Non-Fly 2025 Summer Salmon

speedbird said:
Spinners in the ocean is interesting!
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Ocean coho are a very different beast from Puget Sound coho. I'm sure the fish in PS would eat a spinner too, but the fish in PS are not even remotely close to the open ocean fish in aggressive stupidity. They aren't picky, but some days there may be something that works slightly better than something else.

Nobody out here really uses downriggers unless they're targeting certain chinook stocks down deep. The rest of the fish we target shallow - they tend to run in the top 50' or so, but will come way up to grab something they see overhead.
 
Evan B said:
Running line with a slider on it. Lead weight clips to slider. I typically use about 10-12oz in the ocean. Then about a 20" bumper to a pro troll flasher, then typically a spinner about 20" behind that.

I run that about 25-45 on the line counter depending on the spread we're running. Probably only fishing down about 10-20'
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Sounds similar to the rig I used to run for coho out of Seward except we used deep six/pink lady divers.
 
adamcu280 said:
Sounds similar to the rig I used to run for coho out of Seward except we used deep six/pink lady divers.
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I fish the same N OR ports as Evan. A lot of folks use divers in place of lead. Personal preference but same results. 360 flasher and bait of choice. Some guys troll whole herring, which after 20-30 bites adds up quick. I use spin fish with tuna or a hootchie with a chunk of herring or chovie, tuna belly. Either a spinner blade or wobble head in front of hootchie. Short leader behind the flasher to impart lots of action.
As mentioned, these fish are aggressive and it can be lights out when you find that feeding school. Just troll figure 8's. First time my oldest two fished the ocean we had a triple and a quadruple hookup within 30min of each other. Landed all four of the quad in an epic fire drill. I stuck mine in rod holder and scooped the two starboard side fish in one scoop. Went back to my rod and my buddy scooped both ours.
 
Tuna Ball said:
I fish the same N OR ports as Evan. A lot of folks use divers in place of lead. Personal preference but same results. 360 flasher and bait of choice. Some guys troll whole herring, which after 20-30 bites adds up quick. I use spin fish with tuna or a hootchie with a chunk of herring or chovie, tuna belly. Either a spinner blade or wobble head in front of hootchie. Short leader behind the flasher to impart lots of action.
As mentioned, these fish are aggressive and it can be lights out when you find that feeding school. Just troll figure 8's. First time my oldest two fished the ocean we had a triple and a quadruple hookup within 30min of each other. Landed all four of the quad in an epic fire drill. I stuck mine in rod holder and scooped the two starboard side fish in one scoop. Went back to my rod and my buddy scooped both ours.
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Do you feel you need the big boats for this fishery or if you timed the bar crossing would the Arimas be able to handle it?
 
I was planning to take my 17' Whaler out tomorrow till I saw the S wind forecast degrading. There are definitely Arimas that fish these ports. I have seen several boats that have no business crossing a bar also. I've been across CR bar in my friend's 19' Arina and felt plenty safe that day. It's all about picking your day and timing of tides, and level of experience. I've also been in a 33' boat on the same bar holding on tight on our way to the tuna grounds. If not for the tournament, we would have waited out the ebbing tide or cancelled.
 
Evan B said:
Ocean coho are a very different beast from Puget Sound coho. I'm sure the fish in PS would eat a spinner too, but the fish in PS are not even remotely close to the open ocean fish in aggressive stupidity. They aren't picky, but some days there may be something that works slightly better than something else.

Nobody out here really uses downriggers unless they're targeting certain chinook stocks down deep. The rest of the fish we target shallow - they tend to run in the top 50' or so, but will come way up to grab something they see overhead.
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Weather permitting hoping to take our boat to Neah Bay for the first time August 9th. Debating between braving the slot between Tatoosh and Jones Rock for Chinook or just staying close and playing with the coho. It sounds extremely fun and like a good place to bring the 8 wt fly rod
 
Tuna Ball said:
I was planning to take my 17' Whaler out tomorrow till I saw the S wind forecast degrading. There are definitely Arimas that fish these ports. I have seen several boats that have no business crossing a bar also. I've been across CR bar in my friend's 19' Arina and felt plenty safe that day. It's all about picking your day and timing of tides, and level of experience. I've also been in a 33' boat on the same bar holding on tight on our way to the tuna grounds. If not for the tournament, we would have waited out the ebbing tide or cancelled.
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You and I did a crossing in that 33' boat once that was a little dicey in 2020. No visibility because of the smoke and fog, 6-8' rollers, and then hardly any tuna when we got out there 😂
 
Thanks, Evan. I’ve never heard of those things before. You U.S. guys sure have different trolling rigs than we do here in BC. Downriggers here.

I looked up those sliders. In case they’re new to anyone else, here’s a video about them:

 
Otter said:
Thanks, Evan. I’ve never heard of those things before. You U.S. guys sure have different trolling rigs than we do here in BC. Downriggers here.

I looked up those sliders. In case they’re new to anyone else, here’s a video about them:

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They use riggers in the Puget sound. We don't use them in the Columbia or off the Oregon coast though. In the Columbia, we're contouring bottom and that's hard to do with a downrigger. Plus 30-35' is about as deep as we go because those are the lanes the fish run up.

Off the coast, especially for coho, there's just no need and you'd waste a lot of time resetting lines. When you're on fish you're constantly getting bit, so not having to pull the ball up every time you get action keeps your line fishing far more.
 
Thanks a lot for that detailed explanation, Evan. I figured adapting to your fishing depth had a lot to do with the invention of that rig. Sounds like a ton of fun! And a lot less work than downriggers, especially the hand cranked ones we used to use. Back then, it was illegal to use powered riggers, because that was only allowed on commercial boats. (Now you know how old I am!)
 
I first learned about sliders from my original fishing mentor (RIP "Lord of the Sea" Keith Fraser) for sturgeon in SF Bay, and we also used them while mooching for salmon. I'd also use them for shore fishing for stripers, sharks, and bat rays; free spool clicker sort of thing.

The crazy thing was back then we used weight releases and 2-3lb lead cannonballs for salmon trolling. So every strike you'd lose your cannonball. Seems insanely wasteful.
 
Anyone pick up Humpies on the opener ?
 
Mossback said:
Anyone pick up Humpies on the opener ?
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I fished kings on gear in 11 with my son on the afternoon slack today. No salmon caught, saw no nets fly where we were fishing at all. We did see multiple pinks jump near us though, looking like they were nisqually bound, and we regretted not having a spinning rod sitting there with a pink jig, because I think we would have maybe had a chance at hooking up. Multiple pinks caught today, according to the fish checker.
 
speedbird said:
Weather permitting hoping to take our boat to Neah Bay for the first time August 9th. Debating between braving the slot between Tatoosh and Jones Rock for Chinook or just staying close and playing with the coho. It sounds extremely fun and like a good place to bring the 8 wt fly rod
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If you head out to Tatoosh bring the 8 wt and fish the hard ebb current rips by the Whistle Buoy. Staying close won’t be as good for either chinook or coho.
 
Otter said:
Thanks, Evan. I’ve never heard of those things before. You U.S. guys sure have different trolling rigs than we do here in BC. Downriggers here.

I looked up those sliders. In case they’re new to anyone else, here’s a video about them:

Click to expand...

The ones with a line lock for a bead chain swivel are so clutch.
 
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