Sooke Reports - Spring and Summer 2012
- Thread starter Last Chance
- Start date
Seafever
Well-Known Member
Englishman.......300ft is no problem for Herring when they want to be there....
You'd be surprised what goes on down there in the abyss......
Commercial trollers will go that deep and double.......
Of course they have hydraulic downriggers and 35 to 60 lb cannonballs.....plus all the wire they can handle.
Ever seen those electric fishing reels that guys farther south use to get back up from 900ft?......down there the "sporties" use "em.
Then there's that project they have going on in Saanich Inlet and the deep canyons of outer Barkley Sound...(The Neptune Project).....they have realtime cameras down there and they have website where you can watch. Google 'Neptune Project'....
Lots of stuff down there deep..... did you know we have little lobsters on the West coast?....a lot smaller than the Easterns though....
You'd be surprised what goes on down there in the abyss......
Commercial trollers will go that deep and double.......
Of course they have hydraulic downriggers and 35 to 60 lb cannonballs.....plus all the wire they can handle.
Ever seen those electric fishing reels that guys farther south use to get back up from 900ft?......down there the "sporties" use "em.
Then there's that project they have going on in Saanich Inlet and the deep canyons of outer Barkley Sound...(The Neptune Project).....they have realtime cameras down there and they have website where you can watch. Google 'Neptune Project'....
Lots of stuff down there deep..... did you know we have little lobsters on the West coast?....a lot smaller than the Easterns though....
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Chris I would have to disagree somewhat with your theory about the deep running fish on the Sounder off Sooke and English the experiment has already been done. In 400 feet of water column off Sooke, with the sensitivity on the fish finder up a little and switched over to fish ID with fish depth indicator to get rid of the clutter I have gone searching. What else is there to do midday with a bright sun and nothing biting.
On two occasions when I did this there was a massive school of fish showing on the sounder from about 240 feet down to 380 feet. What got my interest was that they were showing as all different sizes (fish icons). I was thinking that if they were pinks or sockeye, the size would be more uniform so I wondered if they could be Chinook and I did not think Coho would be that deep. With a high speed rigger, steel cable, a twenty lb ball and a slow troll on a tide change (no current to speak of with only a small amount of blowback) I was just able to scrap over the top of the school by using 295 feet of the 300 feet of steel I had on the High Speed. I would have loved to have had 400 or 500 feet at the time.
We got salmon hitting down there immediately and they were Chinook from as small as 3lbs to the low teens and some were clipped so I think they were US Hatchery fish. Plan to do a little more experimenting when I see them again and the conditions are right. That’s why I recently put 500 feet of braid on one high speed Scotty and have 500 feet of steel waiting for the other High Speed when the 300 feet on it wears out.
If you try this, that much cable/braid can make your depth readout less accurate so that is something to be aware of and the lures of choice at that depth are charged up glow flashers and glow hootchies not bait.
You may also want a kicker with an 11 or 12 amp charging system, not six amps (most currrent model kickers) so you don’t drain your batteries with those amp hog high speed riggers coming up from that depth along with all the other current draws on your boat.
I am also thinking that it may be interesting to experiment with gravel dragging a rigger ball in 350 feet of water column for Hali.
Now I am wondering where I can get 25 lb balls???
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Lipripper
Active Member
Rockfish... I have to disagree with you.
A sounder that shows fish icons is not a good sounder. And if it has that option it should be turned off.
Take a good sounder... wait for the first rains... then watch the 300 ft level on the sounder. You will see a conveyor belt of fish especially with the last month and a half of zero rain.
Late sept a couple years ago I pulled a 20lb white from the eastside of the race at almost the 300 ft level (I believe it was 280 on a 50lb) You should have seen the fish that deep on the Sitex.
Since it was a white I believe it was a late...
Rockfish... I have to disagree with you.
A sounder that shows fish icons is not a good sounder. And if it has that option it should be turned off.
Take a good sounder... wait for the first rains... then watch the 300 ft level on the sounder. You will see a conveyor belt of fish especially with the last month and a half of zero rain.
Late sept a couple years ago I pulled a 20lb white from the eastside of the race at almost the 300 ft level (I believe it was 280 on a 50lb) You should have seen the fish that deep on the Sitex.
