear with you as the two species start to overlap in December. Hit the deep holes with the Kwikfish and fish the riffles in between with side-drifted roe clusters. An awesome combo trip!
The best way to figure out which streams in your area host December kings is to contact the local bait shops and Fish and Game Department.
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