Non-Fly 2025 Summer Salmon

[JohnB]

While I was out in MA 7 I found a 5" floating Tomic plug. My usual M.O. when I find gear is that I have to fish it however I wasn't sure what to do with the thing. I don't have downriggers, can I set one of these plugs back 5'-6' from the biggest Deep Six diver and will it function well.

I ended up getting my daily fish right after this so it may sit in the tackle box until next year but it's calling to me now!

 

[Stonedfish]

While I was out in MA 7 I found a 5" floating Tomic plug. My usual M.O. when I find gear is that I have to fish it however I wasn't sure what to do with the thing. I don't have downriggers, can I set one of these plugs back 5'-6' from the biggest Deep Six diver and will it function well.

I ended up getting my daily fish right after this so it may sit in the tackle box until next year but it's calling to me now!

That would probably work or just run it back off of say a 6 to 8 oz banana weight. If you were concerned with depth, you could just kick the motor into neutral like you were motor mooching to get deeper.
SF

 

[speedbird]

I have never caught or even seen a rockfish this big. Hooked her off possession last night thinking I had a salmon on with a plug. I tried to put the descender on her but she kept her mouth wired shut, and I figured she’d have a better chance of survival swimming down than keeping her out of water for too long. Made it back safely, I hope the mortality statistics for released rockfish without barotrauma are accurate (4-10%) because this one must be ancient.






Some rough water coming home, outside Edmonds was almost as bad as the bar. I generally am very happy with our defiance but I do feel like it porpoises way too much for a 25’ boat. I’d like to ride a Parker 2420 (the competitor) and compare. We sea trialed a 2320 and the ride was much smoother, but the layout was just not practical for a family boat.


Love seeing fellow board members on the water! Today was much calmer. It seemed slow but the action is picking up. I think I may have found where the Grover’s creek run stages. Found a ton of chinook stacked in a spot I won’t disclose, and saw a dark upper teens fish jump at the surface. I lost a large fish that was at least in the upper teens class in a run. Was using a green hoochie with a single 6/0 Mustad stainless but I’m skeptical of the hook up quality of that rig. I think I may have had several more short strikes, but that could’ve been the big hook doing its job and not getting in the mouth of shakers.

My buddy’s fished right next to us. They lost a really nice low-mid teens fish that leaped into the air 3 times while fighting. Not sure what possessed them to put the boat in neutral but they’re convinced that’s the right way to fight the fish.

I would share more about our trip but I don’t want to contribute to the unmarked quota. I will say The dogfish were thick. Plugs didn’t produce today, next trip will be using smaller presentations

 

[Scudley Do Right]

I have never caught or even seen a rockfish this big. Hooked her off possession last night thinking I had a salmon on with a plug. I tried to put the descender on her but she kept her mouth wired shut, and I figured she’d have a better chance of survival swimming down than keeping her out of water for too long. Made it back safely, I hope the mortality statistics for released rockfish without barotrauma are accurate (4-10%) because this one must be ancient.
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Some rough water coming home, outside Edmonds was almost as bad as the bar. I generally am very happy with our defiance but I do feel like it porpoises way too much for a 25’ boat. I’d like to ride a Parker 2420 (the competitor) and compare. We sea trialed a 2320 and the ride was much smoother, but the layout was just not practical for a family boat.

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Love seeing fellow board members on the water! Today was much calmer. It seemed slow but the action is picking up. I think I may have found where the Grover’s creek run stages. Found a ton of chinook stacked in a spot I won’t disclose, and saw a dark upper teens fish jump at the surface. I lost a large fish that was at least in the upper teens class in a run. Was using a green hoochie with a single 6/0 Mustad stainless but I’m skeptical of the hook up quality of that rig. I think I may have had several more short strikes, but that could’ve been the big hook doing its job and not getting in the mouth of shakers.

My buddy’s fished right next to us. They lost a really nice low-mid teens fish that leaped into the air 3 times while fighting. Not sure what possessed them to put the boat in neutral but they’re convinced that’s the right way to fight the fish.

I would share more about our trip but I don’t want to contribute to the unmarked quota. I will say The dogfish were thick. Plugs didn’t produce today, next trip will be using smaller presentations

They are right, the only reason to put it in gear is to keep a downrigger from cutting it off .

