Beach Fishing for Salmon

[dak0ta]

Any good setups that have worked for you guys? I kind of like to keep things simple i.e. Gibbs Croc or Koho direct to main line. Also have some Buzz bombs I want to try. For lighter spinners, how do you rig up to get it cast far enough out?

[albravo2]

What kind of salmon?

[steel_ram]

Spinners and spoons like Croc's for coho and pinks off beaches. I like 50/50 peened brass and red. Fly fishing can be a lot of fun when the salmon are staging in close. Off rocky points where the water is deeper I'd use 4" buzz bombs in pearl white or chrome.

[dak0ta]

Coho mainly this year. What weight Crocs are best?

[steel_ram]

The smallest you can cast out far enough to get in front of fish. Not sure the weight but 3" would be on the larger size. Carry a few sizes. Sometimes they go nuts over a Blue Fox Spinner as well. Real in right up to your feet, sometimes they will chase them and strike that close.

[dak0ta]

How do you rig up spinners so you can get them out far enough but not interfere with the action of the spinner?

[patbrennan]

Another option is a casting bubble and a fly. For pinks I found the right fly (flies) multiple times more effective than spinners/spoons. As others have said, especially at first light, they can be very shallow, not much more than ankle deep.

[steel_ram]

How do you rig up spinners so you can get them out far enough but not interfere with the action of the spinner?

I don't. You have to live with shorter casts, which is adequate most times. I agree with dakOta that for pinks, the right fly set up will out fish lures, unless you snagging them.

One thing I discovered is that coho will often hide in those dense schools of pinks.

[dak0ta]

What kind of line weight do you use to balance strength and sensitivity?

[bottles]

My coho setup is a 7' medium fast spinning rod. I use 1/4 to 3/8oz spoons; spinners 1/4oz. I use a mono/fluoro/copolymer backing (braid will slip on the spool without backing) to double uni knot attaching braid for the mainline. If you want to improve your casting distance, braid makes a huge difference. 10lbs braid has the same line diameter as 4lbs mono and comes off the spool really easy when you cast. Don't overfill the spool, but you want as much as you can get on without going past the rim. From the braid you can use an fg knot to a leader with mono/fluoro/copolymer. The fg knot is very thin and goes through the guides easily when casting.

My setup is like this: 10lbs copolymer (backing) > double uni > 15lbs braid (mainline) > fg knot > 10lbs copolymer (leader).

You can beef it up to 20lbs braid and 12-15lbs leader if you want, but you will sacrifice casting distance.
I usually use about 6' leader, so I don't need to retie the fg knot if the end of my leader gets beat up. I use pretty much the smallest snap swivel I can get away with. It helps avoid line twists and you can switch lures quickly. I've had better luck with koho spoons over the crocs; better luck with rooster tails over blue foxes. I fish spinners/spoons as slow as I can, staying close to the bottom without getting snagged.
I use the same setup (minus the snap swivel) for twitching jigs. Twitching jigs for coho is very effective. I use 1/4oz jigs.
Good luck.
I have a few videos of coho fishing on here that may help.