Time for a fun and useful contest. And I may use the best fishing tips in my book "The REEL TRUTH" with name credit given to the tip posters. ...

PRIZES:

- First Place prize is a springer trip for 2 for spring chinook with me in my sled in late May or early June. Alternative trip can be for fall chinook near Tillamook at my discretion (if the springer water levels get too low).

- Second Place prize is a half dozen new Kwikfish still in their unopened package.

- Worst Tip prize is a river float with Hey_Yall on his Outcast cataraft down the Wind River canyon - since he doesn't know about this it's your responsibility to talk him into it and sign appropriate liability waivers. If he chickens out, we'll think of something else bad for the worst tip.

TIMELINES:

- This contest commences immediately and ends at 100 posts or May 20th, whichever comes first. I reserve the right to delete what I think are unworthy tips or jesting tips so that we get 100 good ones (those will be copy and pasted over to the Tip Dumpster thread ). I will post an example unique tip (one I have posted before).

RULES:

- Post a unique and affective salmon or steelhead fishing tip here in this thread.

- By posting/entering here you thereby give me (RT) permission to use your tip in my fishing book with your name credit (or moniker if you prefer). You can enter more than one valid tip, but no more than 5 per person.

- The best tip will be picked based on a combination of genuine uniqueness and likely affectiveness by vote of a panel of fishing experts picked by me. (If your tip does not sound good it will help your chances to win by submitting evidence that it works well).

- If you complain about having your tip deleted I will send Timberman after you. jk :p

Steve Hanson aka RT

[ 05-03-2001: Message edited by: RT 1 ]

Sample tip (not an entry) ...

I posted this around a year ago to disbelieving eyes. Buy a small tube of regular Preparation H and keep it in your tackle box. Use it sparingly on plugs, Kwikfish, or other lures for chinook fishing. They do like the fish liver oil in it as well as the chems in it. And I have wittnesses that have seen it become the 'hot ticket' on Kwikfish in springer hoglines during the Columbia fishing recently. Cries of "Buttwax rules!" were heard far and wide in some lines. - Steve (RT)

There ya go. Have at it and thank you.

My first tip is this ...don't lose this contest you don't want to go anywhere with this Redneck sitting behind you talking smack and crashing into other boats while you're trying to hook a Fish :rolleyes: and while he's trying to figure out"how do yall steer this Damn thing" :p

Here's my tip ,Don't predict 'We'll hook a fish in this next strech of water or I'll.... arm rassle a TimberFaller :rolleyes: ...Trust me :rolleyes:
I've got more I'll post later......Os

To keep your lead from hanging up as much, I keep clear plastic drinking straws with me. I slide the lead through one and cut off the length I want, and then punch the hole through it. It slides through the rocks and the clay ledges better. When your lead pulls out of it you can slide a new piece on.

Fishhead5

Always wear latex gloves and wash your hands with Crest Mint Toothpaste *before* handling baits, plugs, or wrapping KwikFish, when fishing for King Salmon.

Not only does the Crest mask out your stinkey human scent, but it leaves your hands nice and Minty Fresh for the whole day!

Try it! Your success rate will increase!

We have a have huge growth in people new to this sport here in the midwest. They all want the magic "hot" bait and correct 3 feet of river to fish. Best advice I ever got was to pick a river and learn it( keep a journal)! Spend ever possible minute on the river in all water conditions. Learn how the migrations progress, what levels are fishable, wintering grounds, etc. Learn how to read water!! Take this knowledge and apply it to all other water you fish, you'll be amazed at your success rate. Or, you can bring your daughter and have her hook fish for ya!

I don't remember volunteering for this :rolleyes: I will agree, but the passenger gets to tighten down the oar-rights I'm afraid of who all will post to this because I'm sure some of "you" will lose on purpose...right Osprey? :p

Great tip for especially cold mornings:

Apply Rain-X to your spool of line before fishing. Rub it in good onto the spool. It works better than WD-40 and it will definitely keep your line from freezing up, spool, rod, and line guides.

Fishing or Hunting always have a tube of super glue. Doctors at clinics just clean a cut and super glue it shut. Great for line cuts too.

We once had a little spipnner-making operation --- up to 24,000 or so one year. We found the absolute best way to quickly sharpen trebles. Buy a flat stone wider than the treble and lay the hook on it with two points touching at an angle, points toward you. Sharpen by pushing the hook away from you, and away from the hook points, in short choppy strokes, about 6 strokes. Rotate the hook, repeat at the same angle for the next set of points, then repeat a third time after rotating again. Then go around to each set of the three 2-point positions and very lightly stroke a couple of times. The result is a hook so sharp it is scary. Each hook has a perfect 60 degree bevel on each point. Total time --- about 20 seconds, even faster if you do the process while holding the hook and stone vertically in your hands and chop with the stone.

