Lingcod
Braided line…less drag in the current, strong
Spinning or bait casting long stiff rod for casting towards rock pile
Spinning or bait casting short stiff rod for bouncing heavy lead off the bottom
Reels should hold at least 300 yards of line
Storm swim baits shallow and large hook lead heads with paddle or twin tails (glow) (rootbeer)deep
12 to 18 oz sinkers with small or large spreader bars for bait fishing in deep water
Rule of thumb big fish deep water, more fish shallow water…
Salmon (king) (silvers) Salt
Long soft rod for trolling reel 200 to 300 yards of 20 to 30 pound mono
Flashers lots of different opium’s on kind but red and green with flash seam to be the color
Down riggers from a boat, you can catch them with dipsey divers and even banana sinkers to get the lure down
Hootchies and spoons again green seems to be the color but every one has there favorite spoon
Herring helmets for when the dogfish aren’t thick
Good swivels to piece it all together
Salmon (pinks) salt
Same as above but there is no need for Downriggers and pink is the color
Salmon (chum) same as above hard to catch in the salt, green hootchies and herring
Salmon (king) (chum) river
Stiff heavy rod, 15 to 20 pound test line
Corkies, slinkies,barrol sinkers, lead core pencil weight for drift fishing
Pyramid sinkers and spin and glows, 3way swivels for plunking
Eggs or shrimp
Spoons and spinners on a slightly lighter heavy rod.
Size 2/0 to 4/0 gami hooks
Steelhead, silvers river (from the bank)
Medium action rods so you don’t pull the hooks out, 8 to 12 pound test line
Casting spoons, spinners, slinkies, size 1 or 2 gami’s
You can plunk for them too see above
Trout
Small spinning rod, 6 to 10 pound test, small barrol sinkers, small snap swivels
Power bait orang/green/yellow
Small spinners like your roster tail
Dick night spoons
Small fish shaped plugs in diving and flat lining especially when they are first planted in the lake
Bass
Blue, black,olive,pumpkin colord plastic worms
Worm hooks
Plugs out the wazoo
Jigs, craw trailor
Grubs with lead heads
Theres a ton more stuff but this is the basics
Trolling For Trout in Lakes - By Salmon-Trout-Steelheader
For trolling in lakes, trolling Hot Shot Plugs, Spinners, and Wedding Rings work well. Hot Shots are small plugs used for Trout, Bass, and Panfish. For fishing them, let out about 20ft of line, and start trolling it around. They will dive from 3-7 feet, depending on which size you use. When you get the hit, you will know, but don't set the hook immediately. Wait until the fish jumps, or is pulling steadily for about 4 seconds, then give the hookset. For trolling spinners, they can be trolled the same way as the Hot Shots, cast them out about 20 feet(depending on depth of lake, deeper, let out a little more line), and start trolling. About every 30 seconds, twitch it, or change the direction of the movement. Also every once in a while, slow the troll down, and then speed up again to increase the action, and maybe entice the bite. For trolling the Wedding Ring, you can tip it with a piece of corn, or a piece of worm. A lot of the time, people will troll them with a small dodger, 3" or 4" work well, and tip it with worm. Let the lure/dodger combo out, again about 20-30FT, and troll around like that. In smaller lakes, troll Wedding Rings with a medium sized split shot weight, and the worm or corn.
Puget Sound & Hood Canal Spot Shrimp - By ROCK FISH
By Ron Harrington
Early in the morning, on Hood Canal, I was eating breakfast and noticed a lot of boat traffic. There seemed to be boats everywhere setting square traps with yellow buoys in the water. I asked my grandfather what was going on. He said they were shrimping. We asked the neighbor to show us his catch and he said he would in about an hour. Not knowing what to expect, he came over and showed us a platter of cooked spot shrimp. That was all it took for my grandparents and me. We had to try ourselves. That was in the eighties and I have been shrimping ever since.
Spot Shrimp ( Pandalus platyceros ) have a deep pink/red or pink/orange body with white lines on the head and paired spots on their back behind their head and just before the tail.
Puget Sound shrimp have a unique reproductive cycle, starting as males for one to two years, then changing sex to reproduce as females. Some will change to females at an earlier age, or even skip the male phase completely. This will help the supply of egg-producing females each year. Spawning in late summer or fall the female can produce as many as 6,000 eggs and carries them until early spring. Once hatched they are planktonic for up to three months, then settling on the sea floor.
Shrimping Gear:
Shrimp pots are available at most sporting goods stores, made of plastic dipped wire. To keep the cost down, many shrimpers choose to make their own with 7/8"mesh. If building your own pot’s consult the WDFW rules pamphlet for regulations on design, and mesh size. I use the
McKay shrimp pots with ramp
entrances and also pots that have funnel entrances. The pots with the ramps seem to produce better. Weighting your pots is a must either with lead, zinc, or rebar. The rebar will create electrolysis and may discourage shrimp to enter. Dipping the rebar or sealing it will stop this.
