REPORT: Katchun's Trip to The Columbia Estuary

[Katchun Release]

Well, those who helped us get squared away for our Chinook, WA trip wanted to hear the outcome so here she is:

Found everyone in Chinook as friendly as those of you on-line. Tried our B.C. salmon methods on Day 1; caught squat.

Day 2 did as we had been instructed. Fished sturgeon w/4 oz weight, whole herring in 20 feet of water below the bridge. Caught THREE! What a hoot. One keeper 43 inches. Also caught three coho, nice size.
Day 3 caught two sturgeon (one 44 incher; BOY! are they tasty!!) and seven coho.
Day 4 caught one coho while sturgeon fishing(!) plus two Chinook largest 25 lb, and two coho. Tried Buoy 10 two days, but there were alot more boats than fish; we did better up by the bridge. By this time we're REALLY having fun.
Day 5 caught two sturgeon. Motor mooched (our old B.C. way cuz now we know where they are) and boated a 40-inch, 35 lb. chinook after a 45 minute battle. Our last fish this trip, and what a way to wind it up.

Darned tootin' we'll be back. We had a great time. Thanks, all!!

Katchun

[Bait O' Eggs]

nice fishing, http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif must have looked like a fish market when you got home with that haul.

[Pilar]

Katchun, what the heck is "motor mooching"? Forgive my ignorance. This sounds interesting, can you describe it for us? By the way, nice bag! The force was with you. The bend is your friend!

[Katchun Release]

That's pretty close for motor mooching. You use a large banana sinker, run a cut-plug about 3 to 5 feet behind, and adjust your lines by a kicker motor so that the lines are back at a 45 degree angle for proper working. To fish higher in the water column you'd want a little less weight, for lower, more weight. V E R Y slowly, slowly. Big springs will tap it so lightly. Then you strip out 18 inches or so, so the big fella will think he's stunned the herring. He'll swing back around and INHALE your bait and the show's on. It's a bit tricky in the estuary because of winds, but we had this one on in about 5 minutes after starting!

No, no, gang!! We didn't KEEP all these fish! We kept to sturgeon, two coho and one chinook. It was great.

Katchun

[Gizmo Man]

HI: Just something to share about whether the fish "stunned the herring". Several years ago, a guy named Charlie White did a lot of underwater video on fish taking herring. One of the segments was on whether the salmon slap the herring to cripple it. What his videos show is the salmon reading the bait fish with its lateral line. If its right, then the salmon goes around and tries to eat the bait. What he also showed was the salmon missing the bait as it is trolled away. In other scenes, he showes large salmon totally engulfing the bait. If the bait is swinging from side to side, the salmon is seen hitting the bait but not getting hooked.

When we see the rod go down, but the fish is not apparently hooked, sometimes he has the bait in his mouth and is swimming foward with the boat. Ask the guides who troll with spinners on Tillamook bay about this one. They say if the rod tip stops vibrating a fish may have your spinner in his mouth and if you are not paying attention, you miss the bite.

Charlie White had two videos. I have them both and watch them often. They inspired me to build an underwater camera about 10 yrs ago. You learn alot by watching those salmon swim right on by your lure or eggs.

Too bad there is not more clear water in this area to use it more.

If you guys/gals in the Van. Portland area are interested in seeing Charlies movies, I may have to set up an evening and have a few of you over. Let me know if there is any interest.

Giz.

[GutZ]

Pilar;
Motor Mooching is simply running the motor to work a mooched bait. Go and your bait comes up, stop and it falls. Popular in Puget Sound (and up North, eh)
Jeff

[Pilar]

Giz, I seem to remember going to Larry's ( back when it was Larry's sport center) and seeing some video showing salmon and different tackle setups. It looked like the camera was the downrigger weight. The fish just zoomed in and out of the picture as they chased the bait or nailed it. Very cool video! Could this be the same as what you have?

I can't count the times when the underwater footage would have explained some fishing mystery or other. Lacking the camera we just go on experience and hope the good thing happens. The bend is your friend!

[Gizmo Man]

Pilar: It could by the same. Charlie was doing his touring when Larry's was still around. Charlie also developed a lure with a spinner as tail and had it cut to look like the tail fin.

Larry sold lots of them.

You are right about learning alot by watching them. I still get a big charge watching as the chinook slam the herring.

Giz...

[nwjetboat]

The underwater camera device is covered in last issue(?) of STS. It is indeed the downrigger weight, I think it was made by Walker downriggers. The STS is a good article with a lot of the same info that you guys have shared. Lots of insight on what the fish are doing to your lure/bait.

[Gizmo Man]

NWJB:the camera that is in STS is among the new breads of u/w cameras using todays spy type video camera. The one's we are talking about where shot about 10 yrs ago, with big bulky cameras in cases that were attached to the boat by a separate cable and wires.

Anyway, I am thinking about getting one of the new small ones. Its fun to see them come up to the camera and stick their tounge out at you and fin you off.... http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Giz...

[KingBeef]

Durring the shad run in the Oregon City area I was fishing next to two guys that had a video camera setup filming shad striking different jigs and spinners. They said the action under water was fast with all the shad filing by. Looked like they used a downriger clip on the video cable so the jig or spinner was just a few feet out from the camera lense. Them boys hooked alot fish that day!