Everyone has drift fished at least once. But does everyone know all the tricks? When your weight is down and you are bouncing the bottom, if you stop feeling it set the hook. This could be a fish feeling or tasting your bait. Also keep your tip up and line tight.
-Matt-

Ok after pre-tieing your leaders get a peice of foam insulation and cut little slits spaced about an 1/8th of an inch apart and wrap away.

I carry a small crotchet hook with me when fishing. I have found this very helpful when trying to get backlashs out of your reel. Better than trying to pull that little loop out with your fat fingers. It is a real time saver when you are teaching beginers how to cast.The more time your line spends in the water the bettre your chances are of catching a fish.

[ 05-03-2001: Message edited by: kalamabama ]

Try changing jig colors several times if you're fishing over a pool that you've already taken one steelehead from. This will even work when fishing very slow water that you may normally skip.

Here's a scenario:
Step 1: You walk into a slow deep slot nestled between two shallow, fast tailouts. Step 2: First cast with a 1/4 oz jig on 10lb mainline with no leader or extra weight beneath your Turbomaster produces a taker. Step 3: Ten to fifteen minutes later with no takers you change colors.
Step 4: First cast with the new color produces another taker.
Step 5: Repeast steps 3 and 4 till you've run out of colors or takers.

Don't believe the scenario, ask your fishing buddy from Portland if it's true.

Bruce

When coho fishing from the beach [Ft. Casey works well] with the bobber and fresh dead herring [most important] practice looking anywhere but at your bobber, wait until the coho almost jerks the rod out of your hand, reel it in.

Here's a tip for all you plunkers out there.

To make your spin-n-glo's spin effortlessly in slow current you need to buy a box of Plastic (not paper) shafted "Q-tips".

First Drill out the hole in the spin-n-glo just slightly larger than the diameter of the "Q-tip" shaft. Then cut the hollow q-tip shaft to the length of the spin-n-glo. Then dab a little epoxy on the outside of the q-tip shaft and insert it into the pre-drilled spin-n-glo. You will have an effortlessly spinning lure. This will also reduce line wear if you're fishing in heavy current. Be sure to use a bead or Corky as a bearing.

Good Luck

Aaron

Oh God, I really shouldn't post this, But I really want that free trip w/RT, so here goes.

When fishing alvins for fall chinook, you need every advantage you can get to attract them down deep.

To appeal to all of their senses try this:

Sight---The lure already does this. Experiment with colors.

Smell, taste---Use a little piece of fuzzy-side velcro and stick on the underside of your alvin, this will not subdue the visual effect of the lure. Add a killer scent.

Sound,Lateral line stimuli--- Now this is the real key. This is soooo top secret, but take it from a bass guy--Buy a pack of excalibur glass rattles (the biggest ones they make) in the bass section of your local tackle shop (fishermans marine). Either use 5-min epoxy or lure tape and affix the rattle on the top of the lure just behind the bend in the alvin. Every time the lure wobbles it will make a clicking sound. Glass and steel give of crisp clicks, don't use plastic rattles, they sound duller.

Now you have the ultimate deep water bait, that applies to all but one of the fishes senses....Feel...But don't worry, you're needle sharp treble will take care of that.

Aaron

When fishing spinners, place a 90 degree bend in the shaft between the eye and the body. Reduces/eliminates line twist as it acts like a keel.

Here's another one, this time for the fly-guys.

After a day on the water youre if fly line just doesn't seem to shoot as far, its probably dirty. The best line cleaner I've found is "Armorall". I keep a little rag saturated with the stuff in a ziplock bag in my vest for on the water use. For some reason I always seem to stomp my fly line into the mud halfway through the day.

Oh yeah, It works great for cleaning up the seat on the "a-hole" in your life's motorcycle

Aaron

When filling your PIPS container, fill it from top to bottom and left to right instead of across. You can easily get 30 or more leaders in this way. Keep it clean and lubricated with a light coating of vaseline and it will last a lifetime.