In general I agree with you and most of the time keep that feature turned off and concentrate on the more detailed info available on the sounder such as bait balls, fish arches, even weed/kelp growing off the top of reefs which are not available when the computer is interpreting arches as fish in Fish ID mode. But sometimes that fish ID and depth feature is useful. So whats a Sitex cost? Even the chepos like mine are in the $2000 to $3000 range new.
Fish ID is also good for an occasional giggle when I have someone new on board. I set it on fish ID and show them the steady stream of large fish icons which in reality is actually just the rigger balls being misinterpreted by the computer. Those 20lb balls have a tendency to stay under the boat and get picked up by the fishfinder a lot more than lighter balls especially if not down deep with a lot of blowback. It is useful to see a trail of dots showing you exactly where your balls are in the water column and watch them getting closer to the bottom as the bottom is coming up.
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Tsquared
Well-Known Member
I've caught springs off the finger bank at 420 ft deep--70 fathoms on plugs
when I had my commercial troller. I decked for a guy whom I trust who said
He caught springs near the same spot at 90 fathoms . He joked that you could start the gurdie coming up, go brush
your teeth in the wheelhouse and jump back into the cockpit as the first snap broke the surface!
T2
when I had my commercial troller. I decked for a guy whom I trust who said
He caught springs near the same spot at 90 fathoms . He joked that you could start the gurdie coming up, go brush
your teeth in the wheelhouse and jump back into the cockpit as the first snap broke the surface!
T2
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tigerprawn
Active Member
Just Hake.
sammyslabber
Active Member
Hoes a hopping go get em - green glow splatterback hootchies @ 70 ' 3oo - 400' head area. am was good then they went on a lunch break - back in full force later on...
Lipripper
Active Member
Englishman
Well-Known Member
HAHAHAHA...
Kid said throw this yellow/red abortion looking needle fish out.
The coho agreed...Kid was happy
Good day today..
Funny how that happens eh Lippy? My daughter often used to pick lures I would not choose (both in the salt and fresh) and often met with success.The confidence and optimism of youth I think!
Glad you had a fun day with your kid; those are good times....
Seafever
Well-Known Member
Englishman:-
"Yellow-red abortion"....the kid unwittingly picked a hot color combo for Coho.
One spoon I am using right now :- yellow brass, one side.....yellow brass the other side withn a bright orange stripe down edge.
Another spoon I use for coho:- 4 inch, Coyote body, half pink/half yellow with several large black dots on one side, the other side yellow brass finish.
I also use metallic Fuschia Pink cuttlefish hoochy.......they like that one.
There is a color combo called "AC/DC" they use farther north.......it works good here too.
If you think red/yellow is kooky.....wait 'til you see the AC/DC.
I also have good results with metallic geen/metallic blue combo on one side of spoon, and prismatic chrome on the other.
"yellow/red" combo you used:- Coho eat krill=red...and they also eat a yellow shrimp in the fall.
Lures in pic have all caught Coho.... (the AC/DC color combo is:- Chartreuse with big black dots on one side...and.....Hot Pink with big black dots on the other.)
While it can be said that Coho will hit just about anything sooner or later.....it seems that they do like certian preferences at times.
Troll speed is another factor.........some days you can get them normal speed ...other days you have to go like holy hell to get their attention.
A lot of times I dont use flasher for Coho.....just put the spoon on the line,lower it.....and hit the throttle.....works just as good, if not better, than with a flasher.
"Yellow-red abortion"....the kid unwittingly picked a hot color combo for Coho.
One spoon I am using right now :- yellow brass, one side.....yellow brass the other side withn a bright orange stripe down edge.
Another spoon I use for coho:- 4 inch, Coyote body, half pink/half yellow with several large black dots on one side, the other side yellow brass finish.
I also use metallic Fuschia Pink cuttlefish hoochy.......they like that one.
There is a color combo called "AC/DC" they use farther north.......it works good here too.
If you think red/yellow is kooky.....wait 'til you see the AC/DC.
I also have good results with metallic geen/metallic blue combo on one side of spoon, and prismatic chrome on the other.
