Puget Sound Salmon

[flinger]

How the heck do ya fish these things
I am a complete rookie newbie novice and Don't have a clue
Went out tonight out of point defiance at around 5 p.m. to do the tide thing stayed out till almost 9 p.m
not a bite or anything that would make me think that there are fish in that water
I do not have a downrigger nor do i see one in the near future so i can only guess where my line is
Do not know for squat what bait or lures to use or what to look for.
anyon willing to give me any tips,pointers, suggestions secret go to lures or bait setups, places that may be better than others .
Any help or info would be greatly appreciated

[rasbo]

How the heck do ya fish these things
I am a complete rookie newbie novice and Don't have a clue
Went out tonight out of point defiance at around 5 p.m. to do the tide thing stayed out till almost 9 p.m
not a bite or anything that would make me think that there are fish in that water
I do not have a downrigger nor do i see one in the near future so i can only guess where my line is
Do not know for squat what bait or lures to use or what to look for.
anyon willing to give me any tips,pointers, suggestions secret go to lures or bait setups, places that may be better than others .
Any help or info would be greatly appreciated

jigging will catch them at times

[JimmyHoffa]

You can use a planer on your line.  Could make a cheap-o downrigger too.
For bait, I'd say herring or squid, with a flasher on the line.  Do you have a fish finder/bottom depth machine? 

[flinger]

i do have a humminbird wideeye seemed to show fish but it is not solid mounted

[lokidog]

You need some way to get the bait to where the fish are, like a downrigger or dive plane with some way to measure how much line you have out.  One way to test your dive depoth with a plane is to measure/count how much line is out then troll into shallow areas that have no rocks.  You should be able to tell when your plane hits the bottom.  You can then make a chart of length versus depth for the speed you are going and drop your lure to where the fish are.

Coho killer spoons seem to work well on most types of salmon trolled behind a large dodger.  I have caught the most fish on the watermelon one (lots of pinks, a couple of coho and two kings).  Cut plug herring also work but if using bait, I prefer the nose clip type rigs that have a little plane that gives the herring a spin.  Herring seem to last longer on these but maybe there is more scent in the water with cut plug.

If using a dive plane like a pink lady, be sure the distance from your plane to your dodger plus your dodger to your lure is short enough that you can net a fish, either by yourself or with a buddy.  By yourself, it needs to be shorter because you cannoit back away from the rail to get the fish closer and still be able to see to net it.  I also have not had much luck getting dive planes to go deeper than about 45 feet.

Hope some of this helps.  You can often pick up manual downriggers at a decent price if you keep an eye out for them.  Oh yeah, if you want, you can just lower a downrigger ball on some twine.  The thinner the better for less water resistance but thinner is harder to hold on to for pulling it up.

Good luck.

[woodman]

Hey Flinger,

I have downriggers and plenty of stuff that you need. If you want, I will loan you things to use until you can decide if you want to spend the money on some. Also can give you ideas on how to use them. PM me if you are interested and we can hook up.

Joe

[DoubleJ]

flinger, PM sent

[RB]

Everything lokidog said plus anything green for Coho get green glow hoochies with a green Hotspot and that is an excellent place to start. Coho killer and Coyote spoons (Army truck, funky Chickhen) work good too.

Pick one set up learn how to use it and then expand from there 

[oldcamper]

Did you hold your tongue like this 

[mossyoak arrow slinger]

One reason you didn't have much luck out there last night was this weather change. It put the fish down and closed those lips. Stick with it you'll get fish. I have been fishing the point defiance area my entire life. There are fish out there especially this year.

[Camp David]

I've been keeping notes on Salmon for many years. Kings are still coming, but it is the tail end in Puget sound. Slivers peak 3rd week of Sept. Early rains hold them in the sound where late rains sends them rushing to the rivers and you will only have a few good days on the salt water. No Pinks this year. Early morning has always been better for salmon. Evenings can be good if you find the bait. Slack tides, early mornings and kelp beds is the place to be for kings. Silvers can be anywhere. I catch silvers from surface - 160'. I suggest that you troll around slowly with your lines out until you see the bait. Stop and jig. Cut plug 3-5 oz weight. Drop it down to desired depth. Reel up slowly stopping on occasion. Repeat.  If you feel weight on the line...start reeling to the rod tip touches the water then and only then...set the hook. For trolling always troll with the tide. Use a 5 oz weight when trolling, but check your bait often for weeds. Cut plug herring will work, but check it often for a good roll. If trolled to fast it will "mush" and stop rolling. No Roll = no Fish. I like to fish herring whole, but learing to rig it will be a challenge. Good luck. Remember 10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish. Pay attention to details.

[Button Nubbs]

Camp davids last sentence is key! the people who pay attention to the smallest details catch 90% of the fish. I am always paying attention to every thing I'm doing and what everyone around me is doing. This goes for ALL types of fishing. Once you finally hook one ask yourself exactly what you were doing and why that fish bit. Try to replicate it.

[Crunchy]

Get a couple off pearly white pt wilson darts, riggs with two siwash # 3 hooks.  The key is to jig vertically as best you can.  You have to let you line out unitl you hit bottom so pay close attention to your line or you will miss hitting bottom and will end up snagging bottom.  Once on bottom reel up a couple of cranks and start jigging.  You want to stay in about 130-160 feet of water.  Ideally you hit the ground an hour before tide change and fish until an hour after.  Those are best times, but doesnt mean you cant get them sooner or later.  Morning bite has been good.  I picked up a twenty and another one near thirty a couple of weeks ago.  Another around 16 last week.  So they are in their. 

[flinger]

Well tried again tonight,pretty much fished right off the point at point defiance kinda drifting,fishin plug cut hering on about 4 ft. leader, dropped the line to the bottom at about 150 ft. or soh
 had to go to the wheel to turn the boat a bit and then my line goes zzzzzzzzzzzz.cool got a fish make sure to set the hook reel it in  freakin dog fish ,mini shark or wtf ever they are got rid of that one .
Well to make a long story short 2 more hours of fishing and 6 more of those dogfish sharkey bastages we decided to call it a night
is it normal to hook that many of them or should i have moved out of that area

[Kola16]

  Welcome to salmon fishing. It is annoying, I know. They are in the same places, but if you didn't catch any salmon, you should probably move a little. In a good spot, there usually won't be the dog shark things, but there may be some. You should go to www.salmonuniversity.com

[Crunchy]

Ya I dont mooch much these days in the sound because of the dogs.  Pt Wilson dart significantly decreases the odds of catching them, and if you do it not in their gut so you dont look your mooching rig.  If you do use hering, you have to reel seconds after you hit bottom or dogs every time you drop down.  Reel up a good 20 feet from bottom and you shouldnt catch quite as many dogs.

[lokidog]

Hey, those doggy fish sharky things aren't bad eating.  Cut the gills to bleed them and toss in your cooler.  Filet when you get home or at the dock, some people soak the filets in milk overnight but I don't bother.  Dip them in egg and cornflake crumbs, then deep fry.  Not quite as good as rockfish, but it's fresh and the state hasn't said we have to throw them back... yet.   

You might think of doing a charter trip to your area.  You can learn a lot from those guys and it seems most are willing to answer how-to questions.