I got a couple here:
1) When fishing spinners, spoons or bait in heavy debri (grass, moss leaves etc) take one or two beads atleast BBB size and attach them via toothpick 2 feet above the lure. this keeps weeds from sliding down the line and fowling the lures motion. In extreme conditions several attached 6"-8" apart works well.
2) One effective way of unstagging a lure requires a banana sinker (3-6 oz.) and atleast 20 feet of heavy twine or decoy line. Slide one end of the line through the bead end of the sinker and attach a heavy snap or swivel to the line. When your lure snags put your fishing line between the decoy line and the weight and snap the swivel to the free end of the sinker. At this point you should have your line in the middle of what resembles a long bow. Reel your line tight and let the weight slide down while holding on to the lose end of the decoy line. When the weight stops jiggle it around a bit, in most cases this should free your hooks. if it remains snagged shake the weight until your hook gets tangled in the weight and swivel. then pull until the hook bends or the snag gives. This works well as it is much cheaper to replace a bent hook on a plug or spinner than to buy a whole new one.

Wow, great tips and we are 40% to 50 tips in the first half day. Didn't expect it so fast at all; that's really cool. In the interest of those that don't access as often and having this thing last a little longer, I will up the good tips max from 50 to 100. The ending date will stay the same, no later than May 20th, to give me time to pick out a springer day with good conditions going for the trip for 2. Also, I think I will put up another thread for the funny tips like Os's that don't help catch fish or better your fishing equipment, rather than deleting them which I dislike (otherwise Os's tip is a very good one about the Redneck! ). I will call the fellow thread the Tip Dumpster (for lame or only funny tips), and simply copy such from this thread and paste them over in the other - if you have some plain ol' funny ones you can just post them there too. Thanks much guys and keep 'em coming. - Steve

[ 05-03-2001: Message edited by: RT 1 ]

Alright I couldn't resist here we go:

Jerry Garcia, you stole my biggest tip. Those coho off of the beach will only smack your bobber if your not looking at it. I perfer to set my rod down across my gut as I lay on my back on the beach. I have found that coho can not resist on swallowing my herring when I'm in this position.

O.K.,

Tip 1: If you're fishing with a "solid tie" mooching leader and your worried that the sharp teeth of a Chinook will chew through the line on the back hook . Tie a double line on the back hook. When you first tie on the back hook (stinger) leave a 6"-7" leader trailer, then complete your knot on the stinger hook and then put the excess leader back through the hook eye of the stinger and through the hook eye of the top hook. It is important that you leave enough of a leader trailer so that the second strand off of the stinger is the same length of the original strand between your hooks! After you have threaded the leader excess from the back of the stinger through both hook eyes,Bend the excess over the shank of the top hook towards the back of the hook and begin your wraps. Clip off the excess and burn the end of the extra strand of mono so it can't pull through the wraps. Bam! now you got double turbo line power on the stinger. I have had more than a few fish over the years chew threw on strand, and if it wasn't for the second strand they would be long gone.

Tip #2: Keep your fresh sand shrimp on wood pellets (the kind for pellet stoves) they'll last twice as long!

Tip #3: Poor man's bobber stop, use a small rubber band and tie a half inch with the rubber band on your main line above your bobber. Clip the ends of the rubber band, walla you have a adjustable stopper that holds! If it does start to slip, tie two half-inch ties in a row. The green rubber bands that are around your Seattle Times paper work the best.

Tip #4: If your plunking with a double spin-n-glow rig and your worried about your trebles snagging your main line on the cast, put a large marshmellow over each hook. The marshmellow will keep the hook points from snaring your leader on the cast and once there under the water they will disolve away.

Tip #5: If your unsure how to get land access to a fishing hole???? Pull up a satelite shot and zoom in. Try Terraserver http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/default.asp. You can pull up a aerial to any hole.

Bobber Down

"Keep your hooks sharp!"



[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: Bobber Down ]

When ya just can't get those salmon to take a traditional plug cut herring, try a left handed bait, that is, point the head to the left hand side and cut the angle as you normally would. The bait will spin in the opposite direction. Great for those left handed fish. Sometimes a little different action does the trick.

1) When your plunking from the bank or anchored in a hog line and you get your plug or spin n glo hung up on the retrieve Take a water bottle or gatorade bottle and fill it almost half full with water. Then tie some string to it and attach a snap swivel. Hook this to your line and let it slide down while letting out some line so you create a bow in your line to the point the bottle is sitting back behind your plug a ways. Now give your rod a couple of jerks. and your plug should come free. If your worried about breaking your line and the bottle drifting free just attach it to the line on a spare rod.

