Try These Tasty Sacs for Late Fall Salmon

By: Kyle Deavers

In some areas of the Great Lakes the fall salmon run is slowing. However, where I fish and seeing reports from other areas, there’s are still a lot of salmon returning to harbors and tributaries. The run isn’t over yet. Some places might be over, but others have another month left. With that said, several baits are catching salmon. Anglers are finding success on crankbaits, spinners, beads, eggs, and this season I’m seeing more spawn sacs used than ever before.

Many ask me why I’m using spawn sacs rather than skein right now. As we enter the later part of the season, and most water is low and clear, spawn sacs traditionally are more effective than big pieces of skein. One of the reasons I use spawn sacs is it’s easy to alternate colors.  By switching between red, orange and pink you can see what colors the salmon are keying in on.

In the fall many anglers fill their sacs with cured salmon eggs, which I do as well. However, just like last year I’ve been using more Trout Eggs in them. The only difference is this year I’ve been curing the Trout Egg to give them more scent and different colors. Earlier in the season I used a lot of Fire Cure Trout Eggs, but lately I’ve transitioned to more of a BorX O Fire Trout Egg offering. I’m doing this because it gives my clients the opportunity to catch some of browns and steelhead that have just entered the system.

Making Spawn Sac 4 Salmon

Step 1: Add the Cure

I’ve seen other people do this process, and go through many steps, but I prefer to simplify it and not mix cures. To do that I open a jar of Premium Trout Eggs and sprinkle BorX O Fire on top. I only use two teaspoons. For fall salmon I use Pink & Red BorX O Fire.

Step 2: Better Shake

After adding the BorX O Fire I’ll close the lid and shake the container for 20 seconds. This helps distribute the cure to all the eggs. Remember, the Premium Trout Eggs have liquid in them, which means the BorX O Fire will swish around. This may not work as well with the Natural Trout Eggs because there is less liquid, so I stick to the Premium.

Step 3: Let It Work

I’ll let the eggs sit 6-8 hours and them put them in a strainer. I like my eggs tacky and putting them in the strainer drains any extra juice. Doing this makes them easier to tie. They only need to be in the strainer for five min.

Step 4: Store & Tie

After straining I’ll put them back in the container and tie the sacs.

For salmon, the sac needs to be much larger than what you would use for steelies or trout. You’ll have to use the larger 4×4 Atlas netting, rather than the 3x3s and make sure you have plenty of Magic Thread (I use white).

I prefer the sacs to be a quarter, or larger, whereas for steelies or trout I’ll use dime size. Don’t be afraid to go big for salmon. These fall kings and coho will grab them.

Editor’s Note: Captain Kyle Deavers operates Big Boy Fishing. To follow him on social media: https://www.facebook.com/Bigboyfishing or https://www.instagram.com/big_boy_fishing/