Bigger fish to fry

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George the original one
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Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

Last winter I proved to myself that I can reliably catch winter steelhead using spinners (my preferred lure) or wobblers. Less reliably, I can pick off the occasional coho salmon with a spinner.

Hooking a chinook salmon, on the other hand, has so far escaped any reliability or predictability test and I had a good chance last summer because my friend and I found some very reliable fishing holes on a small coastal stream in Oregon. When I say small stream, most people would call this river a creek at this time of year. The largest hole is probably the size of a double lot in suburbia, and it's quite the sight to see up to a dozen big fish milling around on the bottom of that big pool. Other holes are only the size of many backyards.

Anyway, the chinook mostly ignored our fishing efforts last year (had the occasional fish follow, but no strikes). In anticipation of their return, I've booked the rest of this week as vacation time with the sole purpose of conquering this gap in my fishing ability. On Saturday, with a little scouting effort, I was able to confirm that the chinook are right on schedule and still ignoring my angling efforts... this is probably the only run of coastal salmon that does not need rains to draw them upriver.

We're armed with knowledge of what didn't work and adapting our strategy. All daylight hours, no legal technique left unused... wish us luck and I'll report back on Sunday!

riparian
Posts: 650
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by riparian »

Good luck!

I've never really figured out fishing with a pole... I just put out a net and come back later to collect the salmon.

KevinW
Posts: 959
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 4:45 am

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by KevinW »

Good luck!

I don't know about chinook salmon specifically, but historically I have had the best luck with the simplest possible bait: earthworms dug out of the ground.

My_Brain_Gets_Itchy
Posts: 267
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:29 pm

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by My_Brain_Gets_Itchy »

@George the original one: Good luck!

I loved reading this post, the sense of challenge and anticipation.

I loved reading it better in the voice of the Crocodile hunter (God bless his soul), which I find the text of the post lends itself to quite well.

vern
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 9:22 am

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by vern »

Remember that Chinook prefer a faster delivery than steelhead do.

I mostly fish for steelhead at night with X4 or U20 MRB's so if I catch a salmon it's an accident.

Of course I don't complain!

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

Well, the two chinook I spotted earlier apparently were very precocious fish as I couldn't find any more. Was able to confirm that the rest are still rolling around in the estuary, about 5-6 miles downstream from my fishing holes on this 20 mile river.

Next weekend's rematch will give me a shot at figuring this out...

lilacorchid
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Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 3:20 pm
Location: Canada

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by lilacorchid »

Ha ha! If I don't need to eat, I prefer to fish with no bait. Cast, reel, cast, reel... it's relaxing. :D

Good luck!

My_Brain_Gets_Itchy
Posts: 267
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:29 pm

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by My_Brain_Gets_Itchy »

I have to know if you caught the Chinook Salmon!!!

George the original one
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Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

Caught one: a 12.5" long jack. It was at least 14 lbs shy of adulthood, yet tasted fabulous! The adults had left tidewater, but none showed up at my fishing holes. I don't know if they're flying upriver and I never get to see them or if they're taking their sweet time, stacking up in a deep hole somewhere downstream. Added a couple cutthroat trout from another river to make a fine meal wife & I.

Two weekends ago, the highlight was getting growled at by a bear bedding down for the night on the steep slope we use for a shortcut to avoid walking a half mile on slippery river rocks. Then coming back the next morning, startling an elk in the river down below which caused the bear to roll over and sigh (doh! of course the bear would still be there!). Never saw the bear and we avoided the slope the rest of the time.

Last weekend, I went by myself, used the shortcut and got chased down to the river by some mad bees. Stung only twice, I think. Bees are more fearsome than bears this time of year!

Back again this weekend for another try... such a different experience from last year, where we had the salmon cornered, but couldn't figure it out and this year we may have figured it out (at least for the jack salmon), but can't find the adults for a real test. Feeling somewhat outwitted again, LOL.

My_Brain_Gets_Itchy
Posts: 267
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:29 pm

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by My_Brain_Gets_Itchy »

Lol, awesome.

I'm still rooting for you to hear you catch those chinooks, but the bear, elk and mad bee stories are a great substitute.

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

Originally hadn't planned on fishing again for these early-run salmon now that August is finished, but a shot of rain on Thursday or Friday made me reconsider, as there would be a possibility of encountering some at a migration barrier.