2) another use for old detergent bottle is to get heavy weights back behind your boat when fishing places like the columbia where its not uncommon to use 32 ounces or more. Attach a downrigger clip to the old bottle then tie the bottle to an old rod with about 40lb mono. Clip the line your going to let out onto the downrigger clip and then float your weight back behind the boat. when it gets to where you want it give your float rod a big jerk to release the downrigger clip.

I have one more.
1. If you ever have a rattling plug that just doesn't produce, Or you just hate rattles period and can't find non-rattling ones, its time to remove the rattles. 50% of the time when these plugs are produced some of the bb's get stuck to the side of the plug. I believe on some plugs especially small ones this can be just enough to throw the action off. Their very easy to remove esspecially after you have done a few and know where the chambers are located. To get them out start with a small drill bit and drill where you think they are. Once you get a visual on them you can slowly work up in bit sizes until the BBs fall out. After that you need to find something small like the screwdrivers you use for glasses and start scraping the insides to make sure they all came out. Once their out Grab your wifes glue gun when she isn't around and fill the hole. Every plug seems to have a different numbers of rattles in them. The least I have seen was 2 only one was working other stuck in glue to 18 rattles in 3 sizes in one particular Magnum Wigglewart. It took 3 holes to remove em all because they were in three different chambers. I had to remove them because I refused to fish this plug since I could hear it amplifing the rattle sound through my loomis and the boat when the plug was 50ft in front of the boat about 12 feet down. Before I started drilling holes in plugs I was cutting them in half. One of my hottest plugs currently in my box is a medium size hot n tot I cut in half and epoxied back together to remove the rattles for a diver. I soon learned fish were hitting the plug more than the diver so now I just run it straight and panic if I ever get it hung up.

[ 05-03-2001: Message edited by: QwikSticks ]

OK last one

1. If you have those long Fish-on or look-a-like rod holders and your friends or yourself occasionally have troubles getting the rods out of them in a hurry then this modification will really make your day. Make a mark about 3 inches back on the top from the front of the rod holder. and then make another mark about 2 inches back on the bottom. Take a hacksaw and cut off the end lining your blade up on the two marks. Next lightly file or sand the jagged edges so it will not eat into your cork. With the rod holder modified like this you will now be able to grab cork when you go for the rod and you will be able to take the rod out at an angle instead of straight up or down. My fishing buddies and I have done this to our saltwater (with downriggers) and freshwater boats and have never once said gee I wish this rod holder was longer.

[ 05-03-2001: Message edited by: QwikSticks ]

When drift fishing try curly tail grubs instead of yarn when things are slow or in a combat zone like blue creek the little extra action is all it take some times

Tip 1. If you use a Mag Wart or Hot-N-Tot for a bait diver try this to increase your catch. Take a piece of surgical tubing and put over the rear treble hook on the plug so that it sticks straight out behind the plug and won’t tangle with your leader on the front belly hook that has the bait. Bingo if a fish decides to take a smack at the plug he has a treble hook staring him in the mouth or he can go for the full meal deal and grab your bait, which is a few feet behind the plug.

Tip 2. To add color and flotation to a beaded hook on a Kwik fish or Mag Wart in one easy step. Heat the shank of the treble hook just enough to melt its way through a cheater put it in the position you want and when it cools it will be glued in place.

Tip 3. Use a small piece of tape-backed foam to stick on plugs and lures to add your favorite stank juice to, this method will hold the scent for a long tome.

Scott [img]null[/img]

[ 05-06-2001: Message edited by: RiverLiver ]

if you are fishing a river tide water area trolling plugs and fish are jumping and you get no bites, speed up to 4 to 5 mph and set your drag loose, i have caught a ton of silvers and kings going that fast, when they hit the plug it almost pulls the rod out of the boat. a light drag is a must.(parrot magnum)

[ 05-03-2001: Message edited by: dogsalmon ]

When the water is low and clear as it was this year fish a jig and bobber right down through the middle of the rapids. You'll be surprised how often your bobber will go down in the rough stuff. Make sure you fish your jig a foot or 2 deeper than you normally would though because the jig will definately not be drifting straight below the bobber.

Here is another tip
When fishing for Coho I have found that they like spinners with white on them if you dont have any spinners with white on them thake some white out and you can make your own designe I like either striped or spotted they go nuts over that stuff

OK when fishin at night take along a little camera flash and before every cast hold the golw in the dark lure or what ever up to the flash and flash it the lure will glow much longer remember to cover the flash completly so you dont spook any fish.

This is the last one I can post so I better make it good right :rolleyes:

This one might be well known I am not sure
When fishing a new river stop and take a look at what you are going to be fishing
Admire the scenery look at what god has graced you with.

