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 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 ...Trust me
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 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

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.

Wow, some great tips!! Here are a couple of mine, hope they are new to some of you.

1. I make all of my slinkie weights with solid or hollow core lead instead of buck-shot. First pull out a foot or more of the coiled up lead. Now being careful not to cut all the way through the lead, gently begin sectioning the lead into pea-sized pieces with a pair of side cutters. I generally section up an entire roll of lead. Next slip the desired length of split lead into a piece of parachute cord and melt both ends with a candle. The lead pieces within the cord can now easily be broken into their individual parts by rotating them back and forth. Very easy, inexpensive, works great!

2. One problem with scents is keeping them on your bait. To solve this problem, melt petroleum jelly (Vaseline) in a pan on the stove, low heat. Once it's melted, add in your favorite scent; I often add anise oil. Remove from heat, and stir gently as the concoction cools then pour into your chosen container. I generally use empty film canisters. Once fully cooled the scent will take on the consistency of P-jelly, perfect for plugs, etc.

3. My final tip would be to make damn sure you get a pre-nuptual agreement before marriage!!


Happy Angling

RM

I have a few tips I'll share. Some are ones that were given to me, I've thought of, and some were ones I've read about over the years.

With rags that you plan to use bait/scent with. What I like to do at times is poke holes throughout a dozen or so of them. Just after I do that I throw them into a jar and cover them with the scent I plan on using. They will soak up the scent through those small holes you've punched through them and the yarn on the rag. I don't pre-thread mine so don't worry about having to throw leader and hook in. The key is to throw them in IMMEDIATELY after you poke holes through them!!!

Ok, to make a quick and easy spinning lure with plenty of flash. Keep pack of reflection tape (the type you buy in sheets to cut and put on flashers/spinners/etc) cut into about a 1/4 inch wide by 3 1/2inch long strips (you really need to check for what's best for you length wise, I cut it by sight and am guessing on dimensions). What you do is take a corkie and center tape strip on it. Only let it wrap around half corkie so that you have two wings on both sides. Then fold tape down on one side and up on the other so it makes alternating wings. You'll get spin and flash and ALOT less stress on losing it over a S n G. Is a quick fix to have handy if you run out of your S n G and only have corkies left and the tape strips take virtually no room.

Ok, lastly. I've shown a few people this. I do believe Os is one and a few friends. Here's a really easy shrimp threader to make that makes baiting whole sandshrimp much easier. Get a round piece of wood, roughly 3/4 inch in diameter and maybe 3 inches long. Next get a piece of brass piping, maybe 1/16 in diameter (I'm not sure on exact dimension of tubing, but it's pretty small) and cut it about 3-4" long. Must be HOLLOW. You can buy it at hobby stores, they use it for fuel systems for remote control airplanes. Drill a hole in wood just a hide smaller then tubing anywhere on wood you prefer and tap tubing into wood. I put mine near end. You can easily push shrimp onto without damaging it (except internally). Once you put shrimp on, put point of hook into open hole of tubing sticking out of shrimp. You can either wrap line around handle so it's tight or hold in fingers while you easily thread shrimp onto line. Shrimp isn't crushed and lasts many times longer then if you impale it by hand.

1) when i use a slip float i first tie on the float stop, bead, float, bead, then i tie on a snap swivel, snap first. that way i can add a slinky weight to the snap so that i can throw lighter jigs without re-tying to add more weight.

2) when drift fishing i also tie on a snap swivel snap first so that i can change weight just by snapping your slinky weights on or off.
(this also helps keep your line from twisting)
p.s. i use a no.2 ball bearing swivel

I've got a good one for the contest which I picked up from an old timer at Barrier Dam. To add weight to your drift gear, or float set up just leave a little extra line after tying on your leader and crimp some hollow core on. The weight will pull off easy, or harder depending on how you crimp it. It makes adding/changing weight a snap without the snap swivel, surgical tubing, or parichute cord. I've had a lot of success with this. Hope it works for you too!

