After suffering several severe injuries in an April motorcycle accident prior to completion of my alumn pilot house boat- I have had too much time to think....So my question is--How many of you are into drift mooching for salmon as opposed to downrigger fishing? What type of tackle and bait do you use? I feel untill my injuries heal further-that when I get out in theboat I will be better capable of mooching due to less gear and heavy weights. Drifting along various structure hunting for Chinook seems like a pleasant relaxing chore---So guys--Chime in with your thoughts and tips-THANKS!
Mooching for salmon
- Thread starter MRACER
- Start date
Dogbreath
Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear about your injuries.
The term mooching here in BC generally applies to live bait fishing-notta heckuva lotta live bait around these days.
But drifting a cut plug Herring is easy and has been discussed many times too bad the Search feature here is so scattershot.
The term mooching here in BC generally applies to live bait fishing-notta heckuva lotta live bait around these days.
But drifting a cut plug Herring is easy and has been discussed many times too bad the Search feature here is so scattershot.
saanauk
Well-Known Member
MRACER,
I have not drift mooched for probably ten years but I do motor mooch a fair amount. With motor mooching I just use a 6 to 8 foot leader with cut plug herring. Weights very from 6 to 12 ounces depending on the current. The only problem with motor mooching is if everyone around you is using downriggers and you are the only one motor mooching you don't make a lot of friends. I normally save motor mooching for when I am at pretty remote places such as Cultus Sound, Spider Island, Rivers Inlet areas. The nice thing about motor mooching is that you can fish a lot of poles. With two people on my boat mooching six rods in not a problem at all but can get busy when you get a double or triple header. Nothing beats picking up a large spring right next to the kelp while motor mooching.
I have not drift mooched for probably ten years but I do motor mooch a fair amount. With motor mooching I just use a 6 to 8 foot leader with cut plug herring. Weights very from 6 to 12 ounces depending on the current. The only problem with motor mooching is if everyone around you is using downriggers and you are the only one motor mooching you don't make a lot of friends. I normally save motor mooching for when I am at pretty remote places such as Cultus Sound, Spider Island, Rivers Inlet areas. The nice thing about motor mooching is that you can fish a lot of poles. With two people on my boat mooching six rods in not a problem at all but can get busy when you get a double or triple header. Nothing beats picking up a large spring right next to the kelp while motor mooching.
Is there a significant speed differance between fishing with a downrigger and motor mooching?
saanauk
Well-Known Member
I normally fish a lot slower with as minimal weight as needed. I will cut my herring to spin faster at a slower speed as compared to when I fish cut plug off the downrigger.
spring fever
Well-Known Member
Motor mooching is usually much slower than downrigger trolling. I realize that there are many individual techniques used for motor mooching but the one I use and seems to be pretty popular is to push the boat as slow as it can go with the engine -take it out of gear-allow the cut plug to slowly spiral down-then put it in gear for a bit -then take it out-repeatedly. This will give the cut plug different depths and also different spins. You can see why the comment was made that this is not really appropriate in a heavily trolled area because the boat speed is slow,erratic, and you'll not fit into the pattern at all.
Seafever
Well-Known Member
This getting abit off the topic but.......
Have you thought of pulling a spoon instead of herring?
I use a fairly hefty rod ( to handle the weight),not all that hefty but it will handle 15 to 32 ounces of weight.
Connect main to a small spreader bar (store-bought or home-made....mine are home-made out of coat hanger wire)
Connect weight to bottom of spreader bar...I find I need about 30 ounces to get me down 80ft. and be moving/trolling...
Connect about 6ft of leader to spreader bar...no flasher......then spoon.
I've used this method tight into reefs structure where downrigger ball crowd don't want to go.
It works........a lot of time salmon tight into structure/reefs are a lot shallower than other places.
You need a half -decent reel with good drag system on it though.
I use tuffline instead of mono for the main when I use this method.
Have you thought of pulling a spoon instead of herring?
I use a fairly hefty rod ( to handle the weight),not all that hefty but it will handle 15 to 32 ounces of weight.
Connect main to a small spreader bar (store-bought or home-made....mine are home-made out of coat hanger wire)
Connect weight to bottom of spreader bar...I find I need about 30 ounces to get me down 80ft. and be moving/trolling...
Connect about 6ft of leader to spreader bar...no flasher......then spoon.
I've used this method tight into reefs structure where downrigger ball crowd don't want to go.
It works........a lot of time salmon tight into structure/reefs are a lot shallower than other places.
You need a half -decent reel with good drag system on it though.
I use tuffline instead of mono for the main when I use this method.
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Steelhead S2
Active Member
I remember mooching! What a great way to fish that was. Light weight, live bait, and screaming reels. That's how I learned to fish, and to love fishing. But I don't think you can buy bait any more. If you want to fish this way you can jig up some herring or catch some pile perch and keep them alive (have seen these in bellies before). You can also drift with strip... never done this, but have read about fishing winters this way. It spins in the current I think.
