Fishin the plugs

[Pippen]

Hey Guys,

Just curious for those of you that fish plugs and don't pull the pin on them.

Do you concern yourself with tying them up high on the "tow bar" or do you just fish them straight? I am planning on trying just plugs and big spoons next week in Kyuquot and was just curious. (want to try and avoid those pesky coho which I imagine are pretty thick up there right now )

When in Tofino a couple of weeks back we were just clipping the plugs on to a Rosco snap and doing just fine like that.

 

[Dave H]

I've always tied them high but only because someone probably showed me that way. The idea is that the plug will dig more I presume. I'm using mostly pulled pin plugs nowadays though.

Take care.

 

[Sitkaspruce]

Tie high or pull the pin......not sure why, but we used to fish with old Tommy Moss and he would always say to tie high, so we did.......

I think it gives more action and since I troll fast with plugs, 3.0+, I find they dig and wobble more than if I used a snap or tied low....but that is my experence.

Spoons I just snap them on.

Good luck out there Scott, things in WH sure have slown down......

Cheers

SS

 

[Pippen]

Good luck out there Scott, things in WH sure have slown down......

Cheers

SS

Thanks Ken...I sure hope the late season in Kyuquot is similar to last year....which was supposed to have been good with big fish around.

Depending on what happens we may make a run out to try for some tuna!



Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[tubber]

Tie high if running other gear at the same time at 3mph. No need if you go 4.5 mph which creates it's own issues of the ball being on such an angle, you don't really know how deep it is unless you are a student of Pythagoras.

 

[Derby]

I pull the pin on the plugs....it was really funny watching the cohoes pound on the plugs on Big Bank last Friday and not getting hooked..man there is a pile of cohoes at big bank right now <(((><

 

[Sharphooks]

Tie high with a double clinch (line doubled over on itself)

I use 30 - 40 # mainline, snugged up high on the bar --- that knot grips tight with the heavy line, and seems to produce the erratic back and forth and digging motion that promotes take-downs

Speed: I pull plugs side by side with herring at a reasonably slow speed (2.5 - 3 Mph) and still catch fish on both. I'm a bait type of guy so I generally shy away from fast trolling any way.

Dummy flasher under the plug seems to get their attention

 

[Derby]

Got to have the dummy flasher for sure

 

[Wildhootchy]

How far behind the ball do you run your dummy flasher? How much farther back is the plug? Just want to make sure that the 2 don't get tangled.

 

[Seafever]

Pippen......the reason the line is tied "high" is so it presents the most plug face to the water when passing through it.

Tied to the "ring" does not present as much face......but if tied to the ring it will create a slightly different action than if tied up high on the pin.

If you pull the pin and thread through....you also present a lot of plug-face which will make the plug action greater.

I've never tried the line through the rubber band b.s...as the way I figure it if you have to go to that much trouble then it's a design flaw of the plug anyway.

Tomic plug design isn't the only game in town. Back in the day there have been many plug designs that would outfish a Tomic for "sporties".

I secretly dream of those old plug designs making a comeback someday......

If you want to go slow troll....use a Tomic Tubby.

One of my guide friends will fish a Tomic first with the ring on.....if no fish, he cuts the ring off and ties to pin...if still no fish he pulls the pin and threads through direct.

Remember..... the plug has to fight the line it is tied to. The heavier the line, the less action. I wouldn't use anything heavier than 30lb. test myself but I'd use 20lb. test on any given day normally.

Tie it direct to your main line and run it no less than 40ft behind d/rigger....but feel free to run it up to 100ft. behind.

In the old days you would match the plug to the rod you were fishing it with (no downriggers....just a weight way ahead of the plug). Certain stiffness of certain rod tips would give the plug a little more action.

But now , clipped to a down rigger, it is at the mercy of the d/wire and release clip, which doesn't do much for plug action.

 

[Wildhootchy]

J Plugs come from the factory with a bead chain running through the plug and a pair of treble hooks (no tow bar). They are quite affective. The largest Spring I ever caught was on a 5 inch Spatterback J Plug.

