the Tailout May 2020 tailout_may2020finalx | Page 9

Brining your salmon prior to grilling will avoid
unsightly white curds on your salmon.
Hard to Argue With A
Rogue River Bait Rig
No matter if you plunk it, or troll it, a
Rogue River bait rig is hard to beat
for salmon thanks to the combina-
tion of a spinner blade and fresh
bait.
There’s a trick to rigging it, but
once you figure it out it’s pretty
simple. To begin, you’re going to
need a Rogue bait rig. Either tie your
own or purchase a pre-tied set up.
Luhr Jensen sells a good one. You’ll
also need a bait threader, which are
readily available at your local tackle
store.
The bait rig comes with a trailing
treble hook. Remove that by slipping
the half-hitch knot over the hook
points. Using the bait threader insert
it into the anchovy’s mouth, and
poke it through the anchovy near
the anal cavity. Pull the loop knot
through the mouth. Reattach the
trailing treble hook on the end loop
knot. You can leave the treble hook
to dangle, or insert one of the hook
points into the anchovy. Next, insert
the single hook into the head of the
bait from the bottom so the hook
point is on top. At this point tighten
the bait rig so the anchovy has a
slight bend to it. This will ensure the
bait rig spins properly.
Drop it behind your boat making
sure your line is at a 45-degree angle.
Use a 9-foot medium action rod with
a sensitive tip. Your rod should have
a good butt section, too. The tip help
gives your bait action and the butt
section of the rod allows you to fish
in heavy current, and land the fish.
Run 25-pound mainline, a three way
swivel, with a lead dropper.
While this bait rig was made
popular on the Rogue River, it is a
universal bait rig that can be used for
salmon just about anywhere.
The combination of the spinner blade and fresh bait make the
Rogue Bait Rig a great option for salmon trolling.
COOKING TIP
Avoid ‘White Curds’ on
Your Salmon
Ever notice that sometimes a grilled piece
of salmon has white film on its surface.
The white masses are the water soluble
protein called albumin. Fortunately for a
lot of cooks it doesn’t affect the taste of
the fish. It just happens to be unsightly.
Caused by cooking your fish too fast
and too close to the heat source (usu-
ally over briquettes) you can avoid this
by brining your salmon for 10 minutes
in a salt brine (1 tablespoon of salt for
every cup of water). The salt helps break
down the muscle fibers and allows the
albumin to spread out during the cook-
ing process. When exposed to heat the
albumin contracts and is forced to the
surface creating what chefs call “white
curds.” Finally, grill your salmon slower
and longer and away from direct heat.
As a bonus, the salt brine pre-seasons
the meat, and keeps the fish moist and
flaky. PAT HOGLUND
Cut or Whole? Water Temp Dictates
Cut plug or whole herring? If you’re like a lot of salmon fishermen you fish cut plug because it’s what you know, it’s easy to do
and it works. In most cases anyway. The fact of the matter is that cut plug works best under specific conditions. Namely
water temperature.
When the water temperature is above 52 degrees run cut plug herring. When it’s below 52 degrees fish whole herring.
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