Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
We lowly sportfishermen are held to ridiculous gear regulations these days. All winter long in our most productive rivers—-no fishing from boats (with drones in the sky to bust people thinking of trying to fish from their boats)
Meanwhile, for half of every week, the FN’s are allowed jet boats and wall to wall gill nets in the same river system...go figure
The single barbless hook thing has never particularly bugged me, probably because when I’ve been using that method, I had no intention of keeping the fish (usually wild steehead) . But now, when I’d fall on my sword to be able to catch and eat a HATCHERY spring chinook, the single barbless hook method has been a curse for me. Three trips to the river...the first two trips I think I hooked 5 to 7 fish and LOST EVERY ONE OF THEM. My favorite moment was being in the middle of the FN fleet and seeing them round-haul 10 to 20 spring chinook in each set....right after I lost mine, one of the FN guys offered me a “nuisance” wild steelhead (about 18 pounds) for $ 50 and curled his upper lip when I said .....no thanks.....
Anyway, you gotta keep trying so this week I went back to my favorite river (right after a nice rain and knowing the FN gill nets wouldn’t go into the river until the next day) . Walked into the hole where I keep hooking and losing fish and within 10 minutes, hook another slab of a springer—-it’s in the air 3 times and spits my hook back at me. I’m now at the point where I’m so pessimistic about hanging on to these fish I just shut up and keep fishing.
So just for grins, I reel the spoon in that I hooked the springer on and tie on a small diving plug. Generally, these track better with treble hooks but I figure with a single hook I might have the shred of a chance as long as it dives and tracks in a straight line....
Instant take-down! Twenty minutes later (these fish are fresh in on a tide, hung with sea lice, and fight like nuts) I get the fish on the beach!
Wow, I’m a happy camper...for me, there is no better eating fish then a spring chinook!
So this one is a female with skeins of roe...there’s no bait ban in the part of the river I’m fishing so I clip a small nugget off one of the skeins and....next cast...another springer!
This one has an adipose fin so I turn it loose. I walk back up to the exact same spot, make the exact same cast with another nugget of roe on my hook and...another springer!
This one I’m just about to get on the beach when my dog goes nuts, scares the fish back into the river...and the hook pulls out...
But wow, the drive back home sure felt better with an 18 pound springer in the cooler And knowing I just hooked and landed 3 of these things in a row...felt good to get the skunk off!
Meanwhile, for half of every week, the FN’s are allowed jet boats and wall to wall gill nets in the same river system...go figure
The single barbless hook thing has never particularly bugged me, probably because when I’ve been using that method, I had no intention of keeping the fish (usually wild steehead) . But now, when I’d fall on my sword to be able to catch and eat a HATCHERY spring chinook, the single barbless hook method has been a curse for me. Three trips to the river...the first two trips I think I hooked 5 to 7 fish and LOST EVERY ONE OF THEM. My favorite moment was being in the middle of the FN fleet and seeing them round-haul 10 to 20 spring chinook in each set....right after I lost mine, one of the FN guys offered me a “nuisance” wild steelhead (about 18 pounds) for $ 50 and curled his upper lip when I said .....no thanks.....
Anyway, you gotta keep trying so this week I went back to my favorite river (right after a nice rain and knowing the FN gill nets wouldn’t go into the river until the next day) . Walked into the hole where I keep hooking and losing fish and within 10 minutes, hook another slab of a springer—-it’s in the air 3 times and spits my hook back at me. I’m now at the point where I’m so pessimistic about hanging on to these fish I just shut up and keep fishing.
So just for grins, I reel the spoon in that I hooked the springer on and tie on a small diving plug. Generally, these track better with treble hooks but I figure with a single hook I might have the shred of a chance as long as it dives and tracks in a straight line....
Instant take-down! Twenty minutes later (these fish are fresh in on a tide, hung with sea lice, and fight like nuts) I get the fish on the beach!
Wow, I’m a happy camper...for me, there is no better eating fish then a spring chinook!
So this one is a female with skeins of roe...there’s no bait ban in the part of the river I’m fishing so I clip a small nugget off one of the skeins and....next cast...another springer!
This one has an adipose fin so I turn it loose. I walk back up to the exact same spot, make the exact same cast with another nugget of roe on my hook and...another springer!
This one I’m just about to get on the beach when my dog goes nuts, scares the fish back into the river...and the hook pulls out...
But wow, the drive back home sure felt better with an 18 pound springer in the cooler And knowing I just hooked and landed 3 of these things in a row...felt good to get the skunk off!