A yellow buoy is required with your name and address. I made my buoys with PVC pipe and two floats, with lead at the bottom to keep it straight up. I even put a custom flag on the top to distinguish them from others.
I equip each pot with 425 feet of 1/4"yellow poly rope or 5/16" on bigger pots to reach the bottom. I have marked every 100 feet. I have also marked the first 25' from the pot so I can see how much more to pull. With the poly line you will need lead weights to keep the extra line down. You can also get a leaded line but at a steeper price.
Most of the shrimpers today use pullers to assist in pulling up traps. Pulling can be done by hand, but this is not something I would want to do. Three to five horse power gasoline engines with a six to one reducer makes pulling 425' of rope an easy assignment. A 5-HP puller will pull 180 to190 feet per minute. Now on the market are electric trap pullers. An electric puller will draw from 32 to 54 amps under load and 90 to140 feet per minute depending on which motor you have. They are not fast but will quietly do the job.
Cat food is the most popular bait used by shrimpers. Fish flavored is a must! In Hood Canal the most popular brand is Puss n Boots. Other baits to consider are the commercial shrimp pellets, ground clams and oysters, fresh or frozen fish. Although with fish, you may attract starfish or crabs so I only use a small amount. The whole key is to have your bait leave a sent trail. Try not to use anything that has shrimp in it. They are not cannibalistic.
Shrimp can be found in depths more than 1000 feet but are generally caught at 40 to 350 feet. They tend to like rocky bottoms, rock crevices, vertical rock faces, and sponge beds.
I like to set my pots (depending where I am shrimping) in 190 to 325 feet of water. While lowering the pot I wait till the rope goes slack then attach my line weight. Now that I have reached bottom I have to let out enough line so the current won’t sink my buoys. This is where having 425 feet comes in to play. In Hood Canal where I shrimp the current is lower so I will put out an extra 35 feet out. Puget Sound I will let out all of the 425 feet to avoid from losing any gear.
Finding where to shrimp is a big deal with shrimpers they won’t tell you anything! The best way to find out where to set your pots is know someone and go with them, or wait till you see people setting their pots and place yours around them.
Now that you have your shrimp caught what to do with them. Most people put them in a five-gallon bucket till they leave the water. I like to keep them in an aerated live well till I hit the docks. This keeps the shrimp alive and frisky. When they expire, the shrimp excrete a jelly substance, it’s good to rinse this off before cooking or freezing.
Other than the first initial start up costs shrimping is fun, easy, and a great family outing for all ages. What couldn’t be better than limits of fresh shrimp, friends, and family? Good luck! And be safe.
Early in the morning, on Hood Canal, I was eating breakfast and noticed a lot of boat traffic. There seemed to be boats everywhere setting square traps with yellow buoys in the water. I asked my grandfather what was going on. He said they were shrimping. We asked the neighbor to show us his catch and he said he would in about an hour. Not knowing what to expect, he came over and showed us a platter of cooked spot shrimp. That was all it took for my grandparents and me. We had to try ourselves. That was in the eighties and I have been shrimping ever since.
Spot Shrimp ( Pandalus platyceros ) have a deep pink/red or pink/orange body with white lines on the head and paired spots on their back behind their head and just before the tail.
Puget Sound shrimp have a unique reproductive cycle, starting as males for one to two years, then changing sex to reproduce as females. Some will change to females at an earlier age, or even skip the male phase completely. This will help the supply of egg-producing females each year. Spawning in late summer or fall the female can produce as many as 6,000 eggs and carries them until early spring. Once hatched they are planktonic for up to three months, then settling on the sea floor.
Shrimping Gear:
Shrimp pots are available at most sporting goods stores, made of plastic dipped wire. To keep the cost down, many shrimpers choose to make their own with 7/8"mesh. If building your own pot’s consult the WDFW rules pamphlet for regulations on design, and mesh size. I use the
McKay shrimp pots with ramp
entrances and also pots that have funnel entrances. The pots with the ramps seem to produce better. Weighting your pots is a must either with lead, zinc, or rebar. The rebar will create electrolysis and may discourage shrimp to enter. Dipping the rebar or sealing it will stop this.A yellow buoy is required with your name and address. I made my buoys with PVC pipe and two floats, with lead at the bottom to keep it straight up. I even put a custom flag on the top to distinguish them from others.
I equip each pot with 425 feet of 1/4"yellow poly rope or 5/16" on bigger pots to reach the bottom. I have marked every 100 feet. I have also marked the first 25' from the pot so I can see how much more to pull. With the poly line you will need lead weights to keep the extra line down. You can also get a leaded line but at a steeper price.
