Salmon fishing in the salt - technique and methds

R

rogerbum

New member
I thought it might be useful to summarize my favorite lures and methods for salmon and hope that others will add their own. In this thread, I'm only looking for peoples favorite/most productive technique - e.g. your "Go To" methods. Here's mine:

1) a) 11" green glow flasher (I prefer these


- not due to the e-chip but due to the fin) +

b) 24" of leader (you can tie your own or buy premade) +

c)green spatterback hootchie +

d) a silver or crystal twinkle skirt insert

Onto the leader slip on the twinkle skirt, then the hootchie and tie it off to the flasher so it trails about 24" back. Use 40# leaders so that the action of the flasher is better transmitted to the hootchie. Cut a fillet of herring and put it on the front hook. Troll from a down rigger as indicated in the first link.

2) Flasher + spoon - I use the same green glow flasher as above and any number of different kinds of spoons. However, the favorite spoons are:
a) 3.5 or 4" Coyote Spoons in the color patterns of
i) Funky Chicken (purple with some glow green and red/orange)
ii) Cop Car (black and white)
iii) Green splatterback
b) Coho killer green/white is a favorite color. The sonic edge spoons (at the same link as the coho killer spoons) are also good. Typically, spoons are run a bit farther back from the flasher (36") and on lighter line (15-20# test).

3) Cut plug herring There's a number of ways to rig these. If you don't have down riggers, a cut plug herring on a 4-6oz banana weight. This can be trolled out the back with a combination of weight, line out, line thickness and speed controlling the depth. For coho in the summer, just under the surface is fine. For returning coho or kings in the summer in the early AM, 20-30' down is good. You can use the same setup to mooch for salmon - e.g. jigging with a herring.. A cut plug herring on a simple banana weight either jigged or trolled is one of the simplest ways to catch salmon and the gear is cheap - a weight(with chain swivels attached), a couple of hooks and herring. The only down side to cut plugs is that if there are a lot of dogfish around, you often go through a lot of bait an leaders on the dog fish. Trolling faster will reduce that (sometimes), but when there are a lot of dogfish around, I go to spoons.

So that's my top 3 salmon catchers. If I was to recommend what someone new to salmon fishing should buy I'd say the following is a good basic set of tackle for saltwater salmon trolling:

1) 2 green flashers - 11" Pro troll with the fin (about $11/ea)
2) 1 red flasher - 11" Pro troll with the fin (about $11)
3) 1 silver prism flasher - 11" Pro troll with the fin (about $11)
4) 4 - 4 oz. banana weights (about $2-3/ea.)
5) 4 - 6 oz banana weights (about $2-3/ea.)
6) 24 pre-tied leaders 40# test (you can tie your own - I like the Owner cutting point hooks - buy barbless hook or de-barb after tying). If you wish to buy pre-tied leaders the Gamakatsu leaders are good. Figure $1-3/leader.
7) 2 coho killer spoons in green glow ($4/ea).
8) 2 coyote spoons in each of the following colors - cop car, funky chicken and green splatter back ($4/ea).
9) On flasher storage bag $16
10) Reel - there's a lot of good reels out there - anAbu garcia 6500 is nice and can be had for around $100 new, less used. A shimano Tekota reel with the line counter is great for trolling banana weights or for bottom fishing. They go for about $150.
11) Rod - again lots of choices - I like the 9' Lamiglass downrigger poles. For down rigger use, you want fiberglass rods as graphite rods tend to break after spending a lot of time in the bent shape. The Lamiglass rods are $110 on line - I got mine new for $65 at Outdoor Emporium's garage sale.
12) Line - I like to use 50-65# test Power Pro or Spider Wire braided line. These types of line are very strong and have a line diameter that is similar to much weaker monofilament line - e.g. 65# spider wire is the same diameter as 15-20# monofilament. Also, these braided lines have much less stretch are MUCH better for bottom fishing. 300yds will run about $25-30.
 
