MA 10 Closing 1/20

Best blackmouth year in a very long time.


Fish hard.

Saw this posting on Friday so went out to try for my first from the kayak one last time and was finally rewarded!

Kevin

Nice!

Hell yeah, nice fish.

Congrats! I had to run a rifle competition today or I would have been there with you. I really wish they had given us just one more day there since I have tomorrow off work.

Congrats! I had to run a rifle competition today or I would have been there with you. I really wish they had given us just one more day there since I have tomorrow off work.

10 was 112% of the quota on Thursday. WDFW can go to 120% because of management error in some areas but if it's over 100% on one of their estimates they're going to shut it down ASAP. It was the best blackmouth year in over fifteen years, hopefully a sign of a good summer or maybe even a rebound of abundance sound-wide.


Fish hard.

I appreciate the warning about the closure in Area 10.   I had planned to try PNP this Sat. (big tidal change),  but I'll have to look elsewhere.  The last time I tried PNP there was only 3'-6" of tide change,  and of course it was a very slow day. 


I'm using 18 lb. braid for my main line (mooching),  but I'm struggling with  line-twist.  The braid is so fine,  that unless it's under tension,  I end up with wraps around my top ferrule.  In my boat it was no problem,  but in a yak it's a bitch to untangle the line.  My brother solves this problem by using a 20'  leader of mono,  and ties the mono to a main line of braid.  Is there a braid that is less prone to wind-knots?   In the late 90s,  I used to use a main line of stiff mono. 

kaz (Glen) 

I'm using 18 lb. braid for my main line (mooching),  but I'm struggling with  line-twist.  The braid is so fine,  that unless it's under tension,  I end up with wraps around my top ferrule.

This is a weird thing while mooching, I don't understand why you shouldnt always have tension on the line or how the twist is getting in there. The tip wrapping is more of a jiggers problem. Can you describe what you're using and how you're using it?

To take it out you can reverse the line on you're spool effectively giving you brand new line since most wear is on the last 30-60 yards. Tie it to a fence take all the line out then tie the part you tied to the fence to the reel and reel it in. That'll only treat the symptom and not the problem though.

Fish hard.

After a couple of bad seasons (late 90s),  I went to a Blackmouth mooching seminar at the Dome,  hosted by Tony Floor (former WA fish biologist WDFW and mooching guru).  Floor emphasized,  single hook>long leaders 10' of 10lb. mono>a series of swivels>Metzger sliding sinkers rig>then main line 10 lb. non-stretchy mono or for less water resistance a main line of light braid. 

On my first trip to the Mid Channel Bank (Port Townsend) I had 6-8 hook-ups,  and came home with 2 Kings. 


When my line is under tension (in the water),  I don't have a tip-wrapping issue,  but whenever I bring the line in (to check cut plug,  paddle for a new drift  ect.) I often find my line tip-wrapped.  I try to maintain tension on the line,  but in choppy or rough conditions,  it's difficult.  I might go back to mono. 


Partly it's just sloppy fishing.  Still learning to fish in a paddle-yak.   

Is there a braid that is less prone to wind-knots?

I had similar problems. Sufix 832 solved it for me.

a series of swivels>Metzger sliding sinkers rig

This is the problem. This sounds like it was designed for mooching herring that wasn't cut-plugged(spinning). Normal cut-plug setup has a banana weight with a chain-swivel to the leader. The shape of the sinker means it'll have hard time rotating underwater, capturing the line twist in the leader - which is then handled by chain-swivel. You obviously lose some sensitivity running the line directly tied to the weight, which is what the sliding sinker is trying to address. I've seen banana weights with a plastic tube that runs through the sinkers eyes, allowing thesinker to slide on the main line. You might want to try to find one of these with a chain-swivel on the leader. The tension on the line while fishing, combined with the shape of the weight should allow enough friction between the chain-swivel and weight to capture the twist in the leader. Yes, I think too much about fishing.

I'd also recommend a book by Frank Haw, a retired WDFW biologist and architect of their now defunct blackmouth program. You can find it on Amazon used for ~6. This is basically the bible of fishing for Chinook in the Sound, as he goes into a lot of technical detail of gear with descriptions and maps of spots. Some of the information is outdated like the use of treble hooks, but there are absolute gold nuggets in there when it comes to spots. The second edition was from 1981 and a lot of the spots have been forgotten, but they're still very fishable and the technical information is always relevant.

