I think you said look for a drop off and position the boat up current and above the drop off.
The only drop off searching I do is more superstitious than scientific. One of my favorite marked spots is one that Tom on Primative made me pick a few years back. The Garmin chart, circa 2000, shows a finger of shoal just upstream from the spot. That topography has changed many times since Garmin plotted it, I'm sure. There will be so many boats out there you will be happy to find an anchor spot. The simplest rule of thumb is on the incoming tide, fish in 20' of water on the Oregon side of the channel, and fish in 20' of water on the Washington side for the outgoing. Friday morning early, you can even follow me if you want. No promises on my picking a good spot, though.
So once the anchor is set, do you pay out some rode in order to get your offering farther behind the boat and then crank back toward the anchor? How far back do you want it?
Nope. I cast the lines out in various directions and at various lengths depending on how many poles on board and the current strength. You can drop it straight down and do just as well. Again, superstition picks the "best" spot for bait placement.
How deep do you want your offering?
It doesn't really matter because you are anchored in water 10 to 20 feet deep, and depending upon which direction you cast the depth will be whatever it is when the weight hits the bottom. Casting toward the channel puts it deeper, toward the sands puts it shallower. It doesn't matter all that much if you have picked the right spot to anchor. Me, I always fish off the starboard side of the boat, so depending on which direction the tide is running and the boat is facing, I may be 6' deeper or 6' shallower than the anchor. Sometimes if superstition moves me, I'll fudge a little toward the other guy's side.
Last, upon landing a keeper do you bleed it by cutting the gills so the length is maintained?
If I am going to keep fishing, then I like to stick a knife in the underside just behind the gills and cut the heart or near it (after the fish is strung on the rope and in the water). You can tell when you get the spot because they bleed a lot. If the fish is the last one for the day and you're heading right in you don't want to cut it because not only do they bleed a lot, they bleed for a long time.
What do you mean "strung on a rope"?
I use a 3/8" dock line to hang my kept fish in the water. I thread the end through the gills and out the mouth, then through the loop in the rope to form a slip knot. Set him over the side, fully in the water, and tie the rope securely to a cleat (at which point, I guess the rope becomes a line). And I mean securely. I lost one once, rope (not a line because it came untied) and all. Now I secure it to the cleat and also tie the tailing end around the rail. Your second fish can be threaded down the same rope and stopped by the first. You don't want to try lifting three of them out of the water, though, so two on a rope is plenty.
How do you get that monster into the boat?
It isn't that difficult. I use a big net. If the fish is obviously oversize, you have to leave it in the water anyway, and if it is obviously undersized you can grab the nylon leader with a
gloved hand and use your needlenose pliers to twist the hook out with your free hand to let him go. If he is worthy of a measuring on the deck, bring him aboard with the big net and hold him by the tail to get him out. Gloves, gloves, gloves. They are tough and scratchy and the chutes on the sides are sharp. If you're keeping him, a good thump on the head will stun him while you do the stringing and deck cleaning. When you bring him back aboard to head home - even if you have bled him - thump him again. These guys can live a day or two out of the water and can live many hours with no blood. But they are not that hard to handle. The biggest keeper will weigh about 50 pounds, and the smallest keeper will be as low as 15 pounds. Average 20 to 30 pounds. Plus, they got no teeth so they don't bite.
How do you clean the stupid things??
I throw the things in the back of the truck and haul them to the fish cleaning place a half mile away. They charge 8 bucks, and it is worth every bit of it. You end up with your fillets in a bag and no guts or carcass to deal with. I will haul your fish down there for you. If Sturgeon Paul is there, he won't even let me pay because he wants to continue being my daughter's boyfriend.
