Newport Chinook

swampy · 07-02-2002, 06:15 PM

Will be fishing out of Newport on sat and sun...blue Northriver ...do you NEED downriggers at the pile for chinook ? Do you have to go that far (thinking of taking my son on maiden salmon voyage). With herring in short suppy , does anyone have an effective alternative ? geesh' I sound sound like a real rookie here huh? I do well for coho with a small pink lady , two feet to 00 dodger ,2- 3 feet to plug-cut with chartruse hootchie... works for me ...start out at fourteen pulls and chill "till the pole dances !! Have caught chinook with same setup out 25-30 pulls ... is there a channel ya'all monitor ? All the best ...Swampy

[ 07-02-2002, 07:16 PM: Message edited by: swampy ]

OceanBlue · 07-02-2002, 06:58 PM

Don't know exactly what to tell you Swampy... the fish were all mixed up 2 weekends ago... read Halibut Tales here on Salty Dogs. I wasn't using anything fancy. Hooked 2 shiny ones spinning herring, but no flasher, no downrigger. We were trolling in about 205-208 ft of water, but I guess I was at about 80 or 100 ft when they bit.

Good luck!

swampy · 07-02-2002, 07:27 PM

Thanks , PM . And Best of luck to you , as well.... Swampy out

Fishplay · 07-02-2002, 08:42 PM

Hi Swampy
Some days you can find fish in closer. Two weeks ago the commercials were hitting chinook at the 20 fathom line just northwest of the bar. Watch for the big boys; if there working the area there is probally fish there. Large deep sixes will get you down ok. I would prefer lead only over deep sixes if I didn't have the riggers. If your fishing lead only; I would motor mooch. Drop all the way to the bottom then reel up about 10 feet. Kick your motor in and out of forward gear every five to fifteen seconds. Keep an eye on the depth and make adjustment accordingly. Use the biggest cresent shaped weight you can find in line with bead chain swiveles. You don't want to use a flasher when mooching but a 00' dodger is an option. Whole or cut plug herring is best but I have had fair results with hoochies in greens and/or blues with herring chunk. Hope this helps.
Remember to fish barbless hooks in the ocean and please be careful with the native coho.
See my post "rockpile fireworks" and contact me when you get down there. I may have a couple seats available in my boat for you and your son.
Greg