What am I missing???

One of my "go-to" hootchies in August is a full-size hot pink with a thin glow stripe down each side. I don't remember the number but I've heard it referred to as a "Papa Smurf". That has produced several nice fish for me on the late evening troll at the BellBuoy in Van harbour. I usually will run one of those or a sockeye squirt on a shallow rod when I'm hunting the late august springs around the North Arm, with chovies on the other two rods.
 
Pink is a hot colour from early summer and right on into the fall. Minis or full size. Pink, pink and white, pink and glow are all great. Mix and match them with a full size hoochie with a needlefish hoochy inside. Pink shades work great in early morning/late night low light conditions. Pink, as well as red, gold, and orange for low light or dark red algae blooms. Gold seems to be especially good for when the water turns that ugly reddy/brown shade. Most guys hate those reddish water conditions and usually say fishing is dead slow. I love it when I see that colour water because that's when I know exactly what shades of hoochies to run.
 
TheBigGuy said:
I've caught lots of Tyees on an MP15 hoochie. Just rig it with a longer leader than for pinks/sockeye/coho. 42-45 inch leader if specifically targeting springs. I've even caught three halibut on that trolling rig. I never use it before July though.
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Get so caught up on the go too's that ya forget about the weird ones that were producing that you don't think about using ever again for springs
will have to remember to keep pink in the flow ... may give it a shot next time out for winters .
 
Reeltime said:
Get so caught up on the go too's that ya forget about the weird ones that were producing that you don't think about using ever again for springs
will have to remember to keep pink in the flow ... may give it a shot next time out for winters .
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It's guess it's always worth trying pink in the winter. I don't use it in the winter for several reasons. Usually the general rule of thumb is to try and match the hoochy colour to the water colour and clarity. Generally in the winter I run green, white or blue shades preferably in glow patterns because of the greater depths fished in the winter. The water is usually crystal clear in the winter with a slight blue or green tint to it. Not to say that pink shades won't work in winter, it's just that I usually don't use them as it kind of goes against my theories on color selection to match the water color.
 
trophywife said:
this could go on forever like the hootchie wall at pnt!!

dont forget squirts! i use em lots!
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I've had good success with the Supertackle Casper squirtshoved into the Purple Haze regular size hoochie. Will be experimenting more with these types of Frankenhoochies this year.
 
TheBigGuy said:
It's guess it's always worth trying pink in the winter. I don't use it in the winter for several reasons. Usually the general rule of thumb is to try and match the hoochy colour to the water colour and clarity. Generally in the winter I run green, white or blue shades preferably in glow patterns because of the greater depths fished in the winter. The water is usually crystal clear in the winter with a slight blue or green tint to it. Not to say that pink shades won't work in winter, it's just that I usually don't use them as it kind of goes against my theories on color selection to match the water color.
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Good to know that heard it a few times about matching water ..just never focused on it hard , all takes time to add new technics to fishing .. slowly adding things to the
technic as i'm catching and seeing the little differences that are happening when the bites on .. and trying to remember it all ..thnx to the log book
will have to remember that for future anything to up the technic ..


RogersonCrusoe said:
I've had good success with the Supertackle Casper squirtshoved into the Purple Haze regular size hoochie. Will be experimenting more with these types of Frankenhoochies this year.
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Great idea ultra violet purple haze being nice and clear and add coloured glow squirt inside i like it ..
 
Reeltime said:
Great idea ultra violet purple haze being nice and clear and add coloured glow squirt inside i like it ..
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And added texture/density too - not sure if that makes a difference. In my thinking, if the salmon misses the hook they might think it feels more like a live anchovy/herring/whatever, rather than hollow rubber - maybe enticing a second strike. Had a few coho doing this last season.
Also, Frankenhoochie #2 is the White UV Cuttlefish with Blue Splatterback Octopus and tinsel insert. Really nice and solid feeling with the added splash of colours.
 