You could also motor mooch, as already discussed.
When guys talk about mooching, they also include jigging. This might not work until you are fully recovered (and trolling again).
One nice thing about mooching is no engine noise.
No matter how you go fishing, I wish you the best in your recovery. That is some scary business.
You could also motor mooch, as already discussed.
When guys talk about mooching, they also include jigging. This might not work until you are fully recovered (and trolling again).
One nice thing about mooching is no engine noise.
No matter how you go fishing, I wish you the best in your recovery. That is some scary business.
You guys are sure giving me the itch with some great info --I drive by a small store near Ladysmith that has a sign in the window--Rys Davis Bait--gonna have to stop and check it out. In this day of high gas prices I bet drift mooching could catch on and great fisherman will still catch 90% of the fish! Which is OK, cause I can survive on my chunk of the 10% that's left-LOL
Kildonan
Well-Known Member
I agree!! I have recently renewed a love for jigging, I did a lot of it in the 80's. I have just started with it again in the last 2 years. I just bought myself a dandy 14 foot tinny with a 20 on it, perfect for some poking around Oak Bay and the Sidney area. It's pretty good on fuel too ;-).
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Rum Buddies
Well-Known Member
I've seen a few guys smash fish jigging off the flats and constance
Money Well Spent
Member
I've had the pleasure of the conversation with so many people over the years on the mooching topic. I fished in Powell River with my brother for years when I was young...live bait....get thru the coho to the springs...dodge the sharks....have fun..$ 3.00/dz for good live fish...was worth every penny.
#1 It's a lost fishing method for the younger generation.
#2 Nobody has live bait any more...understandably so...it takes work to catch and hold....plus maintain a good herring pen.
#3 There is nothing better than sitting in flat water...slack tide...herring in balls that fill up a plotter...and teaching your kids how to hook up a live herring....watching that rod tip wiggle with a 2 0z weight and a live fish.......then the big rod dip and the reel does a zinger and out goes the line.
#4 The look on your kids faces when they have to wind that old butt Peetz reel in and see that 20 + spring in....PRICELESS.
#5 Find some needle fish...jig them with a long leader set of hooks....have fun..
I know I may get some flack from a few people....but....for what it's worth....the ones that I brought up fishing are the ones that look after our fishery.
The old farts out there like me know just what Im saying.....
Try it people.....bring the kids out....the fun part is...you never know what your going to catch....THATS WHAT KIDS NEED.....
AKA....BC Outdoorsman
#1 It's a lost fishing method for the younger generation.
#2 Nobody has live bait any more...understandably so...it takes work to catch and hold....plus maintain a good herring pen.
#3 There is nothing better than sitting in flat water...slack tide...herring in balls that fill up a plotter...and teaching your kids how to hook up a live herring....watching that rod tip wiggle with a 2 0z weight and a live fish.......then the big rod dip and the reel does a zinger and out goes the line.
#4 The look on your kids faces when they have to wind that old butt Peetz reel in and see that 20 + spring in....PRICELESS.
#5 Find some needle fish...jig them with a long leader set of hooks....have fun..
I know I may get some flack from a few people....but....for what it's worth....the ones that I brought up fishing are the ones that look after our fishery.
The old farts out there like me know just what Im saying.....
Try it people.....bring the kids out....the fun part is...you never know what your going to catch....THATS WHAT KIDS NEED.....
AKA....BC Outdoorsman
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Dave H
Well-Known Member
Nine days from now will be the 50th anniversary of the day I moved to Campbell River.
A couple of years later my Dad moved to Sechelt, along with my sisters.
The methods used for salmon fishing here in Campbell River back 50 years ago are so different from today it's unbelievable.
And I spent some time fishing "livies" at the Gap near Gibsons as well as near Porpoise Island in Porpoise Bay back in the day too, so I know whereof you speak about that.
Totally different today for sure.
Take care.
A couple of years later my Dad moved to Sechelt, along with my sisters.
The methods used for salmon fishing here in Campbell River back 50 years ago are so different from today it's unbelievable.
And I spent some time fishing "livies" at the Gap near Gibsons as well as near Porpoise Island in Porpoise Bay back in the day too, so I know whereof you speak about that.
Totally different today for sure.
Take care.
Kildonan
Well-Known Member
fondly recall mooching live bait in pender harbour in the 80's and 90's. bargain harbour for the night bite. still got some live bait about 4 years back in secret cove but don't know if they still have any.bottom end of lesquitti when the coho were in you could just see how the school was moving by watching the different boats lines start peeling off. yah those were the days
sudsy
Well-Known Member
Guided at painters lodge in campbell river 8 years ago, was one of the last years live bait was still available...nothing beats a 2 oz weight and live herring on your line, definetly wish i could experience that again, unfortunetly with the lack of docks selling live bait i think thos days are over... But mooching strips in a back eddy is very rewarding aswell....