If you take the time to look at the little things your fishing adventure will be much more fulling regardless of if you catch any fish

Well Doug Jr., you still get another posted tip to try - because the second of your 4 in a row goes over to the TIP DUMPSTER thread . But I truely agree with that last one there!

RT

[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: RT 1 ]

1.Use orthadontist rubber bands to hold bait on a jig head. You can get them at some sporting goods stores.
2.Chap stick will make a good emergency line floatant like mucilin.
3.Cutting a Double Taper line in half and attaching dacron to it makes a great shooting head fly line.

Best tip I have is if one wants a good day of fishing is to make sure you leave the wife at home. That way you have no complaining about the weather, slow fishing, or uncomfortable conditions, You can also avoid multiple trips to shore to get her to a bathroom.

When fishing Kwikfish, I put a small piece of velcro on the belly near the back hook and attach strips of mylar to it. The action of the Kwikfish "swims" the mylar and the flash and additonal movement seems to drive em wild. If you bead chain your treble(s) you can lengthen the mylar and get even more "fish tail". I like to hide the hooks in the mylar. Strikes are vicious.

If fishing double rigs like a lot of tend to do on the willamette. Run a barrel swivel up your line then a T bead below it, tie your normal setup for single rigs on. run the t bead up to where you want your second rig. Push a toothpick into the bead and attach your second leader to the barrel swivel with a snap. Work great keep your upper leader about as long or shorter than the distance to your lower rig to help avoid tangles when realing in. When fish hits the upper it slides down to the lower and you dont have a huge distance of leaders to try and reach a fish with the net. Also while sitting in the baot trolling get other rigs ready, spinners and other baits tied to a leader with snap swivel can be changed quickly. Experiment dont get stuck trying the same bait all day if they arent biting give the fish some options.

Here one tip that I won't get killed for telling. It has helped land many salmon.

On cut plug herring, using slip tie. Pull the back hook so it is 3-4 inchs behind the bait. Many times the kings/springers(depending what country you are fishing) will swim behind the bait and nip the tail, and turn away. This puts the trailer right in the corner of their mouths. This works well for anchovy rigs also.

Here is one that I have done without any pressure to catch summer runs and spring chinook and thought it would be a great tip to share with those that are avid fisherman, and a tip to get away from most fisherman.
Take a sled or driftboat up and fish from 9:00pm on fishing vortex's (the lighted lure). I have done this for 7 years now on the NF of the Lewis with no pressure. I take the sled up late and backtroll vortex's through the same way I would backtroll baitdivers and shrimp. But at night it is a little different. First you need an extra battery with a spotlight to navigate the river, second I recommend using 30lb tuff line and a little light stick that you tape to the tip of your rod so you can enhance and see the action of your vortex's. Next, as I mentioned earlier backtroll these through the same water you would fish regular plugs but also fish the softer water too. Fish that water that moves real slow and is 4-8ft deep, fish get lazy at night and tend to lay in softer water, hence the tuff line to help you see the action of your plugs better. We usually start this around the middle of june when the weather gets nice and do it through the end of august, and average 3-12 hookups a night. And one other thing we did land a adult sockeye in the lewis doing this once, green body and red head about 6 pounds, must have been a kokanee that made it below the dam and to the ocean and back???
Good luck and we will see you there!
Keith

The best tip I can think of that will cover most situations, is to maintain a mental edge. Sometimes after hours of casting, drifting, etc... with no results, it's easy to just kind of go through the motions. If you try to remain focused, no matter how bad the fishing seems at the moment, I think the end result will always be better. This doesn't mean be obsessive, and forget about everything and everyone around you, just try to be a little more in tune with the feel of the drift, or the look of the water etc...

Awareness of what other fisherman around you are having success with, and being sure that you have whatever technique you are using dialed, should equal more hookups, and more fish landed.

