Pete
11-08-2004, 01:14 PM
Wannacatchem started a thread last year Springer techniques ???? (http://www.ifish.net/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=21006&page=&view=&sb=5&o= &vc=1). I've pulled the best tips from that thread and reproduced them here for easy access.
From Pearl
I responded to a different springer question post a couple of weeks ago. The information below fits your question as well. Somewhere on file I have pictures of some rigging techniques and I'll post them for you once I find them. As far as the steep learning curve, I have been fishing Springers for 25+ years and the learning curve has never stopped. Still seem to learn a little more every year. I'm a Willamette troller and one of the biggest learning curves happened a few years back when they started spilling the dams to flush smolt and we lost Willamette river current due to the river backing up. It was like starting all over on a new river but we have adapted.
Heres a start that will get you going in the right direction.
Pearls Rules for Effective Salmon Fishing and Trolling......
Prepare your tackle and boat before going on the water. Rods should be rigged with mooching rigs, plug clips and other lures attached and ready. Be ready to fish when you hit the water. I see to many people still tying tackle to rods and reels 45 minutes into the morning in the mean time salmon are being landed. Boat batteries should be fully charged and, if possible, gas the boat the day before. Keep the inside of your boat organized. Bad things happen when you go to net a fish and the net gets hung up on a bunch of junk lying around the inside of your boat. You work to hard to hook em so don't screw up on something that you have control of.
Pay close attention to the tides. Contrary to what you might think, tides affect the river up to the Oregon City Falls on the Willamette and to Beacon Rock on the Columbia.
Fish hard during the peak times, one-hour before-through-after tide change. Don’t be tying gear, changing areas or eating lunch during peak time. In the spring, early in the morning or late in the evening are often productive times.
Use all the information you can get. There is a lot of information on ifish. Separate the good from the bad by trial and error. STS and Luhr Jensen tech sheets provide good info as well. Watch what other fisherman are having success with that day.
Locate fish with a quality fish finder. Just because your fishing a 15’ shelf it doesn’t mean that fish will be on the bottom. They could be coming through at 8’ depending on water temp, clarity, tide etc.
Troll with or across the tide flow, never against it. Salmon face into the tide flow and have a better look at your lure as its coming towards them.
Stay in the area you catch fish or see fish caught.
Don’t fish only where there are other fishermen (i.e. famous hot spots). Salmon are on the move and hot spots can change daily. Its better to fish by yourself for ten salmon in an eddy or on a shelf, than to fish for two hundred salmon along with 4,000 other anglers.
Explore but learn to fish three areas extremely well then expand your areas by one new area per year.
Use bait / lure that has sight, sound and smell. Use any color, as long as it is green. Use flashers or rattle plugs to create sound. Add scent to your lure, such as Smelly Jelly or other products.
USE COLORS! The top thirty feet of water. Flashers, spinner blades, plugs, etc. have color. Below fifty feet try blue, green, purple and glow lures..
When using bait check your bait every 15 minutes. Remember, you only have three hours of premium fishing time. If using lures, be aware of any change in rod tip action and check lure every thirty minutes or if youve bumped the bottom.
Sharpen your hooks and keep them sharp!
Spring salmon are a challenge to catch. Keep a positive outlook, be able to adapt, make the most of your time on the water and put your hours in.
Good Luck!!!
From Skybuster
Depends on where your fishing and what technique, but I would definitely invest in some spinners. The last couple years I put spinners out when the kwikies were slow and the springers gobbled em up. I've caught fish on spinners while anchored and while trolling. Try red and white blades to start, and pretty much anything that looks fishy after that.
From 5-Cents
Shaker-King I troll with the current 90% of the time. The bait is swiming into the fishes face, they have to react super quick... they dont want it to get away... SHBAMALAMO
You can cover a ton of water this way too. Once you are at the bottom of your troll use the big motor to run to the top and do it all over again. My big trolling dad showed me this, works real well.
The other 10% of the time the other method used is just hovering in the current stationairy or back trolling your bait. Back trolling when there is a lot of outgoing current works real well even in the lower stretches of the river
From Pearl
Nickle has it right !!!
Cover the water. You go to the fish opposed to the fish coming to you.
If you think about it ....If you troll into the current you will theroetically ( sp ) sit in one spot and have to have a fish come up from behind you to take your bait. In this position the fish has an over abundance of time to examine the bait and make a decision whether those hooks and 20lb leader are natural If you are trolling down river or across the current the fish will get a shorter look at an already dead bait ( use scent ) and will have to make a instinctive decision. Fish aren't as smart as we give them credit for. Good instincts yes, brains no
Another benefit to trolling "down hill" is the ferocious bite you will get. If you want to see a rod bend over and I mean bend over just hook one on the down hill slide. First thing you will hear when you get in my boat is " You got to let them take it...Count to 10!"
