Humpy Report Thread: 2015

[CP]

Just got back from the Shipwreck.  The good news is that I took my wife and 6 year old and we got 2 pinks.  These are the first fish I have caught with my downrigger.  First fish I have ever caught on a downrigger.  The strange news was that one did not come off the clip so who knows how long I was dragging it around.  Obviously I am still working out the kinks.  The other fish I caught as my gear was dropping down.  A seal took a bite out of one.  We got back to the ramp right as the thunder was starting-up.  My fishfinder was doing bad things so for much of the morning I was guessing on depth with intermittent help from the finder.  I call it a successful trip since I got the downrigger to produce for the first time.

Pinks rarely pull the line from the clip.  The take is usually a tell-tale twitching of the rod tip and if you aren’t paying attention or your line isn’t tight you miss the take and the fish comes and goes without being noticed.

[h20hunter]

Like CP said.....

We crank 'em down just to the point it is ready to pop if you put any more pressure on it.

[CP]

Yep.

[Gobble Doc]

Thanks for the pointer guys.  I put the line too far into the clip for sure.   Next time I will know better.     My flasher was about 20 feet back from the clip.  Does that sound about right?

[h20hunter]

Now...in my pick....for pinks I've got to much angle...I was trolling a little fast to try and combat wind.

I like to troll between 1 and 1.5 and just have the slightest angle to the dangle.

Doc....I like to run a little futher back when I fish shallow. Now, last weekend, while steering, I saw fish swim right past the boat. I think the numbers they run in makes up for them being boat shy. I've seen schools running along the surface then had GoPro footage of them only 20 feet down running in mass.

[Gobble Doc]

That is a crazy amount of fish.  I will drop the flasher back a little more next time.

[h20hunter]

Don't go crazy with that.....the more boats out there the tighter you need to run and pay attention. Getting your gear hung up is not fun and I'm telling you....combat trolling is the name of the game the couple of weeks. Now....honing your teqnique will pay off when the silvers come in. Kick up the speed, crank down the rod, fish along the rips and look for birds and hang on. Silvers will clear it from the clip and then bury the rod tip in the water. Lots of fun.

[CP]

Thanks for the pointer guys.  I put the line too far into the clip for sure.   Next time I will know better.     My flasher was about 20 feet back from the clip.  Does that sound about right?

I put the line in the middle of the clip and I set it at the highest setting.  It doesn’t have to pop – grab the rod, reel down and gently pull it from the clip when a fish hits. 

The leader from the downrigger ball/line to the clip should be at least as long as the boom – that helps give the rod movement when a picky fish taps the lure.

[Gobble Doc]

Thanks.  I will be checking and changing things as.  Good to know about how light of biters they are.  Oh, I also snagged a dogfish in the tail and thought I had something big.  Funny.  Like snagging a chum.

[WAcoueshunter]

I don't think they are particularly boat shy unless you're fishing in the top 30 feet or so.  I drop further back when I'm fishing at 20-30' on the rigger.  Also, besides adding to the odds of tangles with other boats, putting your flasher farther back from the ball makes the bite appear that much lighter by the time it gets to your rod tip, and it also provides that much more slack in the line before you can get tight after release.  I think my standard distance is probably 15' or so.

As others have noted, I think we've only had one or two actual releases with the pinks over the course of about 50 fish.  We caught a coho smaller than most pinks on Sunday, and the bite and release (and fight) were noticeably more violent.   

[Buckmark]

In the morning/predawn i run the line about 15-20ft off the clip when only down about 20-25ft and we usually get a fish or two, then as we go deeper i shorten it up to around 8-10ft.

I run it shallow in the clip and like h2o wind it down almost to popping off, do not alwasy get releases but sometimes do, i was just thinking if one comes off easier that the other as one rod has braided line the other mono, i will have to pay attention.

If you have more than two people in the boat fishing we will run a 6ft6 spinning rod out the back of the boat with a 1-2oz banana weight, 4-5ft leader to a small flasher then 16-20in of leader to a hoochie, ace high fly or coyote type spoon then long line it out, if the fish are biting good it can be fun, especially for the kids (ok even us big kids try to grab it first  )

[Stein]

I run 50' of 30# mono top shot that gets clipped into the Scotty release set on heavy as far back as it will go.  Pretty much doesn't release for fish under 10# and even a king has a challenge popping it off.  I run 6' line on the release.  I do this because:

1.  Nothing sucks more than popping the line off when you are tightening it in the rod holder and you have a 15# cannonball 100+ feet down.
2.  The 6' release line and heavy release tend to hook the fish as they thrash on it better than when it pops easily.  I lose way less fish.  I yank it loose and then crank right onto the fish.
3.  Looking at a thrashing tight line is much cooler than a slack rod & wondering if the fish is still there.

[h20hunter]

Hmm....maybe I'll set them back further in the clip.

[Gobble Doc]

H2O,
You are killin it.  Don't change your successful recipe for slayin em.

[pilebuck]

I Always know when I am getting a fish on with the pinks I slow just out of gear for a sec and bam works every time