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I remember the days before Corkies and all we had were Okie Drifters, lures and bait. Caught my biggest steelhead(16lbs)out of the Salmon River near the west Van Duzer Corridor sign on HW18 on of all things a green colored Gadabout Gaddis(anyone remember him)bass spoon. At the Airport Hole on the Nestuca everyone used at least a 6-7 ft leader bobber fishing with bait with the GW sitting right there and nobody getting ticketed. There was a lot of snagging on the Sandy and Clackamas Rivers in those days. Everyone knew the spots and if a fisherman like me we avoided them because of all the nasty people that congregated at them, talk about trailer trash. To get back to the OP the technique of long leaders in fairly fast water was an accepted one and raised no eyebrows in the day. The ones that stood out were the short leader and heavy weight people. they were the snaggers. Nobody ever gave a second thought to jerking your pole during a drift. Of course all my fishing experience ended in 1986 after catching my last Willamette River salmon 5 days before the birth of my first child.

I have a bunch of Okies, should try using them more instead of taking up space in my pack. Did real well on those nail polish pink/reddish clear ones, and occasionally the hot orange.
 
I don't drift fish much anymore - never did well on salmon/steelhead with it - and I always seem to gravitate back to hard baits for them, or fly gear.

When I'm fly fishing I use spey rods to swing flies, and single hand fly rods to nymph or swing. Leaders vary in length - but then fly fishing leaders can be as short as a foot, to double the rod length depending on the situation - and one must understand that "leader" in a fly fishing sense is the thin, clear line that runs between the fly and the big fat PVC coated fly line.

For swinging flies I am usually using a sink tip type fly line and a leader 4 feet or shorter - longer than that and the fly doesn't sink with the line. Too short - say under 2 feet - and the fish get too much a look at the line and will spook from it.

Nymphing is about as close to drift fishing as I get - but I nymph with a "strike indicator" which is fly fisherman speak for bobber - so it's more in line with the bobber & bait / bobber & jig crowd than the slinky & corkie drifter crowd. Fewer hang ups, and no uncertainty about takes with a bobber. When swinging flies there is also no uncertainty about what is a take and what isn't - if a fish grabs at a swung fly it's already moving fast, and they always turn when they grab and head back to the lie they were holding in. It's just like swinging a spoon on a baitcaster, or throwing a spinner - you know when you get a fish.

The GW from the OP needs to educate himself on techniques, because there's a "new" rage in the salmon/steelhead crowd called "stroking" jigs - which is casting upstream and hopping the jig along the bottom, like you would for bass or other fish. That's nothing BUT a series of yanks/sweeps, with a big lead weighted hook. Can be very productive - can also cause unintended foul hooks.

GW was also wrong in that salmon and steelhead don't eat corkies - he's as wrong as butt-cancer on that issue. Orange, pink, blue, silver, black, green - they eat corkies alright.

Good luck fighting him in court. He should be off chasing tail lights or asking someone if they want fries with their taco instead of harassing lawful fisherman and hunters. o_O
 
The GW from the OP needs to educate himself on techniques, because there's a "new" rage in the salmon/steelhead crowd called "stroking" jigs - which is casting upstream and hopping the jig along the bottom, like you would for bass or other fish. That's nothing BUT a series of yanks/sweeps, with a big lead weighted hook. Can be very productive - can also cause unintended foul hooks.

GW was also wrong in that salmon and steelhead don't eat corkies - he's as wrong as butt-cancer on that issue. Orange, pink, blue, silver, black, green - they eat corkies alright.

Good luck fighting him in court. He should be off chasing tail lights or asking someone if they want fries with their taco instead of harassing lawful fisherman and hunters. o_O

In the rivers and out of tidewater I'm a little skeptical of jigging. Put it under a float and if the salmon still go for it, then I'll buy it.
 
Forgot to mention also using orange yarn on my hook. I do intend to fight the charges. I am no lawyer, just a law abiding tax payer trying to enjoy one of America's oldest and most loved past times " fishing". I don't know the officers name but will post his id# later today.
Definately talk of Fish and Wildlife. That is completely unreasonable, wardens should know fishing techniques. That is why I have cameras on my boat so if I ever have something like that happen I have it on film and how I was fishing.
 
Only time I snagged a fish was at Wallowa Lake this year fishing with my pops. Tossed the hook with a powerbait ball on it let in f sink, waited 3 min and slowly reeled it in. Trout came at it and swerved right as it bit. Hooked right on the top of the top lip.
 

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