After a late start on Sunday, we hiked in to the upper pools and found four chinook one pool above the barrier I had in mind. The first one I spotted was literally at my feet, sleeping behind a rock. You can tell they're resting/sleeping because they nose into the rocks and stay out of the current and generally don't react.

I quietly and slowly waded along the shallow side of the small pool and watched for more movement... two salmon started doing a circular duet just a rod-length away. Then, in the prime spot deep in the pool under some logs & amidst big branches, a 4-foot salmon drifts up off the bottom! No wonder the other three are in unexpected locations: the bully has hogged the best spot. The two fish doing the circular duet are a little spooked now and disappear as I've begun gesticulating to my fishing buddy. Sadly, we move on from that pool because, if we were lucky enough to get hooked up with a fish there, it would likely end up wrapping line around a branch before we could get the fish under control. Thoughts of tickling, spearfishing, and nets all crossed my mind...

In the target pool, we spotted two more salmon. There may have been more, but they never exposed themselves. As usual, these fish ignored our finest angling attempts and they went to ground for the afternoon. Eventually we got hungry and went home without any salmon.

A return visit early Monday morning proved that the fish had moved on. There might have been one still in the lower pool, but the evidence was slim. So, for another year, the salmon are winning.

Lessons: the salmon sprint upstream after stacking up somewhere in the lower river. When they're sprinting, they're not in a biting mood. They do move in pods, probably up to a dozen fish at a time, though sometimes there are loners & stragglers. These early-run fish remain in good condition longer than the normal fall run.

Last year I found a pool where they had stacked up, but they didn't use that pool this year and I wasn't able to find any other pools they used.

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
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Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

Regular fall salmon run has begun and I've cracked the secret of catching coho. 5 caught in 4 days and we're just starting. In another week or two, the chinook run will begin and I'm hoping the same tactics work.

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

An anti-chinook force field must eminate from me.

I've hooked 12 coho, 4 chum, and 1 steelhead this fall, but no chinook. Only the chum got away, which is just as well as we can't keep them. Most of the coho were released because they were wild rather than hatchery fish, though I got to keep a couple strays. Next fall I'll fish a nearby river that has hatchery coho...

There are still salmon coming upriver, but the shift to winter steelhead will begin. We did have a pair of chum salmon spawn in the backyard before Thanksgiving. Winter weather will reduce the number of trips to the other house for the next two months.

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

Fall coho began running upriver last weekend (first salmon run after rain is awesome to see!) and this is the second one I caught on Tuesday, Sep 30. I've figured out a foolproof method for catching coho and hope to apply the method to chinook...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9HI-D ... HRHa2hkSGM

(Hmm, couldn't get google image to embed, so you're stuck with the link for now)

Dragline
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Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by Dragline »

Very nice. Makes me hungry looking at it.

theanimal
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Contact:

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by theanimal »

Neat. Forgive my ignorance, why do you have the carabiner in its mouth? For easy transport?

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
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Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

Correct, easy transport. Discovered that it's only reliable for about 3/4 mile and longer distances will break the jaw (100' from the car, sigh). I think rigging a chain under both gill plates will work better as it won't rely on the jawbone.

lilacorchid
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Location: Canada

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by lilacorchid »

Dragline wrote:Very nice. Makes me hungry looking at it.
+1

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
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Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

lilacorchid wrote:
Dragline wrote:Very nice. Makes me hungry looking at it.
+1
That fat fish is dinner for eight. I found a recipe that uses blueberries in balsamic vinegar as a sauce, so I can use a package of our garden glory in another way... though I had to laugh when the recipe called for only one pound of salmon.

George the original one
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Bigger fish to fry

Post by George the original one »

It is really, really cool to predict just how long it takes the first pod of coho to reach my fishing spot and then be right there when they start coming upriver, right on schedule! Saturday's run went from 10am to 3:30pm, but they were highly resistant to catching. Literally the last fish of the run is the one I caught. Sunday's run started at 10am and I got one by 10:30... it was big, so I didn't hang around to try for a second.

Saturday's bonus was watching a family of otters devour a salmon. I let them finish before venturing close enough to set off the alarm.

Result: a salmon dinner for six and a salmon dinner for eight added to freezer as a result of this weekend. My wife says I'm too generous with the portions 8-)

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