Fish On!

[CAVU]

Fellow C-Brats,
I recently got into an interesting discussion with another fisher friend about fishing technique. On my boat I host a lot of fishing buddies and I have always used the method of taking turns when a fish strikes. I almost always troll. Whether we have 2, 3, or 4 rods out, we decide in advance on who will take the first fish, no matter which rod is hit. I have talked to many fisherman who let each person man their own rod and take all fish that strike their outfit. In my experience this often results in one person getting many more fish than another. In some cases someone may be skunked while another had good fishing. I am curious how most C-Brats handle this aboard their boats?

[C-Hawk]

Ken-
We do the same rotation while trolling, not only the rods, but also the take turns at the helm. We number the rods starting on the starboard. That way, whoever sees the strike just calls out "fish on #2" or what ever rod gets hit. Sometimes it's been like-- "fish on #4---2---1" and then the fun begins!

[TyBoo]

We pretty much each tend our own fish poles on the TyBoo. The most common exception is handing off to the kids. For sturgeon, and starting last year for salmon in the Columbia, everyone on board can continue fishing so long as there is at least one fish left for a boat limit. When one guy is tagged out, another will take the pole he's using when it hooks up (well of course - the law says that only the guy landing a fish can tag it, and we always follow the rules). Rookies usually get my pole if it hooks, as do out-of-town-and-only-doing-this-once folks.

Here is a neat story I dug out from an old post I made on www.ifish.net:

A great day for dad
#473062 - 09/05/03 05:37 PM

Here's the scenario: My dad loves to fish, and loves even more to catch 'em, but he is the unluckiest guy there is when fishing on my boat in the lower Columbia. He can sit all day doing nothing, while poles on both sides catch sturgeon, and he had almost given up on the salmon. He is getting old enough (79) that his reaction time is slowing, and his skills are being somewhat forgotten. He has this old clunker of a fish pole that he won't replace, although I did finally get him to accept a new reel for it as a gift. But he likes his tree trunk fish pole. He's also stubborn, and doesn't want his kid telling him how to fish. I have tried several times this season to get him down to Warrenton for river salmon, but he always had some excuse. The real reason for him not making it has been because the last several times he only caught fish when someone else handed him the hooked pole.

Fast forward to today. My brother-in-law was planning to come down from Portland to go fishing with me, and he pretty much told dad that he was going too. Out we went in the fog this morning, and I rigged dad up with my favorite diver and lucky spinner. I told him to watch close, because the rigging was hot. Well, he hooked the first four fish. The first one was a good size native we had to release. The second was a decent silver with no fin. Maybe 15 minutes later, he hooks another. It was a doozy silver that was probably 15 pounds even without that fin. Now he has two fish tagged, and neither of the others on board had a hit. All dad needed was the one chinook he's allowed, and it is perfection. Maybe twenty minutes pass, and - bang - he gets another. When it comes to the top, sure as the dickens, it is a great looking nook that would go maybe 30 pounds. The fish took a couple more runs, and the next time up dad sailed it perfectly into the net. That's it. He's tagged out and fishing for the boat. I took the lucky gear away from him (mistake) and gave it to my bro-in-law to use. An hour or so later, the bro gets one nice silver with it, and then nobody gets anything for another hour. They had to drive back home, so we called it a fishing trip and headed back to the dock with four in the box, one happy old guy, and one proud kid.

I didn't catch a fish today, and it was still the best fishing I've had in years. And now old dad says he thinks he can make it down Monday, and next weekend for sure!

[Helen O]

Good topic! When I have guests on my boat they all get to choose a rod. If any want to hand off a fish to a rookie, that's their business. Having said that however, I insist that rookies man my fishing rod also. I find it much more fun to watch someone new reel in a fish rather than catch one myself.

[TyBoo]

[Helen O]

Pat a rookie? Heck no, he can guide now. You're always welcome on my boat, Mike.

[dogon dory]

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

[True Story]

Guests first is my general practice and they can catch all the fish if they wish. I make sure they understand I enjoy reeling in the fishes, but everything that comes before the strike including the strike itsself is what really trips my trigger.