Killer-Fish and Super Baits for Upper Columbia & Snake River Springers
Spring chinook are one of the most sought after salmon we chase. Prized for the excellent table fare, we shouldn’t forget about their line screaming fight, aggressive takes, and ever changing attitudes that make them a challenge for the most seasoned anglers. In fishing for these world-class opponents, I try my best to stack all odds in my favor in order to have a successful day on the water. In doing this, I rely heavily on Brad’s gear to fill the fish box!
There are two main products that Brad’s has in their line-up that I will never be caught without on a Springer trip: The Killer-Fish and the Super Bait. Below, I will outline both products and give you a basic idea of when and where to use these products to catch Springers!
Killer-Fish:
Unlike other banana style plugs, the Killer-Fish runs very true out of the package. If you spend any time at all fishing plugs of this type, you will soon realize that certain plugs catch all the fish. Color is a point to consider, but the action of the plug is 90% of the program. I have plugs that I still fish that have no paint on them at all, but have that perfect “wiggle” that entices kings to bite. With the Killer-Fish, the action of the plug is extremely consistent. I fish all my plugs wrapped with a bait wrap, and I find that even after putting a wrap on the Killer-Fish, its action is not affected. Over the last couple seasons, I have switched over to Killer-Fish almost exclusively for my plug program and have noticed that the action during the day is more consistent on all rods, versus having only one or two rods getting all the bites. I attribute this to the excellent action on the Killer-Fish and its consistency in the manufacturing process. As for bait wraps, you will always get more bites if you run a meat wrap on your plug. There are a variety of options when it comes to wrapping a plug. The most common is a small fillet of sardine centered on the plug and attached with magic thread. Wrapping the sardine 5-10 times, centered on the belly hook will give your plug excellent scent without affecting the action of the plug. Sardine is extremely oily and gives a nice scent trail through the water.
When using the Killer-Fish for Springers, we are almost always talking about anchoring in a travel lane and presenting the bait on the bottom. For Springers, finding the correct travel lane is as important, if not more important, than the bait you use! Springers are on the move up the rivers, looking for the path of least resistance. They want to travel upriver, but don’t necessarily like the heavy current that is typical during May and June when they make their run. Keeping that in mind, you want to look for current break lines below the dams and position your boat on these current breaks. These travel lanes can change daily based on water flow and river conditions. We have all been there, where we are not getting any bites at all, and the boat 20 feet to one side or the other is hammering them! Face it….that’s Springer fishing. That boat is obviously on the travel lane for that day and usually the only way to change your luck is to move! There are two main ways to rig up for Killer-Fish in this scenario. The most common is a lead dropper of 4-10 oz. depending on the current flow. I run my lead on a slider and adjust the dropper length based on the depth of water I am sitting in. I like to be in water that is 12-17 feet. However, this changes a lot. I have caught Springers in water as shallow as 6 feet and as deep as 30 feet. Size of Killer-Fish varies as well, but more often than not, I run the 15 size. I will downsize if the water is slow and clear to a 13 or 14. If the water is high and muddy, there are times I will run a 16 on a few rods. That is a big bait for a Springer, but it pays off at times. The other option for rigging is to run a slider to a Jet-Diver. The fish will dictate which technique I use. The divers tend to swing around and move in the water back and forth more than the lead droppers. Certain days the fish prefer that, while other days they want that bait stuck in one spot. That is when the lead is really affective. When you go to the store to buy your Killer-Fish, it is like a kid in the candy shop! Brad’s has every color imaginable to pick from. Here is my personal Springer color formula. It is top secret classified, but I will share with you! I will fish any color of Killer-Fish as long as it is Green/Chartreuse. Enough said! Do other colors produce fish? … absolutely! However, for Springers, those colors have accounted for more fish than any other combo on the market.
Lead Dropper: 4-10 oz. OR Jet-Diver in place of lead (rigged the same)
Super Bait:
In the last few years, we have had very low water levels in the mid to upper Columbia and on the Snake Rivers where I target these fish. There were days last year where there wasn’t enough current to make a Killer-Fish wobble at all! This is where the Super Bait shines. Guys experimented last year with the typical downstream trolling program for Super Baits and it worked extremely well. However, I stayed on anchor and found out that running a Super Bait off a lead dropper or diver set-up as mentioned above was DEADLY! This technique accounted for more Springers for me last year than anything else I did. I don’t do anything special when it comes to running a Super Bait on anchor. I simply replace the Killer-Fish with a Super Bait and deploy just as I would before. Pack those Super Baits with your favorite meat concoction and your fishing! Again, green/chartreuse is the color of choice. As for specific patterns, it didn’t seem to matter, but Mountain Doo, Jack Pot, and Lemon Lime are my go to colors.
With these two baits from Brad’s, you can go out on the water this spring and be confident you are using the right gear to catch Spring Chinook. They are proven, reliable, and affective! Good luck out there and God Bless!
Jacob Munden
Munden’s Rising Son Adventures
www.risingsonadventures.wix.com/fishing
Facebook: Munden’s Rising Son Adventures
