Mooching up a Siuslaw chinook

With basically all the boats out trolling some version of 360 flasher-3.5 spinner presentations, I hit the Siuslaw today for my first salmon outing of the year with a plan to try and find my chinook (Siuslaw chinook are 1/day-2/season this year) with a well known old school technique- mooching a cut plug herring at high slack near the RR bridge.  It's well know that fresh chinooks often swim there on the incoming tide and have been known to pause for a snack. 

Launching at Exploding Whale park, I trolled a spinner behind a 6" rotating flasher on the way upriver but didn't really mark many fish or see much action until I got past the north fork, lots of boats trolling up there and a few, mostly guide boats, hooked a fish here and there but seemed to be a slow day.  I trolled a cut plug herring behind a flasher for a bit but approaching the RR bridge, I switched to what I was looking forward to: just a cut plug and 6oz cannonball.  Bottom fishing for a nook (using a herring that I caught in the Yaquina two Marches ago.)

I started near a line of crud, 20' of water, drifting slowly and gently moving the herring up and down, tapping the bottom, sort of like back bouncing. In less than 5 minutes, I feel resistance and give slack, continue to feel resistance and then a little shake, line is now moving, set hook and she immediately rolls at the surface, wakes up, and starts making strong runs and some scary acrobatics.  First time back to the kayak, she runs right under to bow and hits the mirage fins but I get the rod down into the water and all clear. 

After a few more runs, I get my first netting chance but she does not agree and darn if I didn't catch the cannonball my net with a feisty nook still on the line.  Flashback to 6am, I was up early rigging my salmon rods and I happen to have 2 of those plastic sliders that go on the main line for the sinker dropper (just in case an idiot gets the sinker caught in the net) and you guessed it, the rod I was using had one of those instead of a spreader, so now my line is going down through that slider at the net and she runs off like 50 feet of line.   As a good Jedi kayaker, I put the 'sinker in my net' issue out of my mind and bring her back for a head first, right into the net, easy peasy, just like I planned it netting and get a round of applause from a nearby guide boat.   

32" ocean fresh hen, underdeveloped eggs, I had her at 13.5# at home and gutted, so I'm guessing 14.5# as caught.   

As most of us know well, fishing isn't always about doing it like everybody else or the same way over and over, it just about going out and having fun.

cheers, roger 

Nice football.  Fat lines look great for a Coastal Fall Chinook.

Good job!

Hell yeah Roger! Sounds so satisfying to get a quality fish on a classic setup and technique. You might've inspired me to do some more "straight bait" fishing here this year (weight and herring, no bling, no BS).

Awesome work Roger!!  Catching one mooching or on a jig is a dream of mine.  Way to go!