Most of the shrimpers today use pullers to assist in pulling up traps. Pulling can be done by hand, but this is not something I would want to do. Three to five horse power gasoline engines with a six to one reducer makes pulling 425' of rope an easy assignment. A 5-HP puller will pull 180 to190 feet per minute. Now on the market are electric trap pullers. An electric puller will draw from 32 to 54 amps under load and 90 to140 feet per minute depending on which motor you have. They are not fast but will quietly do the job.
Cat food is the most popular bait used by shrimpers. Fish flavored is a must! In Hood Canal the most popular brand is Puss n Boots. Other baits to consider are the commercial shrimp pellets, ground clams and oysters, fresh or frozen fish. Although with fish, you may attract starfish or crabs so I only use a small amount. The whole key is to have your bait leave a sent trail. Try not to use anything that has shrimp in it. They are not cannibalistic.
Shrimp can be found in depths more than 1000 feet but are generally caught at 40 to 350 feet. They tend to like rocky bottoms, rock crevices, vertical rock faces, and sponge beds.
I like to set my pots (depending where I am shrimping) in 190 to 325 feet of water. While lowering the pot I wait till the rope goes slack then attach my line weight. Now that I have reached bottom I have to let out enough line so the current won’t sink my buoys. This is where having 425 feet comes in to play. In Hood Canal where I shrimp the current is lower so I will put out an extra 35 feet out. Puget Sound I will let out all of the 425 feet to avoid from losing any gear.
Finding where to shrimp is a big deal with shrimpers they won’t tell you anything! The best way to find out where to set your pots is know someone and go with them, or wait till you see people setting their pots and place yours around them.
Now that you have your shrimp caught what to do with them. Most people put them in a five-gallon bucket till they leave the water. I like to keep them in an aerated live well till I hit the docks. This keeps the shrimp alive and frisky. When they expire, the shrimp excrete a jelly substance, it’s good to rinse this off before cooking or freezing.
Other than the first initial start up costs shrimping is fun, easy, and a great family outing for all ages. What couldn’t be better than limits of fresh shrimp, friends, and family? Good luck! And be safe.
Dropshot rig - By CK14
The dropshot rig is one of the best but hardest techniques to master. When I first started using them, I hated it with a passion! But i kept with it because it seemed like all the guys in F&H news said it was the go-to bait everywhere! Here are a few tips that can help you get a few more fish into the boat...
The Rig: The dropshot rig itself consists of a small finesse hook tied directly on the line a little ways above the sinker (about 6"-12"). Try to get the hook to stand straight up. One of the best knots for dropshots is the Palomar. And after you're done tying the knot, DO NOT clip the tag end (unless it is longer then needed), because this will be the leader from the hook to the weight.
Gear: Good quality gear is key for dropshotting, from the line to the rod. I like to use 6lb McCoy copolymer for my main line and 6lb Seaguar florocarbon for my drop shot leader. sounds light, but i've never had 6lb line break on me while dropshotting! I use floro for my leader because it's translucent in the water. For hooks I either use Gamakatsu dropshot/splitshot hooks in size 6 or a Owner downshot hook in 1/0. i use the Gamakatsu's for nose hooking and wacky rigging and I use the Owner's for Texas rigging. I mainly use the Owner's for larger baits (to long or thick for size 6). Quickdrops have always been my favorite dropshot weights, 3/16oz is what I use most of the time. A good, quality, sensitive rod is VERY important to feel light bites that often occur while dropshotting. I have caught a few 3lb-4lb largemouth that when i felt the initial hit i thought it was a small perch! A 6 1/2'-7' medium light-medium action rod is good. And a fast tip helps a lot also, not only for feel, but to get good action on the bait as well.
Baits: Almost any soft plastic bait can be dropshotted, but baits with tails that will wiggle work best. Some of my favorites are....
Sniper Snubs (Dark brown or watermelon w/copper flake)
GYCB 3.5" Cut Tail Worms (194J or 240)
KGM Tadpolls (hard to find, but Angler's Choice has them.) (Green pumpkin)
GYCB 3" senkos (176 or 194)
FX Sculpin Robo Worms (Aaron's magic)
How To Fish It: Dropshots can be fished almost anywhere, but they are AMAZING around docks & rocks. I rarely drop the rig right below the boat, but i know many people do. I like to flip the bait out a little ways instead (around 10-20') from the boat and slowly wiggle it back to the boat. I don't like to cast it far though because this will make me lose my feel for the bait, and it will make the bait sit horizontal instead of verticle. I like to keep the sinker on the bottom and wiggle the bait in place, bass cannot stand this. When you do get a fish on, be sure not to horse them in on 6lb line. And after each fish you catch, make sure your line doesn't have any defects.
I hope some of these tips help you out some! Let me know if you have any questions! I should mention that most of the gear and baits i suggested are for smallmouth. I have not used it much for largemouth but i plan on doing it soon!
here are some pics...
