Catch Scenario #01- The big head shaker

[Tips Up]

i find this very interesting. with single action reels? i have a hard enough time keeping the line tight as it is, keeping boat in gear. i’m fishing deep, like 250 plus feet deep, and i’ll often hit the gas to keep the line tight while i give my arm a chance to recover haha.
i also have lots of room it’s not too crowded where i fish so i don’t need to worry about courtesy. i usually keep it in gear till the fish is close then i kick it into neutral. i dunno. works for me.

For me the goal is to get to neutral as soon as possible but not until the fish is under control and I have boat down current/ wind from the fish. If you are bucking the tide and slam it in neutral your boat will turn and you will drift towards fish creating slack. If you are riding the tide you can get to neutral faster as you are being pushed away from fish. I am verbal with the guy playing the fish so he knows what to expect. "I'm going to slow the boat... I am going to neutral... I am going to turn to the outside... Let me know what you need from me... " Ideally the boat is gently moving away from the fish with current/ wind putting the angler in control. Same thing fishing solo. Get boat under and fish under control first then take my time at pulling second rod and landing fish.

 

[ericl]

IMHO head shaking comes from too much pressure on the fish - even with light/no drag the Flasher can cause this by itself. Your actions to get the fish to "do something" indicate a lack of patience.

 

[el.Pereh]

One of my latest outings at T10 in this video this fish was a jolting head shaker in the beginning of the video, i let the line loose dropping the rod a bid and let the tip of the rod do the work you can see the flasher flopping around, i find horsing or a really tight line will **** a fish off and will do long runs, when i back off on the pressure just enough keeping good tension it relaxes and doesn't do those long surface runs..... i have videos of other people fishing on the boat with a loaded up reel
of tension and major bend in the rod and you will hear major runs and most of them after landing bent hooks.... most of the fish i land hooks are still in
perfect shape, so that tells me the pressure they have on that fish is way to much even if i have set the reel, all a number of things, late at hands off the reel etc...

took me a while to dial in netting solo, no matter what i'll always net on the hit side of the boat and gun it in forward and neutral to put the fish on the hit cleared
side, forward and neutral is now part of the fish fight and i don't care if i loose it because when your in panic mode and really need to get that fish in is when
your to early and loose it because it's not ready... was a 5 min fight to net. everyone will have there recipe it all works we just take bits of other recipes and add it

It's pretty funny sometimes you can walk a fish with light tension it's like he thinks he's not hooked, almost can control his head

Curious if you remember...What part of the mouth was this hooked?

 

[Reeltime]

Curious if you remember...What part of the mouth was this hooked?

Deep both hooks, every outing I log every detail

 

[Fishalot]

A little while ago, summer of 1978 I was fishing with my dad in front of Church Rock in our 15 ft boat. We had to come to a stop to make a turn out from the rock as there were many boats out. The rod goes off and straight down. My dad says we must be on the bottom I said can’t be we only have 50 ft out and it’s deep here. When we finally got it up to the boat about 30 minutes later I looked down and said that’s the biggest one I have seen. I got in the net and heaved it aboard into the splashwell as no room to get it on the floor of boat. It’s tail was on one side and head on the other. It used its tail on the side of the splashwell and pushed through the netting and disappeared back into the sea. We were absolutely stunned. Lessons learned: always check your netting ours was weakened and rotten and for a large fish always swing on to the floor of the boat.

 

[tightlines]

sorry i deleted the relevant part is was replying too but...

when fishing solo i gently grab leader and give the chinook a tap on the head with the gaff ( i mean a tap, not a baseball swing -accuracy is key) then gaff it thru the gill plate and it’s good night irene. just started doing this a few years back. kinda scary at first but i think you’ll be amazed at how easy it is. just make sure fish is hooked real good

This is the way to do it solo imo, using a net solo is a mess. You don't need to hit the fish hard on top of the head with the gaff just enough to stun them like a quick jab before gaff in cheek. Agree completely

 

[walleyes]

