Landlocked Salmon

[Elkhorn88]

Greetings all! I was hoping to get some advice on landlocked salmon in the interior. I realize they are stockers, but still seem like great fun to catch. I am somewhat new to the area and all of my expertise is in walleye, perch, and pike, so I have a couple of questions. My research shows that it's more common to fish 18"-36" under the ice, but there is no consensus on water column depth to set up in. Would an angle be looking at a shallower or deeper location to pop a hole? I have also failed to find if salmon prefer steep, flat, or slowly adjusted lake bottoms. Does this even affect them? Again, this target species is all new to me so any advice helps! I look forward to being a contributing member to this forum, and tight lines everyone!

[DowneastPescador]

We target them a lot in Maine. Generally they cruise along contour lines out in the deeper part of the lakes. Usually off a point or steep drop is a good starting place. I have caught them jigging in 5ft when they push smelt in shallow but usually I get them in the holes that are in 30-100fow. I set my minnow just under the ice, between 1-3ft down. I run a small swivel between the braid and leader (usually 6lb) and I keep the swivel hidden in the ice and the leader below it. Sometimes I don’t get them just under the ice, so I’ll lengthen my leader to say 6-8ft, and try that. And almost always the bite is early and late. Mid day is not productive for me in general.

[Elkhorn88]

DowneastPescador, thank you for the advice! Another piece I need to figure out is bait on the tip-ups. Live bait fish is illegal to use in my region for sport fishing. I have access to dead herring but they are 5-6 inches and would likely be too big from what I am reading. I am going to attempt salmon roe and see how that works I suppose!

[AKMatt]

We catch a ton of them here in Anchorage.  I typically use a 1/8oz jig head with a small white or pink tube, or some HOA baits EVO bugs and tip them with a small piece of shrimp or an egg.  Small spoons work well too.
 I like the white ones with colored dots on them and some feathers tied on to the hook.  We catch them everywhere from 3' to 30' of water.  Find a school and they stick around for a while it seems.  Drill a series of holes so we you move around a bit if need be.

[AKMatt]

DowneastPescador, thank you for the advice! Another piece I need to figure out is bait on the tip-ups. Live bait fish is illegal to use in my region for sport fishing. I have access to dead herring but they are 5-6 inches and would likely be too big from what I am reading. I am going to attempt salmon roe and see how that works I suppose!

I grew up down near Calais and lived on MDI for 6-7 yrs before moving to AK in '04.  I used to fish Long Pond, Eagle Lake, and Jordan Pond on the island quite a bit.  When I had time I really liked fishing for lakers out at Beech Hill Pond.  Used to catch a bunch of them out of there!

[kasilofchrisn]

I catch them all the time here on the Kenai peninsula.
I generally fish less than 12' of water and 8' seems to be my sweet spot.
Usually I fish the bottom first watching my flasher and adjust as necessary.
I like to fish remnant weed beds on the insides of bays, points, and sometimes dripoffs if they do not drop off too deep.
I use my own handcrafted jigs but if your buying tgem Marmooskas and the jigs from Custom Jigs and Spins work great.
For bait tip with small cut pieces of raw uncooked shrimp. It's cheap and easy. I think it figures out to 3 or 4 cents per bait.
I cut bait at home and place in condiment cups or snack size ziplocks.
Scent oils or bait dyes can be added if desired.
They are easy to catch fun and tasty!