Trying To Improve At Fishing. Please Help!
- Thread starter Stizzla
- Start date
Prairie Locked
Well-Known Member
Aces
Well-Known Member
Looks like that new book is helping himStop making excuses and get out on the water with me this summer. 'Nuff said!
Stizzla
Crew Member
These last good trips were just good intel. but yes, the book is a wealth of info and I’m reading it for a second time already!
the gambler
Active Member
Englishman
Well-Known Member
Stizzla,
I am still a relative newbie on here, only having fished Sooke (except for the odd rented boat elsewhere) for the past 9 years.
However, here is what I have learnt for the Sooke area.
- Braid is OK but make sure you have no nicks, cuts or rough edges on your pulleys or you WILL have sudden catastrophic breaks and loss of gear. Also remember you get more blow back with braid than wire. This makes sense since a wire is metal and much more dense/heavy than organic fibre. There are many threads on this forum on this topic.
- Getting the roll right is important. This is easier with smaller bait than larger which "flop around" a lot more. I have had some success recently with little 4" herring in a regular teaser head. However, as a general rule herring do not last as well as anchovies, and must be changed out more frequently (but not always -see below)
- It is easier to get a decent roll if the hook is not too big. A smaller hook will work as well or better since a finer wire can be made sharper, more easily. However, the wire must still be strong enough for the fish you are after.
- I believe it is all about location. The guides here in Sooke do fantastically well because they know from experience exactly where to go at any given time of day/tide. I do not have this knowledge and it is much more hit and miss for me. I just fish when I can and worry about the wind more than the state of the tide, since fishing in windy condition is hard. But that is O.K.
- I am sure the fish have evolved. I caught a nice 13lb coho a few years ago at 180'. This is a fish that used to be caught on bucktails on the surface in the 60's and 70's!! This again makes sense as fishing represents a selective pressure on the fish. Over the generations this will affect the behaviour of the surviving stocks, albeit slowly.
- Fish often hit on the turn, usually on the inside (as the bait/lure drops or slows) but not always.
- Even in summer, when fishing "in tight over structure" is not successful fishing deeper, almost winter tactics, close to the bottom in 120' - 150' of water will sometimes work. I once got a 17lb chinook at 160' in 200' of water in July, using a glow spoon as in winter.
- For me, teaser heads in purples, blue or greens work better than red or pinks (for chinook). There seems no need to use glo heads in summer fishing at 70' or less. I use glo heads in winter when deeper though.
- The bait roll/movement is much more important than what it looks like. Does not matter of it has blown out or looks "ragged". If it is moving/rolling OK it it IS OK! I caught a 13lb chinook in winter once on a herring which had been down for 2 hours. The skin was off in places and it looked "tatty" but it was still rolling each time I checked so I left it on. Sometimes the bait won't roll right unless you turn it "upside down" in the teaser head. This trick works fine so long as the roll is right. The fish does not care nor can it discern anything "wrong" about a rolling bait that is "upside down".
- I brine my anchovies but not my herring any more. Herring once dehydrated by brine absorb water much more more quickly and go soft and fall apart than when frozen fresh and used "as is".
Lastly watch the rods carefully for bites when pouring coffer, eating a sandwich or looking at other boats. Fish seem to know when you are not paying attention! Or at least they do for me!! LOL
I am still a relative newbie on here, only having fished Sooke (except for the odd rented boat elsewhere) for the past 9 years.
However, here is what I have learnt for the Sooke area.
- Braid is OK but make sure you have no nicks, cuts or rough edges on your pulleys or you WILL have sudden catastrophic breaks and loss of gear. Also remember you get more blow back with braid than wire. This makes sense since a wire is metal and much more dense/heavy than organic fibre. There are many threads on this forum on this topic.
- Getting the roll right is important. This is easier with smaller bait than larger which "flop around" a lot more. I have had some success recently with little 4" herring in a regular teaser head. However, as a general rule herring do not last as well as anchovies, and must be changed out more frequently (but not always -see below)
- It is easier to get a decent roll if the hook is not too big. A smaller hook will work as well or better since a finer wire can be made sharper, more easily. However, the wire must still be strong enough for the fish you are after.
- I believe it is all about location. The guides here in Sooke do fantastically well because they know from experience exactly where to go at any given time of day/tide. I do not have this knowledge and it is much more hit and miss for me. I just fish when I can and worry about the wind more than the state of the tide, since fishing in windy condition is hard. But that is O.K.