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The Rig: The dropshot rig itself consists of a small finesse hook tied directly on the line a little ways above the sinker (about 6"-12"). Try to get the hook to stand straight up. One of the best knots for dropshots is the Palomar. And after you're done tying the knot, DO NOT clip the tag end (unless it is longer then needed), because this will be the leader from the hook to the weight.
Gear: Good quality gear is key for dropshotting, from the line to the rod. I like to use 6lb McCoy copolymer for my main line and 6lb Seaguar florocarbon for my drop shot leader. sounds light, but i've never had 6lb line break on me while dropshotting! I use floro for my leader because it's translucent in the water. For hooks I either use Gamakatsu dropshot/splitshot hooks in size 6 or a Owner downshot hook in 1/0. i use the Gamakatsu's for nose hooking and wacky rigging and I use the Owner's for Texas rigging. I mainly use the Owner's for larger baits (to long or thick for size 6). Quickdrops have always been my favorite dropshot weights, 3/16oz is what I use most of the time. A good, quality, sensitive rod is VERY important to feel light bites that often occur while dropshotting. I have caught a few 3lb-4lb largemouth that when i felt the initial hit i thought it was a small perch! A 6 1/2'-7' medium light-medium action rod is good. And a fast tip helps a lot also, not only for feel, but to get good action on the bait as well.
Baits: Almost any soft plastic bait can be dropshotted, but baits with tails that will wiggle work best. Some of my favorites are....
Sniper Snubs (Dark brown or watermelon w/copper flake)
GYCB 3.5" Cut Tail Worms (194J or 240)
KGM Tadpolls (hard to find, but Angler's Choice has them.) (Green pumpkin)
GYCB 3" senkos (176 or 194)
FX Sculpin Robo Worms (Aaron's magic)
How To Fish It: Dropshots can be fished almost anywhere, but they are AMAZING around docks & rocks. I rarely drop the rig right below the boat, but i know many people do. I like to flip the bait out a little ways instead (around 10-20') from the boat and slowly wiggle it back to the boat. I don't like to cast it far though because this will make me lose my feel for the bait, and it will make the bait sit horizontal instead of verticle. I like to keep the sinker on the bottom and wiggle the bait in place, bass cannot stand this. When you do get a fish on, be sure not to horse them in on 6lb line. And after each fish you catch, make sure your line doesn't have any defects.
I hope some of these tips help you out some! Let me know if you have any questions! I should mention that most of the gear and baits i suggested are for smallmouth. I have not used it much for largemouth but i plan on doing it soon!
here are some pics...
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.jpg)
Drift fishing small streams for Rainbow Trout - By Whitefish
Sometimes when flyfishing, you'll come across a spot that is inaccsessable due to deep water, brush, or a steep slope. Sometimes drift fishing in these areas may be your best bet.Tips and Hints!
You'll want to keep your jig about 4 to 10" off the bottom for best results.
If you cast above a strong current, let the jig drift down, falling into an eddy.
The lighter the line you use, the easier it is going to be to feel a strike.
Using a sliding bobber with a bobber stop is a great way to keep you jib off the bottom, and to see strikes.
Wearing polorized sunglasses will make it easier to spot fish in clear or shallow water.
Click the image for better instructions!
Thanks www.wdfw.wa.gov
Night Fishing- By Whitefish
 | Night fishing can be tiring and brutal, but it is often very rewarding. Here are 5 steps to make sure your night fishing trip goes well and has a worth while outcome. |
1. Know the fishing site - Nothing is worse than getting snagged at a new lake, it's hard to learn where and where not to cast, where the snags are, and where there just plain aren't any fish. Imagine trying to do this at night.
2. Learn what type of lures or bait the fish will bite - Going fishing at a new lake can be a fun, exciting experience. You get to test new lures and baits, you get to see what works and what doesn't. It takes some time, but in the end it is worth while. Trying to learn all this at night could take all night, and thus, making it just as worthwhile as fishing during the day.
3. Be prepared - Before you leave for your night, make sure you have everything you need in ready to go. Make sure you have: Extra rod or reel, hooks, weights, lures, floats, etc. Nothing is worse than a middle of the night run back into town for more supplies.
4. Bring other necessities - Night fishing is alot like camping, when I go I am always sure to bring a chair, warm clothes, a blanket, firewood and matches, snacks, and at least 1 meal. A lantern/flashlight is a MUST, it is good to bring a tent if you plan on staying for several nights, a mid-day nap is always refreshing.
5. Be safe - I always suggest bringing a friend along, not only for company but for saftey. At night there is always the added danger of falling into holes, tripping on limbs, or even falling into the water. Two people are not likely to both fall into holes, or be injured, so if one person gets injured, there is still someone there to care for their injury, or, if needed, go for help.
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