Tillamook Bay Report

[Bait O' Eggs]

I know most everybody heard from the BBQ that fishing was poor on Saturday. I spent Wednesday thru Saturday making laps around the bay. I spent most of my time fishing above the Ghost Hole near Bay City. I was out in the Bubble a couple days for a few hours each time. It was slow all week. The guides were doing a lot better than the rest of us private boats. I would estimate an average of 20 boats fishing the channel I was in near Bay City. The only fish I saw caught was by the guides on Wed, Thur and Friday. I did laps from daylight to about 2 pm each day.

I tried to justify in my mind the guides have 5 poles to my one. Hence I have to fish 5 days to equal one day for them. When the guides fishing next to me averaged about 3 fish per boat per day. The math didnt work out, even using "new math". Maybe next time I will do better. Wednesday and Thursday all I saw was green blades on the spinners in the guides boat. Friday a guide boat goes by and they all reel in and they all have red rainbow blades. Same for the next 2 guide boats. I figure they know something I dont and I put on a red rainbow spinner. Must be a schedule posted somewhere I am not aware of. All I got so far is Green on Wednesday and Thurdays, Red on Friday.

I never had a bite that I was aware of for the 4 days of fishing. Hard to keep up the motivation with no results. Talking with Marty Peterson (Gone Fishing Guide Service) at the BBQ, It appears I may not have known as much as I thought I did dragging that spinner around. I will be smarter next time. thanks for the tips Marty (1/2 ounce less lead, hold the pole more, etc....)

The penguins (Edit: change out penguins for pelicans) were incredible on Wednesday. I have never really watched penguins in a feeding frenzy. They were flying at about 20 feet then turn and dive into the water. I would guess 100 penguins were working all around us. Once they hit the water they would go right back up and do it again. Must have been a lot of bait fish in the area. Quite the approach to feeding, hitting the water at about 30 miles per hour with a bucket mouth open. Its Gotta make the jaw hurt.

Damn Corps of Engineers torn down the Dolphins (all 4 of them). They were what made navigation in the bay easier. I could not believe they were doing this. I spoke to one of the Engineers and I was informed they belong to the Corp and they no longer wanted to maintain them. I voluntered to do it for them to no avail. They have been standing their as long I can remember. Now I have to get out the binoculars to see a 2 inch PVC pipe marking the channel when I use to see a large wooden structure with a glance.

I heard theirs is about 1000 silvers in the hatchery hole on the Trask River (closed to fishing) though I did not go look at them. I did see about 40 silvers and 12 Chinook about 3 miles above tide water in the Trask on Sunday that were not their all week. Maybe I can get out of the Bay and into a river where I have a clue on how to catch a fish.

[This message has been edited by Bait O' Eggs (edited 09-25-2000).]

[Mrdorkfish]

Bait O Eggs, Please correct me if i'm wrong......penguins can't fly !

Mrdorkfish

[Wet_Willy]

Bait o' Eggs,
Trolled spinners in front of Memaloose on Saturday and only managed a Jack chinook but it was on the green color. Got too windy by noon to keep my drift boat trolling straight. Didn't see much action all morning. We just need rain...Maybe after I get back from deer season the rains will have been here...I hope so.

WW

[garyk]

Bait-o-Eggs: you wrote -- "I tried to justify in my mind the guides have 5 poles to my one.
Hence I have to fish 5 days to equal one day for them. When the guides fishing next to me averaged about 3 fish per boat per day.The math didnt work out, even using "new math".

Having watched the same thing a bunch of times, I've wondered if the guides are capitalizing on a "school of spinners" effect. Either antagonizing the fish the way pulling-plugs on a river can. Or, the fish moves away from one and bumps into another, and maybe even another - finally eliciting a bite. Just a thought.

[Gizmo Man]

garyk: I think you are on to something. I saw the same thing when fishing with a guide on the Sandy with 5 or 6 lines out covering the water well. I would go back the next day with only 1 line out and nothing. I would fish with the same color plug, putting out the same amount of line.

Any one else have a thought on this.

Giz...

I agree with the effectiveness of multiple plugs and spinners for fish. For a guy who has been on both sides of the fence, let me say a couple things about the guide's advantages that I've mentioned before; so us once or twice a week good fishermen don't get too caught up in the frustrations of it. I don't catch as many fish now as I used to when I was out on the water 6 days a week getting dialed in; despite having a bigger knowledge base now. When I make the right educated guesses I catch as many as the guides; when I don't, I try to find what is working by varying the tech.'s until I start hooking up. Some of guides advantages: The biggest is that they are there everyday fishing multiple rods so they get dialed in and stay dialed in to what bait cures, scents, lures, colors, places and patterns of strategy are working. They also find out which plugs, flatfish, and spinners have the best action and success rates. You've probably heard that some plugs seem to catch more fish than other identicle plugs because of small manufacturing variances. This is true! Somewhat the same for spinners and flatfish. The guides have enough rod hours to find the really good ones and shelve the not so good ones, and this is a huge advantage that us sportfishers don't have enough rod hours to decipher. Many other advantages too that I will get into in my book. Don't let it bother you, just realize why. Or fish a lot more! - RT

[sea lice]

I would give the guides a little more credit. They consistently catch fish because they learn specific areas extremely well (where to be when) and they work hard at making good presentations to the fish whether it be bait, spinners, or plugs. 5 rods in the water presented to the fish incorrectly are as good as one rod not fished correctly.

[MoJet Driver]

Yeah Giz,

I like the "blockade" tactic my self. 4 lines are way better than two, especially if you set them for the "funnel" effect.

[Bait O' Eggs]

garyk
I believe you are on to the same idea I have been wrestling with. I went to B-10 three times this year and my boat got into fish the 3rd trip with 3 people in the boat. The first two trips I was alone, with an empty fish box. Maybe I got more dialed in on the 3rd trip or multiple poles helped???? I have a hard time completely accepting this concept. I should catch more fish by myself. If I have 6 poles and the boat catches 3 fish (a good day around here) I only have a 50% chance of my pole being lucky. If I am alone and the boat catches only one fish, I be the man.

I have been trying to implement the concept the duck hunters use. They put out lots of decoys and the ducks come. If I could just some how get a string of rubber fish dragging behind the boat, other fish might school up with them and hence see my bait. Might be hard to fight the fish thru them once it worked though. If I ever get it to work I will post the technique. Maybe billy bass could lulaby them in.

[RKB]

Bait O' eggs
I like your duck hunting theory you know that the hot new trick for ducks is the robo duck.Now if they could only make the robo salmon life would be good.A fish for every rod well we can dream can't we.
Good luck RKB