Part 2

I’ve interviewed as well as fished with some of the best known anglers in the country. 

In making that statement I’m thinking about guys like Bill Dance in the field of bass fishing or Buzz Ramsey for salmon and Gary Loomis for steelhead.  Without exception, every darn one of them had definite plans they followed.  Those plans were the result of countless hours on the water.

The man I wrote about in my last column is cut from the same piece of cloth.  He’s Dave Pitts, a retired California police officer, who now goes after salmon the way he used to pursue the bad guys.   This time around let’s look at some more of the tactics he employs in following his own plan of action.

The beautiful salmon Dave Pitts is holding here weighed 44.4-pounds.

In winding up my last column I mentioned that Pitts knows salmon often move into shaded areas next to shore.  There’s also another stretch of river he favors.  “I try to pinpoint those areas where there’s a shallow riffle,” he says.  “Once I find them, I concentrate on the water just above or below the riffle.  I don’t look for ‘soft spots’ in the riffle itself.  I ask myself if there is a slightly faster current with darker water close to the bank.  If there it is could be a fish holding spot.”

Are you among the many dedicated anglers who figure unless you’re on the water at dawn’s first light you might as well have stayed in the sack?  Pitts says he once had the same sentiment, but not anymore.

“I’ve come to believe,” he says, “that’s being the first one on the water isn’t always necessary.  It isn’t because fish move.  I’ve had anglers in my boat who got upset because I held back on purpose and let several guide boats go through a stretch of river ahead of us.  The guides all hit the same slot in close to the bank.

“I know for a fact that fish move when repeatedly pressured.  One day comes to mind when I simply moved my boat about 20-feet to the left and more toward the center of the river.  We hadn’t drifted more than 25-yards before we hit our first king.  It hit a Mack’s Lure Sledge Hammer tipped with an anchovy.  The guides who had just fished through the prime area closer to the bank ahead of us turned around to watch us boat that fish.”

This likeable salmon hooking expert says he fishes his Mack’s Lure Sledge Hammer so it has a rolling, darting action.  As I mentioned in my last column, he rigs his Sledge Hammer with a plug cut herring or a strip bait.  He attaches a bead chain swivel in front of the lure.

Mack's Lure Sledge Hammers come in 14 different color combinations.  Pictured here are a couple of Dave Pitts personal favorites.

“The bead chain swivel,” Pitts says, “eliminates the line twist I might otherwise get with this set up.  I also favor 4/0 or 5/0 hooks and I fish them with 40-pound monofilament line.  My favorite colors in Sledge Hammers are the chartreuse sparkle silver tiger blades with a runny nose glo eye skirt and the red sparkle silver tiger blades with the army truck glo eyes skirt.”

Finally, Pitts has another bit of advice that I know from my own experience is well worth heeding.  It’s to keep a meticulous record of every fishing trip.  Note things like river flow speed, water color, weather conditions and everything else that might be of importance.

As your record file grows, so does your ability to plan future trips.  Just like the guy holding the rod, fish are creatures of habit.  Record keeping is an excellent way to bend the odds in your favor.

Dave Pitts is indeed a man with a plan and that plan helps him put fish in the boat.  There’s ample proof in the photos you see of Dave with fish in this column.  If you’re a salmon angler you’d best pick up your own supply of Sledge Hammers and get in on the action.

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