Key Tips To Consistent Mature Chinook Hook Ups

[profisher]

When the bite IS ON...make best use of it. Have gear ready to go back in the water as soon as you land your fish. When the bite comes on I don't allow pictures...guests are told..the bite is on and if the next guy wants a turn there has to be something in the water before the bite ends. The picture can happen once the bite ends. I always hope to get at least two maybe three springs in the boat on a bite that lasts 30-45 minutes. Or at least that many opportunities...they don't always make it into the net. I see so many people who play a fish and then take forever to get started up again...by the time they do the bite is already done. The only rod that should take a bit of extra time to get back in the water is the one the fish just came in on...the others should be in the water within a minute. The first rod down should go to the exact depth the fish was just hit at as well.

 

[SpringVelocity]

There has been so many comments on fishing with and against tide with bait.. I do a version of what is shown here..Once I did this more few years ago hook ups increased..I am not saying murphy here you have to do that exactly but slowing speed of bait I do it very similar.. So you can fish in fast currents.. Some may disagree but it works for me especially in Sooke area where we have some crazy currents.... Also helps when you fish a slow current where you bait isn't doing anything....

[rX0OXp00o1o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0OXp00o1o

 

[Curtis]

Great information about location. But keep in mind there are several techniques with regards to the gear we use as well. Length of leader is crucial for a deadly chinook roll, but improper boat control/speed is very detrimental to great catches. Ever notice which rod will catch the big ones when your doing some zig zags? Also how many leaders have been sawed off? I just had dinner with the father in law, (old commercial guy) and talked about losing a couple of nice ones from having the leaders being sawed off and when I told him I was using 40 lb leaders he laughed! Hmmmm?

Funny story when I was around 10 fishing Sooke my Dad couldn't catch a big spring and someone pointed out to him to flip his flasher around and see what happens. lol
Paying attention to details and do your homework pays great dividends. Anyways your not going to catch fish sitting on the computer. See Ya!

 

[GDW]

Ammendment to #1.

Fish with somebody who knows what they are doing. It doesn't need to be a guide. Many anglers here will go with you for free and are just as good as the guides.

makes me laugh when an unsuccesful fishermen constantly takes out new, or other unsuccesful fishermen then wonders why they never get anything. It's hard to learn anything if nobody on your boat has a clue.

Pro said it these fish are not smart and a roll they will bite is demonstrated on the teaser head package. Not that you even need bait.

 

[TenMile]

Some great and generous contributions as always -- makes this site one of the best.

A couple tips I will add:

+1 on the sharp hooks -- keep the sharpener on hand in a convenient location
- if you see the rod tip move -- get on it and release it from the rigger and reel until you either feel the flasher (and nothing) or the fish -- bring the flasher close so you can be 100% sure your hooks are clear and your bait/lure is behaving correctly
- check your bait/tackle at regular intervals -- if nothing has happened for 10-15 minutes, I will generally pull one rod at a time and check it for weeds or other misadventures (always leave the other rod(s) fishing) -- always hate staring at the rod tip for a long interval only to find the hook has been trailing eel grass for some undetermined period
- personally, I'm a "make a plan, stick to the plan" type of guy -- I select the area I am going to fish for the time period and stay there -- I will absolutely move around at my spot, vary depths and tackle but I try to avoid making long moves with rods out of the water (unless that's part of the plan for the day).
- if you can find them, there are some interesting programs and sites around that show you animated tides for different areas -- it's one thing to know that the tide is ebbing or flooding, but it's another to understand how the change creates back eddies and spots where the bait will get pushed to - sometimes it's hard to see these flows when you're standing in your boat right on the water, particularly if there is a chop -- an older resource is a free software program called TideView (requires very old versions of Windows - I think it's XP or older)
- don't be afraid to experiment -- new spots, new lures, depths etc... you don't always have to follow the pack -- why not try shallower water at the edge of that kelp bed while there are 20 boats fishing deeper
- as they say in Fly Fishing "Match the Hatch" -- what's in the belly of that smaller fish you caught -- needlefish, herring, squid, prawn? May not make sense to be using a large 7" herring plug, when there are schools of needlefish around.
- finally -- read this site and post in the fishing reports section when you have success or not...

 

[Bait&Sea]

We do better when fishing away from the pack of boats

 

[wolf]

Must admit interesting views on this topic....

 

[finaddict]

Great read, Keep it going gents. I unfortunately have nothing to contribute since about 60% of the springs I catch seem to be Columbia River 12 lb. hatchery footballs anyways. Not that I am complaining and very much appreciate the efforts of our friends to the south to keep me in salmon year round........

 

[Grace underfire]

My first couple of years I had numerous tackle and line breaks. Since upgrading to better hooks on spoons and bait, and heavier fluorocarbon leader it's not an issue. Also double check leaders, particularly with bait where the fish get their teeth into them.

