anyone fishing homer this weekend ?

I'm going to head down Saturday morning I'm actually going to use different things this time ...I have to make myself

I'm going to head down Saturday morning I'm actually going to use different things this time ...I have to make myself

Its hard to use different gear when you have the fishery dialed in like you do.  But last two weeks, I have tried different flashers and and lures.  I did decently with a needlefish  hoochie in blue behind a metal dodger. I also caught limits using the Silver Horde Coho Killer in black and white or chrome behind a Big Al Triangular Flasher.  Kris caught all her fish using both Green and red label herring.  We concentrated in 25 to 40 feet of water fishing about half way down.  I think I mentioned it but Kris caught a small keeper while trying to get a halibut fihsing the bottom in 135 ft or so of water.

I have to work Saturday so likely will skip this weekend and hit a lake on Sunday for something different. 

Older pics of the gear I used.

I'm probably still about two weeks out from making a saltwater trip. My new fish finder head unit is still on its way back from the mothership.


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I'm trying to get away from bait.....I never will but last weekend I couldn't buy a bite and the two I got both came on a coho killer (gold and chrome)

K_84
I noticed you had switched to a chrome dodger on Saturday and it was working well for you. I've got a tackle box full of them from 3" up to 12" from days of old.  Gives me hope now that those pieces of hardware still have potential like the modern lures and recent hardware innovations.  This year besides testing all the experimental gear, lures, and even baits (can you say hooligan?) I have on my list, I'm going to keep some serious notes on the effective use of UV enhanced lures, flashers, and baits. Been doing a lot of Googling and there was a flurry of articles and personal "studies" conducted and posted in the early 2K's but not really anything new in the past 5 years for the most part. Even though the hardware manufacturers have been very aggressive in adding UV reactive dyes, paints and other compounds to create fluorescent color glow which apparently in some species of fish (if not all) can see through their eyes.

I had to get out one of my 4 foot black lights from my hippie days light show equipment and see just what in my tackle box had that special reaction to UV light. I will say those new lures and inline flashers I have purchased in the past year that are marked UV all did glow. And those not marked were dark. Same for the scents ID'd as UV Enhanced. Like Mike's Gel Scents. All those were extremely bright Day Glo poster reactive.

So my arsenal of weaponry continues to grow with many test subjects still in route from China, Hong Kong and USA as I write. Did you know they make UV glowing body tattoo INKS now? Your body art can now glow under a black light. Boy that is going to be HOT in those strip clubs.    I have 5 bottles of different colors on the way. Pautzke's makes a UV enhanced Fire Brine mainly for herring but works on other baits too. They have 4 colors and natural and have a writeup on how to brine cure your herring then using two different dyed brines, make one side of your herring say chartreuse glow and the other orange or blue to create a color flash as the bait spins. The tattoo inks may not be the ideal material for doping herring but might work on lures, spoons, flashers and for sure on soft swimbaits and hootchies.

Speaking of hootchies, your needlefish hootchie in the photo has the same color pattern as my Yozuri needlefish hootchies with mine having an added rainbow flash mylar insert; blue tops light colored bellies. Mine glow in the dark. Do yours glow in the dark too?  I found out playing with the UV light that anything that is labeled Glow in the Dark, whether a flasher, lure, or softbait also is UV reactive and illuminates very brightly under ultraviolet light. So for those looking for a specific lure or softbait that is made with UV enhancement added and can't find one, if you can get that pattern in Glow in the Dark it will be a decent alternative.  Here are my hootchies in incandescent light and UV.

I guess the downside on dyed herring is one bite and they are gone. So treating troll herring to give a UV aura may get spendy unless you can find a water soluble UV dye source you can buy in bulk and add to a plain brine solution. It doesn't take much.

Ultra cool KK. Half my hooch it's glow and the other half are UV. I can't say I've noticed a difference but u fish ultra shallow relatively speaking.

I do want to try something different and Dawn and dusk.  They are by far the best times and I think glow or UV might be able to extend the duration of those bite periods. The issue is you will need extra lights in top so other boats can see you as well. 

I keep saying I'm going to try it after dark but have yet to attempt  it. 

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Are you all catching the Kings on the incoming tide?

I like the outgoing tide.  But lately the water has been murky as the water runs out of the head of the bay.  I'd say the past month its been equally good at all tide phases.  Time doesn't seem to matter as much either.  It used to be we caught half the fish in the first and last 10% of daylight.  Now its still more productive early and late, but we are still catching fish throughout the day.

