Gear that works---in Puget Sound

Mostly have fished area 11 in the past 15 years, and this has been the productive stuff.  First is the Hot Spot green/glow flasher with a Grand Slam bucktail. 



If that doesn't get the goods, I'll put on an 8-inch UV-enhanced glo flasher with a red Point Defiance spoon.  That spoon is my "fall-back" lure----when all else fails, a PD spoon tipped with a piece of herring will usually come through.  Especially good for Commencement Bay in August, down 60 feet under the glacial freshwater from the Puyallup.




A lot of Point Defiance fish bound for the Nisqually have fallen to the 742 hoochie, dunno why but some days they'll only take this one. The flasher is a "Betsy" by Oki, it's vapor-deposited pure gold  and is supposed to generate some weak current in salt water. Guys in Sooke are using them to good effect, according to the Salmon University site:  http://www.salmonuniversity.com/or_fishing_reports.html







Plugs catch a lot of fish for the wire-line guys, I had good luck in the Strait for Tyee but don't fish them much down here. These are Ace-Hi 6 inchers, and a 6 inch UV spoon,  the translucent one is called a "tubby" and the come rigged with humungous hooks---I think these are 9/0, with an attached E-chip.  When the run gets in, usually around 20-25 July, I'll try these on a deep diver.





I'm thinking a rotator and spoon might be a good starting rig for tonight's expedition to Point Robinson---whaddya think??

Wow, once again a lot of great information.  What are you using to control depth?  Downrigger, banana sinker, etc.?

Thanks.

Excellent information KT. I wish I could have seen this post when I first moved to Seattle. Those are all solid and your first setup is almost identical to mine. I just tie a fly similar to a "Shock and Awe" and use a UV Hot Spot flasher w/ the green stripe.

The "Fish Flash" flasher and spoon rig is what I've been using recently in the early season and it's done well so far. Now just gotta get one to the yak!

Z

Z,  how hard is it to troll with a flasher out of a yak?  and are you using banana weights for trolling that way?  I have been using metzler mooching weights (they slide on the line) and a coho killer with no flasher.  At sportsmans I saw some small (4"-6")flashers in various colors and thought about trying some of them.   although soon we will be fishing the hood canal by hood sport for kings and I think we are going to try cutplug under floats.

Z,  how hard is it to troll with a flasher out of a yak?  and are you using banana weights for trolling that way? 

I use a downrigger and it's not so bad. Trolling is always gonna be hard work, don't kid yourself w/ that, but the Hobie Big A w/ turbo fins and the large sailing rudder upgrades make trolling deeeeep a snap.

I use a 8" flasher which puts some resistance but the Big A has no problem holding a straight line.

Z

oN MY Arima: downrigger, usually fish with a buddy so we clip 2 lines in on 1 Scotty electric.

.  On the yak, I use an 8 to 12 ounce sinker and troll slow, the Fish Flash small size works without too much drag.  I used to use the Buzz Bomb, but that was up in Vancouver Island where the fish outnumber the fishermen, unlike here...
   I also use a small (size 0) Deep Six trailing a spoon, either a Coyote spoon in Army Truck colors or Glo green. It gets down aroound 40-50 feet, which is productive for returning kings, much less so for blackmouth.  For them, mooching herring on bottom is the way to go.
THis fat 20 pounder was taken in Elliot Bay last year, on the mooch----we were allowed to keep "unmarked" fish.  Most likely a hatchery fish that missed the scissors.


  And thi s nice pair of 10# Chinookies was taken with trolled Pt Defiance spoon. You can see the dent made by the deck bungie!  These  from my previous kayak, a sit-in Cadence.  I did not fish out of the Current Designs Expedition---way too unstable. Risky just turning around in the seat!

This photo does a great job at capturing your contentment with catching a nice fish.  Very nice.

I did not fish out of the Current Designs Expedition---way too unstable. Risky just turning around in the seat!

KT, thanx for that tidbit, i'm going to pass it on to someone close to me who has a chance to buy a used version of that boat...might not be the best thing for her if it's a bit tippy

Nice tips Kalli.  Good looking rigs you got there.

Love those PD spoons.  Was just admiring one in my tackle storage tonight when rummaging through it.  Exactly as you have pictured!!!  These days I'm pulling more and more a Coyote Spoon ... cop car or army truck, size 4.0 or 5.0  But I'll have to pull out those PD spoons from back in the day, 20+ years ago.

Or how about plan plug cut herring?  Or point wilson darts?  For those who don't like to troll!!!

-Allen

Polepole, you got that right! I saw 2 kids with white Point Wilson darts last summer at Point Defiance put 4 kings in their boat, average was over 20#----and most others were getting skunked that day.  They're great when the dogfish are hammering your mooched herring.  My buddy was trolling a mini B2 squid last nite, got a 10# blackmouth and then foul-hooked a dogfish about the size of his boat, it popped his downrigger and took off, he thought he had a nice king! 

Great info and nice pics, Kallitype.  I haven't done much of that kind of trolling in recent years. I mainly troll spinners with only a plastic trolling rudder (prevents line twist) in the lower rivers around here in the Twin Harbors area. (Chehalis and Willapa rivers, mainly). Otherwise I drift and cast, or else anchor and either cast spinners or fly fish for them in the rivers.

Those flasher/hoochie rigs look like they will work for the shallow waters of Willapa Bay and the "Johns River" fishery in the S Chehalis channel. Can those be used without a downrigger, with just a banana weight? I don't plan on getting or using a downrigger. I have just trolled herring behind a 4 oz. or 5 oz. banana weight, with no flasher, and have caught both kings and coho that way.
 
(edit: I just reread your reply to Huntinhick's post asking the same thing, and the info I seek is already in there...thanks!)

I just am finishing outfitting a 16' jonboat for trolling with my buddies, but will probably do solo gigs in my Native 12...I want to hook into a 30 lber and go for a ride!

I picked up a couple green and white point wilson dart for the daughter so she could just float and jig when she gets tired.  I hear they do good.  when I lived over by southworth a few years ago. there was a guy in a blue kayak that would float out in front of the ferry terminal using nothing but point wilson's and always came back with  fish.  Speaking of southworth, kallitype have you heard of anything coming out of there yet? 

   Hick, a friend who fishes from S'worth in a 12foot dinghy got an 8# over the 4th between Blake Island and the ferry terminal , spent a lot of hours on the water, though.  He was using herring, says the dogfish are thick.  I came in from Vashon to Seattle on the 06:45 ferry this AM, there were 9 boats fishing the north end of Vashon (Dolphin Point).  Did not see any fish landed, 8 trollers and 1 moocher.
 THere's a nice ramp for kayaks at the base of the Vashon ferry dock, not really a good launch for powerboats, perfect for human-powered craft.  Parking is at the top of ferryboat hill, not too convenient to leave your boat there while you park and walk back down.  I had a paddle stolen there a few years back, think it was the owner of the former Mexican restaurant---she was pissed at the kayakers using her parking lot to launch from ....
I fished in the Arima last Thursday, hooked a dogfish about the size of my kayak in the dorsal fin with a flasher/hoochie rig, took a while to reel it in!
   I plan to fish Point Dalco on the flood tomorrow morning, will post a report if we catch anything noteworthy.  the stretch between Gig Harbor and Point Richmond is also good on the incoming tide. Caught (and had to release) a 25# king there last July.  THat stretch best fished 60-65 feet down in 90 feet of water, although some guys fish 20-30 feet down in 50-60 feet depth.