Salmon with this rod?

[dahliablue]

Is there anyway I'm gonna be able to not lose my tackle and bring in a salmon from a pier with a 6'6" med rod? Or am I being way to optimistic?

[Toasty]

Basically it's all about your skill level. I've landed 30lb salmon using 5' ultra-light rods or even one of those little 2' rods for kids (just for fun). I guess your biggest challenge is landing your fish on the pier, you're not going to be able to hoist it up there with just your rod lol

[dahliablue]

I've got a net for the pull, just wanted to know it's not gonna instantly snap my line. How light should the drag be?

[Toasty]

It's all up to your discretion and experience. Learn by trial and error and watching the other guys when they fight their fish. I use a centerpin reel for salmon so I have total control of resistance (zero drag). Snapping your line will depend on resistance so if you are worried, just loosen drag. And if you are getting spooled then tighten it up and put some more resistance on the fish. No one can really tell you how to fight a fish, you'll just have to learn on your own! Just get out there and fish, you will learn by doing it again and again.

For me, I fish a different style (float fishing in river) for salmon so it's not uncommon for me to use 6-8lb test line on a 12' medium-light rod to fight 30lb salmon. I have used the same line test and rod for pier fishing steelhead. I do pier fish for steelies but not salmon

[dahliablue]

i currently have the end of my main line tied to a metal leader that starts with a swivel, then the metal leader line, then a clip. I put a second swivel on my split ring thats attached to my spoon, and then attach the leader clip to that since for some reason the leader's swivel won't twist very well by itself and the spoon action is bad, is that okay? or am i setting myself up poorly?

[Toasty]

not too sure. If I was going for a spoon-chucking rig for piers, my setup would be a Penn 4500 spinning reel, 9' medium-heavy ugly stick GX2 rod, 12lb mono mainline with heavy-duty barrel swivel to a 12-15" 10lb mono leader tied to a split ring on the spoon (I would never tie a mono line direct to the spoon ever again, I've lost too many spoons that way because the original cut hole on the spoon has sharp edges). That's how I roll, not too sure how other people usually do it. I wouldn't use a wire leader, I don't ever use them

[MuskieBait]

A 6'6" medium is a little short and light in general. It all depends on your spot.

If fish are further from shore, and covering water is important, you need a longer rod for a further cast. 6'6" is a bit short in that case. You may want something in the 8' to 9' range.

If you are fishing an area where there are lots of obstacles, or you do not have open areas to follow a fish, a medium rod is a bit light. You want something in the medium-heavy to heavy range.

Is it possible to land a salmon using a 6'6" medium rod? Yes. But you need room to fight the fish, and your reel needs enough capacity to hold enough line to allow the fish to run, since your rod will not have enough back bone to put enough pressure on the fish to tire it out quickly. You would want a reel at least in the 3000 size, holding 200 yds of 10lb mono. However, I would suggest 20lb braid instead of the mono. You get less stretch for better hookset, a thinner diameter for longer cast and less water resistance, and you can pack more line on the reel.

You do not need a metal leader for salmon. It is completely unnecessary. Their teeth are not sharp enough to cut your line. The reason you need a leader is for abrasion resistance. You do not need metal for this. You can use mono line from 15-30lbs, about 5-20 feet of it, as a rub leader.

If you spoon action is bad, it could be the swivel, or it could be your spoon. Use a good barrel swivel and get some quality spoons that can roll and wobble at different speeds.

[dahliablue]

alright so i went to the shop and got my reel spooled with 120yds of 20lb braid. might upgrade to the gx2 ugly stik mentioned early at some point since its only 40$ for a 9', for the mean time i'm gonna stick with what i got. can you explain or link "rub" leader? just to confirm, the mono is lighter than the braids weight rating?

[MuskieBait]

I would say you need a little more than 120yds if you plan to fish from river mouths or piers, especially with a 6'6" medium rod. But since the line is on your reel already, just go with it. Just a caution that if you do hook a big salmon, you may get spooled and lose all your braid.

A "rub" leader or an abrasion leader does just what its name implies...it is a length of line closest to your hook or lure that is usually thicker and more abrasion resistance. This is used to prevent your line from cutting if the fish rolls in the line (if fish has rough scales, sharp gill plate or some teeth), or if you fish in areas with a lot of structure (dock, wood, rock, reef...etc).

The line depends on your application. You can use either fluoro or mono. If you fish crystal clear water during the day, you may want to use fluoro. If you fish in coloured or more turbid water, or if you fish at night, you can use mono.

The weight depends on the size of fish and you need for abrasion resistance. If you are fishing in a weedy area or areas with some small branches only, you can get away with 15lb mono since that diameter is thick enough. If you have to fight a big fish around docks or if the bottom is rocky and encrusted with zebra mussels, you want 30lb mono since you need the strength to turn a fish away from obstacles and you need the thickness to within the sharp objects that may cut your line.

Braid is good around weeds and wood, but braid cuts easily from contact with sharp objects like rocks and zebra mussels. It is always wise to use a "rub" leader with braid.

How is this different from a regular leader? When people speak about leader, it could imply using a less visible, lighter and thinner diameter line in situations where fish are line shy. But in this case, it is the reverse. You want a leader that is heavier than your braid to prevent you from being cut.

The length of "rub leader" depends on how much obstacles you have, and your confidence. As I suggested above, you can use 5-20 feet of it.

Just as an illustration, currently I'm using a 7' MH casting rod with a 350 size baitcaster spooled with 250yds+ of 40lb braid with a 5' length of 30lb mono. Yes, the braid is heavier than the mono, but the mono has almost double the diameter of the braid. In my case, I pay attention to the diameter, not the strength. I only use a 7' rod because I get enough casting distance to cover 80% of the channel I'm fishing. I can use a 9' rod but then I'll be casting the lure onto the other shore of the channel. In my case, it is not necessary to use a longer rod at all. I also use heavier line and have beefier gear because I have to deal with dock post and docked boats. I need the ability to turn a fish from certain areas. If you fish an open shoreline, it is not necessary to use 40lb braid or a 30lb mono leader.

[MichaelAngelo]

The original question has been answered pretty well, but I just wanted to mention an overlooked benefit of longer casts on open water. This is that your spoon is kept in the strike zone for a longer period of time. As soon as your spoon starts getting close to you, it will start climbing. A longer cast keeps it deeper for longer.