The sand lance spawn should be done by now so I suspect the fishing will begin to slow down though it should be pretty good through mid November and there are always a fish or two around even in the dead of winter off the spit. 

I do want to try something different and Dawn and dusk.  They are by far the best times and I think glow or UV might be able to extend the duration of those bite periods. The issue is you will need extra lights in top so other boats can see you as well. 

I keep saying I'm going to try it after dark but have yet to attempt  it.

I agree with the first light bite, last light bite. Coho are notorious first light biters. But feeder kings are too. Shane is ALWAYS the first boat out of the harbor by hours!  And during summer he frequently has limited everyone on the boat by 10am to noon.

I have bought a number of various underwater LED lights (for night squid fishing I've not got around to doing yet) that are designed for fishing, longlining, squidding, and  crabbing/shrimping. Some shine continuous light and others flash, some even cycle thru RGB LEDs in flashing/blinking combo patterns. These are lights which can be added inline, just like a bead chain trolling sinker to shine back on your flasher and lure or bait. I believe these would be effective during the pre-sunrise period, especially on a cloudy day. And after sundown. And as usual these are on my experimental list yet to try. In fact I have a few more UW lights of two types on their way in the mail right now.

I did buy a Yaktrak Safety Flag and Light for the kayak. And have some red and green LED lights for adding to the kayak and a few white strobe lights too for visibility, perhaps mounting on the flag mast to illuminate the orange flag in a flashing pattern. So I'm geared up for giving it a try some night. We'll have to put our heads together for a shot this winter.

Couldn't help myself left the house at 3 on the water by 5 ....tons of fish but couldn't buy a bite finally got one lost 2 more and then got my 2nd both fish on herring running a downrigger.   Congrats to Katinaalaska on her first kayak king !

Perseverance pays! Jelly!!!!

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Great catch. Couldn't ask for better weather and water conditions. At 9:30am Friday I see a kayaker out there already on the webcam. Big minus tide set starting today. Will be interesting to see how that might affect the bite.

I do want to try something different and Dawn and dusk.  They are by far the best times and I think glow or UV might be able to extend the duration of those bite periods. The issue is you will need extra lights in top so other boats can see you as well. 

I keep saying I'm going to try it after dark but have yet to attempt  it.

I agree with the first light bite, last light bite. Coho are notorious first light biters. But feeder kings are too. Shane is ALWAYS the first boat out of the harbor by hours!  And during summer he frequently has limited everyone on the boat by 10am to noon.

I have bought a number of various underwater LED lights (for night squid fishing I've not got around to doing yet) that are designed for fishing, longlining, squidding, and  crabbing/shrimping. Some shine continuous light and others flash, some even cycle thru RGB LEDs in flashing/blinking combo patterns. These are lights which can be added inline, just like a bead chain trolling sinker to shine back on your flasher and lure or bait. I believe these would be effective during the pre-sunrise period, especially on a cloudy day. And after sundown. And as usual these are on my experimental list yet to try. In fact I have a few more UW lights of two types on their way in the mail right now.

I did buy a Yaktrak Safety Flag and Light for the kayak. And have some red and green LED lights for adding to the kayak and a few white strobe lights too for visibility, perhaps mounting on the flag mast to illuminate the orange flag in a flashing pattern. So I'm geared up for giving it a try some night. We'll have to put our heads together for a shot this winter.

DO NOT put red and green navigation lights on your kayak.  For the purposes of sharing the water with power boats, we are navigation hazards.  Using red and green navigation lights gives other boaters the (wrong) impression that we are motor vessels under weigh and that we can maneuver as such.  What you want is a 360-degree, 2 nm white light (strongly recommended when paddling, and required by law if you drop anchor in a navigable waterway). 

They are everywhere

DO NOT put red and green navigation lights on your kayak.  For the purposes of sharing the water with power boats, we are navigation hazards.  Using red and green navigation lights gives other boaters the (wrong) impression that we are motor vessels under weigh and that we can maneuver as such.  What you want is a 360-degree, 2 nm white light (strongly recommended when paddling, and required by law if you drop anchor in a navigable waterway).

Thanks Low_Sky for the update on rules of the road for non-powered vessels. Never had one on the ocean up to now so was not aware of the need to discriminate between the two categories of vessels in the dark. Makes sense. I knew that a single white light was an indication of a power boat(or sail boat) at anchor at night. I guess a kayak kinda fits that scenario close enough for the white light too.  Thanks.