Need Some Trolling Suggestions for Kings

[Dan in Alaska]

Hey folks, I am hoping to get some saltwater trolling suggestions to help improve my king salmon catch this spring. I have tried a bunch of different things in the past, but I never seem to catch more than one king on any given trip. I can usually spank the silvers in July and August, but my performance on kings is usually lacking. I am hoping you folks can help me fix that.

Starting in May, I like to troll Cook Inlet for the first run of king salmon. I usually troll in 25-35 feet of water, and keep the bait a couple feet off the sandy bottom. I troll four or five rods at time - two on downriggers, and the others on divers. I have line counters to help me keep the diver rods consistant.

In the past, I have caught fish on spoons and cut plug herring. I have tried a variety of flashers, mostly Coyotee and K-Zone brands, but nothing seems to stand out as the magic fish-getter. I have tried using squid skirts, but I don't remember catching anything on them.

What do you guys do? Do you have favorite colors that seem to do better than others? Do you have any specific trolling tips you're willing to offer me? Although I live in Alaska, I am hoping some of your suggestions will prove successful up here.

Thanks.

[Orca]

You will want to check here - http://www.ifish.net/forum/showflat....page=1#1177795

[BrandonAngoon]

I really appreciate all the information in the link that Dan in Alaska provided -- that's more than I've ever even approached knowing about trolling for kings, but I have to say that in the native village where I live in southeast Alaska the locals clean up on kings every year and they have their own trolling style.
They keep it simple. Whether using a weight, a diver or a downrigger they'll set their leader to between one and a half to two fathoms and have nothing but a well rigged, freshly jigged, herring on the end. The key, the Tlingit old timers will tell you, is the action. The herring should roll in a circular motion with a diameter of about 12 inches. To achieve this they rig the herring in a very specific way -- using a flat shank hoot they loop the line (and hook) twice through the eye (once under the jaw and once over the head), then go under the skin just behind the gill and back out again about an inch later, and reinsert the hook about half an inch from the beginning of the tail, using the flat shank to keep it perpendicular to the body of the fish sticking out from the side, not the bottom (running the hook under the jaw keeps the mouth closed during trolling -- an open mouth ruins the action). Once the hook is in place they pull the line tight, which gives the herring a sideways bend -- that is what produces the action. To help secure the bend they'll take a toothpick and stick it in the eye oppossite the hook side of the fish, and run the toothpick towards the tail to it acts to reinforce the herring's bend.
This time of year (April) they'll troll at no more than two fathoms at about 3 to 4 knots, sometimes 5. They don't use flashers and they don't use spoons or other lures. They all say the king, which they regard as a very intelligent fish, knows what a lure is. Since moving to this village this is how I've fished for kings and I've done very well.
When the silver come in later this summer they'll pull out the flashers and hoochies and slay them, but the kings get an old fashion approach and they're already being caught.
Good luck trolling.

[Maverick Maxcat]

Brandon-

I'm always looking for new techniques, and yours sounds good! Could you post a diagram, or rig a bait using high visibility line and post a picture?

Thanks! Maverick

[Tight Lines]

My suggestion is use whole herring or black label cut plug. Skip the flasher go with spreader system. Fish 10-20' of water and hold on. Also use large spinner blades ie 6, 7, 8 or BT thumpers.

This is what we did guiding there in 80's and fun trips since! It wil produce. Also watch speed of boats catching fish and match it.

Val Perry

[Dan in Alaska]

Thanks for the input so far. I appreciate the help.

Orca, thanks for the link! There's LOTS of good stuff there.

BrandonAngoon, I am not quite sure that I follow your description, but let me see if I have the jist of it. A whole herring is rigged with a single hook. The line is wrapped around and through the head to keep the mouth closed, and then the hook placed near the tail. The line is pulled tight to give the herring a bent shape to help it spin in the water. Is that fairly accurate?

Tight Lines,
Spreader system? BT Thumpers? Sorry, I am not familiar with these. Can you explain these for me? Also, the spinner blades.....are they put on the line above the hook, like a spin-n-glow set-up or Lindy Rig? Thanks!

[slabhunter]

I like to inspect the stomach contents of my catch. What size and shape is their forage?
Early in the season I'll rig a smaller bait I can troll at faster speeds( to cover more water and present my offering to more fishes).
This green label herring is rigged up under the bottom jaw, through the eye socket twice, then the tail hook is placed before the tow hook is set in the shoulder:

For anchoveies and sandlance I use a helmet for the bait with a flasher.

Edit: here are some hints for later in the season.

http://www.how-to-fish.com/estuary_c...on_rigging.htm

Good fishing,
Hans

[slabhunter]

http://www.fishbc.com/adventure/angl.../chinook.phtml

The key to catching chinook is to remember that they are carnivores. They hunt smaller fish particularly injured and dying members of the school. Accordingly, bait - usually anchovy or herring strip - over the long run catches more chinook in more areas. Mooching with live or just-caught herring proves deadly in slower moving water where baitfish congregate. Drift fishing lures that flutter down imitating injured baitfish do well fished to the side or just below herring balls and also just above the swarms of needlefish that sometimes carpet eelgrass-covered bottoms.