Bait Fishing

[Despy]

I have been on two trips to Langara Fishing Camp and up there, they use cut plug herring exclusively, trolled with 6 or 8 oz`s of weight and very slow. Everyone is told that the best way to catch springs is a very slow troll. They work at 30 to 40 pulls and try to keep the lines running at 45 degrees to the water. To do this you have to kick it into gear for a few feet and then kick it out and let it coast for a few, and so on. If you are targeting coho, leave it in gear which I would guess gets you about 3-4 mph troll.Never even saw anyone using a flasher !!
Went to Nootka last year for a few days and everyone was using anchovies ,teaser heads, flashers and trolling in the 2.5 to 3 mph range which we did. Had some luck and we all brought home some springs and half of us managed a coho.
My question is, why does the technique used seem to be so different from 1 area to the next when a lot of these fish being targeted are the same fish?
The other thing, at Nootka last year, we had three boats . Two had downriggers, one caught 9 springs, the other caught 5. I had no downriggers, fished with 12 oz slip weights and managed 7 in our boat.Yet, everyone here seems to think you can`t fish successfully around VI without downriggers?
Not even the guide boats up at Langara were using downriggers.
Also, they did not use jigs for halibut but used the same cut plug herring.

 

[Last Chance]

It may have to do with the sheer number of fish up that way, I know that when it's on on our banks, we can use just any random plug or spoon. For simplicity's sake, cut plug is hard to beat, no downriggers, and easy to fish on a small boat. Just a thought, I have never actually been up that way.

 

[tyee hunter]

yeah i work at a lodge in the charlottes and we are the same as well...no down riggers...the saying ive heard is downriggers are best for when you are looking for fish ie depths etc and mooching or cutpluggin is preferred when you know where the fish are....dont konw the validity of it but it seems from expieriance pretty accurate to me

 

[The Chosen one]

Hey despy i guide at langara and i think that the thought of cut plugging is an art and a lot more sporting. It is also a hell of a lot more fun to be able to set the hook yourself into a fish instead of having a rigger do it for you. If you get a light bite you can actually work a fish into biting your bait again. Seems to me also that cut pluggers seem to catch more big fish than riggers do. Kicking your boat in and out of gear works your bait quite well changing the action instead of having one constant roll. Lots of the time i'll let my lines drop str8 down and sit for a few seconds. Works great. Are you coming back up this summer. Be sure to introduce yourself. I'll be the guy with blue Mr3 reels with blue line on his boat.

 

[reel addiction]

I guided in the Charlottes for years and the main reason is that the un guided boats would lose lots of lead and riggers off the boats!
Keep it simple stupid! You can only lose whats in the water hooks line and line weights are way cheaper than down riggers and cannon balls.
Fishing around VI we use gear because we catch 20 - 50 springs a day off shore and bait is expensive and not needed.
Both ways work very well.

 

[Despy]

Well, I plan on returning to Nootka this year and will probably be running two downriggers with all the garden tackle and one line set up with cut plug and we`ll see how it goes,LOL !!
Oh, and was looking at some braided 150# with thoughts of replacing my downrigger wire and was quoted 55 bucks for 300 feet. Does this price seem in the ballpark or a bit high ?
Chosen One, now that I`ve blown my trip funds on a boat, don`t think I`ll be able to make any more trips up for the time being. Wish I could, absolutely love the place !!!!

 

[bottomwatcher]

Despty -If you are using downriggers, attach the dodger to your cannonball, set you release up about 2ft & set your bait back accordingly, this way you are not fighting the dodger along with the fish

 

[Dogbreath]

quote:Originally posted by Despy

Well, I plan on returning to Nootka this year and will probably be running two downriggers with all the garden tackle and one line set up with cut plug and we`ll see how it goes

Poor idea IMO.
Cut Plug needs to be run slower than lures/Chovies the two types don't mix well at all.
If it's Herring you want to use the latest wrinkle is whole Herring in a holder with a dummy flasher as per the other post.

quote:Originally posted by DespyOh, and was looking at some braided 150# with thoughts of replacing my downrigger wire and was quoted 55 bucks for 300 feet. Does this price seem in the ballpark or a bit high ?

That's bit high check Cabela's on the net since our dollar is so strong now.