To make a point, there are alot of days I will start at Hog Island near Lake Grove on the Willamette and troll clear into the city of Portland ( Steel Bridge ) and then run back up river and do it again. You cover alot of deep water but alot of shelves where Mr. Springer rests. This is a great method for fisherman just learning the different techniques. Try 8oz, 7 to 10 pulls, 6 ft of leader and troll at a speed where you main line is at a 45 degree angle. Put the rod in the holder. When the rod tip is in the water set the hook. Most time the fish will hook themselves. Get ready for BBQ springer that night.
Another great point is to get out and do it. Pound the water. Fish come in groups. I may go a few days of hard fishing and not get a bite and then you will put fish in the box 5 days in a row.
Good luck and tight lines!
From Jimmy Carl Black
Run your rods at different depths to start with. Say 7, 10, 13 pulls, etc. depending on water quality. Go with good quality herring plug-cut and whole. I went with a guide and we limited the boat this way. Could have been luck, but I have been asking around and it seems to be what alot of the 'old-timers' and guides do on the Willamette. Put your time in, but know when the water is generally unfishable as to not just waste your time. Don't forget the camera!
From Shaker-King
Thanks Nickel & Pearl.
I was thinking that the boat going overhead would scare them away or the chance of running into the lead line on an out going tide. But, not much scares me away from dinner when I am hungry.
So my notes are:
Troll with the tide, cover a lot of water, race back do it again, 7-10 pulls, mainline 45 degrees, BBQ full of propane.
From Pearl
Weather does have an impact. Every spring the days are filled with sun, rain , wind , snow, sleet etc. Sometimes you get them all with in one hour. I do see bites turn on, on the front and back side of small weather systems passing through. Most often I will get bit on the back side of a weather system when the high preasure is building.
The weather is one of those things that we can't control. Boat and lure/bait preperation we can. If the weekend comes and the forcast is for storms you can't do anything about it. Just load up the boat and go.
You have to have a line in the water to catch them.
From Luguondo
One suggestion that I can throw in is to bring along (or buy) a pair of binoculars when you hit the water. Watch and take not of what the successful fisherman are doing. Leader and dropper length, lure color, location and depth of the water they are fishing, scent being used, etc.
From FishinMission
Wow...Pearl...ya got some good pointers there. Trolling downhill enables one to cover lots of water, but isn't necessary if the conditions are right. I'll often troll downstrem, but we hook tons of fish trolling upstream too. Just have to make sure you're not hovering in one spot.
Shallow eddies are deadly in higher dirty water.
Didn't see this one mentioned, either...The clearer the water..the longer the leader.
Small blades above bait are deadly too.
Knowing how to properly set up your bait for a good roll is beneficial(Dance 'O Death) What kind and size of baits, and what water temps to use them.
What size hooks to use. If you're hooking, but losing alot of fish...your hooks might be too small. 5 and 6/0's(sharpened needle sharp) work with great success.
I'll think of some more...
From Boatdog
Originally posted by wannacatchem:
Once again.....whats a mooching rig, or I should say, what is mooching and how do you do it. I have seen "mooching rigs" at GI Joes, but they just look like two hooks on some leader. No indication on the package on how they are used.
I'll tell you my understanding of "mooching". If it's wrong, I'm sure someone will help out.
The mooching rig is used with whole baitfish, such as herring, anchovies, or sardines. It is connected to a banana sinker, and then that is connected to your mainline. Mooching is usually done in the ocean. You let it out the desired depth or pulls, and drift with the current. This technique can be very effective for Coho. I'm not sure if it can be fished deep enough for Kings. Hopefully, someone else will help here. I would bet people add action to the bait with a modified jigging motion. I hope this helps.
From FishinMission
Oh yeah...turns...turns are a good thing when you're trolling.
From Pearl
As promised I said I would try to add a couple of simple trolling set ups. Keep in mind that what I have pictured here is not the only way to rig bait. These are just a couple of simple demonstrations that have worked for me in the past.
I'm obviously not a photgrapher but I hope they serve thier purpose.
1) Prawn - I like to use home cured prawns with a 3 hook mooching set up. Your bottom hook is left free and is used as a "stinger". Middle hook is placed in the head and the shaft follows to body toward the tail. Your upper hook is place in the tail and the shaft of that hook lays down along the tail. I use small rubber bands like the ones used on your kids braces to hold the hook shafts next to the body. Above the tail run a number of small beads and a blade with your color of choice. You can us a innerchangable clevis to switch blades quickly. My prawn spins when pulled through the water. Some like them straight with no spin.
