trolling depth

[bulldogs40]

rookie here headed out for salmon in the sound. what is a good depth for catching a few fish.  went out yesterday and landed 3 pinks and today not a bite.  Going out again in the am looking to give it another try.

[johnnyaustin44]

Most of the kings run near the bottom around here. Seem to have to best luck bouncing your ball on the bottom or just barely above it. Raising and lowering your gear gets old fast but it usually pays off. 

[wheels]

90- 120 or so  but  can be sallower  just  once you get a bite  target that depth

[bulldogs40]

Thanks for the help guys. I will run a little deeper today and see how we do. Will post a few pictures of we do any good

[fishngamereaper]

This time of year its just below the bait. If the bait is suspended the fish will suspend. Caught a nice king last week 75fow 35 ft of cable. Find the bait, drop your gear 10-15ft below it, fish on.

[Hunterman]

The first thing I need to know is:
1. What are you using for weight Deep 6, Down Rigger, Meet Line, or just lead ?
     A. Deep 6: I'd run the Number 2, with a flasher & herring 60 pulls of line.
     B. Down Rigger: Weights from 6 to 12 pounds, 125 feet, with flasher and herring.
     C. Meet Line: 6 pounds of weight, 150 to 180 feet, with a flasher and herring.
Now you have notice that I said flashers with all 3 set ups. The reason is that with the flashed, you can set your trolling speed with the "Thumping" of you fishing rod. A steady slowish (I don't believe I just said slowish  ) thump. Make sure that you have good action on your herring, and on your deep 6, and down riggers, set you release kind of light for the humpies, but these are king depths so hold on 

Hunterman(Tony)

[Bill W]

If you are fishing for humpies the traditional lore is troll 30' deep and a white flasher and red hootchie.   I did it a bit different as I'd stay off the edge of the crowds and fish 55' deep where there wasn't as many downrigger balls and flashers.  Worked real good for me.

[lokidog]

IMO, speed is more important.  We hooked pinks from 180 to casting a little cleo on the surface.  We caught a nice king yesterday at 85 feet in 320 feet of water at about 9 am.

BTW, we often do better on our deep six at 45 feet than the downriggers at a variety of depths.

[gotshot]

I just picked up a couple deep six. I havn't used them before but a friend highly reccomended them. Just wondering the ratio of line out to depth. AKA pulls or numbers on line counter. Can you give me a hint?

[wheels]

1 to 1  of 2 to 1  all depends on speed

[Hunterman]

I just picked up a couple deep six. I havn't used them before but a friend highly reccomended them. Just wondering the ratio of line out to depth. AKA pulls or numbers on line counter. Can you give me a hint?

If your going to pull your line out, one strip of line should equal 1 foot. Measure from your reel face out 1 foot. Run your deep 6 down to the water surface, then strip off your depth.

Hunterman(Tony)

[wheels]

i was told reel to first eye = 2ft

[wildmanoutdoors]

Dosent matter as long as you know what your own "pull" is measuring.

As far as King salmon depths, only your fish finder can tell you that. We catch em with 35 feet of cable in the early AM. Then drop as the sun comes up. But you still base everything off your fish finder and what its saying.

[WAcoueshunter]

On the deep six, I figure a two foot pull will equal about 1 foot of depth.  So 35 pulls will get my gear down about 35 feet, figuring the line is at about a 45 degree angle.  At some point it flattens out - for example, I don't think 90 pulls will get you down 90 feet, it will be something much less than that. 

[WapitiTalk1]

First of all, you need a pretty stiff rod to handle the largest Deep Six.  Completely different rod than what you'll use with downriggers.  The max depth a Deep Six will pull a "medium" size dodger is right at 60' but you gotta keep your speed very slow which is what you'll want for the lumbering summer/fall kings anyway.    When I've used the large Deep Six divers, I'd let out around 80-100' of line, troll at less than 2.5 MPH, optimumly right at 2 MPH "and", stay in 100' of water.  That's where those big tanks are early in the morning (as shallow as 30-40'), cruising for vittles.  As the morning goes on, move out a bit but I would seldom go out much deeper than 120 feet.  I also like using cut plug herring when using the divers/dodger setup with a good two hook setup.  Don't forget to crimp those barbs!  Good luck.           

[CP]

You can work a deep six all the way to the bottom if you know how. 

They often work better than downriggers because they are further from the boat.  If you are only going 25 - 35 feet down on the DR drop the flasher 100 feet or more behind the boat.  Fish often don't like getting too close to the boat.

I don't like the deep six because of the large drag and because a lot of fish will come unhooked because of that large drag.  A rubber snubber between the D6 and the flasher helps.

