Fishing with plugs

[Fishdreamer]

Hi guys, I'm brand new to fishing with plugs and can't figure out if I need to run the plug by itself or attach it to a downrigger or diver. I understand the plugs dive by themselves but how deep? I searched the archives here and checked the internet and haven't found anything on this topic. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Tsquared]

Hi guys, I'm brand new to fishing with plugs and can't figure out if I need to run the plug by itself or attach it to a downrigger or diver. I understand the plugs dive by themselves but how deep? I searched the archives here and checked the internet and haven't found anything on this topic. Any help would be appreciated.

I sometimes run a plug by itself on the surface for fall coho but most times for Chinook you will need to get it down in the water column by weight or diver or downrigger. How deep depends when and where you are fishing. Summertime depths here off Sooke are relatively shallow but if you’re on Laperouse or off CR, then 200 ft deep or more can be productive.
T2

 

[Adrenafin]

On the rigger, If you want an attractor use a Dodger not a flasher. Or use dummy flashers off your cannonball and leave the plug by itself 7 feet back from the bead chain. Sometimes I'll run a plug with a weight out the middle on a long line.

 

[Da Bay Bye]

Hi guys, I'm brand new to fishing with plugs and can't figure out if I need to run the plug by itself or attach it to a downrigger or diver. I understand the plugs dive by themselves but how deep? I searched the archives here and checked the internet and haven't found anything on this topic. Any help would be appreciated.

Run your plug on a downrigger, no flasher required. Run about 2.5 to 3 knots for speed and follow the bait. When you get hooked up, you are fighting the fish directly with no weight of diver or flasher.

 

[Rain City]

I run a dummy when I fish plugs. I usually stack with a naked herring above the plug. Fun fishing for sure.

 

[Matt16]

No flasher for me. I do ok.

 

[DMan]

No need for any flashers. Use braided line to feel everything the fish does. Ultimate fight. Same for a big spoon.

 

[sly_karma]

The plugs I use are Tomics in the large sizes (+6", 7"). In my experience a fish hooked this way almost always comes to the surface very quickly. If you're deep and using 1:1 reels, you'll need to reel as fast as you possibly can to keep any kind of tension on the fish. You'll probably think the fish has spat the hook because there's no weight there. Keep reeling, and don't stop reeling until you see the lure at the surface and can confirm visually that there's no fish on.

Maybe it's the extra flotation provided by the cedar plug, but this is a common scenario on plugs. I've been surprised more than once when pulling in a plug after 'losing a fish', only to have the fight start for real up on the surface.