HI, I AM FAIRLY NEW TO SALMON FISHING ,WE BOUGHT A 22 FT ARIMA HARD TOP AND HAVE BEEN FISHING REDONDO,BROWNS POINT AND POINT DEFIANCE AREAS .WE HAVE BEEN USING CUT PLUG,COYOTE SPOONS AND HOOCHIES BEHIND THE FLASHERS 36 TO42 IN. AND RUNNING THE DOWNRIGGERS ANYWHERE FROM 30 TO 150 FT OF WATER. I HAVE BEEN SEEING FISH ON THE FISHFINDER BUT NOT MUCH LUCK ON GETTING A BITE OR A HOOK UP. CAUGHT ONE FISH IN A MONTH AND HAVE BEEN OUT EVERY WEEKEND ANY HELP OR ADVISE WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

Cut the potassium out of your diet...

Stay away from the banans!

Stick with it and the fish will come. Watch what others are doing around you and try and see if you can see there gear. Spy on them with binoculars if you can. If you notice if a certain boat is catching fish, watch when they drop there gear. Take notice of how far behind the boat they are running the bait. Time how long it takes them to drop and then try it on your downrigger. Is it close to where you're marking fish?
Try and attend a Salmon University seminar.
Go to their web site and go to regions. Down load the info on the area you are fishing, print it out and take it with you fishing so you can refer to it.
This is just a few ideas for you and there are a million more. Just keep picking peoples' brain.
You bought the boat, they will come.

It could be a number of things:
1 wash hands
2 the speed of your trolling
3 same as above (na nas)
7 you have a arima j/k

Ron, A lot of good ideas, but #7, that's cold!
(but funny)

First, some days are like that. I started COLD in area 11. No history, no idea what I was doing and no internet. I had a meager season the first year away from the docks and banks.


There is no shortcut. You cannot possibly learn half of what you need to know, before you fish the water. It's the school of hard knocks for all of us.


I recomend keeping your ears and eyes open, but dont get caught up in doing "exactly " what someone else does. I cant tell you all of the rotten ways I trick people who follow me.


IMO, speed and action are the primary factors. If your downrigging, stick your rodtip in the water and check the action along side the boat. Adjust speed and setup accordingly.


Pay attention to the angle (resistance) of your mainline and cable. Because of the screwy tide directions in that area, you never know what direction or speed to go till your moving. Learn the angle (resistance), there's a "zone" that will catch fish. Try to stay within the zone. That angle will of course change with different weight, depth, setup. That's why I added (resistance). You can feel the right combination.


Try using a second rod(requires second fisherman) with a diver and different setup than your downrigger.

Adjust your speed and pattern, make random turns to intice the badboys.


Try fishing the shoreline. I like to stay 5-10 feet off the bottom and follow the contour at a given depth. @35'-65' is a good range.


Change up if it's not working.


Once you get the techniques down, work with the secondary factors like location, color, type, depth, scent, ect..


Wev'e discussed just a fraction of the knolledge you will learn in time. Dont hesitate to try something/place different. Be the next one to post a succesful new technique or location.


One last thing. Dont use too light a leader in area 11. There are big fish out there. That was THE most painful lesson to learn.


Hairlip.

Hire a good fishing guide for the day. I've done this each time I have moved the boat to a new location. 10 years back when I started getting more serious about fishing I hired a guide for 5 days, had him rig the boat and tackle box. After that my fish catch numbers dramatically increased.

Bear,

How does your boat do in the chop? Been thinking about the 22' myself for charter...

There is lots of good info above... Would you consider taking me out? Would like to see the boat handle and in turn, I can get you into some fish..

Bear I would take Downriggin up on the offer he knows the south very well.

I second that, it's quite a generous offer.

You could hang out with me and I will tell you what you need to know and show you how to fish Redondo.

I dont have an Arima but i have been dying to get out on the boat with a guide, but everytime i call one of them they are always booked. I am always out there in area 11 getting skunked. I know it is my technique but it is hard to get info from some of these guys. If any of you guys have an opening let me know. I have heard so many different things and my wife is getting tired of me spending money on new gear and not getting any fish. Been fishing the Carbon and its been fun but you talk about a lot a learning curve ( i have a lot to learn). If anyone is interested in going out to area 11 let me know, i would love to learn some proper techniques.

sp4466@hotmail.com

... and, since no one has mentioned it, try trolling with, not against, the current.

good luck

Many may disagree, but in the long run, it's hard to outfish BAIT. All the lures, hootchies, flies, and spoons on the market all all trying to imitate the real deal, so why not just fish with it and avoid the guesswork? If fishing fairly shallow water, 100ft or less, I try to focus my gear around the middle of the water column. Forty feet down in eighty feet of water, 20 feet down in forty feet of water, and so on. It has been my experience that no matter where the marks on the fishfinder are, most my fish still come from near mid water. Don't be afraid to vary your speed. As mentioned before, the angle of your downrigger wires is the best way to judge speed. Find a boat that's catching fish, place yourself off his beam for half a mile or so, and adjust your speed so that you match his progress. When you're going the same speed, check your downrigger wires, and note the angle which they go into the water. Keeping this angle in mind, continue to adjust your speed when going with or against the current, always trying to keep the proper wire angle. Often a slight increase or decrease in speed can trigger a salmon to strike. If I'm going through lots of mark on the fishfinder, I'll often speed up for 30 seconds or so, then slow down again. This is like jigging with your downriggers. As you speed up, your gear rises in the water column, and then falls as you slow down again. This covers more water, and changes the action of your baits.
If I could only have two flashers, one would be a white Lee&Bechold with the swivel on the wide end set in the far right hole, the other would be a red sided HOT SPOT. There are many other flashers which imitate the HOT SPOT, but in my experience, none of the imitations are as effective.
These are general guidelines I follow when trying to find fish in a new area. If you hear about a hot spoon and a hot depth, by all means try it. Also if you see people back at the dock or launch who caught fish where you didn't, go up and ask how their day went. Generally once you ask the first question, they share every thing they know with you. Where I live in Alaska, I don't hesitate to ask or share with the other charter boat captains over the radio every specific of how fish are being caught. Water depth, lure depth, bait, lure, color, anything to give you a bit of an edge.


good luck, take up one of these offers for a fishing trip.
david