Hey guys, I am new to this site [ I think it's great ] I'm also pretty new to ocean fishing, always been more of a lake and river guy because I never had the proper gear to get out on the big water and do it right. However, now thanks to some friends we are set up to make a few trips a year looking for nice springs. Just wondering about bait [ I've done a lot of reading, and some experimenting with cut plugging ] vs. lures such as spoons, plugs, hootchies, ect. Any info would be helpful, as I said I'm pretty new to this but would like to learn all that I can to make the most of my one or two trips a year [ probably to the WCVI ] Cheers
lures vs. bait
- Thread starter chadr
- Start date
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tomictime
Guest
start with hardware, spoons and hootchies..they are forgiving and cath fish
fishin_magician
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Stick with spoons first. Learn hoochies second. Then mess with bait when you're comfortable messing around to get the right roll and have confidence in your gear.
Spoons will put many fish in the box---they are easy to fish. Hoochies require you to tie and tweak to the conditions. Requires more understanding, knowledge and skill. Plugs, reserved for certain times and places only.
D
Dirtdog67
Guest
Don't be afraid to mix it up.. Bait on one side and gear on the other. You will have to learn at some point.. Keep up with what is working with your area as well. Never hurts, seen some of the most green of horn gear work better than the skilled.-cheers dirty
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The Fish Assassin
Guest
I would have to say that a good bait fisherman on average could outfish a spoon fishermen. That being said, if you don't know how to roll your bait your just not going to catch much of anything on it. If that's the case your better off to use artifical lures. I guess it depends how serious you are about it too, if you want to be consistant with your bait fishing abilities it takes time and practise. When your fishing with bait it is all about the roll. Spoons, plugs, and hoochies are far more forgiving. I have at times put down a piece of bait that no matter what I did to it I just couldn't get the right roll to it, so I would just rip it out of the headholder and start with a fresh piece. I've even had my second piece not work right and changed it too before putting it down. The only way to know that you would have to do that is with experience. My dad was a bait fisherman so I learned pretty early on how to roll bait. By 10 I could roll bait properly and started to compete with the old man.
Take only what you need.
Take only what you need.
IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
LOL! I'll bite! S'pose you bring whatever boat you can get your mitts on, and get it over to Ukee for the last week of August. I would be more than interested in running a comparative fishery. You fish alongside me, using but bait, and I'll use just spoons and/or plugs. Come the end of the day, we'll compare notes regarding both Quality</u> and Quantity hooked and landed over the course of the day. To make it interesting, want to place a side-bet??
Ever wonder just why the troll fleet doesn't use bait? Besides the muss and fuss, the artificials PRODUCE, and produce very well! If they didn't, you'd see every serious troll fisherman out there buying out the supplies of chovies & herring!
Don't be fooled into believing that bait is the be-all end-all out on the chuck! Of course it VERY</u> much has it's place amongst your arsenal, and does account for a lot of landed fish, just as many (likely more actually) are taken with artificials. Really!
Match The Hatch for spoons (color sort of important, SIZE very much so!) and plugs, whereas hootchies take some practise to recognize amongst the myriad of options out there which will work best under any given conditions.
For starters I would suggest what DirtDog offered was sound. No time like the present to learn. Try a rolled chovie off one side, and a spoon or hootchie on the other. You'll soon learn what the fish want!
There is a great deal of information fishing both bait and artificials on this site, easily accessible via the Search Function. And to add to that, I am more than willing to offer advice from time to time when I am shorebound.
Good Luck!
Cheers,
Nog
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The Fish Assassin
Guest
Ok, we could do this! I'll be out of Bamfield, so we could fish at say Cree (austin). Its about 1/2 way. I love fishing there. I'm very confident in my rolling abilities. I should be able to out fish artifical on any given day. Although I have had good days with spoons, my best was 7 tyees in 3.5 hours using bait. BTW, COHO shouldn't count!
Take only what you need.
fishin_magician
Well-Known Member
quote:Originally posted by IronNoggin
LOL! I'll bite! S'pose you bring whatever boat you can get your mitts on, and get it over to Ukee for the last week of August. I would be more than interested in running a comparative fishery. You fish alongside me, using but bait, and I'll use just spoons and/or plugs. Come the end of the day, we'll compare notes regarding both Quality</u> and Quantity hooked and landed over the course of the day. To make it interesting, want to place a side-bet??
Ever wonder just why the troll fleet doesn't use bait? Besides the muss and fuss, the artificials PRODUCE, and produce very well! If they didn't, you'd see every serious troll fisherman out there buying out the supplies of chovies & herring!