Great post Roger! I have a couple of additions.

My number one flasher is the 105 in Rogers picture. Although, I caught 3 kings in Elliot Bay with Clear Crushed UV flashers this year (2 on aerofly's and one on a hootchie). I use both Hot Spots and E-Chips. Haven't really noticed much difference either way unless the fin breaks off the E-Chip. Then they should go in the garbage (but usually don't).

For the leader to a hootchie you want a very stiff leader to impart the action from the flasher into the hootchie. For this I will use either 40lb or 50lb Seaguar Flourocarbon leader. I try to tie my leaders so that the hooks are offset 180 degrees from each other. I also tie them so that the trailing hook will be further back than store bought leaders. I like to use a typical egg loop to tie the hooks on.

I like to set up the hootchies to have the bend of the trailing hook even with the ends of the tentacles. In my experience, most fish are hooked with the trailing hook.
 
I always start with a #104 & a #105 30-40 inches of leader w/ herring. Witch ever color flasher picks up the first fish the other line gets changed to. :mrgreen: :beer
 
I don't know if this is legend or fact, but I tend to use longer leaders (60") when using herring and fishing for kings. The roll is a little slower and it is perportedly more effective.

Another great lure per-legend that is used on the mid-Vancouver Island is the Googly Eyed Wild Thing. I bought two, but have never had them in the water. Anyone else ever use them?

Steve
 
Roger - thanks for the post/thread. I always wondered what some of these strange sounding names of lures were and with your post/pictures and links, I now have a better idea.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
Roger, thanks for all the great tackle tips! Now, how about some tips about when & how to go -- what I have learned so far is to fish with the incoming tide from an hour or two before high tide to an hour or two after. Is that what you do also?

I've also heard that salmon come up the Strait in waves and that somehow you can monitor commercial fish catch records to determine when a new group of salmon decide to head up the Strait but I have not been able to find out where that information is available.

Care to share some additional info about these aspects of fishing?

Warren
 
Warren,

As far as the when - I agree with the conventional wisdom that slack tides are best - e.g. an hour before to an hour afterward is good but in my experience that matters more in the sound/straits than it does in the open ocean. However, the one thing that does seem universal is that I get the most boats just before sunup to an hour or two afterwards. Most days, the first few hours is 90% of the fish. So definitely get out early.

As to the where - that's easy where the fish are! As to how to find them -
1) Places that have been successful before are more likely - so experience helps with this.
2) In the open ocean, plateaus and edges of canyons are much better than other places.
3) The radio and radar can be very useful - In the ocean - locate the commercial trollers and/or good charters and your odds go up. Those guys have #1 (experience) all over us guys. Stay out of their way but fishing nearby (not too nearby) is OK.
4) Diving bird flocks are indicators of bait and bait draws fish. So look for those. Also, bait balls on the fish finder. Set the depth of the down rigger to just under the bait ball.

While salmon do come into the strait in waves - if you wait for info to show up on commercial or even recreational records, you've missed that wave. Better to make the reports than to wait for them. The only place I have really dialed in is Neah Bay and the waters just outside of there. I can always find fish outside of the strait in July and August. Inside the strait then is hit and miss - it's actually better inside the strait early in July than it is in early August (but the fish are smaller in July - with the exception of kings).

For bottom fish and especially for rock cod, I've found it to be far more effective to look on the map for appropriate structure (e.g. rocky areas) but then to drive around a bit a low speeds until I find a good school on the fish finder. This is more effective than simply fishing where the should be fish. Once I find a big school, I set up so that my drift will carry me back across the school and then drop jigs down. Again, I know areas that are historically better than others and fish those first. Another tip for bottom fish is to use your depth finder to find plateaus and rock piles that are not at the typical contours on a map. E.g. plateaus that rise from 110' deep to 80' deep generally won't show on a map as most have contours at 120' and 60' deep. Hence rises that go from 140-110' deep will show on the GPS as a nice little circle on the chart while those that go from 110' to 80' deep will. Both can be the same size 30' high rock pile but the one that shows on the map will be targeted by many fishermen in the area while the other will be largely unfished.
 
