Trolling for salmon

[259]

I was watching Hawg Qwest last week and they were fishing Winchester Bay. I have always trolled against the current but I was a bit confused because it seemed they were trolling with the current. They also stopped fishing during slack. What’s better?

[snaggedup]

Trolling with the current you cover more water hense more fish see your bait equals more fish in the box .
Of course it helps more if there are some fish to see your bait.

[motoxaaron03]

I always troll with the tide, cause if you don't, you hardly move at all. Covering more water = catching more fish.

[Hoghunter]

Originally Posted by 259

I was watching Hawg Qwest last week and they were fishing Winchester Bay. I have always trolled against the current but I was a bit confused because it seemed they were trolling with the current. They also stopped fishing during slack. What’s better?

It depends on the day and water conditions what you do. Sometimes I will troll exclusively with the current, other days I will troll against the current. One thing I do know is that things change everyday and you need to be ready to change with the day. Wind can have a huge effect on the current and change your whole trolling dynamics.

Trolling for salmon requires that you keep your gear moving. I have a rule of thumb on my boat and that is my downriggers are usually pulling out from the boat at about a 15 to 20 degree angle. If my line is straight up and down then I rarely catch fish. I also make note of which direction I was going when we hook our first fish. I can't count the number of times over the years that every fish I've caught has been going one direction. Sometimes that was with the current and sometimes it was against. I think the biggest issue in either direction is your line angle. If you have a good angle on your line then your gear is working and that mean's the fish like what they see.

It also depends on the area your fishing. I've seen many days in Garibaldi where the boats are stacked so thick against the ebb tide inside the jaws that you could walk across them to the jetty. You also see fish get hooked in this mess alot of times. Here is a situation where this style is dictated by the wind, tide and weather gods. Usually it means the bar is closed, not many fish are up in the bay so everybody sits against the current in the jaws and hopes a fish comes to them. I will fish in that crap when I have to but trust me it's not my preferred method.

I much prefer to cover ground. When you hook a fish go back over that same spot as many times you will get another etc etc. One time several years ago we were fishing the fall chinook run at Garibaldi and it was 2pm with no fish for the whole day and very few fish seen boated. All the guides had quit for the day and we were out there with only about 20 other boats. I made a pass by the red can and we hooked a nice nookie. Well we made three more passes and when it was done we had our limit of four nookies all in the high 20's and 30's and everyone was hooked in almost the same spot going the same direction.

[Road Rage]

For the most-part, fish face INTO the current. By trolling WITH the current, the fish will SEE your presentation coming at them, rather than seeing it once it's past them. That's my theory, and I'm stickin' to it.

[Little Fish]

Ditto what Road Rage said.

[Seefood Man]

Originally Posted by Road Rage

For the most-part, fish face INTO the current. By trolling WITH the current, the fish will SEE your presentation coming at them, rather than seeing it once it's past them. That's my theory, and I'm stickin' to it.

Plus, injured fish don't swim against the current