Cut Plug on South Island?

[Highliner]

Does anyone successfully fish cut-plug around sooke, victoria, or sidney?

Thanks.

 

[scott craven]

best bet for cutplugging would be Sooke, mid to late August
right up tight to the kelp beds.
I don't know too many people who still use it down here.
Seems like anchovie has taken over as the popular bait.

 

[totally tyee]

Pretty difficult to cutplug down here with the currents. Renfrew is your best bet.

TT

 

[Highliner]

TT,

Why are the currents a factor? Because you have to go deeper to get under them?

 

[salmon9]

You can cut plug trap shack down to secretary and otter point either off of a 8-10 oz mooching weight or off a downrigger. Got to be in close and troll slow working the pinicles and shore. You don't want to p*** off the guys using chovies and flashers going fast, so I suggest move in closer out of their trolling lanes and don't let your line take off in the tide. Takes time to learn the spots, speed and tide to be effective. You will need to brine your cut plugs to keep them intack and fish tide changes and smaller tides.

 

[Roe Bags]

Late August outfront the narrows anyone game?

 

[nedarb2]

ive cut plug out of porlier on that reef that comes up going to the outside as well as off decourcy

 

[porcupine]

Yes, some people cut plug in this area and catch salmon. The second place team in the Port Sidney Derby (they won last year) fished with cut plug herring. However, many people fish the cut plug herring off their downriggers and not with weights on their line.

 

[totally tyee]

Currents are a huge factor when cutplugging/mooching. The ideal way to fish this way is to bring your boat in and out of gear keeping your line at approximately a 45 degree angle and then letting it drop over and over again. With strong currents it's virtually impossible to stay in the prime fish holding locations using this method because your boat isn't constantly in gear and your getting pushed backwards by the current. That being said, there are still small current windows that makes this method possible.

As you can see some other responders to your post mentioned downriggers and brining your bait well. This is not the true method to cutplug/mooch, this is TROLLING WITH A CUT HERRING.

CUTPLUGGING/MOOCHING IS AN ART. To fish this method properly in the Sooke area is virtually impossible, however small windows of time will permit it.

TT

 

[yo mama]

Very true TT. To do it "properly" you would need nearly slack currents down this way.

 

[Tailspin]

Oh how i miss the days of Mooching live fresh raked herring off Norris rocks and Tribune bay! A thing of Beauty coaxing the big lazy Springs outta the shadows in the Kelp. 12 pulls, Fish on. Within minutes of passing Chrome Island Light we would be on a ball up raking enough in one swipe to last the whole morning.

I have always wanted to drop a cutty off the Trap reef on the slack just for fun. Maybe this year? TT now that were neighbours lets get mama out to show me how the QCL pro's do it up.

 

[knucklebuster]

That has been the way for years in Active Pass.
but if you don't have enough current you have another problem.Dogfish.

 

[Gooey Bob]

Hmmm...

They seem to work OK for me in JDF. Anyone ever try mooching withthe flow and then running up against it? I've had some of my best days in the Aldridge to Possesion zone on the biggest tides. That'll be me in the 17 foot beige Campion without downriggers (I prefer to call 'em training wheels!) usually getting less than the trollers, but still getting my share with a hell of a lot less hassle.

Mooching a cut plug is is an art. But its also a lot of fun and a much more relaxing way to fish than DR trolling. I wish more people in JDF did it - then maybe the trollers would be afraid to get us pissed off by roaring through the holes way too fast with their damned commercial gear!

It can be more than about how many you catch, sometimes doing it in a simpler, more elegant manner adds tro the rush too.

CP