I think there's merit to the suggestion that catching larger fish often simply indicates that a specific run that features large specimens is passing through. I've also seen evidence for the theory that a run of fish often has smaller ones in the vanguard, a concentration of bigger ones at the peak, and lots of little and maimed ones as that run passes a given area.
After picking up jacks and pinks on lures that were almost as big as they were, I don't know that a large plug or spoon greatly increases your chances, especially if the available feed is actually much smaller than your lure. My biggest spring last season was a 34-pounder that took a little 3.5 inch Coyote spoon fished at 60 feet without a flasher. The spoon was about the size of the bait in the salmon's stomach.
The idea that bigger fish got bigger because they're more aggressive hasn't been borne out in my experience. Observing coho in clear Haida Gwaii streams where a hundred or more mature fish might be visible in a hole and roe was legal, a big piece of roe would first draw sculpins, and as they tore at it, small dollies would move in. Their activity would bring jack coho zipping in, and only after the frenzy started would the bigger coho attack. Aside from age and genetic factors, bigger fish might get bigger because in fact they didn't attack until they saw the smaller fish succeed.
As an observation from another location that may apply, while snorkeling in Bonaire in the Caribbean, we were at the edge of a reef, and a troller would come by every hour or so. On 2 miles of coast we swam, there were exactly two smallish schools of mixed-sized permit available, so it was interesting to see a boat get a strike, and rather than return to make another pass at the school, cruise blithely on into totally-barren water. Invariably, the smaller fish were at the top of the school, with a couple of small groups of much larger fish at the bottom of the mass. The little guys were far more aggressive, and the bait was never really presented to the big ones. If you're getting small fish at a given depth, it might pay to run the same tack, and present your lure deeper.
After picking up jacks and pinks on lures that were almost as big as they were, I don't know that a large plug or spoon greatly increases your chances, especially if the available feed is actually much smaller than your lure. My biggest spring last season was a 34-pounder that took a little 3.5 inch Coyote spoon fished at 60 feet without a flasher. The spoon was about the size of the bait in the salmon's stomach.
The idea that bigger fish got bigger because they're more aggressive hasn't been borne out in my experience. Observing coho in clear Haida Gwaii streams where a hundred or more mature fish might be visible in a hole and roe was legal, a big piece of roe would first draw sculpins, and as they tore at it, small dollies would move in. Their activity would bring jack coho zipping in, and only after the frenzy started would the bigger coho attack. Aside from age and genetic factors, bigger fish might get bigger because in fact they didn't attack until they saw the smaller fish succeed.
As an observation from another location that may apply, while snorkeling in Bonaire in the Caribbean, we were at the edge of a reef, and a troller would come by every hour or so. On 2 miles of coast we swam, there were exactly two smallish schools of mixed-sized permit available, so it was interesting to see a boat get a strike, and rather than return to make another pass at the school, cruise blithely on into totally-barren water. Invariably, the smaller fish were at the top of the school, with a couple of small groups of much larger fish at the bottom of the mass. The little guys were far more aggressive, and the bait was never really presented to the big ones. If you're getting small fish at a given depth, it might pay to run the same tack, and present your lure deeper.