 

[Scudley Do Right]

People are getting fucking crazier and I don't think the one day openers help. I had a troller hit me yesterday while I was mooching at no point. From behind me I hear move or I'm gonna hit you. I look back to see a boat about 20-30' from me. My motor wasn't running I said are you fucking serious. He said I parked in front of him and I had to move. I was able to grab the bow of his boat and push it away without much contact to mine. He never took it out of gear or turned. It takes a lot of fun out of it for me. I was just waiting until low tide to spread my dad's ashes. I might be done dealing with this shit for a couple days of fishing. I regret not throwing a mooching weight through his windshield. With any luck he got a DUI or wrapped his truck around a tree on the way home.

 

[SurfnFish]

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Some rough water coming home, outside Edmonds was almost as bad as the bar. I generally am very happy with our defiance but I do feel like it porpoises way too much for a 25’ boat. I’d like to ride a Parker 2420 (the competitor) and compare. We sea trialed a 2320 and the ride was much smoother, but the layout was just not practical for a family boat.

Friend in Santa Barbra had a similar problem with his 24' pilothouse until he replaced the factory trim tabs with larger ones. which reduced proposing significantly.

 

[jasmillo]

I have never caught or even seen a rockfish this big. Hooked her off possession last night thinking I had a salmon on with a plug. I tried to put the descender on her but she kept her mouth wired shut, and I figured she’d have a better chance of survival swimming down than keeping her out of water for too long. Made it back safely, I hope the mortality statistics for released rockfish without barotrauma are accurate (4-10%) because this one must be ancient.
View attachment 161404

View attachment 161405

View attachment 161406

Some rough water coming home, outside Edmonds was almost as bad as the bar. I generally am very happy with our defiance but I do feel like it porpoises way too much for a 25’ boat. I’d like to ride a Parker 2420 (the competitor) and compare. We sea trialed a 2320 and the ride was much smoother, but the layout was just not practical for a family boat.

View attachment 161409
Love seeing fellow board members on the water! Today was much calmer. It seemed slow but the action is picking up. I think I may have found where the Grover’s creek run stages. Found a ton of chinook stacked in a spot I won’t disclose, and saw a dark upper teens fish jump at the surface. I lost a large fish that was at least in the upper teens class in a run. Was using a green hoochie with a single 6/0 Mustad stainless but I’m skeptical of the hook up quality of that rig. I think I may have had several more short strikes, but that could’ve been the big hook doing its job and not getting in the mouth of shakers.

My buddy’s fished right next to us. They lost a really nice low-mid teens fish that leaped into the air 3 times while fighting. Not sure what possessed them to put the boat in neutral but they’re convinced that’s the right way to fight the fish.

I would share more about our trip but I don’t want to contribute to the unmarked quota. I will say The dogfish were thick. Plugs didn’t produce today, next trip will be using smaller presentations

You all had more luck than we did. Nothing but small coho and non salmon species for us. Jigged and mooched some great bait too. Trolled with divers as well for little bit (flies and herring).

I’m with you @Scudley Do Right. Fishing in these shits shows is not a lot of fun. I had a troller snag our gear two trips ago and saw it happen to a boat mooching yesterday. Troller was right on top of them and snagged one of the lines. I’m new to this so not fully aware of the proper etiquette but feel like absent someone running and stopping to jig or mooch within 50 yards in front of a troller on their line, the troller should make a small course correction to go around? I always try and make sure nobody is with 100 yards or so aimed directly at me before I stop.

For folks doing this along time, what is the proper etiquette? Outside of don’t be an asshole and be a bit flexible when 500 boats are trying to fish the same small section of water.

 

[Pink Nighty]

You all had more luck than we did. Nothing but small coho and non salmon species for us. Jigged and mooched some great bait too. Trolled with divers as well for little bit (flies and herring).

I’m with you @Scudley Do Right. Fishing in these shits shows is not a lot of fun. I had a troller snag our gear two trips ago and saw it happen to a boat mooching yesterday. Troller was right on top of them and snagged one of the lines. I’m new to this so not fully aware of the proper etiquette but feel like absent someone running and stopping to jig or mooch within 50 yards in front of a troller on their line, the troller should make a small course correction to go around? I always try and make sure nobody is with 100 yards or so aimed directly at me before I stop.

