The Best Salmon Bait: An Angler’s Guide for 2024 Reading Time: 5 minutes

You can catch Salmon on artificial lures in saltwater and freshwater ecosystems. But adding bait to a hook or lure is a great way to increase the odds of catching a Salmon. All five species of Pacific Salmon, along with Atlantic Salmon, have strong olfactory systems that they use to locate food and navigate from saltwater to freshwater rivers where they spawn. That means a bit of live or cut bait can be irresistible to them…

A group of three anglers hold large Salmon on a wooden dock after a fishing trip
Photo courtesy of Built For Speed Fishing Charters

The lifecycle of a Salmon makes them available in a wide range of locations. In this article, we’ll focus on the numerous Pacific Salmon species. Atlantic Salmon are limited in numbers and are rarely targeted with catch-and-keep methods. Protecting Salmon stocks in sensitive areas is far more important than keeping fish. 

Before we dive into the best baits for Salmon, you should keep in mind that you’re not always allowed to use bait to target Salmon. In areas with catch-and-keep opportunities, it may be banned during specific seasons. Make sure you know the regulations and legal methods of fishing before you cast your line.

Now that bit of housekeeping is out of the way, let’s see what will help you catch your fill of Salmon!

Do you need bait for Salmon? 

A closeup of a Salmon fish on the end of a fishing line, having taken the bait which is visible above its mouth, with a yellow boat visible as a blur in the distance across the water

While you can catch Salmon without baits, adding bait to your arsenal certainly improves your odds. I’ve caught plenty of Salmon on hardware and even flies! These fish are reactive and will strike at passing lures, especially in saltwater or when fresh out of saltwater. 

That said, the weather, water temperature, and general conditions can cause Salmon to hold tight and lock up. I’ve seen them huddled in a river pool, refusing to move or acknowledge anything that passes the strike zone. In these instances, only real bait was able to break through and trigger a reaction!

While you don’t need bait to catch Salmon, it’s without a doubt one of the best methods of attracting them. When the fishing is tough or they’re holding in a specific area, make sure to give bait a try. It works for both hatchery and wild fish in any environment.

Tried and True Salmon Bait

Any number of bait options can catch Salmon but the list below includes the most common. These baits will work for Pink Salmon, Chum Salmon, Silver (Coho) Salmon, and King (Chinook) Salmon. Sockeye Salmon are also susceptible to bait but less so than other species. 

Sockeye often feed on zooplankton but they also eat squid and other fish on occasion. While baits are less relative to their natural feeding habits, the scents can still help anglers to catch and land more fish.

Salmon Eggs

A closeup of Salmon eggs and a few small tadpoles swimming over them underwater

One of the most reliable bait options for Salmon are the eggs produced by the fish themselves. In this instance, I’m referring to individual eggs – also known as roe by many anglers. Eggs are cured in jars to preserve them. You can find them cured naturally or with added ingredients to increase the scent profile. Garlic, cheese, and other concoctions aren’t uncommon. Adding a few individual eggs to a hook works well in streams and rivers.  

Roe Sacs

Keeping individual eggs on the hook is difficult, especially when fishing near the bottom. Roe sacs or bags are used to hold the eggs while attached to the hook. These are essentially small mesh bags that allow the scent to escape while keeping the eggs together on the hook. They work with jigs, lures, or on their own with a hook and weight. I love a roe sac attached to a jig for bouncing river bottoms.

Squid

A closeup of cut squid ready to be used as bait for fishing on a wooden table top

When you can find it and fish it legally, live squid is absolutely deadly. Salmon feed voraciously on squid and it stands out in the water column. In ocean environments, first locate a school of Salmon then drag the squid through it by slowly trolling or suspending the bait over the school. While live squid is fantastic, it also fishes well as cut bait. Add strips to your jig or lure hooks to use dead squid effectively.

Herring

One of the most common and proven bait options is herring. Live or cut bait forms work really well. You can fish it fresh or brine the herring to add more of a scent profile. The bait fish has a great shape that’s easy to thread on a hook. It also swims nicely when trolled behind a boat. Herring is popular for good reason and it should be considered as an option to imitate the natural food source in saltwater environments.

Distinguishing between Freshwater and Saltwater Behavior

A an in a baseball cap sitting at the front of a narrow fishing boat and holding a large Salmon with a rocky shoreline and some trees visible behind him on a clear time
Photo courtesy of Pourvoirie Haute St.Jean Lower Camp

Salmon have distinct behavioral traits in saltwater and freshwater environments. In the ocean, they focus on food to grow, traveling in schools that are often quite large. When you locate the fish, catching one is a matter of finding the best depth and putting your lure or bait in the zone. It’s not always easy but the fish are far more aggressive in saltwater.

When Salmon are ready to make their spawning journeys, they gather near the mouths of freshwater rivers and streams. The fish remain vulnerable and aggressive in tidal and brackish environments. After entering the freshwater system, things change quickly.

For the first few days in freshwater, that aggressive behavior continues. This is the absolute best time to target the fish in river systems. They remain fairly fresh for a week or so but gradually deteriorate as the spawning journey continues. Salmon don’t feed actively in freshwater but they’ll strike when fresh and grab baits as they travel. Adding scent really helps as they become increasingly difficult to catch later in the journey.

Are you ready to catch your limit of Salmon with bait?

A group of male anglers stood on dry land after a successful fishing trip in California, each holding at least one large Salmon at the end of a day with sunny intervals
Photo courtesy of Northern California Guide Service – Red Bluff

When it comes to Salmon fishing, finding them is likely the most difficult piece of the puzzle. Salmon can cover large distances, especially when on a mission to reach spawning territory. Once located, it’s all about getting your presentation right and placing lures or baits in the strike zone. If you’re lucky, a big King, Coho, or Sockeye will strike and offer the chance to keep some highly coveted meat.

Now that you are armed with the best baits, check the regulations and get out there to fill your freezer with a limit of beautiful filets!

What are your tried and true Salmon baits? We’d love to hear what’s working in your favorite rivers and bays in the comments below! 

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