Tip (1) this tip is just for the bobber and jig fishermen. How many times have you tied your favorite knot to your jig head and hope that it will not slip in the eye and then making your jig float straight up and down instead of horizontal, especially when you really got to get it way out there? Hears a simple way to prevent your knot from moving on your jig head. Just carry a small tube of supper glue with you and dab a little drop of glue right on the spot where the eye and line connect. You'll be amazed how many more casts you can make without your jig changing its floating position.

Tip (2) this one is for the fishermen that use bait-casting reels. How many times have you gotten backlashes and had fits getting them out? It seems that you never have the right tool with you and end up trying to get it out with a hook or what ever is avaible. This method is slow and awkward and usually leaves a nick in your line. Trying using the tool that almost every fisherman is always caring with him and just doesn't think about it. It called a "comb". It works great. The comb won't nick your line because they are usually made of nylon. The comb is usually long enough so that you can really get some real leverage to pull the nest out. Use the end pong of the comb to pick out the nest. This method works really great when your hands are so frozen that you can hardly move your fingers. I have passed this trick on to hundreds of other fishermen over the years and now it your turn.

Cowlitzfisherman,

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

This one is the best money saver that you will ever see on this BB!(I think) This one is for the guys that love to use their favorite scent generously! This one will save all you big bucks! Try this little trick. Go down to your local drug store and buy a couple points of "mineral oil". This is what all the food handlers use to oil there food cutting and grinding tools. It has no odor, nor taste, and its all natural oil base! Mix one "new" bottle of your most favorite scent (i.e. sand shrimp, hearing, or what ever you use) to 1 pint of mineral oil. You now have "one pint" of your most favorite scent! You now can bathe your lures more then you thought possible. The bait stores will hate me…but I bet you wont! Try it, you'll love it!

Cowlitzfisherman,

Is the taste of the hook worth the sting of the hook????

Hey guys and gals, I have a sure steelhead taker rig. It consists of an egg loop leader and 1/3 of an ear plug, yes I said ear plug. The ear plug is hot pink and light green swirls. Needle leader through ear plug, place pale pink and white yarn in egg loop and if you want to spruce it up in low conditions add an egg cluster. It takes them every time. Have caught natives and hatcheries. All in the 15 lb. range. Also, we all must remember to try to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. If we practiced being courteous to all fishermen at all times. Then we wouldn't have near as many problems on the rivers. Try not to interfere with their fishing and you would be real suprised how polite they will be to you. Remember, keep fishing and always try to have a great attitude and turn the other cheek every now and then. Good things come to those who practice these habits.

Garbage bags. Garbage bags? Garbage bags for survival needs for one.

Garbage bags for fish transport for sure. You'll get none of those annoying, "did you catch any" "where" or "on what" questions. It seems pretty clear you probably have fish in there but they never ask. Choose a dark color for confidence. It works!!

Garbage bags for ....... yes garbage. The bonus about The Aqua Man Garbage Bag Storage System(rubber bands) has nothing to do with the millions of uses of the garbage bag! It's the rubber bands!! Rubber bands for rods, line or stops etc. Just fold and roll the bag up like a man and wrap it up in with crossing rubber bands for compact storage. The whole system will fit in the smallest vest pocket. Don't let the inexpensiveness of this product full you. No fisherman need be without one of these megafunctional little units.

I'm going to put in a couple tips I have posted before (they aren't entries in the contest here). And I have a jig question that could lead to a good tip that all of us could use. ...

- Tip: While canola and mineral oils do work well in baitscent combos I feel compelled to tell you about the best one available ... Spectrum brand Flax Oil. This is coldpressed from flax seeds and strained. This is a highly refined oil that is rich in omega-3 fats, as is fish oil, and while it has little taste the taste is does have is slightly 'fishy'. It's the only non-bait oil that I use anymore for my custom scents. It's great! Find it in health food stores or dept.'s, and drink a tablespoon a day to get the same vessel heatlth benefits as eating omega-3 type fish (salmon, tuna, etc.) 3 times a week!

