Plugs

Brett83

Well-Known Member
I'm going up to Tofino fishing on Tuesday. Someone mentioned I should try a plug. I've done a lot of fishing and only ever run a plug as a last ditch effort. Never caught anything. They looks cool and have nice action in the water. How do you choose size and colour? I would probably run one that looks like a herring aid. But size? Would you try and match the area bait? Does anyone have days that plugs out preform anchovies or hoochie? I was talking to a guide yesterday and he never uses plugs locally in Vancouver but said they're more popular on northern Vancouver Island. As a carpenter I love the idea of using wood to catch salmon.
 
Plugs are a funny thing. i’ve had days fishing plugs where i get no love ; then i’ve had days where they are so lethal i think they should be banned. i always thought CR was a plug town; i think the powell river boys take the cake. those guys are hardcore plug addicts. as far as size i ry and match the bait size. the bait around CR right now is quite large so i’m dragging large plugs. Herring aid plug is 645 i think. 191iirvp is a good one.also 700G but you’ll never go wrong with 602 tubby.
 
I'm going up to Tofino fishing on Tuesday. Someone mentioned I should try a plug. I've done a lot of fishing and only ever run a plug as a last ditch effort. Never caught anything. They looks cool and have nice action in the water. How do you choose size and colour? I would probably run one that looks like a herring aid. But size? Would you try and match the area bait? Does anyone have days that plugs out preform anchovies or hoochie? I was talking to a guide yesterday and he never uses plugs locally in Vancouver but said they're more popular on northern Vancouver Island. As a carpenter I love the idea of using wood to catch salmon.
I commercial trolled out of tofino for many years if I had to choose one plug I would get a tomic 600 plug in 5 inch just remembered that you need to troll fast
 
On my last trip I was anchored for halibut at Big Bank and listened in on 78A to two commercial trollers fishing the plug opening out there. They have to use 6 or 7" plugs to avoid coho by-catch. One guy only had 3 fish, the other had more. One guy was asking the other if the rules had changed because he just watched a different boat pull 3 good chinooks in a row on flashers and hootchies. I like to fish plugs when the fishing is good and a lot of things would likely work, and I have salvaged the day on a 5" shiny iridescent blue rvpii tubby trolled on the bottom a couple times.
 
Plugs are a funny thing. i’ve had days fishing plugs where i get no love ; then i’ve had days where they are so lethal i think they should be banned. i always thought CR was a plug town; i think the powell river boys take the cake. those guys are hardcore plug addicts. as far as size i ry and match the bait size. the bait around CR right now is quite large so i’m dragging large plugs. Herring aid plug is 645 i think. 191iirvp is a good one.also 700G but you’ll never go wrong with 602 tubby.
Haha, I lived in PR and it is definatly a plug town, but since I've moved to CR I think its about the same! Plugs are all I put down on the east side or jigging. I've never had any plug love on the west side.
 
In my experience around Becher bay is that when the area is full of boats dropping a plug and trolling fast has really turned a day around when everyone else is dragging teaser heads. No flasher and like stated above troll fast, It will also help you get into the rotation around the head being more maneuverable.
 
Plugs are a funny thing. i’ve had days fishing plugs where i get no love ; then i’ve had days where they are so lethal i think they should be banned. i always thought CR was a plug town; i think the powell river boys take the cake. those guys are hardcore plug addicts. as far as size i ry and match the bait size. the bait around CR right now is quite large so i’m dragging large plugs. Herring aid plug is 645 i think. 191iirvp is a good one.also 700G but you’ll never go wrong with 602 tubby.

you know it 602 never leaves the line!
 
I have 602's and many others, but I am waiting to try this color out. New Old Stock I found on Ebay.

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Looks like a familiar color:

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I have heard a lot of guys pull the pin and run the line right through, so if they get a break the plug floats up and you can retrieve it - anyone here do that? Does it have much impact on catch rates either way?
 
Speed for plugs often times depends on how you set them up, ( hook size, length of leader from wire, size of leader, size of plug ) I too trolled commercially for many years, some guys in the group trolled fast and tuned their gear to work at fast speeds, others tuned their gear to fish best slower. There is no hard and fast rule for speed. You have to figure out what works with your set up. I tended to troll 4 and 5 inch plugs at normal/faster speeds and 6 and 7 inch plugs at normal/slower speeds. Generally you are targeting bigger fish with 6 and 7 inch plugs and they don't mind stuff that moves on the slower side.
On the west coast we found that in coloured water plugs with greens and yellows worked well, in clear water blues and pale coloured worked well. Plugs also have the added annoyance of being finicky. You can have a box of the same coloured plugs and they all look the same. When you fish them you find a couple that are far more fishy than the others and you can also get duds that for whatever reason just don't seem to catch. The fishy ones you can move all over the gear, switch lines and depths and they still catch. Strange beasties them plugs.
 
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Does anyone use plugs in Sooke? I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of anyone that does. Wonder why?
I caught a 20 plus pounder outside of the slot limit on an RVP??ii 4" Tomic plug off Beachy Head a couple of years ago. The numbers are worn off, so I can't tell you exactly which one , sort of a purple/ pink clear/ iridescent colour. I give it a tow every now and again, but that was the biggest fish I have caught with it. I have fished other plugs without much success, but I think it has more to do with my lack of prowess, than because the fish don't like plugs
 

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