Here's another top secret post.
For those who fish chums in rivers will love this one.
Many fish bobbers and jigs, kwikfish, plugs, corkies, ect. But one thing I have came up with that I have never read or heard about before is:
Go and buy some size #50 and #60 hotshots that are silver, also buy some cherise paint (pink) take them home take the hooks off and dip them in cherise paint. Now drift fish these with a 48" leader just as you would a bait of eggs. FISH ON!!!
Also do the same with some real small dick nites, and seps in pink drift fishing these just drives them nuts. Many of times I have wore a school of fish out with bobbers and jigs, corkies/yarn etc. and backed it up with this and had a hayday!!
Now that they have closed my favorite chum river with no catch and release, I guess I don't really need the secret unless I go and fish some puget sound rivers, or down on some southern oregon rivers!
Keith

[ 05-04-2001: Message edited by: stlhdr1 ]

[ 05-09-2001: Message edited by: stlhdr1 ]

A couple rules I fish by is to use bait/tackle I have confidence in, as an example, I am a diehard believer in Gami. hooks as well as Maxima line, Loomis/Lamiglass rods and Shimano/Penn reels, I have used these items for years and they work great for me. As for baits, I have a personnal preference in how my eggs are cured and I am very picky about how my plug cut herring roll, if it doesn't spin properly I won't use it, its all a matter of confidence, I know if I pay attention to a few detail, I catch more fish.
Rule #2, which I apply more to guiding in Alaska then here in Wash. is to stay in a spot that I have confidence in, if I get to a spot and I'm marking either fish or bait or both on my graph and there not biting, I'll wait them out, more times then not it pays off, stick and stay, make it pay.

when fishing in open ocean water and you get a fish on, i carry an orange ball and throw it out in the water where the fish hit, this way you can go back to the spot and usualy pick up some more fish.

Remember that some of the fun non-serious tip posts are copied over to the TIP DUMPSTER thread. You can also put up some funny jest tips over there too. I think some guys, especially if they are from the Oly area, will actually try them out.

RT

I greatly increased my strike to hookup ratio drift fishing, when I started "pegging" my corkies down snug against my hooks with a broken off toothpick. Keeps the corkie from floating separately from the hook, keeps the bait in the strikezone better too. Old bass worm fishing trick.
Greg

RT, I wasn't gonna tell this one, but you've seen those Lindy floating jigheads the walleye guys use? put a pink grub on one and drift it through your favorite steelhead hole, and hang on! I rigged it just like I would a corkie rig, with a 24" leader and a slinky.
Greg

When you tie a knot, apply a dab of your favorite bait oil to the line before you pull the knot tight.
This helps the knot "seat" well and adds scent to whatever you are connecting to....

here is my tip #2
Whenever I fish from the bank, I always take notice on who has fish on the beach, or I ask if anyone has caught anything. Invariably, someone is always willing to tell you who has hooked fish that day. I then watch to see what they are doing. How long is their leader? What are they using? (corkie, jig, eggs. shrimp?) How much weight are they using? Where are they casting? (short casts, middle, long?) What color are they using, maybe I can find out what test line. All these thing are easy to notice thru observation and quickly give me an idea of how to get an effective presentation into the zone fish are present and active, giving me a better chance at a hook up

Lots of great tips here guys. My tip is to open up a word document and copy/paste every tip here into it. If your like me you'll remember about 10% of these down the road. Now I can go back and put them into categorized documents to review later.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

This contest is a great idea. I don't check the site very often - but am glad I did today. I especially like the preparation-h and aerial photo tips (for different reasons).
Ok, my tip is different: Bring a girl along. I truly believe it ups your odds, and it certainly makes the most mundane day on the water a pleasurable and memorable one. This of course assumes that you treat her with respect, don't chew her out, grab her rod, etc. Like many of you I have tried to unscent and then re-scent myself, hands, gear, lures, bait - but all my girl does is be herself. Statistically, she's batting 2.000 for steelhead! One trip (guided) on the Sol Duc on a cool March day. We hit +10 together, landed 6 (all released of course). Our usual haunt is Pacific salmon in the salt. Most days she outfishes me. Not very many things in this world beat watching your girl haul in that big one either. We're like a team now, trying different techniques, depths, baits, lures, etc. The day is always interesting, and we usually outfish our all-male counterparts on the water too.
And for you girls out there: You are a catch (many a fellow fisher has hoped wistfully for a permanent partner on this river, ocean, and life) - know that you have a secret weapon to haul in that very big, important one: yourself. Have a good one.

Lingcod love rocks and I hate to lose gear hung up in the rocks so before I go I get a bucket of 6oz to 12oz rocks and take 20# test and wrap the rock about 6 times (no knots) then take a piece of duct tape and wrap arround the line and rock and leave a foot out for a dropper. Most of the time when the rock gets hung up the 20# dropper will pull out of the tape. Lingcod love rocks SO feed them with rocks ! The tape holds best if the rocks are dry

when trolling plugs and getting no hits, try putting the trolling motor in reverse until the plug pops up behind the boat, then put it back in gear and speed up. alot of times a fish will take a plug as its diving, especialy if fish are jumping in the area.