Also, take a shot at current seams flowing around structure, such as rocks, logjams, islands and other objects that concentrate the current.

Rigs
These spring fish are popular because of their willingness to bite. It doesn't much matter what technique you favor, gear, bait or fly. Here are some of the more popular rigs.

Terry Wiest, instructor at Salmon University, said chinook are "chemical junkies." The three best baits are eggs, eggs and eggs, with eggs being a close fourth, he said.

In deep water, he favors a slip float. In shallow water, he'll use either a slip or fixed float.

The key when drifting eggs (or any other bait or jig) under a float is to obtain a natural presentation. That means the bait must drift naturally through the water column, at the same speed as the current, directly under the float.

Wiest, who has been fishing Western Washington rivers since he was a kid, recommended using the best quality gear you can afford. He favors Owner circle hooks or Gamakatsu hooks for their strength and sharpness. He also notes his hookup success dramatically improved by switching to 20-pound-test Seaguar fluorocarbon leader.

Other good baits are plug-cut herring and prawns with a double hook rig. The first hook should be either a 3/0 or 2/0 with a size 1 trailer hook. As with any bait, it needs to bang along the bottom because that is where the chinooks are, no matter if the water is 5 feet or 30 feet deep.

Spinners take more than their fair share of fish each year. Brass Colorado blade spinners in sizes 4 and 5 are very popular. Most spinner-tossers carry a number of different blade sizes ranging from 1 to 5 in brass, chrome and black.

If limited to a single spinner, opt for a hammered chrome No. 3. Again, hook quality and sharpness is paramount. Don't hesitate to switch out a second-quality factory hook with a best-quality replacement. A couple of strokes with a hook hone takes only a second or two before making that first cast and may make the difference of hooking and landing a real prize.

When fishing for cohos, a fast spinning blade catches more fish. Not so with these big chinook bruisers. They like when the blade barely rotates. In fact, there are some spinner-fisherman who swear by free-spooling a spinner under a float. Their blade flutters with the current.

Despite the disdain expressed by Arnold Gingrich, revered fly-fishing author, fly-fishing for chinook is the epitome of sport. Not many fly-fishers try for springers, but those who do rave about the hard-fighting fish and can't wait for the next day on the river.

Chinook call for 9-weight rods and reels that hold 200 yards of backing. Fly lines can range from floating to full sinking Type VI or even Rio's Deep Water Express.

The number and variety of fly patterns that catch salmon boggles the mind as they include everything from "big uglies" and egg patterns rolling along the bottom to baitfish in the mid-water depths, ending with top-water hair bugs in pink and chartreuse.

Many fly-fishers are discovering the effectiveness of drifting a big nymph under a strike indicator. Perhaps the nymph somehow triggers some old brain cells that recall feeding on insects during the year the smolts spent in fresh water before heading downriver. As with bait and lures, the key is getting the fly in front of the fish.