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/46171940.jpg
2) Cut plug herring - Pictured here is a green lable herring. Cut plug the herring in a double angle cut. Buy a store bought herring cutter to achieve this. Again I use a 3 hook solid tie mooching rig. The bottom 2 hooks go through the ventricle line on the short side of the herring. Place the hook as far in the cavity as you can with out tearing the bait. I let these two hooks lay free. The upper hook is placed on the long side of the cut herring. You can place this hook anywhere from 9 oclock to 12 oclock using the clock analogy. Different hook placement will give you different rolls. When properly placed this will give you the "ROLL OF DEATH".
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/13231940.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/46201940.jpg
3) Spinners - these are a couple of examples that I would use early in the year. They can be made at home and are inexspensive to bulid your self.
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/56261940.jpg
Hope these pictures help those of you that had questions.
From Night Stocker
I'll throw in my 5cents. I really don't know anything about the Columbia springers,as they have elluded me,but I have a rule that I use in the Willamete.If I am trolling in 35 ft or less of water,I am on the bottom or very close to it.Over that, I will troll like 12 to 16 pulls depending on what I feel like.I will try 8 to 10 on occasion.If there are inexperienced fishers with me,(or lazy ones)I will just let them troll with 12 to 16 pulls and I will work the bottom.I have caught fish at suspended depths, but I have caught way more on the bottom or within a couple feet off.I like to troll in places that are fairly consistent in depth.When my arm gets tired of banging the bottom,or I want to be lazy,I will put out said pulls.Bait-prawns on a mooching rig,very much like Pearls rig.Used 90 percent of the time in my boat.Seems like a lot of guys fish herring but I have done good on the Prawns.Plug cut herring 10 percent.Oh, one more tip,don't use sliding mooching rigs.I have lost fish because of the slider.I tie the hooks short for prawns so you can get the roll I am looking for.Too short or too long,they won't work for me.
From garyk
Great pics and descriptions there Pearl, thankyou for sharing those - very generous of you!
Lot's of good stuff is already covered, but since the last post mentioned depths to fish at...it's our experience in fishing the Multnomah Channel that later in the season especially in May, as the water warms you can hit suspended fish that are running at shallower depths - particularly when the sun is off the water - like 6' to 8'. I've had a couple that looked like topwater dry-fly takes - now that's excitement.
From Pearl
I responded to a different springer question post a couple of weeks ago. The information below fits your question as well. Somewhere on file I have pictures of some rigging techniques and I'll post them for you once I find them. As far as the steep learning curve, I have been fishing Springers for 25+ years and the learning curve has never stopped. Still seem to learn a little more every year. I'm a Willamette troller and one of the biggest learning curves happened a few years back when they started spilling the dams to flush smolt and we lost Willamette river current due to the river backing up. It was like starting all over on a new river but we have adapted.
Heres a start that will get you going in the right direction.
Pearls Rules for Effective Salmon Fishing and Trolling......
Prepare your tackle and boat before going on the water. Rods should be rigged with mooching rigs, plug clips and other lures attached and ready. Be ready to fish when you hit the water. I see to many people still tying tackle to rods and reels 45 minutes into the morning in the mean time salmon are being landed. Boat batteries should be fully charged and, if possible, gas the boat the day before. Keep the inside of your boat organized. Bad things happen when you go to net a fish and the net gets hung up on a bunch of junk lying around the inside of your boat. You work to hard to hook em so don't screw up on something that you have control of.
Pay close attention to the tides. Contrary to what you might think, tides affect the river up to the Oregon City Falls on the Willamette and to Beacon Rock on the Columbia.
Fish hard during the peak times, one-hour before-through-after tide change. Don’t be tying gear, changing areas or eating lunch during peak time. In the spring, early in the morning or late in the evening are often productive times.
Use all the information you can get. There is a lot of information on ifish. Separate the good from the bad by trial and error. STS and Luhr Jensen tech sheets provide good info as well. Watch what other fisherman are having success with that day.
Locate fish with a quality fish finder. Just because your fishing a 15’ shelf it doesn’t mean that fish will be on the bottom. They could be coming through at 8’ depending on water temp, clarity, tide etc.
Troll with or across the tide flow, never against it. Salmon face into the tide flow and have a better look at your lure as its coming towards them.
Stay in the area you catch fish or see fish caught.
Don’t fish only where there are other fishermen (i.e. famous hot spots). Salmon are on the move and hot spots can change daily. Its better to fish by yourself for ten salmon in an eddy or on a shelf, than to fish for two hundred salmon along with 4,000 other anglers.
