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I'm getting close to giving up fishing forever

7K views 50 replies 43 participants last post by  tumalt 
#1 Ā·
I have been out fishing hard for the last few weeks without as much as a bite on the Willamatte. I'm fishing marker 19 and using pretty much what the most boats are a prawn spinner.... I have boats on all sides put fish in the boat and it's starting to feel like the fish gods are just not on my side... When your fishing for 6 to 12 hours a day with notty you have to be something wrong, but for the life of me I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT....

I'm staying home today and washing the sled down from bow to stern and washing all my gear down. Anyone having the same problem and figured it out let me know. I kill them on the big C, but the williy has my number for some reason...

I'm going to hit it hard again next week and if I don't as much as get a take down I'm done for the season... Well until the fall run where I seem to be able to put some fish in the boat... Any input of tips or tricks to help my break the big goose egg out there let me know.

I have fished on different buddies boats with them hooking up using my rod, gear, bait... so what in the world I'm I doing wrong:anyone:



Hook'em
 
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#5 Ā· (Edited)
i sat on the hook in the willy for 5 seasons before i caught a springer. it takes time to learn. i've wanted to quit so many times, and then i get days like last tuesday, and hook three springers in 45 minutes. released to high finners before i could keep the third. all on brass spinners, from 2 feet to 6 feet off the bottom. i was running double rigs.
 
#6 Ā·
No Banannas on board I no better than that.... I have put in the time on the water and have caught fish everywhere except the Willamatte. Have fished both weight & diver... Custom spinner, store bought spinner, kwikfish wrapped, spinner alone. I think I have thrown everthing at them over the last several weeks besides a kitchen sink.... I'm washing the boat down, all the gear, rods ect today.... I'm going to hit it hard again next week and give 19 one more shot, before I pull out and hit the garbage hole, and back troll and if that does not work pull some hearing above the mouth..... Anything else you can think off let me know....


Best,
Hook'em
 
#8 Ā·
Ya, ya, ya... BUT- You haven't put out a MAG LIP yet! Try a decent Chartreuse body, w/ some kind of Red or Orange on the BUTT end of the plug, wrapped in your choice of Sardines, herring, or even Anchovies... And just wait for it.... It WILL come. Back troll it down and just make sure your wiggling w/ action on the plug by looking @ your Rod. When it stopps wiggling, either your Diver is hung, or its tapping the Bottom, and not quite wiggling. You wanna be JUST off the bottom.

Best Luck to ya, and DON'T give up...
 
#7 Ā·
Wear gloves, wash your spinners/lures leader, everything and don't handle your bait with bare hands. Make sure your rod handles are clean. Have your dropper length 24 inches maximum, usually shorter. Try to be the slowest boat on the water. Leave the boat anchor at home so you're not tempted to use it. Change bait frequently, keep it fresh. Pay attention to the boats around you that are catching fish and ignore the rest. The power of observation is a great teacher.

Guides are the best teachers on the water. I suggest you have a Premo day or two......
 
#36 Ā·
Wear gloves, wash your spinners/lures leader, everything and don't handle your bait with bare hands. Make sure your rod handles are clean. Have your dropper length 24 inches maximum, usually shorter. Try to be the slowest boat on the water. Leave the boat anchor at home so you're not tempted to use it. Change bait frequently, keep it fresh. Pay attention to the boats around you that are catching fish and ignore the rest. The power of observation is a great teacher.

Guides are the best teachers on the water. I suggest you have a Premo day or two......
very excellent advice!
 
#12 Ā·
This is what happened to me and prevented me from catching a springer for 4 years. I could take friends out in their boat and slap fish, but mine refused to produce. If you check for electrical currents coming from your hull, i'll bet they are present. It turned out to be a wire on my fuel sending unit. Downriggers, hulls, bad zincs....dont give up. When you go through it and find your problem, you should be satisfied with your results.
 
#11 Ā·
I've fished with a few guys that say, "I'm doing exactly what you are but I'm not getting bit". When I look at what they're doing, it's not exactly what I'm doing. My point is when someone says I'm doing exactly what you are it's relative to that persons perspective.

The lesson is pay very, very close attention to the details of what others that are catching fish are doing. When I go on guided trips I eyeball the gear and techniques so hard that the guide probably thinks I'm eyeing his stuff getting ready to steal it. Pay close attention.

I haven't been out to 19 lately but I hear prawns and prawn spinners are working. Up in OC I hear eggs and sandshrimp are working well.

The Willamette is an interesting fishery and ones tactics need to change as the season progress, particularly as the water temp goes up.

Get some of Nate's prawns and some from BC tackle. Do a search on the board on how to rig them, (there's some good info there). Try some new things and pay close attention to the detail of those catching fish.

Good luck.
 
#13 Ā·
How do you check if you have an electricl issue on the hull, someone else told me to check it. I killed all power on the boat without results, but I didn't unhook the batt.... I'm cleaning the boat right now so if someone can tell me how to see if I have a current on the hull please explain the process....

Hook'em
 
#15 Ā·
I havent read anyone's else reasponse so forgive me if I duplicate what someone else has already said.

I would suggest you change tatics first. Start using some kwiks, and if your still not pickin any up change locations. You might get lucky and pick one up in a new hole and all of a sudden you start gettin your confidence back. Lastly go with a guide. Get the feel of fighting a fish, and you will be far away from giving it up.
 
