[I'd rather fish]

they make them in colors other than PINK?

That's what I was thinking.

 

[Pacific Fisher]

I fish straight bait 90% of the time but this is the glow hootchie I use when Chinook are deep.

 

[Greenleaf]

Depends on conditions. Water color, feed, temp. Also location / time of year. Chinook vs coho.

Coho are basically the stupid fish, will bite anything. Chinook....not so much.

If you forced me to pick one, it would be purple haze, hands-down the single best all-around pattern. But then use different colored gum pucky, depending on the feed & water color.

Yep…. OAL12R

 

[Greenleaf]

Coho- literally anything with a hook on it lol

 

[wildwinds]

Coho- literally anything with a hook on it lol

When Coho are schooled up & going at it:
Sometimes just bare hooks will catch a few!
Don't over think it guys....

Chinook = Plug Cut Trolled Slow
Listen to the radio & be willing to change things up!
😎🐠🐟🐡🎣

 

[Meatsweats]

we roll green with a green Alvin spinner in front with a green super bait behind great combo!!!!

 

[Seafrk]

When I used to fish out of Neah Bay & V Island on downriggers-- my go to was a Ace Hi Fly 142... purple haze OAL12r & green splatter back OG142R are reliable fish killers, As mentioned Army flag is another reliable color and have heard oil slick can be productive........Probably has more to do with what you have faith in........ but I have seen days when a short plain white hoochie out fished everything out at tabletop........

I have not used hoochies off the cr except for a mini Ace hi fly 142 behind a 8" prol trol and I did have a chinook nail it off the beach in 35' water

 

[Just One More]

Hammered the silvers one day on just a 4 oz. banana weight with a hook on it
They were following it in 6 or 7 at a time right up to the boat
Then the bar reopened for a window and the coast guard made us come inside

 

[DogZilla15]

Chinook killer. Add a herring chunk.

 

[sasquatch72]

Silver Hoard with Purple Splatter, and Pearl Pink. In the ocean when running a flasher, it has some kind of a purple reflective maze pattern on it.

 

[mrhoads]

Kinda late to the thread here, but are you guys discussing Hoochies for the Ocean, the Columbia River, differing Coastal Rivers, etc.?? Seems like the choices would be highly dependent on specific locations... Am I wrong?

 

[Seafrk]

Kinda late to the thread here, but are you guys discussing Hoochies for the Ocean, the Columbia River, differing Coastal Rivers, etc.?? Seems like the choices would be highly dependent on specific locations... Am I wrong?

We are discussing the Kalama...........🤣

 

[mrhoads]

We are discussing the Kalama...........🤣

I don't get it? You don't want to say, you don't know, or ???

 

[Quiet Riot]

.

 

[Quiet Riot]

Pretty sure they're generally discussing ocean here on the salty dogs forum, with Oregon and Washington being the main focus.

I'm clueless on hoochies because I usually don't fish them. A whole toothpicked anchovy/herring or spinfish/super bait just work too well and are easy. All with a single hang back hook and rarely get a deep hook or bleeder, corner of the mouth solid hook most of the time. Have passengers that fish hoochies occasionally and catch fish but a hard bait or whole bait usually is the hot rig.

Tossing a jig in a school of fish is still funner though.

 

[mrhoads]

Pretty sure they're generally discussing ocean here on the salty dogs forum, with Oregon and Washington being the main focus.

I'm clueless on hoochies because I usually don't fish them. A whole toothpicked anchovy/herring or spinfish/super bait just work too well and are easy. All with a single hang back hook and rarely get a deep hook or bleeder, corner of the mouth solid hook most of the time. Have passengers that fish hoochies occasionally and catch fish but a hard bait or whole bait usually is the hot rig.

Tossing a jig in a school of fish is still funner though.

Appreciate the clarification!

I too have never fished with a Hoochie setup for Salmon on the Columbia (Astoria area & St. Helens), but have used Brad's SuperBait, Spinfish & 3.5" (Mexican Hat) spinners exclusively.... That said, I haven't been very successful the last two seasons, so thought I may try Hoochies this coming season?!

 

[DogZilla15]

Agree with QR: If what a person is using isn’t working, think about technique first. Any of the popular baits catch fish, that’s why they’re popular. I use hoochies because I like making/rigging my own stuff and they’re so simple to fish. They aren’t any better than any of the other good rigs that catch fish.

I haven’t used hoochies above the Megler Bridge but there’s no reason they won’t work just as good above as below.

 

[mrhoads]

Agree with QR: If what a person is using isn’t working, think about technique first. Any of the popular baits catch fish, that’s why they’re popular. I use hoochies because I like making/rigging my own stuff and they’re so simple to fish. They aren’t any better than any of the other good rigs that catch fish.

Probably going a little off topic here, but I'm beginning to think my Boat gives off some sort of "ATTN: Salmon - don't come near this boat, or this boats gear" vibe/distress signal!!!

I have all the right gear, routinely change things up (rigs, colors, trolling speed, etc.) when nothings biting! I've seen fish being caught all around my boat (and marking them on my fish finder too), using the same gear/techniques as those around me!

I've even had several reputable/successful fishing buddies come along (that routinely limit out on most of their trips), to make sure I'm not doing something goofy, and using the exact same setups they use (and mostly limit out on).

But, no luck....

 

[Captain K-Dogg]

I’m not expert, but I’ve earned the moniker “K-Dogg The Fish Killer” amongst my fishing buddies…

Whenever I’ve trolled longer than 30 minutes w/o a bite I usually switch something up. If the boat has gone over 1 hour w/o a bite or fish we run 10 minutes from our location in any direction. Not always, but sometimes we run across a slick or birds on the way to another spot and action happens shortly after putting the gear into the water. I also find that staying outside the fleet/crowd tends to payoff too. 👌🏻

 

[DogZilla15]

Mrhoads: It could be your scent. Some people are highly toxic especially those under a lot of stress. Wash your gear and wear gloves when handling bait and tackle.

K-dogg has some great stuff. I really like his last sentence. I do that a lot at B-10. If the other boats aren’t catching, there’s no reason to think I will. Sometimes 100/200 ft. makes a big difference. When the sun comes out, fish deeper and/or deeper water. Being close to boats catching fish isn’t the same as being right where they are. You gotta be exactly on the X some/many days. Don’t hesitate to move. Reel ‘em in and get over there.