"Floating the River" Photo by Gill McKean
Westcoast Fishing Adventures |
Imagine a cool crisp fall morning, with
mist gently floating over the river while you cast and
cast and cast to jumping and rolling coho without a
strike. The fish seem to be taunting and smiling at
you as they leap from the water, some only feet from
where you are standing. Frustrated.....@!, you feel
like peeling off your waders and jumping in after the
slippery buggers. But you won't .The water is too cold.
If you are an avid coho fisherman you have probably
had this scenario play out to you dozens of times. Although
usually aggressive, there are times when the best spoon
presentation or float fisherman cannot scare up a strike.
Well, I believe I have the answer and if you read on
and do as a few others and myself have, you might not
fish with any other method for silver salmon again.
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All we have done is take a page right out of the bass fisherman's
bible and apply it to salmon fishing. Usually reserved for Coho
we have started to be quite successful fishing for steelhead
and king salmon with this method. The two largest steelhead
we landed were both hooked on the almighty 'Jig'. That's right
a bass jig.
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Only we don't use pig and porks or plastic lizards,
just plain old marabou tied on a 3/8 or 1/4 oz lead
head jig. The method is almost too simple, which is
why some people won't believe me when I tell them about
it. But after an afternoon on the Kitimat River with
a jig, they have all been turned into believers.
The gear needed is a 6-7 ft fast action spinning rod
coupled with a coffee grinder spooled up with 10- 15
lb test. Fenwick has an inexpensive 6 ft 6 medium action
rod called a lunker stick that I like to use. The stiffer
rod combined with a low stretch monofilament such as
Stren's "sensor" line will allow you greater control
over your jig while also increasing your ability to
detect the slightest touches, whether from the river
bottom or from a fish. |
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Photo by Gill McKean
Westcoast Fishing Adventures
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"Skeena Monster" - Photo by Gill McKean
Westcoast Fishing Adventures |
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When
fishing a jig, color may or may not play a significant
role (my favorite color is pink or pink and white), while
presentation is of utmost importance. My partner Gill
and myself have guided many an angler using different
colors and while some persons have their own theory, we
and our guests, have found that to catch coho in any numbers
the technique is what catches fish. |
To fish the jig properly just follow these few basic steps
and with a little patience and practice you will be flipping
jigs just like the bass pros in no time.
Step -1
Cast the jig to a likely coho lie.
Step -2
Start by keeping your rod tip pointed towards 9 o'clock.
Step- 3
Using only your wrist, snap your rod tip up to a little past
10 o'clock (don't be gentle).
Step- 4
Lower your rod tip back down to 9 o'clock and be careful to
reel up any slack line.
Step- 5
The speed of your retrieve will vary depending on the flow
and the depth water you are fishing.
Step- 6
Repeat this action until successful Remember to fish the jig
close to the bottom, as this is where the majority of the
coho will be found.
This system when done properly will catch more silvers for
you in one day than most anglers will catch during the entire
coho season. We have had guests who were actually afraid to
make other cast because their arms were too sore from reeling-in
so many fish. And for a little proof to show you that this
is not just another fish story ask Mark Pendlington from the
Sportsfishing B.C Show . We did 3 or 4 shows with Mark and
his cameraman Brian Quock this past September and they were
absolutely blown away by how effective the jigs were.
Not only will this system catch you more fish, it will catch
your buddies' lost fish for them as well. This past October
while fishing on the Kitmat River my friend, Brad Neufeld
busted off a prime silver while floatfishing with roe. Fifteen
minutes later, Gill spotted Brad's float about 80ft up river
from where we were fishing. I promptly wadded up river to
where Brad's float was gently bobbing in the current and cast
to it with my jig, hooked his broken line and proceeded to
reel in what was to be Brad's only hook-up of the day. The
result was a nice 13-14lb silver that we released.
After all this, if you still think this is a fish story then
try the jig for yourself and you be the judge.
Justin (Judge)Gyger
Westcoast Fishing Adventures
E-mail: gmckean@kermode.net
website: www.westcoast-fishing.com
ph# 250-638-0021 250-635-5005
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