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Rolling Shad & Anchovies For Landlocked Kings

The veteran anglers that target Landlocked King Salmon while rolling shad and anchovies on the beautiful lakes in California know exactly what it takes to be successful while using this awesome fish catching technique. On the other side of the coin there are numerous anglers that have no idea how to roll shad or anchovies, therefore; they’re missing out on a great way to catch Landlocked Kings. I’m hoping this article helps out the new anglers who want to learn more about rolling shad and anchovies for Landlocked King Salmon on their favorite lake.

Whether you’ve decided to target the awesome King Salmon fishery at Lake Don Pedro, Lake Shasta, Lake Berryessa, or the many other California Lakes with a population of Landlocked Kings, technique is very critical and the proper equipment is a must!

Since I love to fish for Landlocked Kings with ultra light equipment, my favorite rod is a one piece; 7’ ultra light Shimano Talora TLA – 70ul with 8 lb Trilene line on an Abu Garcia 4600 C3 reel.

When the Kings are in less than 70 feet of water, I’ll use a size 1, Pro Troll # 2100 Clear Roto Chip Bait Holder. When the fish are deeper than 70 feet, I like to use the same set up but instead of the clear Roto chip Bait Holder, I prefer the # 2114 Glow Green or the #2312 Glow White.

Picking the right bag of bait is very important. Make sure the bags of bait you choose are completely sealed. Look over the size of the bait, I like to find a bag of anchovies that have anchovies in the 4 - 5 inches range. As for shad, I like to find bags of shad that hold 3 - 4 inch shad. You can use them right out of the bag, or you can Brine them overnight. If you brine your bait, it will last much longer on your hooks.

Scent is a very important factor while rolling shad or anchovies. There are many scents available on the market; I prefer to use Pro Cure scents. My personal favorites are Threadfin Shad, Shrimp/Krill, and Anchovy Super Gel while trolling for Landlocked Kings. Add a generous amount of scent to your bait and be sure to use it on the harness also. This will help hide any unnatural scents that may cause the fish to turn away.

Downriggers make fishing for Landlocked Kings much easier. There are many different brands and models on the market; I use the Cannon Mag 10 Downriggers. These downriggers offer a 250-feet-per-minute retrieval rate, which is the fastest in the industry, 20-lb weight capacity, Positive Ion Control that creates a fish-attracting electrical field around your boat, a three-digit depth counter and a heavy-duty telescopic boom that extends from 24" to 53". I like to use 8 - 10 lb pancakes with flashers attached to them.

A fish finder is also a very important tool when it comes to locating schools of fish or bait balls. I like the Lowrance 102c and the Lowrance X510c. The color graphs allow anglers to identify certain species of fish by looking at their air bladders in the images.

While fishing for Landlocked Kings, depths can be as shallow as the top 30 feet of water and as deep as 140+ feet. On the California lakes, the average depth seems to be anywhere from 60 - 120 feet.

Trolling Speeds can vary from day to day. 1 - 1 1/2 miles per hour seems to be the best trolling speeds when targeting Landlocked Kings. Experiment with speeds, when you catch a fish, take a note on the speed, this can be very important for the remainder of the day.

When targeting Landlocked Kings at any of the California lakes, I like to start fishing in areas that I’ve caught fish in before. I’ll rig one rod with Shad and drop it down between 40 - 50 feet. On the second rod, I’ll use an anchovy and drop it down to 60 - 70 feet. If I haven’t had a bite within 15 minutes, I’ll lower the rods down 10 - 20 feet deeper than the starting depths. Keeping an eye on the fish finder, if I see fish on the screen, I’ll adjust my baits to the depths accordingly.

Once I hook a fish, I take note on the depth and what bait was used and I’ll make sure to get that rod back in the water as soon as possible at the same depth with the same bait and I’ll make another trip over the area that produced. A marine radio can also be very helpful while trolling on your favorite lake; many anglers like to broadcast their success to other anglers over the radio, and if you ever have trouble on the water, a marine radio can get you the help you need.

Confidence is the key when targeting any species of fish. In order to build confidence, you need to try different approaches and techniques. Once you find out what’s working on your favorite body of water, make notes so you can remember what was working during your previous trips, the notes you take may help you out when things get tough out there.

Remember, there are five sensing mechanisms used by all fish to find and catch their prey.

Sight - Fish see their prey and attack it.

Smell - Most fish have a highly refined sense of smell. The smell of blood or baitfish gets the attention of a lot of species.

Sound - Sound travels much better in water than it does in air. Fish can hear sound from a long distance away.

Vibration - Fish have a lateral line along their bodies that can detect vibrations in the water. Many species use this to detect vibrations from baitfish or other fish as they wiggle their tails to swim.

Electrical sensitivity - Fish can detect the tiny nerve pulses of other fish. Many species use this to zero in on struggling baitfish or other prey.