Favorite Salmon spoon, technique , etc...

C

Cutty Sark

New member
I was just thinking about this last season and what we ended up catching most of our fish on. Kings and silvers both I would have to say a green and white glow coho killer, it just nailed them most of the season. Towards the end it started catching less, but early and mid season it was very hot. And every trip out to Neah Bay or Sekiu it produced 20- 40 fish a day. Even worked great for Kings and silvers in the Hood canal in late August early September. Also a diamond king 5 incher in the same color produced some nice kings. And the old standby, herring in a helmet accounted for some nice kings. All fished behind a green or rainbow flasher. Anyone else care to share what produced for them this year? It's time to tell my wife what I would like in my stocking, and being the spoon mainiac that I am, I want to try some new things.

Thanks for any willing to share
Sark
 
Ok- Mr. 20-40 fish a day! :wink: Keep going Im takin notes. Heck I'm lucky to get two fish a day! Do you sprinkle pixie dust on your lures? You West Coast guys make me pea green with envy. I don't think there is any thing cooler than C-Dorys and some hard hittin fishin action. Seriously now what speed do you troll on the west coast for Salmon? Here its about 2.6 on the gps. Lakers like 1.5 to 2. As for spoons here ..I like a big flashy silver spoon.

Chris
 
Chris - if you want the 20-40 fish/day days, then Sekiu and Neah Bay out here are the place to be. I will probably by at Neah for roughly the first 10 days of August. If you want to see what it's like and can arrange a trip out, I'd be happy to spare a day or two for you. However, my "share the gas charters" book up quickly.. so let me know.

Cutty,

I'd agree that the green/white coho-killer behind a green flasher is a great combo. I'd also recommend the standard green and white glow hootchy with a "twinkle skirt" and tipped with a herring. The black and white "cop car" spoons are also good. However, when the fish are biting out at Sekiu and Neah bay, it's hard to beat the simple cut-plug herring trolled behind a banana weight. If I have more than 2 on board, I like to troll the cut plug out the back center and a flasher on each side on the riggers. When the bite's really good, we sometimes, give up on the riggers entirely as you can get cut plugs out so much quicker (especially if you pre-rig several).
There were a few days in July when we simply couldn't keep the lines in the water without having a fish on.

Finally, we seemed to do 2-3 times better on an "e-chip" flasher that had a fin on the back. I don't think it was the e-chip so much as the fin as that flasher simply had more wobble action. So for X-mas, I'd ask for

1) Lot's of hootchies in the green/white glow.
2) Twinkle skirts - I like the clearish, iridescent ones the best.
3) An assortment of 2-8 oz banana weights.
4) A few 11" Green e-chip flashers with the fins on the bottom
5) Some cop-car spoons
6) some "army truck" spoons.

Best of luck,
Roger
 
20-40 fish days are awesome :smilep , and I can say that there are days you catch more than that, and less. But it's not just me it's the location. You hit it right in the straight of Jaun De Fuca out at Neah bay or Sekiu, and it will be the best fishing you've ever had. But the right lure or bait does make a difference. Earlier this year I was fishing with my co-worker John, he was getting one fish after another on the green and white coho killer. I tried many spoons, same color combo but different shape or size, or same spoon in slightly or total different colors, or just random hootchies and spoons, nothing even came close. I was getting maybe 1 fish for every five of his. That night I bought some coho killers in the magic color and the next day I caught just as many as he did. Actually couldn't even get the lines down on the downrigger without one of us catching a fish it was amazing. Got into some nice kings out there too, but mostly silvers. I've never had a 20 -40 fish day inside the sound. Much tougher fishing. As far as speed goes I vary it alot, for Kings between 1-3.5 mph, for silvers usually 3.5 -4.5 but I like to play with the throttle alot when I'm trolling. I get a lot of hits right after I change speeds, or turn. I've fished for lakers in lake chelan and a green/silver coyote 4.0 did really well for me fishing really deep, about 220-250 feet on the rigger.

Sark

BTW Roger, I saw you out at Neah bay this year at the launch. Almost came and said hi, but got shy for some reason :oops:.
I've also done well on those echip flashers, both versions but the red with a fin has worked great for blackmouth at times. I tried some green and white hootchies that trip but they didn't produce as much for us as the coho killer, I have some buddies that only fish with hootchies. I'm a spoon guy myself, but do cutplug or throw a herring in a helmet at times. But again for whatever reason the coho killer was whooping everything else we tried, bait included. At least out there.
 
Green hootchies with the green flasher and the cut plug herring have been the mainstays with multitudinous other lures occasionallly added to the mix.

This year I got turned on to the Pro Troll RotoChip, #5 Big Fin
w/ EChip, which is a a herring baitholder, green of course, with a green
E-chip flasher.

Great success with all of the above but the RotoChip excelled. Real quick and easy to re-herring and get back in the water and very productive for silvers and kings. Try it, you'll like it!
 
I wonder where my good friend Lyle T is these days? He, of Lyle's Lures fame could certainly add something to this.
 
