Bucktailing

[mickey rat]

For awhile now I’ve been wanting to bring a fly rod along on our boat. The issue is we have a sailboat and casting would be flirting with disaster so we’ve always used trolling gear and deep sixes. I’m wondering about bucktailing in our wash while we are trolling under way to get my fix. I’ve tied up a couple Tofino Special type flies for coho and humpys. Should I be using a floating line or one of my sinking beach lines for this? Am I OK with a six weight as long as I’m trolling a little slow?

 

[Wetswinger]

WiggleFin - ActionDiscs

www.wigglefin.com

Bucktailing For Coho—A Vancouver Island Tradition - Island Fisherman Magazine

Bucktailing was invented and developed in the Georgia Strait. How to catch coho salmon on a bucktail: techniques, gear, and history.

islandfishermanmagazine.com

I've been using these techniques for lake fishing with some success. Just a little info. to start with. I'm sure more experienced salmon fisherman will chime in to help you...

 

[Greg Armstrong]

I used to toss out a cut plug herring on light gear while under sail this time of year. I kept it super simple and used just enough weight to keep the herring subsurface. A small crescent sinker and lightweight trout spinning rod kept things sporting, especially while hooked up under full sail with unexpected gybes and pandemonium on deck. We had a lot of fun doing that, and we ate well too.
I would suggest just throwing your fly out there right in the wake with a floating or intermediate line and see what happens (and hold on to your rod!)

 

[Nick Clayton]

Personally I've never had very much success truly bucktailing in the sound. Lots of success on the ocean, but very little inside.

I have, however, had plenty of success just trolling with a sinking line and a clouser. Not a method I get much enjoyment out of but it definitely works. With a total of maybe 20 minutes of people doing it on my boat this season alone while slowly cruising around looking for bait, I can think of at least three coho who have come to the net just trolling flies this season.

If I were in your shoes and casting wasn't an option I would just throw on a fast sinking line and a clouser (or likely just about anything) and troll it 80' or something behind the boat. Zero harm in trying to actually bucktail of course, so if that's what you want to do then by all means go for it (who knows, you may find more success than I did after all), I've just never found it to be very effective in the sound for some reason.

 

[Richard E]

For awhile now I’ve been wanting to bring a fly rod along on our boat. The issue is we have a sailboat and casting would be flirting with disaster so we’ve always used trolling gear and deep sixes. I’m wondering about bucktailing in our wash while we are trolling under way to get my fix. I’ve tied up a couple Tofino Special type flies for coho and humpys. Should I be using a floating line or one of my sinking beach lines for this? Am I OK with a six weight as long as I’m trolling a little slow?

Bucktailing:

As Nick noted, folks I know who have tried bucktailing in Puget Sound generally find that technique not very successful. I've had great success in areas like Sequim, Neah Bay, etc., and off of Vancouver Island.

Slow is no go; in my opinion, going about 5-6 knots is the speed. Also, different salmon prefer different speeds. You want the fly to slightly 'hop and pop' when it's in the prop wash. Going slow is trolling, which is different than bucktailing.

If you are truly 'bucktailing', your fly will be maybe 20' behind the boat in the prop wash, whatever the distance prop wash forms behind your boat. Prop wash is different for different boats. The prop wash gives the fly movement. the line you want to use is a function of getting into the prop wash. I've used sink tip lines with great success, but I was fishing from a boat(s) with lower stern heights than you probably have with your sailboat, allowing me to keep the rod and fly more in plane (in line) with each other. You want the fly to be slightly subsurface, popping up on the surface now and then. Think of the techniques employed by folks who fish for billfish, tuna, dorado/mahi mahi, etc. - similar concept in presentation.

If you bucktail or troll, you should use a very short tippet/leader. Experienced folks I know who bucktail use a short piece of mono, say 20 pound. Landing percentages increase dramatically and breakoffs occur less frequently. The fish are fired up when they strike and usually are not line shy.

I would strongly encourage use of heavier rods than a 6 weight but, if that's what you have, well it sounds like 6 weight it is. It's not as much about fighting the fish as it is landing the fish; a heavier rod will allow you to control the fish better once you get up to the boat. And, you never know when a big fish might show up. I was off Tofino, Vancouver Island 20 years ago when a guy in our group hooked a 40 pound class chinook on his 6 weight with an Orvis Battenkill disc drag reel. He eventually caught the fish, an hour plus later and after a lot of following with the boat. This kind of hookup is very much the exception, but it can happen!

Also, your fly will twist; you may want to strongly consider using a swivel at some place in your system.

Hope this helps.

 

[Skagittarius]

Agree with the comments regarding using this method in PS, but in the Strait it's very effective, especially when there isn't a lot of sun on the water. 3.5-4.2 mph was the sweet spot for coho. Find a nice directional rip, and make S tacks through it. A flasher from a portable downrigger 10ft down in the prop wash helps. I was a fan of using a floating line, short leader, sequin, tube fly (baitfish pattern with mostly natural hair), bead, and stinger hook. That kicked out a nice wash that made it easy to see the fly 30-40 feet back and also allowed me to see when the fly was fouled (salmon don't like that). The sequin helps add action, flash, and I think may help deflect a some of the surface junk. The bead allows the fly to rotate on the surface. Using mostly natural materials with just a bit if flash will help prevent the material from getting wrapped around the line and the tube. The tube fly makes it easier to remove the hook when the fish is in the net on those crazy good days. The stinger hook helps gets those nippy fish.

I never considered it fly-fishing but it's a blast and a great way to find fish.

 

[Richard E]

Agree with the comments regarding using this method in PS, but in the Strait it's very effective, especially when there isn't a lot of sun on the water. 3.5-4.2 mph was the sweet spot for coho. Find a nice directional rip, and make S tacks through it. A flasher from a portable downrigger 10ft down in the prop wash helps. I was a fan of using a floating line, short leader, sequin, tube fly (baitfish pattern with mostly natural hair), bead, and stinger hook. That kicked out a nice wash that made it easy to see the fly 30-40 feet back and also allowed me to see when the fly was fouled (salmon don't like that). The sequin helps add action, flash, and I think may help deflect a some of the surface junk. The bead allows the fly to rotate on the surface. Using mostly natural materials with just a bit if flash will help prevent the material from getting wrapped around the line and the tube. The tube fly makes it easier to remove the hook when the fish is in the net on those crazy good days. The stinger hook helps gets those nippy fish.

I never considered it fly-fishing but it's a blast and a great way to find fish.

Forgot about the use of the flasher. The flasher functions as an attractor only, the angler doesn't attach their line to the downrigger setup. In addition to the sequin a spinner blade and clevis also creates more flash and attraction.