salmon fishing without downriggers?

[Bullkllr]

Wow you guy's never fail at generosity on here.  I will definitely take both  LndShrk and  robodad up on their offers. I know basically nothing about salmon fishing so i could use all the teaching i can get.When i did not have a boat we would use our little single person pontoons and go crabbing no more than a couple hundred feet off shore with rings so i figured my jon boat would be ok comparatively  . my boat is a little wider than a standard jon boat i believe i saw a jon boat at lake meridian when we out for trout earlier this year that was the same brand and length as mine but only like 2/3rds the width.

Well, crabbing in a protected spot and salmon fishing around the sound are two totally different things.
Most of the more consistently productive salmon spots are nearer open/big water. Sure there are exceptions. To really do much good at all some traveling is in order. Tough to do with that set up. I know its already been said, but I would be more concerned with the boat and less with the no downriggers. Most regulars around Tacoma didn't know what a downrigger was until about 20 years  ago.

[superdown]

I am powering it with a 9.5 hp evinrude. I can't get it to go slow enough with two guy's @ 220lbs 4 anchors and five gallon bucket in the water to troll for trout. It fly's with just my dad and i in the boat with a small cooler and our trout gear.

[superdown]

The Down rigger showed up today    Thank you very much robodad  I am excited to get out on lake washington and atleast go after some of those big cutthroats

[Come Get Some]

I would not worry about going too slow. I fish for kings at 4.5 MPH. The jon boat is more of the problem than gear. I run a charter boat out of Lapush and Westport. I Fish 4 Cannon Digitrol 4's. If you would like to learn downriggers get a hold of me this summer. I will offer you a trip no charge just to learn. The only catch is we go Catching not fishing. We have had many days with 4 fish on at a time. The ocean can be addicting. Epic-fishing.com

[fishinmike]

I started fishing the sound back in the 70's in a 10ft jon boat. You just have to be smart. Watch the weather, especially the wind. There are lots of places that you can fish safely. I would be happy to take you out on the sound and show you different spots to launch and fish. I can hook you up with some extra gear if you need it.

[lokidog]

I'd like to hear how it went with the DR.  Ive put them on a 14' aluminum boat and had a hard time turning as they wanted to keep me going in a straight line.  I can't imagine being able to turn at all in a flat bottomed jon boat.   

[PolarBear]

I fished many years in the Sound in a 12' jon boat with a 9 hp Johnson.  You just have to be aware of tides and weather.  Motor mooching, apex divers (I prefer Apex over Deep 6), banana weights will all get the job done with a little experimentation.   

[superdown]

Thank you Come Get Some that's very generous of you  I haven't gotten the down rigger mounted yet but i will soon. When i do go out i will be very conservative with where and how i go about it.

[superdown]

I started fishing the sound back in the 70's in a 10ft jon boat. You just have to be smart. Watch the weather, especially the wind. There are lots of places that you can fish safely. I would be happy to take you out on the sound and show you different spots to launch and fish. I can hook you up with some extra gear if you need it.

Thank you fishinmike. The generosity around here never ceases to amaze me.