Fishing 101 - San Juans

T

tom&shan

New member
Very basic question for the local fishing pro's. Now that we are comfortable with taking our boat out into the San Juans, Shan really wants to catch a fish. Any kind of fish. She has fishing license, a fishing pole, but no idea on how to catch something. What is the simplist, easiest way to setup a rig to legally catch something (dogfish, sandshark, old boot). Just want to head out somewhere, shut the engine off, drift and bottomfish - any suggestions on bait, rig, depth, locations appreciated.

Cheers,
Tom
 
First, I can't believe I get to go first! What an honor.
Bottom fishing is pretty much the same anywhere you go. Start with heavy enough gear for your area. An example of a cant go wrong rig would be a reel capable of holding 250 yds of 25 lb line mounted on a rod with a 15 to 30 lb rating. Under 100 ft deep you can use a 5 oz weight on the end of the line. Up 18 inches or so attach a 5/0 hook and bait with what ever the locals use. Stay on bottom and be ready. Bottom fishing is a great way to "get into" fishing as little or no finesse is required and the variety of workable rigs is endless. I would be surprised if this thread does not run at least 5 pages with others ideas. Big thing is get out there and do it.
Mike
 
Simplest, easiest way to catch something....

There's lots of somethings but in general, you can catch flounder in most any area in the sound in 30-90' of water (flat and sandy bottoms are best) simply by jigging a spoon or point wilson dart - I like the orange/green spoons the best for this but must anything will work - these are not picky fish. I you want to increase your odds, use a piece of herring on a hook. There's lots of ways to rig a piece of bait, but the easiest is probably to use a 1-2 oz slip sinker on your main line above a swivel. Tie on 1-2' of 15' leader with 1-2 hooks and put your bait on that. Drop to the bottom and reel up 1-2 turns, flounder, dog fish, sculpins and the occasional salmon will bite that. BEFORE fishing, read up on handling dog fish - they have two nasty spikes with a bit of a poison in them. Won't kill you but will hurt like h*ll if you get stuck.

Easiest cheap way to troll for salmon is to tie on a 4-6oz banana weight and a 6' leader. Put a cut plug herring on and let out 40-60' of line. Troll at 1.5-3 kts. You'll often catch dogfish this way to. If you go slow and get close to the bottom, maybe a flounder or rock fish.

To target rock fish, find a rocky area and drop bait down. Let the weight hit bottom and reel up 2-4 turns.

That should be more than enough to get you started. If you want some help sometime (your boat or mine), let me know and I'll take you out/go out with you. Then I can introduce you to a wide variety of other methods and tackle.
 
You can use a lead-head jig of 4 to 6 ounces with a chartreuse skirt. It will catch bottom fish well. Just put it down on the bottom and bounce it. If there are fish there they will take it.
 
All the advice I get from everyone on fishing - no one brings up the barbed hooked issue here in the San Juans. What is the actual reason for this restriction? Is there a legitimate reason for this ? I had to go an ruin several nice lures this weekend breaking off the barbs.

Tom
 
tom&shan":1gb4oz69 said:
All the advice I get from everyone on fishing - no one brings up the barbed hooked issue here in the San Juans. What is the actual reason for this restriction? Is there a legitimate reason for this ? I had to go an ruin several nice lures this weekend breaking off the barbs.

Tom
Click to expand...

The reason is that a barbless hook makes it MUCH easier to release a non-target or out of season fish more safely. In particular, the restriction is there to protect wild salmon which must be released in most places, most times of the year. If you make a de-hooker, you can release the fish easily without ever bringing them on board. A simple de-hooker consists of a cup hook in the end of a 3-4' wooden dowel. With that device, you can hook onto the line and get the cup hook near the the barbless hook while the fish is in the water. That makes it easy to release.
 
tom&shan":2d4f3msa said:
I had to go an ruin several nice lures this weekend breaking off the barbs.
Click to expand...

You don't have to break them off. You can take a pair of pliers and smash the barbs down without removing them.

Warren
 
i think barbless has been the rule for 30 years now, and its not just a San Juan thing. It's really not a disadvantage either - a strong hookset gets the fish to the hook bend. Keep pressure on fish and it wont come off. its a $30 fine for barbs.
 
chromer":1ji2zky5 said:
i think barbless has been the rule for 30 years now, and its not just a San Juan thing.
Click to expand...

Not being from the area - from Detroit/Ft. Lauderdale/Hilo wasn't familiar with the idea of barbless - also since all the hooks I buy here have barbs was surprised the angler shops never mentioned it.

rogerbum":1ji2zky5 said:
wild salmon which must be released in most places, most times of the year.
Click to expand...

How do you tell the wild salmon from the "tame" salmon. Taste ?

Thanks,

Tom
 
Tom,

The easiest way to tell "Wild" salmon from "Hatchery" salmon is that the Hatchery salmon are missing the adipose fin. A good description detailing how to tell the difference can be found in the WDFW Fishing Regs Pamplet. I think this link will get you there. It's on page 101.

2007-08 Fishing Regs-Adipose Fin

The pamphlet is actually good reading. It tells you all you want to know about fishing in the state.


Peter
 
I know I'm late on this, but I just wanted to put my 2 cents worth in on barless hooks. I've found that using a truly barbless hook I hook and land far more fish as the hookset is far easier to get good penetration of the hook. With the barb you have to pull much harder to get the barb through.
 
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