For folks doing this along time, what is the proper etiquette? Outside of don’t be an asshole and be a bit flexible when 500 boats are trying to fish the same small section of water.

That's a tough one. If 90% of guys are trolling downriggers in a loop, is suggest staying out of that loop if you're not gonna join the party. Kinda like swinging flies through a run filled with bobber dudes. Gonna be more trouble than it's worth.

If you're not sitting in the path of a defined loop, then I'd say its 100% the job of the moving boat to avoid the stationary boat. In @Scudley Do Right case, that guy was about to commit vehicular assault. It's not different than a car. You cant scream at someone stopped in the road to move or you're going to hit them. You need to avoid them.

 

[Scudley Do Right]

At No Point you shouldn't be trolling near the moochers, same for Point Wilson. Stay to the outside and your fine. If I fish the bar I know I might get a fish cut off. I know what I'm getting into. It's just part of the deal. It would be nice if a troller at least knew what way moochers are drifting so they know what way our lines are running but in the middle of 300 trollers I know it's gonna be on me to keep my line out of their cable. The craziest thing was this was at No Point. I saw trollers at the bar going perpendicular to everyone else. People were cussing and pissed off. It's just the way it is now. It's gonna be over for good before long anyways so it's not really worth getting worked up about.

 

[ffb]

At No Point you shouldn't be trolling near the moochers, same for Point Wilson. Stay to the outside and your fine. If I fish the bar I know I might get a fish cut off. I know what I'm getting into. It's just part of the deal. It would be nice if a troller at least knew what way moochers are drifting so they know what way our lines are running but in the middle of 300 trollers I know it's gonna be on me to keep my line out of their cable. The craziest thing was this was at No Point. I saw trollers at the bar going perpendicular to everyone else. People were cussing and pissed off. It's just the way it is now. It's gonna be over for good before long anyways so it's not really worth getting worked up about.

I've had a few trollers ask me wtf I'm doing when I'm mooching. They get a little more interested if I roll up on a bait ball and get a limit in 10 minutes and bail.

I will go out of my way to avoid conflict which is why I usually just avoid Chinook which is a bummer.

 

[speedbird]

I've had a few trollers ask me wtf I'm doing when I'm mooching. They get a little more interested if I roll up on a bait ball and get a limit in 10 minutes and bail.

I will go out of my way to avoid conflict which is why I usually just avoid Chinook which is a bummer.

At this point I wish Chinook was managed as a catch and release fishery. It frankly is not fun anymore, especially in the Bubble, Jeff Head, and Posession, mainly because of the lack of decency of the crowds the Chinook attract. I am sorry, but I am gonna call out the Everett fleet for being a magnet for indecent behavior. My experiences fishing Possession Bar for coho, or even for Chinook in the late evenings when it is only in reach for Whidbey, Kingston, and Edmonds boats (Or people seasoned enough to night cruise) is night and day compared to mid-late morning on a Saturday Chinook opener.

This year I am challenging myself to not fish the hot spots. My buddy gave me an excellent tip and I found a corner of Area 10 with only 20-30 boats compared to the 200-300 on Jeff head, my buddy boat went home with a fish, lost a really nice one, and I contributed to the encounter rate with quality fish, the number of which I will not specify at this time. (I will specify that I also lost a really nice King making a long run to the bottom, still heartbroken over it. Not as much as my buddy who saw his jump 3 times).

Area 9 is my favorite to fish largely because the early childhood memories that instilled a life long love of boating and fishing were at Posession Bar, but also because the number of promising places to fish seems only limited by how much gas I am willing to burn. I heard last opener was slow, I hope we have another so I can do some exploring.

 

[Stonedfish]

Did a nine hour troll in MA 6 yesterday for one takedown. Didn’t see any nets fly. Lots of bait and birds, the water was shiny with scales. Saw a couple humpies jump. A bit too warm and bright for my liking but a nice day on the water none the less with a good fishing companion.
SF

 

[Steven Flow]

This year I am challenging myself to not fish the hot spots.

