Fishing Tips

Happy fishing!

• Check your bait and lure often!  Sometimes you will miss seeing a strike, or a small piece of seaweed could tangle your line.  You won’t have as much success with bare hooks or a fouled lure!

• Try trolling in a zig-zag pattern.  This allows you to cover as much area as possible while allowing your bait to rise and fall as the boat turns.  Often, a fish will strike as the action changes on the lure or bait.

• Keep an eye out for bait balls.  Bait balls are schools of needle fish or herring that are being pushed to the surface by feeding fish below.  Troll around the bait ball, but don’t disperse the bait by going directly through it!

• Fish in the general location of feeding birds.  Feeding birds will usually indicate baitfish just below the surface, and there is a good chance hungry salmon will be in the same area!  Fish around the birds, but try not to disturb the gathering bait.

• Fish tide lines.  Tide lines are a distinct line of flotsam in the water.  Plankton and other small creatures get pushed into these tide lines, which attract feeding baitfish.  The salmon will follow, and it’s just a matter of time until you will connect with them!

• If other anglers are successful around you…  ask how deep they are fishing, and what they are having success with.  Perhaps they are moving faster, or slower, to get the fish to bite.  Don’t be shy – successful anglers love to share the details of their success.

• Don’t move around too much.  The old adage “Stick and stay, make it pay” holds true!  Fish activity occurs at many places at the same time. More time moving between locations is less time spent fishing – you won’t catch anything with your lines out of the water!

• Fish hard one hour before… until one hour after tide changes.  Feeding fish generally become active during tide changes, so make sure you are ready for the bite to come on!  Have the net assembled and ready to use, and get those extra leaders rigged and ready.

• Check your hooks and leaders.  Check your leader line and knots for nicks and frays, especially after playing a fish.  Ensuring your hooks are sharp before use can make the difference between success and failure.  Your tackle box includes a hook hone – simply stroke the back of the hook on the stone a couple of times to sharpen it.

• Net your fish head first.  Salmon can only swim forwards, so net them head first so they swim into the bag!  Also, don’t rush the net job – never stab at the fish with the net if it is still full of energy.