Explore but learn to fish three areas extremely well then expand your areas by one new area per year.
Use bait / lure that has sight, sound and smell. Use any color, as long as it is green. Use flashers or rattle plugs to create sound. Add scent to your lure, such as Smelly Jelly or other products.
USE COLORS! The top thirty feet of water. Flashers, spinner blades, plugs, etc. have color. Below fifty feet try blue, green, purple and glow lures..
When using bait check your bait every 15 minutes. Remember, you only have three hours of premium fishing time. If using lures, be aware of any change in rod tip action and check lure every thirty minutes or if youve bumped the bottom.
Sharpen your hooks and keep them sharp!
Spring salmon are a challenge to catch. Keep a positive outlook, be able to adapt, make the most of your time on the water and put your hours in.
Good Luck!!!
From Skybuster
Depends on where your fishing and what technique, but I would definitely invest in some spinners. The last couple years I put spinners out when the kwikies were slow and the springers gobbled em up. I've caught fish on spinners while anchored and while trolling. Try red and white blades to start, and pretty much anything that looks fishy after that.
From 5-Cents
Shaker-King I troll with the current 90% of the time. The bait is swiming into the fishes face, they have to react super quick... they dont want it to get away... SHBAMALAMO
You can cover a ton of water this way too. Once you are at the bottom of your troll use the big motor to run to the top and do it all over again. My big trolling dad showed me this, works real well.
The other 10% of the time the other method used is just hovering in the current stationairy or back trolling your bait. Back trolling when there is a lot of outgoing current works real well even in the lower stretches of the river
From Pearl
Nickle has it right !!!
Cover the water. You go to the fish opposed to the fish coming to you.
If you think about it ....If you troll into the current you will theroetically ( sp ) sit in one spot and have to have a fish come up from behind you to take your bait. In this position the fish has an over abundance of time to examine the bait and make a decision whether those hooks and 20lb leader are natural If you are trolling down river or across the current the fish will get a shorter look at an already dead bait ( use scent ) and will have to make a instinctive decision. Fish aren't as smart as we give them credit for. Good instincts yes, brains no
Another benefit to trolling "down hill" is the ferocious bite you will get. If you want to see a rod bend over and I mean bend over just hook one on the down hill slide. First thing you will hear when you get in my boat is " You got to let them take it...Count to 10!"
To make a point, there are alot of days I will start at Hog Island near Lake Grove on the Willamette and troll clear into the city of Portland ( Steel Bridge ) and then run back up river and do it again. You cover alot of deep water but alot of shelves where Mr. Springer rests. This is a great method for fisherman just learning the different techniques. Try 8oz, 7 to 10 pulls, 6 ft of leader and troll at a speed where you main line is at a 45 degree angle. Put the rod in the holder. When the rod tip is in the water set the hook. Most time the fish will hook themselves. Get ready for BBQ springer that night.
Another great point is to get out and do it. Pound the water. Fish come in groups. I may go a few days of hard fishing and not get a bite and then you will put fish in the box 5 days in a row.
Good luck and tight lines!
From Jimmy Carl Black
Run your rods at different depths to start with. Say 7, 10, 13 pulls, etc. depending on water quality. Go with good quality herring plug-cut and whole. I went with a guide and we limited the boat this way. Could have been luck, but I have been asking around and it seems to be what alot of the 'old-timers' and guides do on the Willamette. Put your time in, but know when the water is generally unfishable as to not just waste your time. Don't forget the camera!
From Shaker-King
Thanks Nickel & Pearl.
I was thinking that the boat going overhead would scare them away or the chance of running into the lead line on an out going tide. But, not much scares me away from dinner when I am hungry.
So my notes are:
Troll with the tide, cover a lot of water, race back do it again, 7-10 pulls, mainline 45 degrees, BBQ full of propane.
From Pearl
Weather does have an impact. Every spring the days are filled with sun, rain , wind , snow, sleet etc. Sometimes you get them all with in one hour. I do see bites turn on, on the front and back side of small weather systems passing through. Most often I will get bit on the back side of a weather system when the high preasure is building.
The weather is one of those things that we can't control. Boat and lure/bait preperation we can. If the weekend comes and the forcast is for storms you can't do anything about it. Just load up the boat and go.
You have to have a line in the water to catch them.
From Luguondo
One suggestion that I can throw in is to bring along (or buy) a pair of binoculars when you hit the water. Watch and take not of what the successful fisherman are doing. Leader and dropper length, lure color, location and depth of the water they are fishing, scent being used, etc.