- Tip: Get a couple of the approximate 2" by 5" lure tape sheets, one in chrome mylar and one in flame red (or other good colors such as chartruse or cerise pink). With the skinoil washed off your hands, carefully remove the backing from both sheets and carefully stick them together, trying to smooth out any lumps or bubbles; and pressing it all well together. Then cut varying sizes of torpedo shaped pieces - about 1 1/4" by 1/4". Then punch or slit a small hole up near one of the tapered ends and then put your egg loop leader hook thru it and let it dangle from the lower bend in the hook. Put your egg cluster on. You now have a tiny 'flicker' spinner hanging off your bait that flashes from chrome to red. Flcikers more if the eggs aren't hanging over it, but still works a bit if they do. Good for driftfishing and tailout swings - and great for backbouncing! Make smaller ones for clear water silvers/steelhead and larger ones for colored water or chinooks. Just bring the compressed sheets and small scissors along to adjust sizes for conditions.

- Question: I have tried using the smallest wiresnap at the end of my jig leaders to facilitate the quick changing of jigs to work a hole. Of course this allows it to hang more down than level (as Cowfish mentioned above), so is not as productive of rigup. Can anyone think of a way to have a quickchange rigup and still have the jig stay more stationary level? Maybe Cowfishes superglue gel trick would work with the tiny wiresnap for this? (Assuming the the drop of hardened glue scrapes off easily enough). Ideas?

Idea (not a contest tip):

Another idea I have but haven't had time to try yet is find a way to secure a very small sardine filet to the underside of chinook spinner blades to both slow it down and put out the great fresh bait scent (as with Kwikfish). Maybe small dental rubber bands could do this? Or perhaps thread wrapping the small filet, or other bait piece, onto the treble hook shank could help productivity. If you try those with success let me know .

RT

RT-
I have actually rigged sardine fillets on spinners before. Which actually leads into another tip, another one I really didn't want to share because it's something that if someone had the time and money could make a lot of money on this idea.
I have successfully fished the mouth of the cowlitz with alvins but in the last two years I have just dominated with this rig, it goes like this:
What you need-
The ability to tie a spinner, a package of light sticks, components to a spinner and variable blades.
First, I tie my treble hook on then when you open the package to the light stick there will be a clear plastic tube inside. Take the clear plastic tube and slide it down on the spinner shank as if it were the body, next finish with a bead, interchangable blade clevis and you're done tying the spinner. Now when fishing the spinner, take the light stick and crack it so it luminates usually green or red light sticks work best. Insert the light stick into the plastic tube (you may need to lube up the tube so you can insert the light stick) once the light stick is in, the spinner sits a little cockeyed, so that is where the bait wrap comes in. I take a small piece of sardine or herring and wrap it on the opposite side of the light stick. It covers all senses that salmon and steelhead have. It's like a strobe light when you put it in the water.
I have had a ton of success on this at the mouth of the cowlitz during the fall, catching limits of chinook, steelhead and silvers. I have fished it both anchored and trolling with great success.
Keith

RT, What if you were to incorporate Cowlitzfisherman's tip, and pre-tie 36" or so leaders to the jigs you were going to use.
Superglue the knot so that the jig rides horizontally, and attatch the small wire clip to the other end of the leader. Then tie a small barrel swivel below the float, and you could snap on whatever jig you wanted to use at the moment.

When bonking a Freshly Caught Springer be sure to remove your thumb from the fishes mouth, as they have extremely teeth (sorry RBF! :p)

As RT has stated, Preparation H can be used as a substitute for shrimp oil, however DO NOT SUBSTITUTE SHRIMP OIL FOR PREPARATION H!

GutZ

ok, go to an art`s and craft store, buy some glitter, take the hooks off your plug and wipe it down with thinner, then spray some good glue on it, i use 3-m spray glue, then lightly sprinkle the glitter on it, after its dry spray some clear over it, it realy works, make sure you buy good glitter also. salmon go nuts over the newly painted plugs...chrome and red glitter work good, you can see it alot further under water than you can a regular chrome plug.

