Pretty good year for salmon in our local waters. Lots of fish and a little bigger size on the Chinooks. I have been out a few times and caught some fish, though my skill this year seems to be in losing them, especially the bigger ones. Grandsons and our super fishermen cousins have been hammering them. One evening last week after work, grandson Cody took his Dad and a couple of brothers in his new-to-him boat. They were the only boat there and for two hours they hooked fish, often two at a time and twice they had a triple. I think their best one that evening was 17 lbs.
(https://i.imgur.com/1k7I1GZ.jpg)
Fine vittlin there🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟. Fishing technique ?
Fresh salmon is delicious. Congratulations on the catch.
Quote from: nastygunz on July 24, 2025, 12:18:38 PMFine vittlin there🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟. Fishing technique ?
We fish Dungeness Stinger jigs almost exclusively, designed and manufactured by my fishing partner. This summer we've mostly fished two and three ounce lures, jigged vertically in 35-90 feet of water, and sometimes down to 140.
Interesting, i figgered u wuz trolling.
Quote from: nastygunz on July 25, 2025, 03:21:32 AMInteresting, i figgered u wuz trolling.
Back in the 60's and 70's this family were trollers, always with fresh or frozen herring. It took a lot of skill and experience to get good at it. I think the limit was 6 kings per day and we frequently caught fish over 30 lbs. Then about 1982 the Buzz Bomb appeared here in the Straits, and jigging with it produced results for many more fishermen. It is easier to fish jigs.
A cousin designed his own jig, and we learned the nuances of how to fish jigs better than the average fisherman. I.e. This morning we had a boat limit of three Chinooks by 7:45 AM: two over 15 and one 13 lb. Those are considered big fish nowadays, and the limit is one fish per day. The rest of the fleet had checked in three small Chinooks by 9:30.
Re jigging and trolling: Probably a slight majority of salt water salmon fishermen troll with flashers and lures in this area. On average, they tend to catch smaller fish. With jigs, we fish the bottom most of the time, where most big king salmon spend most of their time. A troller can't risk fishing really close to the bottom and losing his gear if he hangs up on bottom.
This morning was exceptionally good and we caught and released a bunch. Four times we were playing two fish at a time. We outfished a pretty good troller near us about four fish to their one and that ratio seems to hold across the fleet. But I am fortunate to fish with two of the best salmon fishermen in the country, almost certainly in the top 1%. Most jig fishermen don't catch many fish either. And I know one local troller who probably catches as many fish as we do.
Trolling is much more effective for Coho salmon, near the surface, and those wild jumpers are FUN to catch! Catching a Chinook is like hooking a pig in the rump, brute fun more than finesse.
I have trolled and caught quite a few salmon that way. When I'm a guest on someone's boat, I fish however they prefer.
"Catching a Chinook is like hooking a pig in the rump, brute fun more than finesse." Now that is a description that I have not heard before. But I do get the idea.
two...three at a time??? :bowingsmilie:
:doh2: I am definitely doing something wrong
I hooked a huge salmon on the Merrimack river fly fishing for smallmouth bass once. Holy hell that thing was like a water Ferrari.
Went fishing again this morning with grandsons Code and Zay. I lost two keeper fish at the net. Zay got a dandy 16 1/2 lb. and Code got a 14 if I'm remembering correctly. Zay and his fish below.
(https://i.imgur.com/zWCFmwt.jpg)
My son caught our biggest fish of the year while fishing with the cousins in a boat next to us, at least 27 lbs.-- but it had a fin (had not had its adipose fin clipped in a hatchery) so he had to release it. There were a good 40 boats fishing the area, and we saw one fish over ten lbs. netted, and a couple of very little ones, all by trollers, FWIW. The cousin boat went in with a boat limit, from 9-13 lbs.
Quote from: FinsnFur on July 26, 2025, 07:39:59 AMtwo...three at a time??? :bowingsmilie:
:doh2: I am definitely doing something wrong
:laf: That is double or triple when three people are fishing, not more than one on at a time for one fisherman.
All I can say is that I would not be allowed to catch a fish that size. My filet knife wouldn't be long enough to do a proper filet. 🥴
Here is a picture of my only salmon fishing experience. Maddie was selected as part of a group of cancer survivors to go on charter boats in Lake Michigan. She caught the largest fish of the day and really wanted to eat it. But they always mount the largest fish so rather than eating it she has it on her bedroom wall. She did catch two smaller ones that she did get to eat. This is from July 27, 2017.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Jfp5RMz/0/NhJGkwnrQDVBDn925cMbrfx4R6TmTkvLvgtqDB2T9/L/i-Jfp5RMz-L.jpg) (https://www.jerrylatta.biz/Internet-Postings/FnF/n-5rsnhW/i-Jfp5RMz/A)
Quote from: Hawks Feather on July 27, 2025, 08:07:19 AMAll I can say is that I would not be allowed to catch a fish that size. My filet knife wouldn't be long enough to do a proper filet. 🥴
Here is a picture of my only salmon fishing experience. Maddie was selected as part of a group of cancer survivors to go on charter boats in Lake Michigan. She caught the largest fish of the day and really wanted to eat it. But they always mount the largest fish so rather than eating it she has it on her bedroom wall. She did catch two smaller ones that she did get to eat. This is from July 27, 2017.
Maddie :yahoo: God blessed that girl and in turn in it made you one of the most blessed Grampas on earth Jerry.
Quote from: Hawks Feather on July 27, 2025, 08:07:19 AMAll I can say is that I would not be allowed to catch a fish that size. My filet knife wouldn't be long enough to do a proper filet. 🥴
Here is a picture of my only salmon fishing experience. Maddie was selected as part of a group of cancer survivors to go on charter boats in Lake Michigan. She caught the largest fish of the day and really wanted to eat it. But they always mount the largest fish so rather than eating it she has it on her bedroom wall. She did catch two smaller ones that she did get to eat. This is from July 27, 2017.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Jfp5RMz/0/NhJGkwnrQDVBDn925cMbrfx4R6TmTkvLvgtqDB2T9/L/i-Jfp5RMz-L.jpg) (https://www.jerrylatta.biz/Internet-Postings/FnF/n-5rsnhW/i-Jfp5RMz/A)
What a beauty of a salmon! I've been saying for years that when we exterminate salmon from the Pacific Coast, they will restock them from Great lakes transplants. I think salmon fishing is better now in the Great lakes than it is in Washington State.
I fished the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY a few times, pretty wild seeing those giant salmon blast through that little strip of water. Right in the downtown too. I think the last time that I fished there was the last year that snagging was legal.