Sooke fish will already be milling around waiting for rain...still Harrison River whites to show yet. The biggest Chinook in recent times was taken on September 29th I believe...67.12 pounds.
 
Fished Secretary tonight from 6 til 8:15 and boated a 10lb spring.
Beautiful flat calm evening out on the water!
 
Was fishing from 1:30 pm to 8 pm today. Beautiful calm and warm day. I started at Muir and got a smaller fish pretty soon. Didn't get it to the boat but I guess it was a coho.
At about 5pm I got another bite that turned out to be a 14 lbs red male spring. Later I trolled back to Otter Point. Lots of boats there but very little action. Then at sun set I got another bite. This time it was a 16 lbs marbled male spring. So in total I got three bites in 6.5h fishing with 2 springs in the boat.
All springs I caught on anchovy with UV green teaser head. My second rod was fishing an AP Herring spoon and didn't get a sniff. I wonder if I do something wrong with this spoon. I read all these positive comments here in this forum so my expectations were high. But so far I didn't get a single bite on it in a few days fishing it.
 
My second rod was fishing an AP Herring spoon and didn't get a sniff. I wonder if I do something wrong with this spoon. I read all these positive comments here in this forum so my expectations were high. But so far I didn't get a single bite on it in a few days fishing it.
You are not the only one Fishhook. I too have far less success than several appear to do judging by posts on this forum. I had a couple of hits on the AP needlefish spoon (the narrow one) two years ago. Since then nothing. And I have never had a hit on the herring spoon. Other guys must fish them exclusively and troll faster than is possible with anchovy, or use scent, or fish them along the bottom, or something different to what we are doing.:)
 
You are not the only one Fishhook. I too have far less success than several appear to do judging by posts on this forum. I had a couple of hits on the AP needlefish spoon (the narrow one) two years ago. Since then nothing. And I have never had a hit on the herring spoon. Other guys must fish them exclusively and troll faster than is possible with anchovy, or use scent, or fish them along the bottom, or something different to what we are doing.:)

There isn't wrong with the spoon, and I don't troll fast totally fast with them. You have to be in area where there is fish and the right time and it will work. It has to also match like always the size and color of the bait in the area. I think above I said I was using an anchovy spoon not herring one. The anchovy one is a a little smaller in size. Sometimes different sizes work. Again a spoon isn't going to work if you aren't contacting the fish.
 
Re the AP herring spoon my buddy had the double glow on a 4' leader behind a blue flasher the other day and got a 20 lb spring when we were fishing Port Alberni. We were at 2.4 mph so maybe leader length is something to play with. First time he had used it.
 
There isn't wrong with the spoon, and I don't troll fast totally fast with them. You have to be in area where there is fish and the right time and it will work. It has to also match like always the size and color of the bait in the area. I think above I said I was using an anchovy spoon not herring one. The anchovy one is a a little smaller in size. Sometimes different sizes work. Again a spoon isn't going to work if you aren't contacting the fish.
All of what you say SpringV is true. Notwithstanding, as you can see from Fishhook's post he was in an area of fish and did contact fish. Just not on the spoon. So he and I must be doing something wrong or differently from you guys who are vastly more successful with this lure.
 
If you are fishing a spoon that needs a certain speed to give it the fish catching action it needs to attract a strike and bait on another rod....run the boat at the speed that makes the spoon work then adjust your bait to fish at that speed as well.
 
There isn't wrong with the spoon, and I don't troll fast totally fast with them. You have to be in area where there is fish and the right time and it will work. It has to also match like always the size and color of the bait in the area. I think above I said I was using an anchovy spoon not herring one. The anchovy one is a little smaller in size. Sometimes different sizes work. Again a spoon isn't going to work if you aren't contacting the fish.
In general you are right but it doesn't apply to my case I guess. Obviously I was contacting fish when using this spoon on the other rod. The size could be another reason but the AP Herring is matching the anchovies I use in size. Color is the same thing. I use an AP Herring in chrome/UV blue/Glow. So color is pretty natural and similar to an anchovy after all.
What I suspect is the action of the spoon. As Profisher pointed out I need to fish with the correct speed. Needless to mention that I tested that out watching the spoon action beside the boat at various speeds. What makes me wonder is that it doesn't look like in the AP Spoon video on YouTube (
) regardless of speed. My spoon always just wobbles like most regular spoons do. I thought maybe the hook is too heavy supressing the proper action but I tested that too to no avail. The thing is I was just looking for a spoon that shows this rolling action similar to an anchovy in a teaser head.
 