OK- can't wait to try this out--I think I can locate strips- might have to obtain a herring rake and get serious. Sounds like it would be fun to learn and not fishing for anything other than sport, the learning curve would be a good experience! I can always use the downriggers to and from possible mooching areas--
Kildonan
Well-Known Member
I like how you think. My goal this summer is to hook a Spring in the salt with my fly gear, should be a good challenge. I'm in the process of tying flies these days.
fish stalker
Active Member
thats my goal too. It was last year too but I was just learning. So doable, get the longest spey rod you can find/afford. Cohos in late summer.
edit oh springs eh!? hmm how ya thinkin'? I would think it would have to be at river mouths. I just about got one to bite but snaggers spooked it off. I didnt think they came up that high out in the chuck.
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Time
Well-Known Member
No question that since the introduction of downriggers trolling has taken over as the preferred method of sport fishing, but nothing beats mooching for a relaxing day.
Back in the days of yore we would rig the live herring with two #6 or 8 hooks, one through the nose, other through the back behind the dorsal. 8-10 feet of leader and 1 1/2 to 3 ounce of "mooching weights", (crescent shaped weight, eye on either end). Rods were limber 10 foot, the cadillac rods being Hardy 10's and 1010's. Reels were single action knuckle busters. Generally people anchored up when mooching, especially in crowded waters (hole-in-the-wall, Horseshoe Bay, Salmon Rock near Gibsons, or my old favourite, the A-frame at Pender Harbour).
Strip Casting, using the same weight style, rig a herring strip with a single #4 hook at the head of the strip, peel line off reel and let pile up at your feet, cast the bait out and let it sink, peel more line off as the rig sinks, let settle, retrieve and repeat as necessary. Could use a bait caster, or even a spinning reel, but they weren't made for salt water years ago. The strip should have a bevel cut at the front - most available strip for purchase is precut to a good angle (to fit into strip holders used for trolling).
Cut plug - use with same gear, tandem hooks but leading hook inserted from inside herring stomach cavity out through side. Use when motor mooching or when a bit of tidal action would impart roll to the plug.
For making cut plugs, stop at a tackle store and buy a plastic jig they should have for cutting the herring. The cut on the herring (or anchovy) is a compound angle, looked at from the side the cut bevels from the top of the herring to the bottom, and if viewed from above, it also bevels from one side to the other. A good "cut" will put a nice roll on the plug. It can be done by eye, but, while the old pro's could do it consistently, it's hard to master. Don't forget to use the point of your knife to clean the guts out of the plug.
Methods are not restricted to salmon. Good for rockfish, snapper, ling cod too. Probably a good area to practice on.
For better tips check the used bookstores for old Charlie White or Alex Merriman how-to books.
Good luck with the fishing and your recovery.
Back in the days of yore we would rig the live herring with two #6 or 8 hooks, one through the nose, other through the back behind the dorsal. 8-10 feet of leader and 1 1/2 to 3 ounce of "mooching weights", (crescent shaped weight, eye on either end). Rods were limber 10 foot, the cadillac rods being Hardy 10's and 1010's. Reels were single action knuckle busters. Generally people anchored up when mooching, especially in crowded waters (hole-in-the-wall, Horseshoe Bay, Salmon Rock near Gibsons, or my old favourite, the A-frame at Pender Harbour).
Strip Casting, using the same weight style, rig a herring strip with a single #4 hook at the head of the strip, peel line off reel and let pile up at your feet, cast the bait out and let it sink, peel more line off as the rig sinks, let settle, retrieve and repeat as necessary. Could use a bait caster, or even a spinning reel, but they weren't made for salt water years ago. The strip should have a bevel cut at the front - most available strip for purchase is precut to a good angle (to fit into strip holders used for trolling).
Cut plug - use with same gear, tandem hooks but leading hook inserted from inside herring stomach cavity out through side. Use when motor mooching or when a bit of tidal action would impart roll to the plug.
For making cut plugs, stop at a tackle store and buy a plastic jig they should have for cutting the herring. The cut on the herring (or anchovy) is a compound angle, looked at from the side the cut bevels from the top of the herring to the bottom, and if viewed from above, it also bevels from one side to the other. A good "cut" will put a nice roll on the plug. It can be done by eye, but, while the old pro's could do it consistently, it's hard to master. Don't forget to use the point of your knife to clean the guts out of the plug.
Methods are not restricted to salmon. Good for rockfish, snapper, ling cod too. Probably a good area to practice on.
For better tips check the used bookstores for old Charlie White or Alex Merriman how-to books.
Good luck with the fishing and your recovery.
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