2020 Sooke Reports

[Englishman]

Thx for all the advice guys. I must admit some of it I don't understand. "Pinning the trolling motor" for example. For those that have read my posts before they know I am currently a fan of small herring in t.h. These are only about 4'' long. Therefore the hook is right near the tail and I do not use a stinger. Just a single treble. It is also small (just size 2) as suggested here by Chasin' Dreams because a big hook would spoil the action on such small bait. Maybe a I need to make them sharper though. Also, I like the fish to pop the rigger because then I am striking the fish, not yanking on the clip which will only move the length of the clip line and then resist any further pull on the fish (fighting the 15# ball as Doubleheader says) and therefore makes it harder to sink the hook. Normally those hits where the rod springs straight up are no problem to hit because the fish has already taken in some slack by popping the clip! Just not today. Also they were not short biting because the bait was coming back shredded to the tail or missing altogether. Very strange. I think I will sharpen the hooks yet more and maybe try a shorter set back (clip to flasher length) which I have quite long now because of my perhaps misguided theory of engine noise. The two fish we did boat, must have hooked themselves because I did not see the rod go and looked up to see the rod already pounding. Maybe I should have tried not moving when the rod sprang up and counted to 5 before striking?!!

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

Thx for all the advice guys. I must admit some of it I don't understand. "Pinning the trolling motor" for example. For those that have read my posts before they know I am currently a fan of small herring in t.h. These are only about 4'' long. Therefore the hook is right near the tail and I do not use a stinger. Just a single treble. It is also small (just size 2) as suggested here by Chasin' Dreams because a big hook would spoil the action on such small bait. Maybe a I need to make them sharper though. Also, I like the fish to pop the rigger because then I am striking the fish, not yanking on the clip which will only move the length of the clip line and then resist any further pull on the fish (fighting the 15# ball as Doubleheader says) and therefore makes it harder to sink the hook. Normally those hits where the rod springs straight up are no problem to hit because the fish has already taken in some slack by popping the clip! Just not today. Also they were not short biting because the bait was coming back shredded to the tail or missing altogether. Very strange. I think I will sharpen the hooks yet more and maybe try a shorter set back (clip to flasher length) which I have quite long now because of my perhaps misguided theory of engine noise. The two fish we did boat, must have hooked themselves because I did not see the rod go and looked up to see the rod already pounding. Maybe I should have tried not moving when the rod sprang up and counted to 5 before striking?!!

Shorter clip to flasher will help with tightening up the flasher rotation and give the fish an easier target and will also help with less loose line out there which would lessen the amount of rod bounce you see when the fish does hit. So yes shorter flasher to clip is good. 10' to 12' is all you need there. If you are having a torn bait all the way from head to tail or no bait at all that sounds much more to me like small juvenile fish to me but smaller Pinks will do that too. We get tons of them around the mouth of the Fraser and that's a common trait the Pinks and juvenile Springs have in common with the bait in teaser heads. Also about the one single hook on a small bait in a teaser head... I run two still even with small bait but to each their own. My trailer is farther back. Top hook is right up tight to the teaser and in the bait. No room for missed hits on keeper fish, but yes even with that set up the small Pinks and juveniles can still tare up the bait without getting hooked. I wouldn't stress about motor noise especially for August Springs and warmer waters. We get them consistently 20 to 40' right under the boat in the later summer months and I troll with a main motor. I also run a top line a lot not on the rigger and it's only 26 pulls behind the motor.

 

[tubber]

My shoulders are a mess, so I pop the clip by lowering the ball while holding the reel handle briefly. Works well if there is enough depth to go down 10 more feet.

 

[Doubleheader]

Imo there is no point in waiting at all when trolling bait on a downrigger. They are not gonna bite it more than they already are, time is of the essence. I personally bury the clip so I can keep the rod tips pretty near in the water while trolling to help see the take, and less to reel to get out the clip. Also a light clip setting adds to false trips and more fish tripping it without hooking themselves. Pinning the trolling motor is just speeding up the boat as soon as the fish grabs it, helps catch up to em and keep tension during the hookset. It also often entices a bite on the other side. My abdominal area is literally black and blue from setting hooks this time of year. Hit em fast and hit em hard.

 

[kingspring]

Feelings about scents late season, my bait mix covers colour,toughness and brightness, not scent.

I have some of that Mikes Anchovey stuff, and have heard anise, garlic etc.

or maybe I leave my mix alone?!!

 

[RogersonCrusoe]

Feelings about scents late season, my bait mix covers colour,toughness and brightness, not scent.
I have some of that Mikes Anchovey stuff, and have heard anise, garlic etc.
or maybe I leave my mix alone?!!

