LANDLOCKED KING SALMON FISHING - CHINOOK

Fishing for Landlocked Kings

Fishing for Kings When it’s time to spawn, Salmon make the trek back to the river that they were born in. With the changes made to retain water by building dams, the salmon are not able to make it up the river system to where they need to spawn. California Department of Fish and Wildlife create ladder systems in the rivers, just below a dam, so the salmon can swim up into the fish hatchery for egg and sperm collection, so they can fertilize the eggs, and raise the salmon so that they can be planted back into the river system so they can swim back to the ocean and grow to maturity and repeat the cycle. A portion of the little salmon are planted into lakes throughout California. There are three main types of these landlocked Salmon that are targeted for this unique fishery. Kokanee Salmon, King Salmon, and Coho Salmon.

Chinook King Salmon Fishing Guides

There are many different fishing guides that offer guided fishing trips for landlocked chinook king salmon, and pretty much any other fish that you may want to target. FishingBooker is a service of local guides that you can choose from and schedule your next guided fishing trip. Book A Chinook King Salmon Fishing Guide Today!

Fishing For Landlocked King Salmon

Landlocked King Salmon, which are Chinook salmon, are not a subspecies of the full sized saltwater salmon. They are planted in California lakes from the salmon that swam up the river systems, and into the fish hatcheries. Once the goals have been met at the hatcheries for the fish to be released back into the rivers, some of the extra fish from these hatcheries are planted in local lakes to make a nice salmon fishery in the lakes. Since they have no access to the ocean, the fish become landlocked and the lake is their home. It’s possible for landlocked King Salmon to reach double digit weight, but most of them top out at around eight pounds. They typically roam around the lake’s open water areas. They typically live for three to four years and then die off naturally. For landlocked King Salmon to get as large as they do, they are meat eaters, typically eating threadfin shad and pond smelt. Check out our homemade bait recipe for salted brined bait fish anchovies, they are my hot go to bait for most of my trolling adventures.

Trolling for Landlocked King Salmon Fishing

The best way to fish for Landlocked King Salmon is to go trolling. I like to use lures that resemble small Kokanee like apex, hoochies, flatfish, and spoons. I use larger gear, like a baitcasting rod and reel combo strung up with thirty pound test line. I like to tie on 150 feet of fluorocarbon to make my heavier line more invisible to the kings. It’s not uncommon to catch kings in the six to ten pound range. I keep an eye on my fishfinder, looking for the rivers that run through my local lake bottoms where I can get into deeper and colder waters that the landlocked king salmon like to hang out in. I troll at various speeds when I see the kings hovering off the bottoms, typically in the 1.8 mph to 2.8 mph and always carry a big fishing net. I typically see them throughout the year, hovering at depths of 80 to 150 feet deep. A watermelon apex, tipped with a salted anchovy does the trick to entice a hard hit pretty much most of the time.

Landlocked King Salmon Fishing Techniques

Most anglers like to troll for King’s with stickbaits that imitate the local minnows that they are accustomed to eating. Spoons, needlefish, and Apex also work well. Another method that works well is to add shad to the lure. I typically soak mine in non-iodized salt to make them stick together better, and sometimes add some color and scent to the mix as well. Another method is to use a shad rolling harness and troll for the King’s. Some people like to drift live minnows, and bass fishermen are known to catch a few kings using rubber worms off of the shorelines in about 25 feet of water. For trolling, I typically find them in the 40 to 60 feet deep range.

Landlocked King Salmon Fishing Trolling Spoons

Where To Fish For Landlocked King Salmon

One of California’s best producers of big landlocked King salmon, and the best shot at a fish over ten pounds is Lake Shasta. Other great lakes are Folsom Lake, Lake Almanor, Pine Flat Reservoir, Don Pedro Reservoir, Del Valle Reservoir, and Lake Berryessa. The best time of year to fish for King’s are in the spring and fall as the lakes turnover.

Record Landlocked Chinook King Salmon

The record sized landlocked chinook King salmon ever caught in your state can be found at the link below. State Record Big Fish can be found here. Folsom Lake Landlocked King Salmon plants and other information can be found here.

Landlocked King Salmon Fishing Flatfish

About The Author Mike Mendenhall is the the founder of Mendenhall Outdoors. This website is an extension of the Mendenhall family’s lifestyle and passion for the great outdoors. Everything that they learn, and experience, along the way that they find may be valuable to our website visitors is on the site for you to enjoy. We highlight products and services that you might find interesting. We frequently receive free products from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. If you click a link on this page, then go on to make a purchase, we might receive a commission – at no extra cost to you, and does not impact the purchase price of any products that you may purchase. The Best Landlocked King Salmon Fishing Experience Awaits!