"yellow/red" combo you used:- Coho eat krill=red...and they also eat a yellow shrimp in the fall.
Lures in pic have all caught Coho.... (the AC/DC color combo is:- Chartreuse with big black dots on one side...and.....Hot Pink with big black dots on the other.)
While it can be said that Coho will hit just about anything sooner or later.....it seems that they do like certian preferences at times.
Troll speed is another factor.........some days you can get them normal speed ...other days you have to go like holy hell to get their attention.
A lot of times I dont use flasher for Coho.....just put the spoon on the line,lower it.....and hit the throttle.....works just as good, if not better, than with a flasher.
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What a great day on the water!
Fished P.P from 8am till 3pm today in a strong flood tide. We found the Coho about 1.5 miles off shore, and stayed on top off a school of them for a few hours.
Must have hooked up 25 to 30+ times. We took home 4 cliped Coho and 1 Chum. We were getting the coho on bait, untill it ran out, then switched to green/white hootchies.
The Coho are getting bigger, I can't wait till Oct so I can keep a wild one ( we let 2 notably LARGE wild ones go today)
Cheers
Rich
Fished P.P from 8am till 3pm today in a strong flood tide. We found the Coho about 1.5 miles off shore, and stayed on top off a school of them for a few hours.
Must have hooked up 25 to 30+ times. We took home 4 cliped Coho and 1 Chum. We were getting the coho on bait, untill it ran out, then switched to green/white hootchies.
The Coho are getting bigger, I can't wait till Oct so I can keep a wild one ( we let 2 notably LARGE wild ones go today)
Cheers
Rich
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Lipripper
Active Member
Seafever... it reminded me of one of these
Which has slayed trout through steelhead.
He picked out a green/blue hootchie that got a few rattles too but he lost all those.
He always had a licence, never a salmon tag. I got that the day before cause he is big enough to do it now. He got his first salmon all by himself and he fooled a whole bunch.
I am not sure who had the bigger grin.
Back out tomorrow..... (as I unload the little boat from an estuary cruise)
Which has slayed trout through steelhead.
He picked out a green/blue hootchie that got a few rattles too but he lost all those.
He always had a licence, never a salmon tag. I got that the day before cause he is big enough to do it now. He got his first salmon all by himself and he fooled a whole bunch.
I am not sure who had the bigger grin.
Back out tomorrow..... (as I unload the little boat from an estuary cruise)
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Lipripper
Active Member
Yesterday there were two ships (one on either side) doing a stock transfer on that sub, surprised it was there today...
From my distance it looked much bigger than a Trident....
Tons of coho out there. Getting to be a decent size now. Average 8-12lb
Fished 7-11 yesterday. Lost count after 25 fish. Mostly wild but managed 4 hatch.
Calm seas, lots of actions and daily whale shows.
Take a kid or new angler fishing. They'll be hooked.
Use a big single hook and only boat the fish you are going to keep.
No need for bait or treble hooks.
Don't sweat it if you lose a fish while identifing it. You'll get another in short order.
Tips
Fished 7-11 yesterday. Lost count after 25 fish. Mostly wild but managed 4 hatch.
Calm seas, lots of actions and daily whale shows.
Take a kid or new angler fishing. They'll be hooked.
Use a big single hook and only boat the fish you are going to keep.
No need for bait or treble hooks.
Don't sweat it if you lose a fish while identifing it. You'll get another in short order.
Tips
Gear'n'beer!
Well-Known Member
That was an LA class Lipripper. Nuclear powered, pretty big boat.....not as big as a boomer though
Lipripper
Active Member
The coning tower on the thing was pretty much up to the bridge on the supply ships....It was huge.
Dropped the gear this morning.. 3 minutes later let go a low teens wild, pretty much set the tone for the day. We got 3 hatches 6-9 but the wild/hatch ratio was better than 10-1. I'm not even going to go out next weekend, I'll wait for the wilds to open.
It almost got boring out there
[edit] G'n'B... you almost got me there.... LA class is something like 200ft shorter than a Trident (Ohio class). What is a boomer?
I saw a monster sub.. and seen Tridents from a closer distance.
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