Anything to mask the smell of human. I put a blob of X-10 inside the teaser head before I put the anchovy in. I use very heavily salted bait with some blue food colouring mixed in.
Heading out this evening for another night shift. As always, quite stoked!

 

[Doubleheader]

I use some scent on the bait only of it gets lightly jellyfished, pick off all I can see and spray off with wash down hose then add some scent to mask any residue left.

 

[Irishwolf]

I’ve never had much luck using anise oil and those colored brines. I do better with just salted bait.

Interestingly, my buddy uses bait commando! Straight from the pack and does well.

 

[profisher]

I run tandem trebles with one trailing behind...doesn't help when fish are coming in from the side, grabbing the teaser head and then spitting it out. Over the years I've seen the same scenario over and over...late August and September the landed to hits average goes down especially if there are mostly males around that day.
Today was another good day, weather and fish. We kept our 4 Chinook limit, released one well over, lost 2 and hit 2 more that didn't stick. All between 50-55 ft. 8 nice Dungy's in the traps too. Been doing better with them since I started buying and adding chicken backs from Fairways instead of just relying on salmon heads/carcasses.

 

[walleyes]

I’m not aware of any predator fish that doesn’t eat it’s prey head first.

 

[Doubleheader]

I’m not aware of any predator fish that doesn’t eat it’s prey head first.

I’ve hooked thousands of chinooks with just a single trailer hook, and seen the tail of the bait just raked hundreds of times without the trailer. Watch some underwater footage and it’s pretty interesting how they buzz around the bait and will just dart in and tickle the tail with their lips...

 

[kingspring]

I’ve hooked thousands of chinooks with just a single trailer hook, and seen the tail of the bait just raked hundreds of times without the trailer. Watch some underwater footage and it’s pretty interesting how they buzz around the bait and will just dart in and tickle the tail with their lips...

I’d think though that bigger fish don’t tickle to much, more of a power vacuum approach to filing their belly!!

 

[Doubleheader]

I’d think though that bigger fish don’t tickle to much, more of a power vacuum approach to filing their belly!!

Not in my experience, some of the biggest fish I’ve hooked have hit like a trout...

 

[walleyes]

We are getting off track. I’m not even sure it’s up for a discussion much like if the world is round or flat lol. But we will discuss it this winter when we are bored and there are no fishing reports.

 

[Doubleheader]

We are getting off track. I’m not even sure it’s up for a discussion much like if the world is round or flat lol. But we will discuss it this winter when we are bored and there are no fishing reports.

Are feeding habits of big Chinook Salmon in late August not an integral part of a fishing report? Just sharing my personal and up to date report. Sorry to waste your time...

 

[walleyes]

I’m not upset man relax,, just don’t want to distract from the fishing reports.
Ok I’ll agree with you, the world is flat.

 

[23Hourston]

Out today 7 till 1. 10 yes 10 springs 2 double headers of 2 we kept. Getting hard to get em under 80 now. 54 And 47 feet on big anchovies green on green. I would tell you where but then you’re gonna end up in my way tomorrow..

 

[Saxe Point]

I’ve hooked thousands of chinooks with just a single trailer hook, and seen the tail of the bait just raked hundreds of times without the trailer. Watch some underwater footage and it’s pretty interesting how they buzz around the bait and will just dart in and tickle the tail with their lips...

You must mean hundreds. If you caught only 2000 over 40 years that’s 50 Chinook every single year! And all on the single trailer! Really? A bit of hyperbole is okay to make a point, but wow.

 

[Doubleheader]

You must mean hundreds. If you caught only 2000 over 40 years that’s 50 Chinook every single year! And all on the single trailer! Really? A bit of hyperbole is okay to make a point, but wow.

If I only caught 50 Chinook a year in the 90’s for fun I’d a been embarrassed. If I only netted 50 a year guiding for 18 years I don’t think I’d still be in business. 10-20 fish days are not that uncommon even this year. If you fish 45-60+ days a summer they add up. Right around 200 to the boat this year and it’s been a grind. I remember when I discovered the offshore fishery, numbers add up quick out there. Wow...

 

[Saxe Point]

If I only caught 50 Chinook a year in the 90’s for fun I’d a been embarrassed. If I only netted 50 a year guiding for 18 years I don’t think I’d still be in business. 10-20 fish days are not that uncommon even this year. If you fish 45-60+ days a summer they add up. Right around 200 to the boat this year and it’s been a grind. I remember when I discovered the offshore fishery, numbers add up quick out there. Wow...

Fair enough. You’re including the fish caught by your customers and a lot caught (and presumably released) on your own account. Until a couple of years ago, the annual limit was 20 retained Chinook a year (it’s now 10).