plunking

[Dustin Chromers]

One of my god fishing partners broke his foot while on a fishing trip. He completed the trip with me with less wading and more boat/canoe assisted destinations. Upon returning home I discarded him temporarily in favour of fishing alone or for more able bodied folks. He quietly plunked during that winter time and punched allot more spaces in his card than I. All in the same spot five minutes from each our houses. I was actually pretty amazed at the results. I mean I knew plunking was effective and had seen it in action but he really put up some numbers.

 

[CRO]

I come from a long line of plunkers starting with my grandma who was a legend on the Nooksack and Samish Rivers.View attachment 4755
I caught my first steelhead plunking
and likely my last will be caught plunking.
At this juncture my last steelhead was caught while plunking for sockeye on the lower Skagit 2 or 3 years ago. It was a gorgeous 6 or 7# wild summer run hen. Shocked the hell out of me.
I used to do a lot of plunking on the Nooksack, Samish and Skagit rivers as well as a trip or two to Forks each winter.
A mornings catch on the Bogey about 4 decades ago.
View attachment 4756
I haven't steelhead fished much the last 10 years. Too much competition for too few fish plus a lot of my fishing buddies have passed away.

With that Winona reel in the picture with your grand mother, it also belongs in the center pin forum.

 

[Old Man]

I come from a long line of plunkers starting with my grandma who was a legend on the Nooksack and Samish Rivers.View attachment 4755
I caught my first steelhead plunking
and likely my last will be caught plunking.
At this juncture my last steelhead was caught while plunking for sockeye on the lower Skagit 2 or 3 years ago. It was a gorgeous 6 or 7# wild summer run hen. Shocked the hell out of me.
I used to do a lot of plunking on the Nooksack, Samish and Skagit rivers as well as a trip or two to Forks each winter.
A mornings catch on the Bogey about 4 decades ago.
View attachment 4756
I haven't steelhead fished much the last 10 years. Too much competition for too few fish plus a lot of my fishing buddies have passed away.

When I saw the picture of the Steelheads in the trees, It reminded me about fishing at Reiter ponds. My one and only time I was there . My buddy and his son, well we were the third car in the parking lot that morning. My buddy said lets go above this place, so we did. After throwing flies around for about three hours I said to hell with this. And I quit. We walked down below the intake and there were lots of Steelhead hanging in the trees. Just about everybody below the intake had a fish. Uses no fish and no hits.

 

[Grayone]

I'm curious how many folks will admit to plunking, I've spent 40 years developing my plunking game & love getting together with my gang to plunk & BS. plunking is a real social event for me almost like a family reunion.

I'm a high water punker

 

[SilverFly]

With that Winona reel in the picture with your grand mother, it also belongs in the center pin forum.

Didn't spot the Winona until you mentioned it. I still have Dad's which pulled a few fish from the Nooksack and Skagit - possibly that very spot.

 

[JACKspASS]

My buddy used to plunk Cheapskate on the Snohomish, he showed me how to run a double setup. Spin n glo on bottom and plug on top. He took me a couple times on the Snohomish and lower Sky, never did hook a fish. I applied what he taught me for East side springers and have done really well. I love plunking, I can sit for days. I love watching the river go by, listening to the sounds, smoking a cigar....love it. I am envious of you who fished back innthe day. I grew up hearing stories of Thomas Eddy, mouth of Pilchuck, etc...Wish I could have been there

 

[BNF861]

Up in BC we usually call plunking "bar fishing" and when it was a kid (30 or so years ago) it was very popular on the Fraser for chinook. There was a popular drive onto bar at Island22 that is now gone that would be lined with trucks. I used to love picking my favourite spin n glo, casting it all out and putting my bell on the rod and hanging out with my Dad and searching for agates.

The sitting and waiting is a lot different than how I generally fish now, fly fishing and covering miles many river miles searching, but I sure think back fondly to those days and it is what started me into this hobby. I used to still enjoy a couple days a year in the summer getting the boat out with my son, picking a bar and setting up the rods but unfortunately those days have passed.

Water clarity used to be the limiting factor on when we could fish. There was an early opportunity for "springs" before freshet hit and then after a while when the Fraser would start to drop and visibility would slowly improve around early summer the bar rods would come back out. With migrating mixed stocks of concern and First Nations opportunity taking priority over recreational fishing, the season start kept getting pushed from spring time, to summer, to fall and now very late fall after most fish have moved through if at all.

 

[kerrys]

When the boys were somewhere around 12, 13 years old we lived a few blocks away from one of the lower Skagit’s famous plunkin‘ bars. It even made it into a couple of fishing rags.

One humpy season I showed the boys how to plunk and bought them each a plunkin’ pole and an assortment of wing bobbers and such. One day before school had started they asked if they could spend the day fishing. I had to work so I could not accompany them. I told them to hang out with a couple of the old guys that I knew and somewhat trusted.

When I got home from work they were exited to show me their catch of the day. We had the obligatory old refrigerator in the garage where they had put their fish. When they opened the frig humpies literally spilled out of the thing sliding onto the garage floor. It was obvious that some limits had been exceeded. When I asked, somewhat perturbed, how many they caught and why they thought it was a good idea to catch over their limit they told me the two old guys I said to fish with told them they could take their limit of fish home then come back and catch more. This then became a good time to explain why limits are in place and why you don’t catch more even when someone (who knows better) tells you it is ok.

They also learned how to fillet salmon, brine salmon, and man a smoker all day. We gave away a lot of smoked salmon to friends and family the next few days.

Plunkin’? The boys and I will get together sometimes for a day of plunkin’, and yeah that day years ago gets brought up for a couple laughs.

 

[Sam Roffe]

Never plunked. To me it is like sitting on the bank of a lake with power bait. Generally I like to actively fish, but,.. for some odd reason I do indicator fish for trout. I suppose siting around talking with buddies while on the bar for a day would be therapeutic. I should try it some time.

@kerrys I really liked your account of your boys. Thats funny.