HB2

I went thru this same thing 

I had a 12 ft row boat / 5 horse . Nice boat but a pain to put in and out of the truck and set up each time 

When I started going to the ADKs I got a square  stern and put the 5 on that . Nice but small and unstable to stand up and fish which is what I like . 

I lucked into a 16 ft side console w/ 35 horse and love it . Easy to trailer and best you don't have to hand launch the boat  car top and put the motor on and off . Which takes a lot of time and effort .

I see a lot of 14 or 16  ft  tillers  for sale on Craig's list for not a lot of money . 

I love my 16 . It tows easy and goes on and off easy . 

I would have rather retrieved your rod and lost the fish for you . 

Love them older 47 hs . They are bullet proof. 

The way I fish in my small boat , the crowds don't bother me . In fact in a sick sort of way I kind of enjoy them . 

I use them to my advantage.  

I never got out past 40 ft . 

But early yesterday I struggled for a while till I moved out a bit . 

Was fun out there 

FRI night till SUN I boated 13 matures and lost some more  small boat solo . 1 double which was interesting to say the least . I even hooked a fishing rod with  a hog king on it . Landed the fish  but not the rod . Got some real nice ones . All J plugs except one flasher/  Gary D rig . 

Silver bullets , green glo , white / black dots , and Watermelon yesterday morning . 

There was a crowd yesterday morning . 

But all played nice . 

Save those bait heads for me . 

And I saw a dead sturgeon floating out there

Back out for the evening meal . 

Didn't do well at all till just before sundown . 

Screen lit up and a rod goes off . 

I grab the non fish rod to pop it and retrieve it and it releases in my hand 

Double of matures , that was interesting but managed to land them both . 

Silver bullets # 4 

35 ft. 

Hopefully lake is flat in the AM . 

Back at it first light . 

Drove thru the gauntlet under the bridge to get to the lake

Went 3 for 5 today  white / Black dot and silver bullet J s . 

Got my last fish on my Gary D rig . 

Google it 

Went out late afternoon for a few hrs . Started in 15 ft . Let a #4 silver bullet red head out 125 down 5 ft  and before   I could set the other rigger I get a hit   

Landed  4 matures all told using small boat tactics from 15 to 30 ft . 

Nice amount of jumpers . 

Back at it first light . 

I will try the Gary D rig tommorow for the staggers . 

I find I do best fishing for pike midday . 

2 hours ago, TyeeTanic said:

I river fish, have for many years.

 

Salmon breathe rapidly when in the rivers ... so I'd say the majority of hook ups are simply placing the hook in the right place at the right time.

No doubt, many salmon are snagged.

 

However, I have also see with my very own eyes salmon aggressively striking a bait (flies, lures, eggs). I mean the incidents are where salmon are a good

6 feet away from the bait and actually dart out and grab it ... I've seen it in clear water.  I've seen 5 guys at a whole with roe, and then one guy comes along

with a fly, and suddenly they are interested in that one bait ... won't touch the roe, but the fly is on fire. I speculate that this is out of irritation, and possibly some feeding.

I do know for a fact that first thing in the morning they seem to be more active than later in the morning.  Perhaps they have some hunger when they wake up

but after that they have no appetite?

 

Anyhow, I think the only real legit technique that works is to try and tick them off ... bright colors, keep moving past them, erratic baits.

 

 

I disagree with the fact they are just breathing it in most of the time . 

I been fishing a spot with up to 10 other anglers and one or 2 guys are getting fish and the others aren't . 

Just because you are fishing eggs doesn't mean you are fishing the right eggs . 

I have caught a few  kings on eggs under a float  this past week and a few had the hook down its throat . 

I have learned in the past few years doing this that if you don't have the right eggs cured the right way you will catch little or nothing . 

The fish may have lost their appetite, but they haven't lost their sense of smell , sight or taste . 

If they see something that looks and smells  good,  and tastes good , they might take a bite . 

How many times have we eaten something when we are not hungry because it smelled and looked good ? 

I will be trying them on the staggers as early as this weekend . 

So we will see

But I do love my J `s 

I take a pencil , put the spool on , and pinch both ends between my feet .

Or 

I take a screwdriver and put it thru the spool and clamp it straight up in my  vice if I'm in my basement . Put a piece of cardboard between the spool and jaws of vice . 

Primitive methods I have been using  for years . 

Both spin  and casting reels 

Try longer leads, of 25 to 35 ft 

Ditto on the to much slack on decent of ball . 

I keep it in the rod holder and loosen drag  tension on line from rod to ball . 

A lot and of time the flasher will stay on the surface when you first drop the ball and will come back toward the boat . If you have shorter leads and a lot of slack I can see that being the problem . Let it down some and look to see , if so stop the weight and let the flasher catch up . 

This happens to me a lot . I don't tangle but the flasher kind of surfs . 

Got a nice durable set at the Lockport outdoor store . 

I love that place 

Right down the street from Niagara produce . My favorite grocery store . 

Back at it this morning after the lightning 

Set up in 50  and worked out . Bait but not a lot of fish on it . 

Slide diver and moonshine crab face went and got a real nice Laker . 

A little choppy for my taste and with no fish we called it a Derby . 

And that was it . My rig let me down today .Bu t nothing works all every time . 

A friend of mine had basically the same situation you have . 

I took a piece of plywood big enough to put all the tanks and  batteries on and took pieces of 3/4 pine and outlined the tanks and screwed the pieces to the plywood for a snug fit . Painted the board white and ran a bungee over the tanks . 

Worked  great 

Got out first light . Started in 60 ft and worked out  to 140 temp was down around 100 ft . A,lot of bait in close . 

Got 2 knock off right off the bat then searched . Got over some fish and bait and managed 2 kings . One More hit and that was it.  

Probably the last day with the big boat as tommorow looks to be Nasty . And might pull it tomorrow. 

Then it will be small boat`n . 

The 2 fish and most of the hits came on my Gary D rig . It has been  my go to this year and I'm very happy with it and has only let me down a few times . Never put a fly out this year . Did not get to tweak it like I wanted to . Can't wait to try it on the " off the mouth " bite . . 

My best creek bait has been a j 13 Orange gold rap . 

I trib fish for kings a lot as I have a cottage on one . 

I fish either a j 13 rapala or a mag hot n tot  among others lures . The plug bite is usually first light . After that it's Skein. 

Last year I caught a hand full on plugs , it was mostly skein. 

I fish a lot of bass and pike and when I come to a spot I fan cast a spinner of some sort , then jig . Sometimes they hit the spinner bait . Or sometimes I can't get a hit on one and it's all jigs . 

They are either in a chasing mood or they aren't . 

I feel it's the same with the salmon . 

Sounds to me like the coho are having a harder   time than the Chinook at transitioning to the lake ontario ecosystem . 

Is there evidence of Nat reproduction of Cohos? 

Then my suggestion is to get the he'll off your sorry butts  and go up there .:-)

I long for  up there . 

The mountains are calling and I must go. 

I like salmon trolling but I love it up there . 

I am happiest when I'm sleeping in my tent and having a nice breakfast off my camp stove after watching th we Sun come up over the mountains . It feeds my soul . 

So many fish , so little time .