Well it certainly has been a long time since I posted....

Oh boy...favorite setups - All the new UV hoochies...


CDRSpecialUV.jpg
DownrigginsJellyfish.jpg

UVHerring.jpg
BlueberryJellyfish.jpg
Jimi-1.jpg
 
Captain Downriggins-
The "IMG" has to be lower case letter, or "img". Also, the "[" and '"]" must be exactly positioned. Nice photos! Thanx! Joe.


Captain Downriggin":teke1d98 said:
Well it certainly has been a long time since I posted....

Oh boy...favorite setups - All the new UV hoochies...


CDRSpecialUV.jpg
DownrigginsJellyfish.jpg

UVHerring.jpg
BlueberryJellyfish.jpg
Jimi-1.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Hi fishermen brats

I almost always have a chovie on the hooks. If seems to increase my catch wether I am bottom fishing or trolling for salmon.

I have been using the elures by apex with some success. In fact my first hookup with a chovie on straightened the stock hook. It was a big fish. So I usually tie on a double hook set up for the chovie.

We have to remove the barbs on the hook for salmon.

1tuberider
Jeff
 
Wow, it's hard to add anything here.

Here's what I do.

Ocean coho get a clear/UV 00 hotspot dodger/flasher, 24" leader, and either white/blue or purple haze hootchie with a small peice of herring fillet on the upper hook. Then I put it down 10-15 feet on the downrigger.

Ocean Chinook I usually try a red 00 hotspot flasher 3-5 foot leader and a cut plug herring.

Bay chinook just get the cutplug herring treatment with 6oz of lead on a slider or splitter. To much seaweed to use flashers usually.
 
Holiday Sports (tackle dealer in Burlington) sends out a Yahoo newsletter each week with the latest info. The also advertise their specials and right now they have herring in stock, and say that the harvest was poor, so stock up now. I have never worked with herring (only spoons and hoochies) , so would appreciate some advice on what color to get (what does the color refer to, the size?) and any other tips you'd care to share. Also how many herring do you typically go through in a given day of fishing (I assume they deteriorate after X minutes/hours of trolling)? And when do you prefer herring over lures, and how do you like to rig them?

Thanks,
Warren
 
Lori Ann":2dj4plsk said:
Holiday Sports (tackle dealer in Burlington) sends out a Yahoo newsletter each week with the latest info. The also advertise their specials and right now they have herring in stock, and say that the harvest was poor, so stock up now. I have never worked with herring (only spoons and hoochies) , so would appreciate some advice on what color to get (what does the color refer to, the size?) and any other tips you'd care to share. Also how many herring do you typically go through in a given day of fishing (I assume they deteriorate after X minutes/hours of trolling)? And when do you prefer herring over lures, and how do you like to rig them?

Thanks,
Warren
Click to expand...

I'll chime in.

The color refers to size. Typically you would either buy blue label or green label (blue is bigger). I buy purple or black for Halibut.

I find that ocean coho are not too picky so I don't waste money using a whole herring. They like hootchies just find and only use a small square of a fillet for scent. Some guys feel like they have just as much success with the spoons and don't use any bait for coho.

I think chinook are a different animal. Usually cut plug herring and usually blue label. That's not to say they won't take a hootchie. Some techniques are local to that fishery for one reason or another.

As far as how much to buy.

If I'm using hootchie's I can get buy with a dozen for 2 or 3 anglers. We usually buy a couple dozen when trolling for chinook with whole herring for 2-3 anglers but it might be safer to have a dozen per angler. You would no doubt have a few left over.
 
