Way-deep salmon mooching spreader

[Mark Mc]

This was discussed a little while back.....it's for way-deep mooching (200+ feet). Here's what it looks like.

Take some stainless wire; I like this 220 lb test. if you go much thinner, the bait will drag (bend) the wire towards your line as you go down.



Looks just like a halibut spreader, only much more "dainty"



Tie your mooching leader to the long end; attach your weight to the short end. Use 20 lb spectra on your reel, and anywhere from 8 oz to 16 oz.

You don't need any fancy equipment to make these; just a pair of pliers and cutters. The folks who make spinners have the handy-dandy wire formers.
Just don't stick yourself with the end of the wire:blush:

[ron m]

Thanks Mark, I might try making a couple of those. Might use crimps though to keep the pin cushiion effect to a minimum.
ron m

[ICHTHYDEMON]

I don't see the need for spreaders. My brothers and I are die hard moochers and frequently fish deeper than 200'. We've never used anything other than a mooching sinker and leader.

[Mark Mc]

It's true that if...you let your line down slowly with a regular mooching rig, it is less likely to tangle. Not sure where you fish ICHTHYDEMON, but in the area outside the rockpile there is usually a lot of current in the summer, and if you put your line down 300 feet, there's a lot of movement down there. You take your chances without a spreader going that deep....sometimes it will tangle, sometimes it will not. Glad to know you get by without them

[Pilar]

You can avoid the pin cushion by twisting the wire ends off. Bend the wire in a 'z' shape and turn the handle on the crank until it twists off. This leaves a dull end that won't poke you. Any other way you cut it off it makes a sharp end.

[Angus]

I work for a resort in Ak. that does alot of deep water mooching, a few years back Terry Seamster worked there and he came up with a similar spreader only his had a 4 oz. sinker with 6 to 8 inches of wire coming out of each end and bead chain swivels on the ends of the wire. We refer to them as "training wheels" for the clients who just couldn't quite figure out how to drop without tangling/short-leadering.

[Reelentless]

Thanks for the post, Mark. Lots of guys here who really appreciate the tips. Keep them coming.

[Spoonplugger]

Mark,

I've mooched for Chinook for 35 years and I feel your tip is the best one I've read in a long time. I've always used just the mooching sinkers mentioned above, but a lot of times after reeling in found them tangled beyond belief. I'm going to try your method this year.

The largest Chinook I've personally landed off the Oregon coast was 37 pounds. Maybe this tip will raise that weight. Thanks for the tip!

[CR dog]

Great tip Mark. Just out of curiosity, why can't you use a halibut spreader? And maybe a little more weight? Would you also use a squid jig, spoon, metal jig or bait for the offering?

[Mark Mc]

Thanks for the kind words fellas.

CRDog, at least for me I've found that one key to success in mooching is to have...the least amount of resistance you can get away with. So if it is flat calm, and I'm only going down 25 or 30 feet, my favorite rig is a sliding egg sinker. If I need a little more weight, say 2 or 3 ounces, I'll attach it to a slider. In both cases, the idea being.....when mr salmon is mouthing the bait / tugging at it, he can pull some line through the egg or the slider. As soon as you tie on the weight, you lose that little advantage.

A halibut spreader probably weighs 4 ounces. That's an extra 4 ounces working against mr salmon. It's not to say a salmon won't bite a halibut spreader; it happens once in a while.

For mooching, bait is ALWAYS the best thing to use. However there is a little trick that can be deadly...it's the use of a "tube jig" a.k.a. "Gitzit". You put a white Gitzit over the correct size jighead (designed for it), then put a fillet of a bait on it. That was a preferred method in N Ca, until the CA DFG outlawed J-hooks for mooching. Still legal up here though.

It's always been my belief with ocean salmon fishing that....less is always better. Yea so once in a while they bite wide-open, you know 100 pound leaders & any kind of junk you throw at them. The other 97% of the time, it is more of a "scratch bite".....so the less garbage on there....the lighter the leader, the smaller the hook, the better the presentation, no weird smells on the bait.... all those things.....the more hits. On our charter boats, we always had better counts with light leaders (20 lb), small snaps, and small baits.

edit - here's the Gitzit:

[fishwhenican]

Mike Kanzler from Isla San Marcos uses 4 oz egg sinkers to fish up to about 150' deep with live bait for yellowtail. You certainly fish longer in each part of the water coluum as it drops down. I had previously thought it was a little odd, but you can't ague with his success. I have since bought a 4oz egg sinker mold. Next time out of Windy, I may just throw the bait tank in and give it a whirl. I like the spreader option for fishing deeper than that though.

[TeamYeeha]

TTT this is good info thx Mark

[CAPT KUJO]

Originally Posted by Reelentless

Thanks for the post, Mark. Lots of guys here who really appreciate the tips. Keep them coming.

Yeah I know I do~!!!