- I am sure the fish have evolved. I caught a nice 13lb coho a few years ago at 180'. This is a fish that used to be caught on bucktails on the surface in the 60's and 70's!! This again makes sense as fishing represents a selective pressure on the fish. Over the generations this will affect the behaviour of the surviving stocks, albeit slowly.
- Fish often hit on the turn, usually on the inside (as the bait/lure drops or slows) but not always.
- Even in summer, when fishing "in tight over structure" is not successful fishing deeper, almost winter tactics, close to the bottom in 120' - 150' of water will sometimes work. I once got a 17lb chinook at 160' in 200' of water in July, using a glow spoon as in winter.
- For me, teaser heads in purples, blue or greens work better than red or pinks (for chinook). There seems no need to use glo heads in summer fishing at 70' or less. I use glo heads in winter when deeper though.
- The bait roll/movement is much more important than what it looks like. Does not matter of it has blown out or looks "ragged". If it is moving/rolling OK it it IS OK! I caught a 13lb chinook in winter once on a herring which had been down for 2 hours. The skin was off in places and it looked "tatty" but it was still rolling each time I checked so I left it on. Sometimes the bait won't roll right unless you turn it "upside down" in the teaser head. This trick works fine so long as the roll is right. The fish does not care nor can it discern anything "wrong" about a rolling bait that is "upside down".
- I brine my anchovies but not my herring any more. Herring once dehydrated by brine absorb water much more more quickly and go soft and fall apart than when frozen fresh and used "as is".
Lastly watch the rods carefully for bites when pouring coffer, eating a sandwich or looking at other boats. Fish seem to know when you are not paying attention! Or at least they do for me!! LOL
fish brain
Crew Member
TMI
I’ve got a GoPro video I won’t upload where I got a leaderboard fish in a derby because I was using the pee bucket and accidentally drifted over a super shallow reef where a big one was holding.
Total skill maneuver but video would be TMI.
Thanks for not attaching the video, but I have to agree... I seem to have a sandwich in my mouth or I'm leaning (gracefully, of course) over the gunwale most times when one or both rods go crazy.
So... Fishing tip number 483 would be "drink plenty of fluids". I can't count the number of sandwiches I've spat overboard or how many times I've zipped up before being completely finished.
Stizzla
Crew Member
It’s all good. I also found when I took a poo poo as a kid, my dad and brother would get a doubleheader every time.Stizzla is going to get ***** his thread is being derailed with pee pee talk
Fishmyster
Well-Known Member
When I was a kid we fished flounders off the beach at Toquart bay. We found every time we farted on the bait we got a bit right away. Not sure how we figured the out?
RODNREEL
Active Member
I say show the video we're all family here.
Just blank out your junk if it's flopping around.
No junk shots, I know where to stand when camera rolling.
Pineapple Express
Well-Known Member
So for the West Vancouver shoreline the pack "should" always be circling in a counterclockwise rotation? Regardless of the tide/current direction or anything else?
Aces
Well-Known Member
The way Searun posted is how we do it in our area.
Brett
Active Member
I’ve done this aswell in the sidney channel not paying attention frantically pulling up downriggers as I’m heading over a reef..... you can guess what reef not many in Sidney channel.... anyway as I’m almost hooking up on bottom by accident hit a 15lbs winter spring in late January. it was awsome one of the biggest winters I’ve caught in Sidney.
Lots of great advice here my 2cents would be pay attention to what works and where and what direction the tide is going and use it to your advandtage iE don’t fight it for two hours barely moving anywhere cover ground at the spot your fishing and within a hour or more no action and no signs of action you get the feeling trust me as others have said move. Sidney especially move to another spot as Sidney is a scattered out fishery and fish hold in diffrent spots at diffrent times. As others have said but this is especially critical in the winter as feeders are aggressive and move to where the bait is found. also when the spring/ summer runs of fish come in especially for Sidney fishing think about where the fish are coming from and where they are going.... like going to they’re home rivers they’re are a few options as to which runs come by Sidney at what times. SOG is important whether you look at angle of dangle or gps over ground make sure your going fast enough, one of the things I see with lots of newbies is they fish way too slowww. keep it above 1.5 knots if you can. obvs depending on what kind of presentation you are running but never bellow that as a target speed.
Cheers you’ve had a lot of good info here hope your success rate increases
Stizzla
Crew Member
Wow Brett, you’re on a roll! Such good advice tailored to my needs.
Thanks a ton!