Great information Roger and thanks for sharing with us, my limited sport fishing experience for salmon has been here in Alaska.
The only way I’ve ever caught salmon in salt water is using pink ladies and herring that was over 15 years ago on a charter boat outside Resurrection bay. What I remember is it took each of us about 30 minutes to catch our 6 fish limit. I also hooked into a dolphin, that was fun almost striped my real before the skipper cut the line.
That’s about the extent of my salt water salmon fishing experience other then catching pinks and silvers from shore using pixie lures.
 
We are trollers for salmon--and from the sailboat, we had the best luck with Hot Spot Apex lures. We had quite a variety and seemed to do as well as other boats in the vacinity. For us it was KISS principle with minimal gear--but occasionally used a down rigger or diving planer. Hopefully we will get back up in BC and Alaska next spring--and I suspect we will keep on using the Apex series.
 
Roger,
I noticed in your tackle preferences that you prefer braided line (spiderwire type.) I have always used mono for trolling with downriggers but do prefer the braids for jigging and bottomfishing. For downrigger fishing with flashers do you have any problems with the lack of stretch or cushioning in the line? I think several others have also noted using braided line for trolling. I have wondered about the tendency for hooks to pull out etc.? Also I use the Scotty releases and wonder about the grip of the braided line in the plastic jaws of the release? Your thoughts?
 
CAVU Ken,

I use 50lb Power Pro braid with the Scotty releases. I like it for fishing out at Sekiu and Neah but don't like it as much in the sound. The reason being that the braid makes the "salad" harder to clean from the line. I still use the braid though. If you were to go down to 20lb braid you would have problems keeping the braid in the release. A simple fix is to take 4" of mono and fold it over your braid and put that in the clip. The release will work as desired but you will have less resistance in the water and therefore less blowback. I use the 50lb as having the heavier line allows me to put a lot of pressure on the fish, thus if I have to release it The fish will be fresher and better able to survive and it stays in the clips better.

I find that using braid allows me to see bites better, and I can't say that I have lost a fish due to the braid.

BTW: I use a 10 1/2' Shimano Convergence Mootching Rod with a Canadian style handle and an Alvey 525 c52 reel (Looks like an oversized anti-reverse fly reel). This is a pretty unconventional setup but it works for me. I will also use the same rod (I have 2 of them) with a Level Wind reel. Most of my guests prefer the Level Wind but I prefer being able to palm the reel and have a lighter drag setting and I like the 1-1 retrieve.
 
Gary,
I am thinking about switching to the braid for downrigger trolling. I like the levelwind reels for downrigger fishing. I use Shimano Charter Specials (leverdrag) which offers so many advantages I couldn't imagine fishing anything else. Your type of setup is very popular in Canada. Almost every boat I see at Ucluelet is carrying a few of them, but I prefer the simplicity of setting gear and fighting the fish with the leverdrag. I can set maximum drag for my 20lb mono and never worry about changing or exceeding it. I don't understand how you would use a piece of mono "folded over" lighter braid to hold in the release clip. What would keep the lighter braid from slipping through the mono?
 
Ken,

I like the heavy braided (I use 50 or 65#) for trolling for three reasons - 1) it stays in the Scotty release clips just fine and 2) with braid you get less drag on the downrigger 3) I use 40# mono for the leaders behind flashers. Heavy mono (like 40#) is better to transmit the action of the flasher to the hootchie. However, if you have a heavy leader and lower test main line, a snag loses the flasher. The flashers are expensive, the hootchies are cheap.

As far as loosing fish because of the lack of line stretch - I don't think it's a problem. I keep the drag set fairly light and I use 9.5' rods with a lot of flex in them. Also, I think there's two lines of thought on this - some believe that if you pull too hard you loosen up the hook and that it's best to gently play the fish until it's tired. Others believe that if you can land the fish more quickly, you lower the chance of it getting loose. I kind of like to bring fish in quickly when I can as its easier on the fish if you have to release it. The heavier line helps with that. Out at Neah Bay, I catch so many fish, I'd rather make sure I release the ones I have to release in really good shape than to worry about losing the occasional one.
 
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