All of what you say SpringV is true. Notwithstanding, as you can see from Fishhook's post he was in an area of fish and did contact fish. Just not on the spoon. So he and I must be doing something wrong or differently from you guys who are vastly more successful with this lure.
No specific spoon will work 100% of time even if there are fish there you know for certain. At times they will go after a different spoon. Depends a lot on what bait is around at the time and how much of a bite is on. We fish spoons tons off Vancouver harbor here and all around the Gulf islands. I literally have over 40 different spoons on hand at any given time. But I also am a die hard bait guy. I always run both and different lures too like flash fly hootchies, apex's, etc..Some spoons will out fish others but sometimes it's an oddball one that works better on a certain day.

If I showed you a spoon that I have gotten a lot of Springs on you would laugh cause it's so massive you don't see guys pretty much anywhere using it. (except Renfrew I know a guy using massive ones out there) BUT at certain times it will produce a strike when other things won't.

A tip I can offer is when you've tried all the spoons that you think match the bait close that is around the area and still aren't getting strikes even when it's obvious the bite is on around you on other boats, put a larger spoon on and increase your speed a bit to get more action from the spoon but not too much to make it fail. Even ones so big you think it just doesn't look right.

I'll take a picture of one I use in comparison to other common ones guys are using and you will think it's nuts trust me lol...I'll post it up later when I'm cleaning out my boat later today cause I'm coming out there again to visit you guys :)

When you cut open a big spring and see big fat 10" Herring packed in it's belly you realize just how big of bait these hunters can devour. Sure most of them are on smaller bait more often but Salmon have an imprint memory. They don't forget prey they have eaten before.
 
In general you are right but it doesn't apply to my case I guess. Obviously I was contacting fish when using this spoon on the other rod. The size could be another reason but the AP Herring is matching the anchovies I use in size. Color is the same thing. I use an AP Herring in chrome/UV blue/Glow. So color is pretty natural and similar to an anchovy after all.
What I suspect is the action of the spoon. As Profisher pointed out I need to fish with the correct speed. Needless to mention that I tested that out watching the spoon action beside the boat at various speeds. What makes me wonder is that it doesn't look like in the AP Spoon video on YouTube (
) regardless of speed. My spoon always just wobbles like most regular spoons do. I thought maybe the hook is too heavy supressing the proper action but I tested that too to no avail. The thing is I was just looking for a spoon that shows this rolling action similar to an anchovy in a teaser head.
Fishhook, that is a great video. I have never seen that before and certainly my AP spoons of whatever type/size just wobble like yours and never roll like in that video. I think you could only get a roll like that by twisting the lure a bit, and maybe that is the secret of these other guys success!! LOL
 
4 springs this morning. Otter to Muir.
Lost another at the boat and released a nice wild coho.

Sure was hot with warm wind coming from the south.

Tips
 
[QUOTE="fishhook[/QUOTE]

That's too bad that spoons not producing for you fishhook. Perhaps faster? Most people's chovy speed is too slow for that spoon...imo. I like when they just start to do an occasional roll but mostly swimming/wobbling. This 21lb and a 15 fell for that very spoon this morning for me in vic. No flasher on the line. That video is slowed down 8X....but actually trolling 2.8-3kn.

IMG_4179.JPG
 
Hard graft again today. managed a 6-8lb coho and a small dinner for two sized one.
Had 4 wild to the boat.

Whales everywhere in the afternoon was neat to see.
 
Fished 8-12. A few shakers for our efforts started at trap and ended out in 500. Bait skinny g coyote spoons all equally ineffective today for us. Last few trips have been spotty for me but overall June July and august produced us some nice fish and there is still time!
 
I think the combination of the whales being around the past week and now its the full moon are two reasons why its gone a bit spotty. I'm out tomorrow for the first time in a few days and hoping for it to heat up again.
 
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