RT, When I fish with prawns I like to use a prawn threader. I like to run my line all the way through the prawn from nose to tail. If you use the store bought threaders they have a flat spot where you run your line through a small hole and when you pull your line through the prawn it rips the insides of the prawn up. I found that if you go to the local hardware store and get a piece of brass hinge it works alot better. The brass hinge looks like a long tube with a hole about the size of 40lb line. I cut me a piece about 10 inches long and bevel one end to a sharp point. Then all you do is slide the tube through your prawn nose to tail and then slide your line inside the tube. Once the line sticks out the blunt end pull the tube out of the prawn and slide the hook up the prawns nose. At this point you can straighten out your prawn or leave it bent. Then either add a spin-glo or what ever you like, spinner blades work good too! I think if you try this once you'll never want to do it any other way. Price of brass hinge(tube) about a $1.00 or $2.00 for 36".....Fishhead Vic

Rt, the trip better be somethin special. Here are two tips.
1. When bobber fishing tidewater use two hooks with a double tie to the lower hook. Ignore the lower hook when putting your bait on. 5%-10% of your fish will be hooked by the lower hook only.

2. Again when bobber fishing use a calibrated bobber. Fish are neurtal bouyant, and at times will just mouth your bait, when a fish mouths your bait with a calibrated bobber you will be able to see the bobber raise up a little.

Hey RT,

Maybe you could slip a short piece of VERY SMALL rubber tubing over the eye of your jig hooks, then snap through the rubber, through the eye, and back out through the rubber... might keep your jig from hanging the wrong way on the snap.

-N.

When using round cork floats, you can use the little mini glow sticks you can get at commercial fishing stores (SeaMar). Drill an extra hole in the cork float, just a shallow hole the depth of the length of the light stick, and slightly smaller than the light stick in diameter, so it jams in there. Position it just to the side of the regular stopper hole... allows you to fish a little earlier (o-dark 50) than you normally would, and still see the bobber go down.
I haven't tried it in super clear water, but depending upon how deep you drill the hole, not much of the stick is visible to the fish in the water.

-N.

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: StorminN ]

Here's one that will save you a ton of sandshrimp if your side drifting-credit should go to Robbin Rhoades-after you thread your shrimp on, slide a piece of foam/earplug above the shank of the hook so your shrimp has a "bumper". This will stretch your shrimp a ton and allow you more time on the water!

I guess I will give one up too. This is for all you float fisher people out there,You know when your float fishing and the float moving down river and your line is moving ahead of it and your trying to mend it and your float is moving out of the spot you want to be in. to help from doing this try line float for fly fisherman, cast it as far as you can and as you retrieve ithold the line float on your line all the to the bobber stop. this will make it so easy to mend or lift your back behind your float

Here's my four tries. Hope they're more lucky than my lottery numbers

1. When tieing slip tie mooching leaders use dacron for the slip tie material. This will reduce line friction and the chances of loosing fish from broken line.

2. When fishing herring for chinook brine your herring in rock salt, river water (the water you will be fishing works best), powder milk, and Mrs. Stewart's clothes brightner.

3. Purchase small ziplock bags and place your spinners and plugs in the bags when not in use. This will keep bad scents off them and keep them from getting scratched in the tackle box.

4. Always wash your plugs with Lemon Joy soap before fishing them and placing them back into the tackle box. It romves bad oders before fishing and removes scents add to the plug. The scent(s) we add to plugs wear down the finish.

Bringing this back toward the top.

--------------
RT
Admittance Gate Attendant
Sauk River Steelhead Ranch

My simple tip: Take a kid fishing, the look on his/her face when you've just netted their first silver-sided "monster" is unforgetable! Remember your first salmon or steelhead..I thought so.

Humpy
Smolt
Angler # 1224
posted 05-13-2001 09:58 pm

Howdy,
My tip is one I learned from Jean Enerson, Never ignore the obvious. The spot right next to the bridge often is as good as it looks. The spot where the fish jumped is a good place to cast. The type of lure that the guy who has caught 10 fish is using is worth a try, even if it's beneath your sporting ethics to catch that many fish. Know what I'm sayin'...

