A blurb about the gear requirements. You will not have to cast that far when fishing the Crawford. The water may be low so a sensible choice would be a rod that is between 8 and 9.5 feet long that is designed for a 6 to 10 weight line. Personally I think the closer to 8 would be a better choice. Remember that the rod is designed for a certain weight line regardless of the rod’s length. All rods are marked near the handle, the line that it is designed for. It is the utmost important that the rod is matched with the proper weight line or you will not be able to cast very well.
As for a leader I recommend a 9 foot tapered leader attached to the line with a needle knot. Other pins etc are available for attaching the leader to the line but I do not recommend any of it. Please note that the small end of the leader should not be less than a 6 pound test. Sometimes tapered leaders come only 7 feet. That is ok because you need to buy a spool of leader so you can lengthen the 7 foot leader by attaching a 2 or 3 foot piece from your spool.
Of course as you change your flies your leader will shorten. This is when you need an extra spool of leader. When the leader gets shorter than 8.5 feet long I recommend you lengthen it by attaching a 3 foot piece of leader from the extra spool. I recommend attaching the leaders together with a blood knot. As for the spool leader you buy I recommend 8 lbs if you really want have a chance to bring in the big one. If you plan to break the salmon off after he makes his couple of acrobatic flips in the air buy a 4 lb test leader spool.
I would buy an extra tapered leader as well because new fishermen’s knots and salmon don’t mix. They sometimes clean your leader from the line.
P.S. don’t fall asleep with your rod dangling in the water; when you awake it might be gone or have a bite taken out of it. How would you explain that.