 

[SpringVelocity]

One thing I have noticed with many fished with is they all want to fish majorly shallow all the time. I have had three good sized springs last month caught that were mature 160 to 170 ft down right on bottom. Especially off points of land. Sometimes if it gets slow and want to experiment I will drop a line lower. Sometimes it pays off...I see this a lot on bright days in mid day and especially when we had those hot days....More important I think it's good to think outside box sometimes on slow days..

 

[mhbradley]

^ @ SpringVelocity: I agree about going deeper when its hot and sunny mid day.. I wouldn't want to sit in that sun if I was a fish.

 

[Falcon]

If a rod twitches -move and get it-quickly- don't sit and wait to see if it breaks of. If there is a fish there and you haven't broken off don't assume its a shaker. Break it off and get contact with the fish-if it breaks off reel like h--ll to get on that fish and have firm contact. If for any reason the line goes slack-don't assume you've lost the fish-reel like the hounds of hell are on you-until you see that flasher rotating. More guys lose fish because they allow contact to be lost-it can happen-fish charge boats, boats drift back on fish -you can't assume he's gone until you see that flasher rotate.

This very thing happened to me this morning in Renfrew. We were trolling, I was driving, as usual, when the rod closest to me slightly bounced twice, I grabbed it right away because you never know. Sure enough, an 18lb Spring but he didn't pop the clip and I don't bury my line in the clips.

I popped it off and reeled like mad until that tip was bent hard over and sure enough he took a good run...felt great to hear that islander reel singing!!

 

[Andrew P]

Quote Originally Posted by spring fever View Post
If a rod twitches -move and get it-quickly- don't sit and wait to see if it breaks of. If there is a fish there and you haven't broken off don't assume its a shaker. Break it off and get contact with the fish-if it breaks off reel like h--ll to get on that fish and have firm contact. If for any reason the line goes slack-don't assume you've lost the fish-reel like the hounds of hell are on you-until you see that flasher rotating. More guys lose fish because they allow contact to be lost-it can happen-fish charge boats, boats drift back on fish -you can't assume he's gone until you see that flasher rotate.

This very thing happened to me this morning in Renfrew. We were trolling, I was driving, as usual, when the rod closest to me slightly bounced twice, I grabbed it right away because you never know. Sure enough, an 18lb Spring but he didn't pop the clip and I don't bury my line in the clips.

I popped it off and reeled like mad until that tip was bent hard over and sure enough he took a good run...felt great to hear that islander reel singing!!

X3. You may only get one shot in a fishing session if there isn't many around and taking up that slack asap may be the difference between a skunk or a lifetimer!

 

[wolf]

Some good points on here but a few wll not so good .

First off id say be prepared like pro said , I have one set of chovies in water I have another leader all set for the ready with the chovie in holder and if I get a hit from any fish bring it in flip in box and take out the rebaited one back down fishing again. then red do it al again check for nicks or twist TIE a new one leader line is cheap chance and a big spring not so much....

2nd point BRINE your bait i take down to boat 2 to 3 packs to "thaw" during the day as my lil bait cooler is already full the stuff is already brined in there near the end of day I take out all the bait in my cooler(put aside) add more salt and other tricks into it and re stir it all for a good 5 mins trying to dissolve more salt then put in the new 'THAWED" bait and put the stuff ive been using op top . take home and put in freezer . Ive found thawed bait will accept the salt way better then just out of package. now your set for the next day .....repeat every day like that simple but GOOD brined bait lasts and works way better...

3 Set pins tight on rigger not so tight you cant get it off let the fish "set" the hook for you ... do a test with a buddy in yard or dock take out 25 ft of line (about the distance of the clip to flasher) have him hang on now pull like your setting the "hook" now the pull is going to be good NOW take out 90 to 100 ft PLUS the 25 ft simulating your fishing those depths. NOW pull your only going to get MAYBE 3 lbs of pull from it measure it with a digital scale you will be surprised the stretch from that mono at the distance is a lot , hence set the pins tight if a fish POPS it off its usually on if it has let go it was probably hook in side of face and well your not going to get every fish you hit.....

4 bring up gear knowing your going back down my riggers are mid ship so what i do is hit the switch swivel the rigger in as now im standing at back of boat, I bring line up while the rigger is on (and you will be surprised at how many fish with the rigger coming up) what this does is brings up all weeds and crap and will stop and clip shake tug whatever to get weeds off undo the line from clip check it all redo adjust whatever now the clip is back at boat ready to be redone. put it on move rigger send back down I can bring up and be back down in matter of a min or so...
Ive seen so many POP of the rigger bring it up COVERED in crap sit there trying to get all the junk off flasher then the hooks wreaking bait then they have to redo then swivel base in seen them do a whole tact at otter THRU the fishy zone (about 15 mins) think about every tact you do this your out for 5 hours do this 10 times in a day you have the gear not fishing for over 2 hours hhhhhhmmmmmmm
the way to catch these fish is to BE IN THE WATER faster thru gear the better...

