It’s Spring Chinook season here in the Pacific NW, and the “Rona” fishing ban has finally been lifted, so I was excited to finally try out the new Trokar TK2 Pro "V" Hook on a Salmon. This years return of Spring Chinook has been very low, and fishing has not been good. Knowing how tough it has been I decided to call my good friend Dave Eng of FishEng Guide Service to see what he thought. Dave had been fishing the Clackamas River out of his small boat, and having some success so he suggested we try our luck there.
I met Dave at 5:45am at his house along the Clackamas River. We chatted for a minute and then walked across his back yard to the beautiful Clackamas river, where Dave had his boat waiting. It was a beautiful bluebird day with highs in the 70s. I wore shorts and sandals - it is very rare that you get to go salmon fishing conditions like this!
We rigged up some 4/0 TK2 Pro “V” hooks with Daves combination of eggs and sandshrimp and headed down the river. Our first stop looked like it should hold some salmon, and we worked it throughly, but we did not get a bite.
After an hour or so, we moved to a new spot, got our rods out and almost instantly my rod doubled over! I was shocked at how strong and “hot” the fish was. It went on several runs and did a Coho death roll at the boat before we finally got him in the net. The Trokar TK2 V got a true test on this fish and it passed with flying colors! It was a wild salmon (not hatchery) so we released it safely back into the river.
I have had a lot of people tell me how much they love this hook, but personally seeing it in action made me a true believer!
it was a spectacular day, and in low return years like this, I was extremely thankful to have been able to land one of these beautiful fish. I know there were thousands of anglers out today and only a lucky few were able to land a fish. All the more reason to pick a great guide like Dave, and use a great hook like the Trokar TK2 Pro “V”!
For more information on how to book a trip with Dave you can link to his website HERE.