From FishinMission
Wow...Pearl...ya got some good pointers there. Trolling downhill enables one to cover lots of water, but isn't necessary if the conditions are right. I'll often troll downstrem, but we hook tons of fish trolling upstream too. Just have to make sure you're not hovering in one spot.
Shallow eddies are deadly in higher dirty water.
Didn't see this one mentioned, either...The clearer the water..the longer the leader.
Small blades above bait are deadly too.
Knowing how to properly set up your bait for a good roll is beneficial(Dance 'O Death) What kind and size of baits, and what water temps to use them.
What size hooks to use. If you're hooking, but losing alot of fish...your hooks might be too small. 5 and 6/0's(sharpened needle sharp) work with great success.
I'll think of some more...
From Boatdog
Originally posted by wannacatchem:
Once again.....whats a mooching rig, or I should say, what is mooching and how do you do it. I have seen "mooching rigs" at GI Joes, but they just look like two hooks on some leader. No indication on the package on how they are used.
I'll tell you my understanding of "mooching". If it's wrong, I'm sure someone will help out.
The mooching rig is used with whole baitfish, such as herring, anchovies, or sardines. It is connected to a banana sinker, and then that is connected to your mainline. Mooching is usually done in the ocean. You let it out the desired depth or pulls, and drift with the current. This technique can be very effective for Coho. I'm not sure if it can be fished deep enough for Kings. Hopefully, someone else will help here. I would bet people add action to the bait with a modified jigging motion. I hope this helps.
From FishinMission
Oh yeah...turns...turns are a good thing when you're trolling.
From Pearl
As promised I said I would try to add a couple of simple trolling set ups. Keep in mind that what I have pictured here is not the only way to rig bait. These are just a couple of simple demonstrations that have worked for me in the past.
I'm obviously not a photgrapher but I hope they serve thier purpose.
1) Prawn - I like to use home cured prawns with a 3 hook mooching set up. Your bottom hook is left free and is used as a "stinger". Middle hook is placed in the head and the shaft follows to body toward the tail. Your upper hook is place in the tail and the shaft of that hook lays down along the tail. I use small rubber bands like the ones used on your kids braces to hold the hook shafts next to the body. Above the tail run a number of small beads and a blade with your color of choice. You can us a innerchangable clevis to switch blades quickly. My prawn spins when pulled through the water. Some like them straight with no spin.
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/46171940.jpg
2) Cut plug herring - Pictured here is a green lable herring. Cut plug the herring in a double angle cut. Buy a store bought herring cutter to achieve this. Again I use a 3 hook solid tie mooching rig. The bottom 2 hooks go through the ventricle line on the short side of the herring. Place the hook as far in the cavity as you can with out tearing the bait. I let these two hooks lay free. The upper hook is placed on the long side of the cut herring. You can place this hook anywhere from 9 oclock to 12 oclock using the clock analogy. Different hook placement will give you different rolls. When properly placed this will give you the "ROLL OF DEATH".
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/13231940.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/46201940.jpg
3) Spinners - these are a couple of examples that I would use early in the year. They can be made at home and are inexspensive to bulid your self.
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/56261940.jpg
Hope these pictures help those of you that had questions.
From Night Stocker
I'll throw in my 5cents. I really don't know anything about the Columbia springers,as they have elluded me,but I have a rule that I use in the Willamete.If I am trolling in 35 ft or less of water,I am on the bottom or very close to it.Over that, I will troll like 12 to 16 pulls depending on what I feel like.I will try 8 to 10 on occasion.If there are inexperienced fishers with me,(or lazy ones)I will just let them troll with 12 to 16 pulls and I will work the bottom.I have caught fish at suspended depths, but I have caught way more on the bottom or within a couple feet off.I like to troll in places that are fairly consistent in depth.When my arm gets tired of banging the bottom,or I want to be lazy,I will put out said pulls.Bait-prawns on a mooching rig,very much like Pearls rig.Used 90 percent of the time in my boat.Seems like a lot of guys fish herring but I have done good on the Prawns.Plug cut herring 10 percent.Oh, one more tip,don't use sliding mooching rigs.I have lost fish because of the slider.I tie the hooks short for prawns so you can get the roll I am looking for.Too short or too long,they won't work for me.
From garyk
Great pics and descriptions there Pearl, thankyou for sharing those - very generous of you!
Lot's of good stuff is already covered, but since the last post mentioned depths to fish at...it's our experience in fishing the Multnomah Channel that later in the season especially in May, as the water warms you can hit suspended fish that are running at shallower depths - particularly when the sun is off the water - like 6' to 8'. I've had a couple that looked like topwater dry-fly takes - now that's excitement.