Fish hard.

Is there a braid that is less prone to wind-knots?

I had similar problems. Sufix 832 solved it for me.

I'll take a look Pixster.  Thanks. 

a series of swivels>Metzger sliding sinkers rig

This is the problem. This sounds like it was designed for mooching herring that wasn't cut-plugged(spinning). Normal cut-plug setup has a banana weight with a chain-swivel to the leader. The shape of the sinker means it'll have hard time rotating underwater, capturing the line twist in the leader - which is then handled by chain-swivel. You obviously lose some sensitivity running the line directly tied to the weight, which is what the sliding sinker is trying to address. I've seen banana weights with a plastic tube that runs through the sinkers eyes, allowing thesinker to slide on the main line. You might want to try to find one of these with a chain-swivel on the leader. The tension on the line while fishing, combined with the shape of the weight should allow enough friction between the chain-swivel and weight to capture the twist in the leader. Yes, I think too much about fishing.

I'd also recommend a book by Frank Haw, a retired WDFW biologist and architect of their now defunct blackmouth program. You can find it on Amazon used for ~6. This is basically the bible of fishing for Chinook in the Sound, as he goes into a lot of technical detail of gear with descriptions and maps of spots. Some of the information is outdated like the use of treble hooks, but there are absolute gold nuggets in there when it comes to spots. The second edition was from 1981 and a lot of the spots have been forgotten, but they're still very fishable and the technical information is always relevant.

Fish hard.

Thanks for the advice,  workhard.  I'll also see about Haw's book.  I think my local used-bookstore has a copy.  I'm totally self-taught.  When I first came to WA (late 90s),  I started with books.


I might try Disco Bay this weekend.  It used to be my fallback spot if the winds were too brutal at Port Townsend.  One day at Disco Bay,  there were so many monster schools of herring,  that they blackened my FF screen.  I swear that you could actually smell the oily herring.  My brother (visiting from NYC) didn't believe me,  but we boated/released several Blackmouth.

a series of swivels>Metzger sliding sinkers rig

This is the problem. This sounds like it was designed for mooching herring that wasn't cut-plugged(spinning). Normal cut-plug setup has a banana weight with a chain-swivel to the leader. The shape of the sinker means it'll have hard time rotating underwater, capturing the line twist in the leader - which is then handled by chain-swivel. You obviously lose some sensitivity running the line directly tied to the weight, which is what the sliding sinker is trying to address. I've seen banana weights with a plastic tube that runs through the sinkers eyes, allowing thesinker to slide on the main line. You might want to try to find one of these with a chain-swivel on the leader. The tension on the line while fishing, combined with the shape of the weight should allow enough friction between the chain-swivel and weight to capture the twist in the leader. Yes, I think too much about fishing.

I'd also recommend a book by Frank Haw, a retired WDFW biologist and architect of their now defunct blackmouth program. You can find it on Amazon used for ~6. This is basically the bible of fishing for Chinook in the Sound, as he goes into a lot of technical detail of gear with descriptions and maps of spots. Some of the information is outdated like the use of treble hooks, but there are absolute gold nuggets in there when it comes to spots. The second edition was from 1981 and a lot of the spots have been forgotten, but they're still very fishable and the technical information is always relevant.

Fish hard.

Thanks for the advice,  workhard.  I'll also see about Haw's book.  I think my local used-bookstore has a copy.  I'm totally self-taught.  When I first came to WA (late 90s),  I started with books.


I might try Disco Bay this weekend.  It used to be my fallback spot if the winds were too brutal at Port Townsend.  One day at Disco Bay,  there were so many monster schools of herring,  that they blackened my FF screen.  I swear that you could actually smell the oily herring.  My brother (visiting from NYC) didn't believe me,  but we boated/released several Blackmouth.

Pretty sure Discovery Bay is part of Area 6 and closed until February 1st. Might want to confirm with the rule book.

Fish hard.

Shit.  You're right.  Not sure what I was thinking.