rocketman

A friend picks up some sheds each Spring , & apparently the dogs love them, they don't splinter, & last forever. They also sell them in some pet stores in Canada. Might be worth a try.

We fished off Port Hope on Fri evening & Sat, in 60-70 fow, running 5 ft. off bottom, with short leads(4-6 ft behind the ball), & boated over 20, topped by a 32.30 lb. These fish were very active, streaking through the riggers. To begin, I was running 10-15 ft. behind the ball, with little success. Shortened up to 6 ft., & that was key. Hope this helps

Your lead behind the ball can be very critical for a successful day. I always start with a 6-8 ft. lead at first light, then will lengthen it out slightly(10-12 ft) if, or when, my original setup stops firing. Later in the morning(8:00-9:00), I'll increase them to 15-20 ft., then 25-50 ft. for high noon. But if I see streakers coming to the ball, I'll shorten back up, sometimes as close as 4-6 ft. When you see streakers, they're attracted by the commotion of your cannonball, so I make sure they're not disappointed, & offer them a snack. If your running a long lead, they're on their way back down by the time your bait gets to them. Generally speaking, this setup has worked very well for me. But as we all know, Salmon can be very finicky, so if something isn't working, I'll make adjustments, & hopefully find a length that produces.

Another factor that is commonly over looked is the type of hook: treble vs siwash. If your spoon has great action @ 2.7 mph with a treble, you can achieve a similar action at a much slower speed by switching to a siwash hook, maybe 2.3-2.5 mph, depending on the make of spoon.

I think most run 48" - 72" behind the flasher. I like 48", no twinkies, but many run a 3 fly rig at 72". Distance behind your cannon ball is also important. I start early morning with 8-10 ft behind the cannon ball, sometimes even closer(6 ft), & will increase that lead to 15 ft. once the shorter lead stops firing, & then a little longer(25 ft) for mid day. However, if I see fish streaking up to the cannon ball, I'll go back to a short lead. Works for me. I hope this helps, & will at least give you a starting point.

Although I have not fished Cobourg Creek yet this year, I went shore fishing yesterday for the first time on a small trib 20 miles east of Cobourg. While I was there, I talked to several anglers who dropped by, filling me in on earlier trips. The first major run was Feb 6 at Barnham House Creek, so there was probably a run also in Cobourg Creek. Reports I got stated that Shelter Valley Creek was holding a lot of fish already. While fishing yesterday, I only had one hit from 8:00 until noon, as the creek was backed up with the mouth closed, allowing only a small trickle flowing under the rocks. With the pressure building, & 10 minutes with a shovel, the creek opened up big time about 12:30, with the flow going several hundred yards staight out. Let the fun begin. There were only 2 of us until 3:00 when 2 friends that I called showed up. Everyone was into fish. I personally landed 5, but lost many others. Most were 7-10#, but I had one hen that went close to 12 lb., & safetly returned to spawn. In total, there were about a dozen landed, but more than twice that lost. But I did keep one hen about 4 lb. for some eggs, & was amazed at how big & mature the eggs were for this time of year. And Cobourg Creek has a much bigger run than the trib I was fishing, so there should be a lot of fish. Time to get out there !! Should be good

There are 2 main reasons why Rockets perform so well : The glow, which makes them visible from a long distance, but even more importantly, the action, or roll. Back in the old days, when Ryes Davis made both herring strips & anchovies, I rarely used herring strips, as I didn't like the actiot created only by the teaser head, but used anchovies because you controlled the action with the bend you put on it with your hook behind the dorsal fin. By having a solid aluminum spine in the Rocket, this action could be imitated very easily. The glow brings them in for a look, then your action seals the deal. I very rarely use scent myself on a Rocket, but I know many that do successfully. Salmon are instinct hitters, with limited eye sight( about 12-18"in front of them of focussed sight), so I'm not sure how important scent really is. They hit metal spoons, mylar flies, both without scent, although some do add it. The action of which ever bait you're using is critical, which is why speed is so important, especially when using spoons, as we all know that most spoons have an optimal speed for that desired action. Getting back to your original question, an alewife in an anchovy style teaser head would be my choice, although I've never tried it. Your presentation , or action, is #1

I feel your frustration. I only run a 4-5 ft. leader in front of the dipsy for that very reason, & it produces a lot of fish for me, but certainly makes netting a lot easier. Congrats on a great day fishing on a BEAUTY day

A friend of mine lives only a few hundred yards from Cobourg creek, & caught a few 2 weeks ago. Cobourg Creek is now stocked with Atlantics, although I've not heard of any being caught. Last weekend, Kings were porpoising at the mouth of the Ganny, only 6 miles to the west, where several browns were also caught. Once Oct. comes, there are still good runs of fall steelhead in Cobourg creek, just not too many holes to fish them.

Something which is critical, but often overlooked, is your release. I fished with a friend who used off shore releases, which were old & worn. We had several hits, but few hookups, & even fewer that made it into the net. I changed to a Scotty Power Pro release, set on the heavy setting, & set deep into the release, so deep, that it was very difficult to release it manually. And when combined with sticky sharp hooks, it's not necessary to set the hook, as it's already set once released. The extra resistance sets the hook deep. Similarly on my dipseys. I do not use a snubber, & set the dipsey a little tighter than normal, so an extra tug is necessary to trip the dipsey, which in turn gives a good hook set. My hooks are resharpenned after every fish, & have found my success rates using these simple changes results in a lot more fish in the boat. Prior to changing releases with my buddy, we were 1 for 6. After we changed releases on both riggers, we went 6 for 7. Might be worth a try.

I have a friend with an 8 cylinder(not sure the size), who's motor ran fine, but once trolling for an hour or two, would start to crap on him. Discovered the coil would heat up from trolling, so he repaced the coil, & problem solved. Might be worth a look, or even a bad condenser, which happened to me shortly after installing new points & condenser a few years ago. Good luck

The fishing has been really hot in the past few days at the Scotch Bonnet. Just point you're boat to the west when coming out from Wellington. Lots of fish, & big fish!!. Good luck

Try a drift sock to slow down. Even trimming your motor up will help slow down a bit, as well as another rigger in the water. I think speed could be your main problem. As most currents on the north shore run east/west, maybe try trolling north/south to try & eliminate it as much as possible.

If I drop lines at first light, I only run 8-10 ft. leads behind the ball. Especially when you see fish streaking up to your ball. I believe they're attracted more by the cannonball than your bait. So I don't want them to be disappointed, & offer a close presentation. When that length stops working, I'll extend them to 15, then 25 ft. as the day progesses. Every day can be different, so experiment, especially when running 2 or more riggers. Try different length leads on different riggers, & see what length works best on that day.

You might want to slow down a bit. Maybe 2.5mph or even slower, depending on which bait you're using. Check the action of your bait beside the boat, as most baits have an optimum speed. You're trying to replicate an injured bait fish, if that helps. Try adjusting your speed while looking at the action of that lure. I like to go as slow as possible, while retaining that injured bait fish look. A temp & speed probe helps to maintain that speed, as your surfice speed, & speed at the ball, quite often are different due to currents. Hope this helps.