This is the way.

Check out the old "Fish N Maps" they sell at Sportco. Plenty of long forgotten hot spots listed there. I've hit a number of them with decent luck, and usually not much crowd.

The hot spots are almost a blessing in disguise. They attract the crowds, and w/ the fb screaming groups, google, etc. its self perpetuating. Everyone has limited time, and a scarcity mentality, so they want to do the surest thing on their 2 days off. So jeff head becomes a zoo on every opener.

Reality is, the anadromous fish are everywhere. Literally everywhere. Both residents and returning fish. You just have to be willing to get skunked a bunch learning the spots you can't just google up.

As someone who'd much rather get skunked fishing with elbow room than limit out in an arena, it works well for me.

There arent any complete secret spots anymore. But there are quite a few lesser known holes, and they are all on the charts.

 

[speedbird]

This is the way.

Check out the old "Fish N Maps" they sell at Sportco. Plenty of long forgotten hot spots listed there. I've hit a number of them with decent luck, and usually not much crowd.

The hot spots are almost a blessing in disguise. They attract the crowds, and w/ the fb screaming groups, google, etc. its self perpetuating. Everyone has limited time, and a scarcity mentality, so they want to do the surest thing on their 2 days off. So jeff head becomes a zoo on every opener.

Reality is, the anadromous fish are everywhere. Literally everywhere. Both residents and returning fish. You just have to be willing to get skunked a bunch learning the spots you can't just google up.

As someone who'd much rather get skunked fishing with elbow room than limit out in an arena, it works well for me.

There arent any complete secret spots anymore. But there are quite a few lesser known holes, and they are all on the charts.

I have heard there is a chance Area 10 will be going daily for Chinook thanks to low catch rates, I will be fishing it hard if it does and very little of that time will be at Jeff

 

[RRSmith]

There are some late spring/early summer chinook to be had right now on the Oregon Coast. Our two daughters visited (a week apart) and I'll be damn if we didn't get fish for both of them. There's almost zero angling pressure now but that's about to change.

 

[speedbird]

Only one extra day of retention as rains are expected to push fish into the rivers, with 28% of quota remaining just does not make sense to me. Anyways, seeing as the season is just about over, thought I would share my success- 30.5 inch 13lb buck at the end of the low slack. Second best fish ever put on a boat with me at the helm, and best one I fought in Puget Sound! We almost lost him when my dad netted it backwards but with loose drag on the mooching reel, and rod tip kept high, I let him make one last run before my dad perfectly netted the sucker on the second try. Behavior on the water was atrocious- Saw at least three fights that day. Two people blaring horns and one yelling match with lots of choice swear words. It appears most people faked their boater safety cards because no one seemed to understand right of way rules, and trolling was very much a game of chicken with everyone trying to bully you out of your lane. Funniest part- We cooked him up last night- The meat was (by Chinook standards of course) pretty mediocre. Well below the quality of the fish we caught out in Tofino. While I will harvest and eat Puget Sound Fall Kings happily, I am under no illusion that this isn't some of the lower quality salmon meat out there. I can safely say the coho in Puget Sound are twice as bright and taste twice as good, and yet for some reason produce half the hostility on the water. This is supposed to be what we do for fun!

 

[Stonedfish]

Only one extra day of retention as rains are expected to push fish into the rivers, with 28% of quota remaining just does not make sense to me. Anyways, seeing as the season is just about over, thought I would share my success- 30.5 inch 13lb buck at the end of the low slack. Second best fish ever put on a boat with me at the helm, and best one I fought in Puget Sound! We almost lost him when my dad netted it backwards but with loose drag on the mooching reel, and rod tip kept high, I let him make one last run before my dad perfectly netted the sucker on the second try. Behavior on the water was atrocious- Saw at least three fights that day. Two people blaring horns and one yelling match with lots of choice swear words. It appears most people faked their boater safety cards because no one seemed to understand right of way rules, and trolling was very much a game of chicken with everyone trying to bully you out of your lane. Funniest part- We cooked him up last night- The meat was (by Chinook standards of course) pretty mediocre. Well below the quality of the fish we caught out in Tofino. While I will harvest and eat Puget Sound Fall Kings happily, I am under no illusion that this isn't some of the lower quality salmon meat out there. I can safely say the coho in Puget Sound are twice as bright and taste twice as good, and yet for some reason produce half the hostility on the water. This is supposed to be what we do for fun!