I’m a big believer in going into neutral as soon as you can. That’s why I like being in non crowed areas, I don’t have to worry about having to get out of anybodies way. For me it’s more about just feeling the fish and enjoying the power and reading what he’s doing. When you are in gear yanking on them they are fighting the current more than you and the rod. On a light hooked fish your chances of tearing the mouth or their lip off is greatly increases. A large chinook over 25# hooked on its lip has more than enough power to tear their own lip off if you are yarding on them to hard. For me it’s about enjoying the battle and feeling their power and reading the run. It’s not just about filling the cooler and getting as many in the tub as you can in as short of time as possible, frick I ain’t starving at home, I won’t parish if I don’t get everyone in the tub. We win most of them and lose a few, it’s all good. Relax, enjoy the moment as much as you can.

 

[John Ingram]

I hear you on the 45 min battle. My old man got a 38 a few years back. Took maybe 15 mins to boat. Maybe one of those 50lb plus fish would take a while. Salmon tend to tire themselves out pretty quick.

Oh and seals suck. Hope your luck continues in that department.

The 45 minutes for the 32# fish was no joke .... I was using CHEAP 12lb test line and spincasting from the shore.
After a few long runs the fish would sulk on the bottom and not move. After it was played out ... maybe 20 minutes
I had to slowly dog it OVER a wide kelp bed. That's why the 45 min's

 

[Skins88]

The 45 minutes for the 32# fish was no joke .... I was using CHEAP 12lb test line and spincasting from the shore.
After a few long runs the fish would sulk on the bottom and not move. After it was played out ... maybe 20 minutes
I had to slowly dog it OVER a wide kelp bed. That's why the 45 min's

Well that makes sense.

 

[Hoochiebob]

The 45 minutes for the 32# fish was no joke .... I was using CHEAP 12lb test line and spincasting from the shore.
After a few long runs the fish would sulk on the bottom and not move. After it was played out ... maybe 20 minutes
I had to slowly dog it OVER a wide kelp bed. That's why the 45 min's

That is crazy! I know in the heat of a fight 10 minutes can seem like 30, but with all the disadvantages you had I can believe it. That there is braggin' rights!

 

[John Ingram]

That is crazy! I know in the heat of a fight 10 minutes can seem like 30, but with all the disadvantages you had I can believe it. That there is braggin' rights!

Years ago the kelp beds at Gonzales point were very wide and we had to cut out a small passage way to cast through. BUT if a caught fish is played out
and not wanting to come over to that clearing it was up to the fisherman/woman to climb up on the highest rocks and slowly dog the fish over the kelp.
You would have a belly up salmon approach the kelp and just lift the head enough to slide the fish over the kelp bed 1 kelp frond at a time until you were clear.
I've seen it done a few times at Gonzales at at Ten Mile Point on the east kelp bed.

 

[777]

when a fish jumps or starts doing anything erratic (like a head shake) my first move is to raise the rod rod up high to get quick tension on it. i'll also reel while i'm doing this, but i find reeling alone isnt quick enough. not uncommon for me to have both hands above my head until i feel that i've got sufficient tension on them.

 

[777]

Oh you're one of those .
I flip the rod tip forward while keeping my hands where they are. It's so much less dramatic.

Ugh you just reminded me of that asshat on West Coast Sporting Journal and all his rootin' tootin' hand action.

No offense?

uh sure. Given we've never met or fished together, not sure how i remind you of anyone. I will say that your statement, in an otherwise friendly forum post, would be interpreted by many as the post of a presumptuous, self righteous, Asshat.

I have fished with several 40 and 50 year chinook veterans, and nobody has ever made a negative comment on my fishing style.

 

[calmsea]

uh sure. Given we've never met or fished together, not sure how i remind you of anyone. I will say that your statement, in an otherwise friendly forum post, would be interpreted by many as the post of a presumptuous, self righteous, Asshat.

I have fished with several 40 and 50 year chinook veterans, and nobody has ever made a negative comment on my fishing style.

That's just how he is on any topic. Never mind.