Phil,
There is a thriving - very closly controlled paddle fish fishery on the Missouri in Montana. It is highly patrolled and the fishery can easily stand the light pressure that comes from this short paddle fish season.

Yes, in areas where it is illegal or where the fish is endangered, I couldn't agree with you more.

Fisheries like this are much like any other tightly controlled fishery.

Take for example the herring fishery in Alaska. It is a netting type fishery where the season will be open for an hour, a few hours less. The season starts when the horn goes off and it stops when the horn goes off again.

Again, an excellent fishery that is being well protected and is well patrolled to avoid any poachers or illegal activities.

Whether, you take fish with your bare hand, a rod and a reel, a treble hook or a big net - it is all right, as long as it is legal in the area and the fishing is done within the laws of that area.

Having said that - the main question was about the type of rod that is commonly used for snagging style fishing.

As you can see from the previous videos, many fisherfolks use a long fiberglass surf rod style rod that can cast the weighted hook a good distance, and then have the beef to jerk the rod back, to do its job of catching the fish for which the season is open.

Roger

Roger, your point about regulations being location-specific is well taken. Back to "snagging blanks." When New York's Salmon River was open to snagging, local hospitals treated a steady stream of "sportsmen" with 6/0, lead-encased treble hooks which had pierced their hands, limbs, necks, noses, faces, ears, eyes, scalps, even their mouths. I am not sure which rod blank is best suited for creating or preventing this mayhem, or whether the type of blank employed has any significant impact upon success in snagging something or someone.

At the risk of actually answering the original question...
I fish the Salmon River every year and have done so for about 9 years. If you are looking for a rod for the fall salmon run and are there to catch steelhead and brown trout then you can go with somewhat lighter tackle and simply break off the salmon once it is clear that you can't land them. If you want to play with the kings and cohos your friend has three main choices:

9 wt 9' single hand fly rod - Since it is mostly chuck and duck, you don't need to be a fly fisherman to do this. Don't bring a fancy rod. They break and you are not really fly casting. I use a medium/fast mid price ($50 - $70) 4 piece blank. A bigger then normal fighting bud is an advantage. Batson Forcast or RX7 blanks or perhaps something in that price range from Mudhole will do the job. A fly rod allows access to the entire river. This is my personal choice for skinny water

7 - 9 wt 11 - 14' two hand switch or spey rod - Requires more casting skills but again opens up the entire river including the two fly fishing only areas. You can use this setup to chuck and duck or swing. The 10'8" 8st Batson switch is my goto rod up there

8 - 9' spinning rod - I would build up something with a soft, flexible tip and a good backbone. I use a 6 - 10# 9' salmon blank (various manufactures). Since you are throwing small amounts of split shot with an indicator and fly you need something that will through small amounts of weight. You could also use a 9wt 9' fly rod and build it as a spinning rod.

If I could only bring one rod it would be the 8wt switch. I use ALP triangle reel seats which allow me to put a spinning reel or centerpin reel on the rod in a pinch if required. That ability is nice on certain parts of the river.

In general a find using a spinning rod/reel to be a pain in the neck. I am primarily a fly fisherman any way but I have tried the other methods and none of them offer the efficiency of a fly rod. Winter steelheading is a different story.

Quinn

Roger,
Nice try but I still would not do it. Just me but it is not a sport to me and I would not support it in any way. To me it is like deer hunting with a belt fed weapon.

oh my god an actual answer to my question. Thank you so much Quinn. Im sorry i used the wrong word and got a bunch of banter. Sounds like his description of combat fishing is not too far off. I will present these choices too him and proceed from there. By the way this is a regular and great customer and a avid fishermen. Thanks again Quinn!

oh my god an actual answer to my question. Thank you so much Quinn. Im sorry i used the wrong word and got a bunch of banter. Sounds like his description of combat fishing is not too far off. I will present these choices too him and proceed from there. By the way this is a regular and great customer and a avid fishermen. Thanks again Quinn!

You can also google up rods for Salmon River NY

Bill - willierods.com