 

[Seafever]

Kudos to the J-plug....a buddy of mine fished a J-plug that I doctored for him in Barkley Sound.

It was all-chrome plug but the top was flat-black fading into metallic purple on the sides. It was 5" inch plug.

He had about a 40lb'er on at the time.....but he'd taken the trebles off and was using a single hook...

The J-plug Gods were annoyed with him....so he lost it at the boat.

 

[Sharphooks]

Hey Wildhootchy: dummy flasher attached to 2M of wire should do it. Just long enough to let the flasher do its normal rotation (but not so long that it becomes a nuisance and gets caught in your trolling prop!!)

I usually attach bait or a plug approx. 2 M above the ball. That's enough to keep them from getting tangled. If they tangle, increase space.

Seafever makes lots of good suggestions but I don't necessarily share his preference for hanging the plug back 40 - 100 ft.

First of all, if you're going to hang it that far back, it sort of negates the benefits of a dummy flasher...

It's all about preference and results. A long hang-back with 20 lb test might help when fish are finnicky but it's been my experience that when springs are feeding on pilchards and you're dragging plugs through a school of them, a plug clipped 10 - 15 feet back from your wire still produces strikes.

I'm also a big believer in a single hook on a bead chain or a single swivel (and pimping out the plug with black spots when the pilchards are running hot and heavy)

 

[Wildhootchy]

Sharphooks - Thanks for the info. I have tricked out a few of those tomic Pilchard colored plugs and a few of the Coyote Pilchard spoons. Can't wait to try them (the week of the 25th)! Never tried the dummy flasher, always ran the plugs directly off of the ball without a flasher. Certainly plan to try the flasher setup on this trip. I appreciate all of the sharing of knowledge on this site.

Seafever - I almost never lose a fish when using a J Plug. Seems like the double trebles (when sharp) really do a number on the Springs.

 

[Highliner]

i personally tie high , mid and low, probably all in my head, i just like to play around, high is likely best as it gives the most action without pulling the pin....holmes*

I thought pulling the pin reduces the action compared to the tow bar?

 

[demco99]

Cant wait to be blasting Toto-Africa out there offshore with you Pippen!

 

[The Trout Master]

Anyone out there still use Mac Squids or Witchdocters anymore? If so, how to they compare to the Tomics?

 

[Pippen]

Thanks for all the input guys! I was aware of the reasoning behind tying high on the towbar....or pulling the pin altogether is to get more action.

I was just wondering who all did it.....and my big reason for questioning is that I recently had my absolute best 2 days of fishing with plugs; and they were all just clipped on and that was it.

 

[PNW]

Another take.

-Only pull the pins on plugs that I don't have a lot of confidence in.
-Otherwise, tie to the speed ring (not to the weld).
-No speed ring, then use #3-5 duo-lock snap (frees up action with the pivot point, and fishes better at slower speeds)
-tiing to the tow bar works (especially high), but try tiing to a pivot point as well (duolock or speedring). Some of my 7"ers do work better tied directly to the towbar, but most get bit more (especially a bit slower) tied to a pivot point.
-40-50ft behind the clip for 4-5" plugs. Bigger the plug the further back. Not too far because of mainline belly upon release. 60-70ft for 6/7"ers.
-No dummy flasher (for classics). Love 'em for bait/spoons run close to the flasher and cable. But with plugs run that far back, I want them to notice the plug and nothing else.
-Have not had a tubbies fish better than classics except on a few occasions in staging areas near estuaries. Prefer bait or other slower moving artificials in that case anyway.
-Oversized single hooks. Big enough gap to be wider than the hook bend placement at the body of the plug.
-Not a fan of trailing the hook (or hooks) back for ocean chinook. Too much down time with short striking cohos/pinks/juvenille. A suitable sized hook placed along side the body will hook plenty of adult feeding chinooks without most of the downtime with smaller salmon.

 

[abl]

Hi,
can anyone tell me the # of the tomic plug that is referred to the "pilchard". heading to poett nooke next week and want to pick one up. used the 602 in past years with success
thanks
bruce