Don't be fooled into believing that bait is the be-all end-all out on the chuck! Of course it VERY</u> much has it's place amongst your arsenal, and does account for a lot of landed fish, just as many (likely more actually) are taken with artificials. Really!
Match The Hatch for spoons (color sort of important, SIZE very much so!) and plugs, whereas hootchies take some practise to recognize amongst the myriad of options out there which will work best under any given conditions.
For starters I would suggest what DirtDog offered was sound. No time like the present to learn. Try a rolled chovie off one side, and a spoon or hootchie on the other. You'll soon learn what the fish want!
There is a great deal of information fishing both bait and artificials on this site, easily accessible via the Search Function. And to add to that, I am more than willing to offer advice from time to time when I am shorebound.
Good Luck!
Cheers,
Nog
Agreed Nog. Two thumbs up to that. However, you have to admit, there are times when putting a 'Chovy down or herring of some sort allows slower trolling and better coverage in a given area as opposed to hightailing it around. In my home port of Vancouver, I can tell you that 'Chovies will take gear fishers to the task without fail even when rolled by "novice" fishers. It's time and place specific..but given all the success I've been having on gear over the last few years, it's fun watching guys rebait while the gear hooks up another!!!!
In a troll vs troll situation, properly fished proper tackle will give bait a run for the money without question. However, if it's a power mooching situation, you have to admit that cut plugging herring makes for LOTS of fun.
I'm a big fan of gear and I'm also a big fan of bait and I use both. However, if I'm going to spend $6-7 a pack for 'Chovies, I'm going to run all 'Chovies. More work? Yes. More fun? Yes, given the right conditions.
But I'd be game for witnessing the fish off among two competing teams!!!!
tubber
Well-Known Member
When I go flyfishing, as soon as I catch a fish I change to a different fly just to see what else will work.
I do the same kind of thing when I am fortunate enough to be invited to get out on the banks off Ukee. The guy I fish with always runs bait on his side, I enjoy switching it up on the other side.
The fishing can be so good that everyone will get limits, so you can afford to do some experimenting.
My unscientific, far from expert results lead me to believe that out there in late July/Aug a 6" watermelon or 602 Tomic spoon on a 7' leader behind a decent flasher will catch as many or more quality springs as the other guy's bait, partly because he will be spending quite a bit more time screwing around with his roll, toothpicks and dealing with cohoes and dogfish. A 3rd surface rod with a bucktail, apex, or pretty well anything can be used to weed through the cohoes looking for a hatchery one.
I do the same kind of thing when I am fortunate enough to be invited to get out on the banks off Ukee. The guy I fish with always runs bait on his side, I enjoy switching it up on the other side.
The fishing can be so good that everyone will get limits, so you can afford to do some experimenting.
My unscientific, far from expert results lead me to believe that out there in late July/Aug a 6" watermelon or 602 Tomic spoon on a 7' leader behind a decent flasher will catch as many or more quality springs as the other guy's bait, partly because he will be spending quite a bit more time screwing around with his roll, toothpicks and dealing with cohoes and dogfish. A 3rd surface rod with a bucktail, apex, or pretty well anything can be used to weed through the cohoes looking for a hatchery one.
IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
I fish out of Ukee as noted, and ain't much of an Inshore Warrior, greatly preferring the offshore. I'll be away from guiding for a couple of weeks in August, but back on it for the latter part thereof. I'd like to suggest we look at Southbank, the Turtle's Head or the reefs outside from Cree. Shoot me your contact info, and I'll be in touch later in the season. And btw, I am confident enough that I'll be having clients act as my angling crew. And agreed, No Coho counted, just springs. Overall catch numbers rated alongside Quality equally.
Bring It On![^]
Cheers,
Nog
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The Fish Assassin
Guest
I'll be sure to keep a couple spare leaders with bait in them for quick changing.
Nog where your talking about fishing is ideal for artificals. The outside can be a no go for bait if the green eyes are out.
Take only what you need.
fishin_magician
Well-Known Member
quote:Originally posted by twinwinds
Side bets anyone?......
$50 odds on favorite to win Iron Noggin'.
Early Vegas Odds: 2 to 1 for Noggin' and 20 to 1 for Fish Assassin. Fish Assassin is going to be too busy getting cleaned by Cohos IMHO.
Anyone else entered?
Thanks for the info [ and the excitement ] boys. I think I will stay with lures for sure on one side of the boat. On the other I might play with some bait and see what produces. It may give me a chance to practice on my rolling, or to make me a lures only fisherman. I'll have to wait and see what works
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tomictime
Guest
shussssh...
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The Fish Assassin
Guest
Geesh, has everyone forgotten how to fish with bait?
Take only what you need.
Take only what you need.