Posts: 23 | Homeport: Everett WA USA | Fishing Here Since: Jul 2000

Howdy,
RT on your float/jig question my advice would be to use a simple clinch knot to attatch the jig. For two reasons, first that knot grabs the eyelet tighter than most, and to ease the task of changing colors it can be undone with your thumb/finger nails. Also the clinch has like 80-85% breaking strength which I like, so as to avoid the line snapping off near your hand snarling a run with all that mono.
My tip is on spoon fishing for river Humpys.(can ya feel em coming) While pink spoons are tried and true producers, plain metallic finishes (chrome, brass) can be just as effective many times(red too) My real gem is a technique known as the Meisner twitch (named after its inventer) Cast out and slightly upcurrent of a horde of Pinks, and count down your spoon to what you suspect would be a foot or two off the bottom( as a rule of thumb I count a foot a second) counting will allow you to get a good feel of what is the danger zone saving you from snagging bottom or that log the fish love hiding around. The twitch is accomplished by dead drifting until the spoon swings nearly in front of your position and its weight is signaling a no slack situation between rod tip and lure. Now just wiggle that rod tip much like a timid K-mart shopper would while testing new rods in the sporting goods asile. No jerking, just that tip rapidly going past center a couple inches each way as fast and spastic as you can. Try doing this acouple feet under water in front of you to see the desired flutter/twinkle action this will impart on the spoon. Just don't be suprised if a gang of Humps appears right there in front of you all doing the death dance trying to grab what I think they take for a small batch of krill. Have some fun.

Gotta throw this one in to the mix, and it may appear cheesy. Here are my tips with an example.

Make sure you keep your eyes, mind and ears open when you fish. It seems easier said than done, but how many times do you go to a river and fish with the same old tried and true methods, strike out, then go home, and say there were no fish to be caught. Here are a few things that I would give a whirl.

1. What is everyone else using. If it's big gaudy stuff, try going 100% the opposite direction, and down size the color and size of your gear. Vice Versa is also true.

2. Change your leader lengths constantly. You never know where fish are going to be in the water column. Modify your weight when drift fishing. I have had great success by sometimes fishing a little faster, or a little slower than actual current speed.

3. Try fishing water that others pass up. A prime example is the rolling water near sweepers, on inside corners. We had great luck fishing this stuff last year in Alaska for steelheads. Guys were rowing right by this stuff, and we whacked fish all day long for a week straight, because they hadn't had anything put in front of them yet.

4. Watch what other guys are doing that are more succesful than you. My Dad used to tell me if the guy is standing on one foot and chewin gum, copy exactly what he's doin. How many times have you ever gone to the river, and just watched succesful fisherman catch fish. There is a reason for it.

5. Be mobile. Sometimes there is a night and day difference between staying in the honey hole, and heading for new water. Don't be afraid to experiment with new spots.

6. Explore new water when the fishing is great. In know the old addage is "don't leave fish, to find fish". Unfortunately the best time to find new areas that hold fish, is when the fishing is great in the old honey hole. You are more likely to hook up in new spots, and gain confidence to have another spot for a rainy day.

7. If you are drift fishing, be very aware of the water you are covering. A foot further upstream, to the center, or downstream, allows you to cover totally different water. Break the hole down like a grid, and cover every square foot of it. If you ever sight fish steelies in ultra clear water, you'll see how they react to your gear. This is why being persistent, and having an organized means of covering the water is so important.

8. If your spot turns ice cold, you may be better off by sitting on the bank for 30 minutes, and resting the hole. Can't tell you how many times we thought the hole was fished out. Sat on the bank for a half hour, ate a sandwich, touched up my hook, put on new leader, then step in the hole and whack another handful of fish.

I think we could all do a lot better by just slowing down a little bit, and keeping our senses tuned in to what is going on around us. Keep an open mind, experiment a little bit, and try to show them something they don't see from other guys. Good luck and good fishin.

Bringing this back toward the top of the BB for a 24 hour deadline extention, to midnight Monday the 21st. (Because I forgot to post an alert about the deadline coming up, which I had planned on posting Friday for those that had missed this thread). ...

I will then pick a top 10 and send them to knowledgable fishermen not entered in the contest. The cummulative votes will decide a winning entry and runner up unique fishing tip. ... I won't post the top 10 picks so the next 10 best guys, etc., won't get upset . Yes, I am a chicken about my 10 picks. They will all be good ones and the winner will be voted on, so no one guy has to take any heat for the winning picks; anounced by Friday. And thanks much to all who participated, and thus have helped all of us with some excellant fishing ideas. - Steve (RT)

Contest over. Winners announced momentarily. Thanks to all who participated in giving out a lot of great tips! We have all helped each other become better fishermen.

RT