They’ll evaluate Saturday’s MA 10 catch to see if another day can be added.
SF

 

[goinoregon]

People are getting fucking crazier and I don't think the one day openers help. I had a troller hit me yesterday while I was mooching at no point. From behind me I hear move or I'm gonna hit you. I look back to see a boat about 20-30' from me. My motor wasn't running I said are you fucking serious. He said I parked in front of him and I had to move. I was able to grab the bow of his boat and push it away without much contact to mine. He never took it out of gear or turned. It takes a lot of fun out of it for me. I was just waiting until low tide to spread my dad's ashes. I might be done dealing with this shit for a couple days of fishing. I regret not throwing a mooching weight through his windshield. With any luck he got a DUI or wrapped his truck around a tree on the way home.

sorry to hear this. he is an idiot. glad u didnt get sucked in any more than necessary.

 

[Smalma]

Last Friday, I hit MA10 with my son for some mooching for Chinook. By fishing the second day of the 3-day opener and avoid the mess at Jeff head hoped to find some elbow room.

After an hour or so trying to fish in spaces relatively free of trollers I hooked a nice fish with not a single troller within a 100 yards or so. After a couple minutes a boat with 3 downriggers decided to see what we were up to. In spite of us waving them off and alerting them we had a nice fish on (looked to be in the mid-teens) they continued their course towards us getting within 50 feet just as the Chinook decided to head for the surface. Sure enough fish was into their downrigger wire and good by fish. The other boat was so unaware of what was going on they were not aware that the fish had tangled in their gear and to rub a little salt in the wound said sorry that I had lost the fish.

About an hour later the crowd had thinned and we were making a drift over some bait. I watch a boat 150 yards away from use head towards us. With next closest boat more than 50 yards away they continued to head towards and as they were maybe fifty feet away I hook another Chinook. Predictably as the passed 20 feet of our bow the fish found their downrigger and good by fish. Again the anglers in the other boat were unaware of what was going on. The cherry on the day that same boat looped around as we made another dirft. As they passed us at a decent distance they checked their gear finding a mooching rig tangled in their gear. I could only shake my head at the WTF look the angler's face when he saw my mooching sinker/leader tangled in his flasher.

Such is PS Chinook fishing in todays world.

My one and only day chasing Chinook on Puget Sound. I would vote for eliminating downriggers (at least some days) in Puget Sound in a heartbeat.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Last Friday, I hit MA10 with my son for some mooching for Chinook. By fishing the second day of the 3-day opener and avoid the mess at Jeff head hoped to find some elbow room.

After an hour or so trying to fish in spaces relatively free of trollers I hooked a nice fish with not a single troller within a 100 yards or so. After a couple minutes a boat with 3 downriggers decided to see what we were up to. In spite of us waving them off and alerting them we had a nice fish on (looked to be in the mid-teens) they continued their course towards us getting within 50 feet just as the Chinook decided to head for the surface. Sure enough fish was into their downrigger wire and good by fish. The other boat was so unaware of what was going on they were not aware that the fish had tangled in their gear and to rub a little salt in the wound said sorry that I had lost the fish.

About an hour later the crowd had thinned and we were making a drift over some bait. I watch a boat 150 yards away from use head towards us. With next closest boat more than 50 yards away they continued to head towards and as they were maybe fifty feet away I hook another Chinook. Predictably as the passed 20 feet of our bow the fish found their downrigger and good by fish. Again the anglers in the other boat were unaware of what was going on. The cherry on the day that same boat looped around as we made another dirft. As they passed us at a decent distance they checked their gear finding a mooching rig tangled in their gear. I could only shake my head at the WTF look the angler's face when he saw my mooching sinker/leader tangled in his flasher.

Such is PS Chinook fishing in todays world.

My one and only day chasing Chinook on Puget Sound. I would vote for eliminating downriggers (at least some days) in Puget Sound in a heartbeat.

I long for the old days of mooching on Puget Sound. Some great memories.

Hope you get another chance out there.