Cutty Sark":3dnla7xk said:
BTW Roger, I saw you out at Neah bay this year at the launch. Almost came and said hi, but got shy for some reason :oops:.
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Well if you saw me on the launch, you almost saw me drop the boat unexpectedly when I listened to my pal and for the first and last time, loosened the winch before the boat was fully in the water!!! - Don't remember if that was my July or August trip to Neah Bay but and certain that it was the last time I'll ever loosen the winch without the boat almost afloat. Almost tugged my buddy on the bow line into the water! Next time be sure to stop by - especially in the evening, I ALWAYS have a nice bottle of wine and plenty of minatures on board.:cocktail

Cutty Sark":3dnla7xk said:
I've also done well on those echip flashers, both versions but the red with a fin has worked great for blackmouth at times.
Click to expand...

I had good luck with the red too - in particular, last year I had a red one with sort of an motor oil colored streak on it. That one was awesome for chinook - caught a nice 20lber on it just south of Tatoosh. All my buds tell me red for coho, green for chinook but my experience has been green for almost everything, red works better occasionally for chinook.

BTW - we had some AWESOME black rock cod fishing south of Tatoosh when the swells laid down. I'd love to get out there more often this coming year - especially if I can find someone to split the costs of the trips....

Best,
Roger
 
Donna's secret weapon for kings and silvers is the #5 Gibbs FST Spoon in Nickel Fire Orange on a 3 foot leader behind an 8 inch red Hot Spot flasher. We stick a small chunk of frozen herring on the hook and it works great. This is a Canadian spoon and we get 'em online. Donna even became a "celebrity" with her photo on their website. She only uses this lure and nothing else.

I have great luck for silvers with the glow in the dark hoochie skirts in both green & white and blue & white on the same length leader but with a green flasher. Also the herring on the hook.

We troll at about 1.5mph on the plotter. Works for us...can't wait to go get some more...
 
I don't remember seeing you almost drop your boat but I was walking out to mine that was already docked up, so was a bit aways, but it was August I'm sure. I'll definitely stop by next time, as I plan to spend some more time there this year. We enjoyed some rockfishing too, even just right off jetty island when the swells were a bit big for my liking. We just stayed inside out of the real big stuff and enjoyed quite a bit of action. This year I'm going to do more bottomfishing, I really want to tie into a halibut, as I made a trade for a sweet hali rod last year, and also catch some lings, as I've only caught them inside the sound and just let those go. I have some buddies that fish La Push alot and they have picked up some sweet lings and rockfish , not to mention a 50lb king and numerous 20 -30lber's out there. But the weather has to be good as you are in open ocean and it can get nasty. I fished it once this last year, it was the only day I really felt green :crook . 6 -7 foot swells 6 seconds apart. then crossing the bar on the way in. After that with the weather forcast staying nasty we picked up and went to Neah, where it was still rough but a little better ,and no bar to cross. :thup Thanks everyone for sharing, I really enjoy finding out what works for others.

Sark[/quote]
 
Well I only took a few trips this year and most of those were with Roger :)

My goto lure is a double glow white hootchie with large pink eyes behind a green/pearl glow flasher. I have gotten every type of salmon but chum on this all over the sound. I've even had Coho hit it when it was slapping the water next to the boat while we were netting a fish on the other side of the boat! That stupid fish hit the hootchie 4 times before finally hooking himself and taking off. Funniest thing my son and I had ever seen. We were out just west of Wadah Island and trolling at a very good clip (about 4mph on the fish finder). That day Justin and I release 30 blackmouth and 25 Coho in 4 hours of fishing. It was just unreal. 6 of those were on my flyrod run in the jet wash 20 ft behind the boat!

Roger, be sure to give me a Buzz come June, I'm sure I will be able to get away for a weekend to head up there! And I'm hoping to be able to spend a few days up there in August too. I know I have a trip north to Kamloops for the 3rd week of August but before that I might be able to head west for a few days.
 
For spring Kings we troll with either a cut plug herring or a double hooked spiral wrapped herring and a 6 to 8 oz banana weight; usually with a flasher.

For Coho, we usually use a green and white hootchie with a herring or the same combo as for the Spring Kings but with a larger flasher and a down rigger. We have actually caught several halibut trolling with this rig because I like to run along reefs where the salmon seem to have migration routes (my theory but seems to hold true).

We also like to mooch for salmon when we are anchored, we just rig up a herring and flasher with either no weight or a very light weight and let it hang over the side and let the current provide all the action. This has been very effective when the salmon are at their peak in Aug and Sep.

I would love to see pictures of some of your rigs because the E-Chip I am not familiar with, "Twinkle skirts" sounds interesting, and I am a big spoon fan but no one up here seems to use them except for river or stream fishing.
 
My favorite weapon for slaying salmon of all species is useing :thup spinners either trolling or hoglineing. That is unless I am with the Helen-O and Larry :wink: . Then we troll useing whole herring with a RSK on the nose and slow troll it, we sometimes put a :rainbow Rainbow colored spinner half way up the leader from the RSK.. Or when with :) B~C Ken I like to troll cut plug herring with a :rainbow spinner up line from the herring. When I do not go out in the boats but am stuck walking the shore I love a number 3 or 4 french blade spinner with either a red and chrome body with a chrome blade or a brass blade with green and brass body. 24 inch leader with a small weight at the main line snap swivel. Probably the most deadly combination for any fish when a person learns how to present it properly. Varying retrieve speed is the best way to find that sweet action that gets the fishes attention.
Later Lyle
 
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