[gotshot]

Wow Thanks. Lots of info.

[bulldogs40]

Great info!!!
Thanks the response guys. We did trolled around for a while yesterday and mostly just caught a sun burn. We did manage 2 pinks both within a few minutes of each other. Both were caught trolling coho killers behind deep six divers. We were running a downrigger earlier in the day before it broke during a retrieve and left us with just the divers. All and all a good day caught my first salmon and a mess of crabs.
Thanks for all the replies

[WapitiTalk1]

Great info!!!
Thanks the response guys. We did trolled around for a while yesterday and mostly just caught a sun burn. We did manage 2 pinks both within a few minutes of each other. Both were caught trolling coho killers behind deep six divers. We were running a downrigger earlier in the day before it broke during a retrieve and left us with just the divers. All and all a good day caught my first salmon and a mess of crabs.
Thanks for all the replies

 

A good day when you get to eat salmon!  Don't forget, the pinks need to be gutted immediately and put on ice to make the best table fare. 

[bowtechian]

Great info!!!
Thanks the response guys. We did trolled around for a while yesterday and mostly just caught a sun burn. We did manage 2 pinks both within a few minutes of each other. Both were caught trolling coho killers behind deep six divers. We were running a downrigger earlier in the day before it broke during a retrieve and left us with just the divers. All and all a good day caught my first salmon and a mess of crabs.
Thanks for all the replies

 

A good day when you get to eat salmon!  Don't forget, the pinks need to be gutted immediately and put on ice to make the best table fare.

Or they get mushy

[lokidog]

Or just bled out and on ice....   

[WAcoueshunter]

Or just bled out and on ice....   

  

I don't fully clean them on the water.  I don't want any cooler water inside the fish.  Mine turn out great just bled with tons of ice.

[Bill W]

we would cut the gills with a pair of scissors kept on the boat for this purpose, hang the fish on a stringer in the water until bled out and then put them in a cooler on ice.

I now use those scissors for walleye.

[Gobble Doc]

Why not gut them after bleeding before putting them in the cooler?  I'm just wondering if there is an advantage to bleed only vs bleed and gut?

[CP]

I never gut salmon, waste of time.

[h20hunter]

Just bleed 'em and ice them. I like to keep the guts/head/body for crab bait.

[Gobble Doc]

Got it.  Bleed then fillet.  I have always just been in the habit of gutting before throwing in the cooler.  Then again, I probably catch a lot less salmon than you.   

[Gobble Doc]

Crab bait is another great idea I hadn't thought of.  Sorry to have hijacked the thread away from trolling depth.  No more from me about bleeding and gutting. 

[Stein]

I always gut because it cools the fish much faster.  You don't eat the inside of the ribcage, so really no meat touches anything.

[lokidog]

Another good reason to not gut is that then the belly is not split and it is easier to smoke those yummy salmon bellies.   

I also have a friend that loves to eat the eggs, so they stay in the fish until fileting.

[WAcoueshunter]

I always gut because it cools the fish much faster.  You don't eat the inside of the ribcage, so really no meat touches anything.

These fish are coming from 50-55 degree water, you don't need to really cool them too much.  More about keeping them from getting warm. 

[WSU]

I use the whole humpy for crab bait, so I don't bleed or gut.

[lokidog]

Humpy out of the river sure, do that, pink out of the salt, you're a fool... just sayin'.   

[WSU]

I was kidding.  Somebody has to say something like that on a humpy thread.

[lokidog]

I was kidding.  Somebody has to say something like that on a humpy thread.

You are forgiven, unfortunately, I have encountered that attitude frequently.  Of course, who wouldn't prefer eating a king or sockeye to a pink?  IMO, a pink in the boat is worth a whole bunch of kings in the sound.   

[WAcoueshunter]

I was kidding.  Somebody has to say something like that on a humpy thread.

   Seriously, ain't that the truth!  Think there's a rule somewhere that you can't go 10 posts without a crab bait reference.  I always just chalk it up to BD types that don't know how to properly take care of fish - either that, or they're trying to eat river fish.  Same people that don't like antelope.   

[WapitiTalk1]

I always gut because it cools the fish much faster.  You don't eat the inside of the ribcage, so really no meat touches anything.

This. You're fishing and got fish to catch. Filet at the ranch.

[pd]

Or just bled out and on ice....   

 

Thousands of gill netters can't be wrong (I know somebody will flame me for this...).  Scissors are fine, or just reach in and pull the main line on the gills, and throw them in the ice hold.  They will bleed out just fine, and cool at the same time.  Don't gut them---a waste of your time, and introduces bacteria in the process, speeding deterioration.