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I've had great luck on multi hoochie rigs. My favorite colour inside is pink, followed by glow. Green with pink inside works well. Green and white, or glow Army truck with a pink needlefish inside the springs seem to really like. I have even gone so far as to use triple rigs sometimes. I have an old Radiant magnum army truck with a glow octopus and pink needlefish rig that is quite well liked by the springs. I threw it on for a lark at the Chum derby to see if I could catch a monster winner because of its size. I didn't get a monster, but I was shocked by how well it worked on the Chum. I've gotten chum on regular size army truck hoochies before but I wasn't expecting them to be hitting a 6" magnum that well. Just goes to prove you never know.

Best to make the inside hoochy a half inch shorter than the out side hoochy, otherwise it gives it an unatural paint brush silhouette. You want it to be streamlined and tapered at the back end.
 
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casper5280 said:
WHAT! Nobody told me about this. The royalty cheque must of got lost in the mail. LOL
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There were a few tackle companies producing combo hoochies for a while, but they were charging a massive markup for the double rigs. I guess because of the price of these type rigs they were never big sellers and have kind of faded away in most tackle stores.

And yes, the clear ultra violet hoochies work well with a pink or a glow needlefish inside.
 
Lots of good patterns already mentioned and I have most of them in various sizes. If you do any offshore fishing I will suggest one of my favourites that produces well for me. I fish these at Swiftsure primarily but I'm sure it it will be good anywhere on the outside waters. It's a Yamashita KG174R in the Kajiki Squid pattern. It's basically a plain double glow pattern but just a little bigger offering for hungry offshore feeders.
 
ReelSlim said:
Lots of good patterns already mentioned and I have most of them in various sizes. If you do any offshore fishing I will suggest one of my favourites that produces well for me. I fish these at Swiftsure primarily but I'm sure it it will be good anywhere on the outside waters. It's a Yamashita KG174R in the Kajiki Squid pattern. It's basically a plain double glow pattern but just a little bigger offering for hungry offshore feeders.
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I especially like the glow blue splatter back Kajiki Squids on the west coast of the island. This thread could go on forever cause everybody has there own favs and there's probably been a thousand different hoochies manufactured over the years.
 
Waterwolf2230 said:
Waterwolf2230 said:
Hey guys,

I'm getting cabin fever and thought I'd reorganize my gear which was strewn about from last season. I started fishing Hoochies a bit more last year and had pretty good luck on the Blue Meanie UV - NP34 and the Michael Jackson - OG153R. Do you have any suggestions on a 'HOT' Hoochie that I am missing?

Curtis
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Yes, I'll post a picture in a minute to help you out with one ;)
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So many hootchies and not enough time. Just buy all the colors, and play around, as its been said. Certain colors at certain times in certain areas. White with a red sharpie giving it a bleeding nose. In June sechelt area, done real well for a 2 week period on full yellow.
 
Felt pens are handy for custom coloring, but you then need to keep them separate from your other hoochies. Otherwise they will bleed color onto any others they are stored next to.
 
bones said:
I find all hootchies bleed, pen or not.
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Yes they all do to some degree. Thats why I always store similarly colored hoochies in the same tray. Felt pens are a whole different level of color letting though. So, I just thought I'd give the guys the heads up who've never used felts before. It can make a real mess of your other hoochies. Best to keep the felt pen colored ones in separate ziplock bags.

Hoochies can also be dyed to make your own custom patterns.
 
I just like to say hoochie (or hootchie if you prefer). It's especially fun sharing the word hoochie to the uninitiated or the uninformed lay person.

Them - "Wow, what a big fish... what kind is it?"
Me - "It's a chinook salmon, also known as a spring salmon."
Them - "Cool! What do you use to catch them?"
Me - "Well, that one was caught on a blue splatter back hoochie"
Them - o_O :oops: :eek:

Just to spice it up a bit two years ago, my wife bought some custom hoochie ear rings at the antiques place in Qualicum! Lol What a lovely bride! It's even better when you start talking about her hoochie ear rings around others! "Honey, you should wear your hoochie ear rings tonight!" Lol
 
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