I am an experienced boater (18 ft sturdy aluminum) but inexperiemced fisherman. Downrigger trolling is not for me. Instead, I prefer jigging. I have been using a 2.5 oz buzz bomb, which seems to attract plenty of rockfish, but only very rarely salmon. Yesterday, with this setup, I caught a 31 cm Coho, but mostly it is rockfish, I caught 3 yesterday & kept one. Can an experienced jigger guide me to a better setup or technique to attract more salmon than rockfish? I fish in waters east and north-east of Campbell River.
Catching too many rockfish instead of salmon
- Thread starter pcaker
- Start date
westercoaster222
Member
Try a bigger jig, we use 4-6 oz. Drop down to the bottom, then 3-5 cranks up. Keep the jig moving, bottom fish will hit a still lure. Focus on concentrated, suspended bait balls if you find them. I have found if there are salmon there, they will hit soon after dropping, if no hits I move on. Rarely will I stay at one spot longer than 10 minutes. If I mark bait/fish and get a bottom fish or dog fish, will imediately move on. Jig the entire depth of the bait too, drop down, 3-5 cranks, a few jigs, 3-5 cranks, a few jigs, etc, etc. I use some form or super jell scent, not sure if this just masks human smell, or helps with bites. Mostly using some style of flat fall jig.
sly_karma
Crew Member
As per above, don't dwell on bottom if you see bait and salmon marks in the middle water. 3 ways to know how deep/shallow your lure is:
- depth counter reel
- marked braid like Depth Hunter (different colour every 25 ft)
- figure out how much line passes through the level wind for each across-and-back cycle, count passes and do some math.
I like flat fall jigs too. Fish typically hit them on the fall, and salmon typically feed looking upward, so when targeting salmon I drop to the top of a bait ball, jig a few times, then drop down 10-15 ft, jig a few more times, and so on until below the bait. Then back up and repeat the cycle. I only drop near to bottom if sonar indicates bait and possible salmon down there.
Knowing how deep your lure is makes you more efficient and doesn't rule you out from fishing deeper water. You don't have to drop to bottom and jig all the way up, just focus on the depth band where the fish are marking. More time in the sweet spot.
- depth counter reel
- marked braid like Depth Hunter (different colour every 25 ft)
- figure out how much line passes through the level wind for each across-and-back cycle, count passes and do some math.
I like flat fall jigs too. Fish typically hit them on the fall, and salmon typically feed looking upward, so when targeting salmon I drop to the top of a bait ball, jig a few times, then drop down 10-15 ft, jig a few more times, and so on until below the bait. Then back up and repeat the cycle. I only drop near to bottom if sonar indicates bait and possible salmon down there.
Knowing how deep your lure is makes you more efficient and doesn't rule you out from fishing deeper water. You don't have to drop to bottom and jig all the way up, just focus on the depth band where the fish are marking. More time in the sweet spot.
Rayvon
Well-Known Member
Jigging is most effective if there are concentrations of bait in an area,your sounder is your best indicator,or birds feeding,ball ups showing.Your jig should represent the bait in the area at the time.My area has mostly needlefish (sandlance), so we use Wilson darts or similar and almost always about 10 Ft. off bottom because that's where they live.Herring could be anywhere in the water column,so jig,reel,jig might be better until you find where their feeding.Coho are usually near the surface,not always,so casting a buzzbomb or other jig might be better and let it fall until feeling a strike.
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