Fished 530-830 south Bowen last night. Trolled from Cowan to RC and landed two wild coho and two Chinook, as well as another 10+ fish lost. Calm water and great conditions. Most action was near RC around tide change, it was on fire for about half an hour with non stop action. White hoochies shallow 20-50 as usual getting most hits and a few on spoons. I have the hoochies rigged with a couple beads, swivel, and siwash hook, and might try rigging them with with tandem hooks as our landing ratio was abysmal.
Has anyone figured out a productive way to fish hoochies without a full size flasher? I was experimenting with action discs, Jugheads, and mini flashers and dodgers but couldn't get it dialed in.
At what point are you losing them? I would guess it is mostly the single hook getting pulled out, as your number of hits is impressive. I had a former lodge owner, and Bill Haymond (Science of Salmon Fishing author) with me a few days ago. We all observed and agreed that:
coho have a soft mouth, especially hatchery.
must be a super sharp hook.
hook needs the required twist and slight closing of the gap.
watch when the flasher breaks the surface and then backoff on any pulling action at that moment. (or the hook rips out)
no setting the hook.
let them roll and thump on the line until they come to the surface on their own, then they usually surf in on their side.
keep their head in or under water if possible at the boat.
if lifting them into the boat by the flasher or leader, do it quickly and always towards the boat, not along the side and in, as soft mouth kicks in.
against my habits, idling the kicker when a coho is on has helped a lot, but mostly for guests that pull too hard or don't watch for the flasher.
You seem to be getting plenty of hits, so your gear combo is working well for you to that point. I have my method of flasher, hoochie, distance from cannonball etc. but you're killing it there. Tandem hooks do increase damage and the need for pliers if they are wild or undersize.
See you out there.