#17 Ā·
The willy has been a very good place to fish this year. If you are not picking up fish. You might want to book a trip with a guide to refresh your catching skills. There is nothing wrong with owning your own boat and gear and booking a trip just to keep you on top of whats working. Good luck
 
#18 Ā·
You must give to the fish god's. Imerse your self in the willamett river like the spring salmon and ye shall catch fish (life jacket recomended). If cold water is not your thing you can take a shot of willy water that might work too(keep 500 mg of cipro around if you start to feel queesy). good luck and may the force be with you.
 
#21 Ā·
i have just the opposite advice - keep at it and don't sweat the details. don't wear gloves, eat a banana or two...

being out there is most important, being in the right spot at the right time the second most important.

it takes a while to learn. the fishing is the fun part - catching is icing on the cake. alot of friends i take want to hit the river, get their fish in an hour, and move on to other things. they also think fishing for salmon = free fish.

keep at it and try to enjoy it. you'll get one!

(i'm not bashing at the advice given, just saying not to sweat so many details :D)
 
#22 Ā·
With me sometimes it was a fact that I was just trying too hard. When my confidence would lessen I would get frusterated and therefore catch fewer fish. Its kind of like herding cats. I was always trying something new or worrying about the other guy catching more than me. Once I relaxed and honed in on one or two techniques I concentrated on working the details of just that one or two methods. I began to relax, have more fun and then caught more fish. It sounds like your frusteration is making fishing seem like work. Its supposed to be relaxing and fun. Relax it will happen. Ive been where you are and it is not fun. But whatever you do don't give up.
 
#23 Ā·
I can vouch for the hot boat thing, Caught lots of fish in an area that's mostly 12' deep, got a new boat and couldn't even get bit, checked for continuity between ground on battery and hull, it was present, found the source and isolated the hull from the electronics, instant gratification, have caught numerous fish since. There's no doubt in my mind it was the problem.
 
#25 Ā·
You are on the correct track to solving your problem. CLEAN EVERYTHING!! I tie up all of my own gear, but usually I'm lazy about cleaning it. I couldn't "hook" a fish in the Columbia, but as soon as I switched to the Multnomah Channel my boat started catching them almost every trip out. When I'm not one of the ones catching fish out of my boat I wash ALL of my gear (hooks, lures, swivels, line, lead, etc.) in lemon joy clear up to my mainline. Every time I do this, I catch a fish by 7:30 am...now all I need to do is get off of my lazy a## and do this everytime I go fishing, plus, wash out my boat everytime I go fishing.
 
#35 Ā·
You are on the correct track to solving your problem. CLEAN EVERYTHING!! I tie up all of my own gear, but usually I'm lazy about cleaning it. I couldn't "hook" a fish in the Columbia, but as soon as I switched to the Multnomah Channel my boat started catching them almost every trip out. When I'm not one of the ones catching fish out of my boat I wash ALL of my gear (hooks, lures, swivels, line, lead, etc.) in lemon joy clear up to my mainline. Every time I do this, I catch a fish by 7:30 am...now all I need to do is get off of my lazy a## and do this everytime I go fishing, plus, wash out my boat everytime I go fishing.
:meme:Yeah that!! never have we caught fish on yesterdays baited up rigs that sat out all night or two nights for that matter:whistle:
We wash the boat down almost twice a year wether it needs it or not:cool:
Lead tray is as clean as the bilge though!! Don't sweat it, go fish on the d--m bottom![within a foot on runoff] And yes we do catch "Mucho Pescados de Salmon!!:twocents:
 
#24 Ā·
very common for springer fishing. Just keep at it. The bananas and wearing glove is kind of nonsense if you ask me, but it does provide confidence which many people believe can help. Enjoy yourself; don't worry so much about the catching. If you have bait at the bottom in an area where fish are YOU WILL CATCH ONE sooner or later. Bring lots of bait and switch it out a lot. We do pretty well in the limited times we go out, but we fish the same area over and over. So, we know one spot real well and I think that is key
 
#26 Ā·
Never be afraid to try something different. If you have been anchored...troll and vice versa. Go deeper or maybe shallow water. Dropper length might need tweaking. My first fish of the season was caught on anchor after three trips of trolling; switched from whole herring to a wrapped Kwik-Fish. The second fish was caught while trolling a naked whole herring.

Never give up.:flowered:
 
#27 Ā·
Shower more than once a week.:D

Wash your anchor rope. lol :D

Really though from the sounds of it you need to wear gloves and really wash your gear. Do not handle your bait at all. You must have a high level of L serin in your system.
 
#29 Ā·
This is what ifish is all about. I learned a thing or two just reading this thread, and I fish with someone who's been fishing for 45 years! but I like having some secret knowledge (no secret to him, just a secret that I know a thing or two, three words: WD 40), being a girl and all. Very refreshing to see all the advice without any negativity for once. Thanks you guys! :applause:
 
#30 Ā·
Don't fish 19 much but some ideas to think about, scan the area behind your boat where your gear will be laying, and look at the contour of the river bottom and try once your anchored to drop gear back to the humps, or on top leading edge of drop offs.

Sometimes having a short dropper line helps, but as the saying goes fish can only see up is why I believe longer drop line like 30-32" and shorter leader line like 30" for prawn spinners. Quick fish and spinners are difft, I like to go as short a dropper as I can, but long enough to keep good action. One thing above all else is your gear needs to be the same height as the fish are, and that varies alot barometer, tide swing, and water depth can be factors.

Ask Scott Amerman how deep he fishes his bobbers and he will probably say as deep as the fish are.

How far off shore during the tide can be another thing to give some thought to.

If those don't help pm me and maybe we can hook up. I am usually not too far from that area. Don't get them every trip but sure do try.
 
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