Lastly spend the money on GOOD factory "sharp" hooks they make a big difference VMC ,Owner. some of the high end Mustads if they are dull throw em away hooks and leader line is cheap dont skimp on either I use the above alot with 45 lb mono yami line and change leaders after every fish most times as if we lose a fish to me being lazy retieing it really makes me up set as thats me as a guide being lazy you never know when that tyee is going to hit . If its been retied and it gets sawed off well i can live with that a "bit better"

Good luck Wolf

 

[777]

This very thing happened to me this morning in Renfrew. We were trolling, I was driving, as usual, when the rod closest to me slightly bounced twice, I grabbed it right away because you never know. Sure enough, an 18lb Spring but he didn't pop the clip and I don't bury my line in the clips.

I popped it off and reeled like mad until that tip was bent hard over and sure enough he took a good run...felt great to hear that islander reel singing!!

Falcon, all 6 of our springs from last weekend at renfrew were the softest hits I've seen from fish in the high teens! At least a couple of them I legitimately thought were pinks. One of them swam straight to the boat and hopped in the net. Literally a 20 second fight. 15 to 20 pound fish not popping the clip! that was a run of lazy butt fish.

I have a question regarding speed for everyone...are people really trolling at 3 knots speed over water? that seems crazy fast to me. I'm typically in the 1.3 - 1.6 knots over water area.

777

 

[profisher]

2.3-2.5 mph boat speed over calm water for me for springs 2.7 in wind where bigger waves knick your speed down...so by cranking it up a bit you are hitting 2.7 down a wave and 2.3 up it or pushing through it...instead of 2.3 down it and 1.8 up it which means my bait is rolling to slow going up the waves. In fast current I can be cranked up to almost 4 mph just to maintain a position or to move ahead slightly.

 

[ericl]

As for trolling speed; this thread seems to be "bait focused" as in Anchovy-Flasher. I ditched the trebles & went to double mooching hooks over 20 years back. Tie them with 5/0 hooks (I like owner) with a spacing so that the front hook get's buried right where the Rhys Davies instruction say to bury it and the back hook looks like it is part of the bait's tail. i use 30# Seaguar at a length of six feet. With a very small amount of bend/tension between the top hook & teaser head, the trolling speed i use is where the Flasher turn's over no more than once per second & the bait rolls no faster than the Flasher rotation. It is better to start out with less tension & then take the time to adjust tension than it is to troll around for hours without catching the big one's (30+). The hard part is getting the bait to roll versus spin. Ditching the trebles makes a difference here. If you want to make the guides call you & ask what you are doing, add some garlic powder to your brine.
My rule for fishing is that everything matters, some things matter more. What matters more can change often. i have had days where the fish were nit keen on biting would only hit a lure on the way up after popping the release, or hit a jig only as you cranked it-in at full speed.

As for speed with lures, I am usually going 3+ & aim for a 45 degree cable angle when there is under 200 ft of cable out. I tend to use large Siwash hooks with lures. But i usually am trolling offshore where hook size matters less & faster is better than slower.

 

[ericl]

As for trolling speed; this thread seems to be "bait focused" as in Anchovy-Flasher. I ditched the trebles & went to double mooching hooks over 20 years back. Tie them with 5/0 hooks (I like owner) with a spacing so that the front hook get's buried right where the Rhys Davies instruction say to bury it and the back hook looks like it is part of the bait's tail. i use 30# Seaguar at a length of six feet. With a very small amount of bend/tension between the top hook & teaser head, the trolling speed i use is where the Flasher turn's over no more than once per second & the bait rolls no faster than the Flasher rotation. It is better to start out with less tension & then take the time to adjust tension than it is to troll around for hours without catching the big one's (30+). The hard part is getting the bait to roll versus spin. Ditching the trebles makes a difference here. If you want to make the guides call you & ask what you are doing, add some garlic powder to your brine.
My rule for fishing is that everything matters, some things matter more. What matters more can change often. i have had days where the fish were not keen on biting would only hit a lure on the way up after popping the release, or hit a jig only as you cranked it-in at full speed.

As for speed with lures, I am usually going 3+ & aim for a 45 degree cable angle when there is under 200 ft of cable out. I tend to use large Siwash hooks with lures. But i usually am trolling offshore where hook size matters less & faster is better than slower.

 

[Humpbubble]

Does anyone feel they can "play" a hit successfully when dragging balls? And how?
I miss the old mooching days when you would get the slightest taps, and stream out a couple lengths of line to simulate stunned herring waiting for that hog to circle round and smash that sh&t !

Or do i have to go sit at the trap with my banana weights

 

[ericl]

Humpbubble, my answer is no. When DR trolling & you get a bite, I think 1 of 3 things happen:

(1) They hit hard, get hooked, and most likely will not become unhooked even if you do not set the hook immediately.

(2) They hit soft, are not hooked & you set the hook and maybe they will not become unhooked.

(3) They hit soft, are not hooked, they are gone when you try to set the hook.

By playing a hit it sounds like you mean to do something other that set the hook immediately.

As to those times (hopefully rare) where your line is slack, you reel in a gob of slack & the fish is still there, who knows what went on?