Hi there Cskip,
I went back and found the thread from November and copy/pasted what I thought was the important information for ya. This stuff should help ya out!!!
From Outlaw:
Well lets see if we can help ya out here. First lets hope that you will be trolling (covers more ground). Red or Green glow
"Hot Spot" flashers with either green spatter back Hoochies or green/glow "Coyote" spoons. (color # 188) Tie the hoochie or spoon on 32 inches of 50 pound Ande leader. This will give you the action you want from the flasher. 25-35 feet back from the downrigger release and keep it all close to the bottom. We bounce the rigger wieght from time to time thats how close I like to be. This is the set-up I pull all winter when the season is open. I normally fish Jeffhead or down in Elliot Bay for Blackmouth.
From Sealice:I prefer to mooch for blackmouth, was really into it when I lived in WA. I used small plug cut herring that spins fast, the faster the spin the better, on long 10' min leaders. I liked fishing 90-140' of water and I worked the bottom 20-30' all the time. you need to keep the bait moving with your reel...controlled free spool to the bottom, 2-3 quick turns off, then work the bait up 30 ft or so 3-4 turns at a time, free spool back to bottom and repeat. Keep the bait moving at all times. When you feel the bite start- stop the movement and give the fish time to eat it. Have fun, I loved this fishery when it was a 2 fish limit!
From Fishinbob:
Blackmouth fishing can be great! Don't overload on the size of the gear your using. Put those bass sticks away and get your old steelhead rod out. If you do get to use downriggers here is a tip to keep the fishin' fun. Put a white or black (yes black, home made) hotspot flasher 10 feet behind the downrigger ball. Put the line release on the back side of the flasher. Use around 30# leader with 3/4 hooks. Use a blue/white squid and put a fillet of herring on for taste. Troll this 5' below any bait, if no bait balls then troll this at the thermal layer or 90' in 120' of water. When I fished Puget sound this the ticket but that was a couple year back and I don't get up that way much. Use barbless hooks please you'll have lots of shakers to let go.
From SmilesforU:
My preferred method it to motor mooch which is harder in a large boat, but can be done.
With either method use the fish finder to spot bait... Once you find the bait on a drop off (shelf) work the bottom as "sea lice" suggested... fish love a falling bait. The hot word on the blackies is they are in deeper water right now near the bottom. 150-200 ft. The best fish bite should be on the tide slack.
Here is a link to teach you some more about the technique of motor mooching.
http://www.steelheader.net/Salmon/mooching.htm
And from your truly!!!
A couple of thing's I'll add is: don't get stuck on one color of hooch or spoon. The colors that have worked well for me is the cop car (black and glow in the dark), army truck (army green, red and glow in the dark) and blue/green and black/green, also I like the spatterback mentioned. As for tying them up use a double hook rig tied hook to shank and then adjust the hooch with glow in the dark beads so that the end of the skirt is even with the trailing hook. Leader length varies with the type of flasher you are using, for the hot spot for blackmouth I use 35 - 38", for a metallic type flasher like the abe and al I run the leader at 28" for hooches and 31" for the bucktail flies. I agree with the increased speed. Blackmouth are more like silvers, fairly agressive. Always tip the front hook with a small strip of herring, I will brine mine in a mix of 1/2 bottle pure anise extract and 6 - 8 seconds of WD-40 the night before I go out. If your partner has a black box, run the setups within 10 ft of the downrigger cable and set the box at .65 to .7. From what I have been readin' on Bob's board they have been runnin' deep so keep your gear within 15 ft of the bottom. Hope this helps ya and everyone else who is interested in blackmouth fishin'.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff
PS,
Just noticed that you said you would be fishing the Tacoma area. The key there (and with all blackmouth) is to target the tide changes, last 2 hours of the tide through the first two hours of the new tide. As far as where to fish, on the ebb tide target the Claybanks, there is a back eddy that will pack the bait against the banks. For the flood tide work either Pt. Dalco or the Slag pile up to the Les Davis fishing Pier. This time of year it might be worth your while to fish the ledges that run out from the ferry landing on the Vashon Island side to out in front of Quatermaster Harbor. With steelheadin' so on fire (not!!!) I will probably hit the Blackmouth action some more.
[This message has been edited by Jeffhead (edited 01-31-2001).]
Puget Sound Black Mouth
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