July 16 opener

[Stein]

Alaska has been great both in size and quantity, big fish at the bubble, good fish caught trolling mach 5 in MA 10, decent outgoing tide set, good quota, signs point to a great season.

I'll likely be out Thursday and Friday and maybe over the weekend.  I may have open seats if the crew grows weary from reeling in July hogs.

[ctwiggs1]

That's quite an offer!

[blackpowderhunter]

i'll likely be out Thursday and Friday as well....feeling a little under the weather for work. 

[NRA4LIFE]

I'll be bobbing around out there.

[SeaRun1]

I will be out as well.  Hoping for the first King of the year and maybe a crab or two?

SR1

[h20hunter]

Well......bloody decks or what?!

[SeaRun1]

Got one in southern 10.  Could not troll up a Coho though even though bait was everywhere.
 
SR1

[Stein]

Possession was a bust, I actually didn't even see a good fish caught.  We had one on, lost it and then it was shakerville.

PSA - if 80% of the boats are trolling in on direction, either north or south, and you are going east-west through the middle, you are doing it wrong.  You find a depth you like and troll that depth, going from 40'-800' and then back without touching your rod or downrigger isn't a high probability game.

[WSU]

There are some fisheries where I try real hard to find a spot to go 90 degrees from everyone else.  I think it can really trigger some bits to see something going a different direction than the other 2000 baits that just went by.  Not sure possession is the place to do it though.....

[storyteller]

So out of curiosity,  when you set up , do you pick a fathom on the sounder and try to follow it without jumping up and down on the rigger for depth and stay within 10 feet of bottom?   I see some following the contour on the sounder chart and some just crusin.

Also did you pick up any bottom fish with hootchies or plugs today?

[Stein]

Yeah, for some reason I have been catching rockfish lately, one today and several cruising in 200' going mach 5 for coho in MA10.  The are all coppers.

The general consensus is pick a depth 90-120 or so and fish the bottom unless you see fish suspended.  For blackmouth, I think they are always on the bottom but the summer migrators can sometimes be suspended although I heard that when that happens it's out deeper in 200'.  I haven't seen that happen, just word of mouth.  I catch at least 90% on the bottom, probably closer to 98%. 

When I'm seeing what I want on the graph, I do my best to hold that depth as I can set my gear and be fishing 100%.  If I move up or down in depth, I have to adjust both riggers constantly which makes for a long day.  When stacking gear it also increases odds of tangles.  When boats come in sideways, it pushes everyone around and nobody is fishing effectively.  Everyone has to do evasive maneuvers, changes depths and it leads to tangles.

For coho out in the middle, completely different story.  We do best when we can drive around like we stole it and they do like erratic stuff but you are fishing maybe 50' down in 500' and everyone is spread out so it's whatever you want to do.

Most people are cooperative, slide a bit over here or there to make room and let people by, but 10% that do whatever they want and make everyone around them move make for a big circus.  Sometimes it's because they don't know what they are doing and are not observant and sometimes it's because it's all about them.

[Camo]

PSA - if 80% of the boats are trolling in on direction, either north or south, and you are going east-west through the middle, you are doing it wrong.  You find a depth you like and troll that depth, going from 40'-800' and then back without touching your rod or downrigger isn't a high probability game.

Heard a first today...was out for the afternoon flood, lots of room and minimal boats. Fishing the west side, took a tack to the inside (already inside of his boat direction)of an oncoming boat. I was in a constant turn for better part of three or four minutes trying not to get pushed up into 80 FOW. I got a little animated when he came by as he never changed course and watched me the whole time. With the remote for his TR1 around his neck he said he was on a GPS course. So apparently that gives you the right of way now? Guess I need to buy one. 

[MADMAX]

Been there 

[Stein]

Anyone fish midchannel or hear a report?

[storyteller]

On BD outdoors, some one said fish checker at 6pm had 7 fish for 25 boats, this was for 7/16, the rest of the reports from mcb are not that great.

Thanks for the reply, I try to fish the contour and slide when possible, and sometimes it is just hard to do.

Yesterday we got one wild bm that would have been a keeper, 4 dogfish, 8 copper quillback, 1 canary which was my first ever, the rockfish were even hitting tomic plugs.   Nothing to take home.    I do like catching but we were fishing.

Take care all.