Gary get's tips on fishing "Mini Strip" from the son of Rhys Davis, a legend in the fishing industry in BC. While they manage to catch a couple of nice Salmon, they also come up with a surprise on the end of the Downrigger!
Last time I fished strip was a few years ago. I was guiding and as usual, I decided I'd go old school and ran 4 rods all with strip behind flashers simply for a change of pace as the rest of the fleet was rolling Chovies, and trolling junk (hardware). The other 2 guides/boats I was fishing against were faster and went a little further....of course they were making plenty of fun of my "slow poke joke" of a boat which needed a carb rebuild but wouldn't get rebuilt until after the weekend. I stayed a little closer to home due to the "speed" issue since rule number 1 says, never run over a fishing hole to go to a fishing hole when you don't know if hole number 3 has fish or not and barely staying on plane meant going no where fast.
Sure enough, it was a dry morning....not a lot going on until the bite lit up and the faster and further boats found or wandered upon a mass of fish in an area known locally to certain guides in the Vancouver area as the "drain". Back in the 70's 80's and early 90's it was and is still a productive area...it still is on occasion.
Anyways, as I was slamming my fist down on the steering wheel in frustration for 45 minutes while the other 2 boats guides were boating fish and hooking up, I finally decided to pull my gear and pushed the throttle forward and got there for the tail end of the bite. Since the guests on the other boats conversion ratio sucked, I wasn't too far behind but nevertheless had some serious ground to make up as the other boats had 3 on board each. I fired down the strip as fast as I could and went 4 for 6 and caught up in an hour. I got back the dock last by more than 45 minutes....smiling like a Cheshire Cat and chortling all the while. Herring strip more than made amends for the late to the party situation. Herring strip...tons of fun! If for nothing else than ol' time fun.
I have been tempted to fish strip a few times since, but have always opted for whole baits simply due to laziness and time. If I had a bit more time on my hands, I'd fish strip a lot more often.
Never did find the owner. It must have been very scary for who ever it was. The current can get pretty nasty at Cole and as you can see it ripped off not only the down rigger but also part of the boat.
Tom and I still chuckle about it to this day. If anyone sees Tom please let him know that this episode is on Youfish.tv. I am sure he would like to see it. I don't golf so I rarely see him anymore.
I can share a tip about fishing at Coal Isl or any area with some rocky and or uneven bottom combined with strong currents. Obviously you want to fish the structure as this is where most of the fish hold. I will only make tight passes along this rocky structure while going into the current, not with it. By doing this if your rigger gets hung up all you have to do is back of your speed and allow the current to push you backwards and your gear should come free quite easily without much risk to you and your equipment. If you hang up going with the tide...well Coop's video shows what can happen.
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