Anybody know an details about the migratory habits of dogfish. Just curious, seems some years there are lots of them, some years none, rare in the winter but lots in summer. Two weeks ago, there were very few in the central sound, this weekend so may that fishing with herring was nearly impossible.

I dragged and drifted herring through the Tulalip Bubbble for two hours Sunday morning with nary a dogfish.

Good question -- what attracts/repels them? Does anything predate them, like seals or sea lions?

They can travel 5,000 miles a year, in schools segregated by size and gender, migrating with cooler waters as the seasons change. They eat everything from jellyfish to lobsters and are a popular food themselves in Europe and Asia. Spiny dogfish can take 20 years to mature. They may live as long as 100 years.

They generally like water that is at or around, and above 50 degrees.

Thanks Hey - Now for another question, what kind of bait don't they like? (fat chance!)

I have yet to catch one on a flasher/green hoochie combo with a strip of herring. I did catch a black rockfish last Sunday on the same set-up, so I sped up.

I would invest in a downrigger if I were you. That is, if you don't already own one.

Look at it this way. Add up all of the money you spend on fishing for a single trip. Gas, bait, and most importantly, your free time. Now multiply that times the number of trips you go out on in a single year. Should be a pretty good number if you get out about 10 times a year or more. Now multiply that times 10 years, a conservative lifespan of a downrigger. It should be a very big number by now. Now how many times in 10 years of fishing without a downrigger did you get skunked, or only produced a partial limit? Would you have paid $200 to catch 5 to 10 more fish each year for ten years? I would. They also save you from the dogs, as I have never caught one while trolling with one, even when I just use plug cut herring.

Best of luck, Andy

[ 07-16-2001: Message edited by: Dogfish ]

Hi Chip,
I fish Pt Defiance quite a bit, from what I have heard and read over the years is that the dogfish come in to spawn this time of year. They are usually pretty thick at the Pt. in July. They will start to thin out at the end of the month and in to August but as long as you are fishing herring, whether it is mooched or trolled you will be into the pesky dogfish. I mostly troll and use hooches which cuts way down on the dogfish, but they will still hit those also. Anyway you look at it, you just have to deal with em'!!!
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

Andy - Got downriggers, was fishin em with flashers and herring, still caught dogfish on every drop at Jeff Head. Part of teh problem may be that I tend to troll very slow for kings. I eventually switched to a silver horde spoon and caught a dog on that!

I wonder if the dogs are thick do they put the salmon off the bite or drive them away?Even though there was lots of bait showing last Sunday a Jeff Head, I did not see a fish caught when the dogs were thick.

Wow! Dogfish on a downrigger? I always troll between 2 and 4 mph, you must ahve been crawling. Picked up a 35lb king at Sekiu on Sunday when we were averaging about 3.5 mph. Had to let him go. Glad to hear that you have the downriggers, it will certainly help your percentages. Take care and keep catching. Andy