As a hard fishing, trophy fish, expect salmon to lunge at your hook even without much or any bait on it, as they are a territorial species. Once hooked, it is imperative to maintain a high rod position throughout the fight. A wild salmon's in built defence mechanism will tell it to dive to the bottom of the river. If your rod tip is not high enough a salmon will drown your line and you run the risk of getting cut-off by a snag. When you fish salmon 'side on', you will be focusing on the fish instead of the river. Additionally, you will have much better control over the fight, and the pressure applied to the hook holds will be in a more secure direction.