My friend (who is not very knowledgeble about fishing) went to a local tackle store and asked what to buy for sockeye. This tackle shop promptly sold him two flatfish at $6 each.

I'll not name names, but if you read the Thursday Outdoor reports in the Times it's the shop that gives lake Washington perch and cutthroat reports.

My other friend Tom and I had to rib Brad about his gear. I even let him put it on for an hour after we got close to our limits. Needless to say, not one bump as the bare hook rigs caught another 3 fish. I know flatfish work but not near as well as bare hooks. Of course, the profit margin isn't quite the same. I hope Tom and I convinced my friend to never go back to that shop and to go to Outdoor Emporium instead. Oh, it was the owner that sold Brad the flatfish.

Wish he had asked me first...

The flatfish seem pretty expensive for $6 each. But I wonder if the store was all out of red hooks. I went to a couple of places and they were all out of red hooks because of the sockeye mania.

Who uses red anyway? We had much better luck on blue!

Hey Mike if they were red or chrome they work as well, you just need to know how to fish them is all, if you talk to any of the old timers that did this lake for years that is what they used and flat out cought many fish......

see ya, Bud.

I got 3 hits on flat fish and 2 hits on hooks. I think the more aggressive / bigger fish go for the flatfish.

We wernt getting anything using bare hooks so started switching over to the old stanbye and picked a couple of 6-8 pound males using a u-20 flatfish bright red. Have quite a collection of those net catchers and allmost didnt bring the box of old school sockeye gear.

well... I'm not saying you can't catch fish on the u-20s because I know guys can and have. But I don't think they hold a candle to the bare hook rig.

God forbid that some tackle shop owner that went out and spent a bunch of money so he would have enough Red ,Silver and pink flatfish for the demand that the predicted 1,000,000 fish run into lake Washington might have Would be a big enough jerk to try to sell something to a newbie other than bare hooks for salmon bait on a one day opener. I guess only a real jerk would want to be in the high profit world of tackle sales. Get a grip My tackle guy tried to sale em to me while I was buying red hooks. Open your own shop and you may understand why.no I don't own or work in a tackle shop [/LIST]

I'm curious as to how you catch a fish on a bare hook, are you lining them?

Steeliefreak,

Sockeye are krill eaters in the ocean. Krill closely follow a small red hook in color and form. If you put a dodger in front of it to attract them, (appears to be small fish feeding on the krill), then they will very willingly hit the bare hook. Out of all my Lake Washington sockeye adventures, I have yet to pull one in hooked from the outside in, so they are aggressively going after it. Prior to this discovery a few years ago, flatfish were the standard method. I've tried both and find that the bare hook clearly out fishes everything else I've tried.

Achewter, you're missing my point. I've bought u-20 flatfish as a back up and have a few in my tackle box. My point is simply that my newbie friend walks in, asks what should he use for sockeye and is sold $6 flatfish. The owner said not one word about bare hooks to him.

Now if your best friend came to you and said " Achewter, what should I try for sockeye this Saturday?" would you tell him to tie on a flatfish and wish him good luck? I don't think so.

Like I said, I told my freind to frequent a tackle store that is honest and not out to make a quick buck, but out to make a steady customer. I spend a ton of money at Outdoor Emporium because the owner and employees have always been honest with me and provided good service. That's how a tackle store stays in business and keeps customers. If this other place had given my friend the complete story he would have shown up on my boat with bare hooks, a dodger, and flatfish. And I would never have started this thread...

Thanks for clearing that up Predator Dawg, I knew they were Krill eaters but that thought crossed my mind alittle to late. That is a very interesting approach, pretty ingenious.

Back in the late 80s we were having a banner sockeye year and the limit was 6 per person. After 10 days or so into the season fishing U-20s I was only catching 1-2 fish a morning. I found out about the bare hook and went out the first time and put 16 sockeye in the boat in a couple hours. No doubt in my mind that bare hooks outfish U-20s 10 to 1. I've went from never limiting the boat to almost always limiting the boat overnight.

Hey Mike
First I would like to thank you for what you do with WA.Lakes. I realy enjoy it and find it informative. Your post cought me in the wrong mood. I was thinking of the Tackle store I prefer when I read it and got a little defensive.
I like to suport small biz whenever I can because I strugle with one of my own. I know what its like to get stuck with product I can't move and feel for the smaller guys that can't absorb loosing the investment that most of them probably made on sockeye gear. I mean lets face it the red, black and blue gamiez are always going to move but those red pink and silver FF will be hangen there a long time.
Tight lines and keep up the good work...Art

Art, Nice fish in your avatar!

No problem. I'm thinking of making Brad use the flatfish all day Saturday just to rub it in.

I feel compelled to reply to this thread. The store in question is my favorite tackle shop in Seattle. The internet can be powerful in both positive and negative ways. Before anyone blazenly blacklists a shop, I think some careful thought is due. I was in the store on Friday, before sockeye mania, and I noticed two very large hand-drawn diagrams above the single cash register in the store to assist people in their purchase of sockeye gear. In regards to lures, both diagrams clearly recommend BARE HOOKS in various colors, and U2 FLATFISH. Also, right beside the cash register, are some well-worn cardboard boxes. One for silver flatfish, one for red flatfish, and two for bare books. The owner said all the red flatfish sold out last week. He wasn’t pushing old product for sure. Pretty remarkable for a one day fishery. He still has a surplus of bare hooks and 2 silver flatfish. The owner may not have “said one word about bare hooks” – but the very visible diagrams and boxes sure did.
I have fished sockeye too and my catch rate is about even for both techniques. You might have a point if your friend was sold a Budweiser bass plug – but flatfish have, and continue to, catch sockeye.
Furthermore, this store has gone out of their way to assist me in the past. I buy bulk maxima ultragreen from them. Yes it costs a little more than Outdoor Emporium, but they always let me bring in my roll and will spool the line on my reels (sometimes 6 at a time) for free – even years later.. They also sell licenses, which OE does not. The licenses are more headache than profit center, but I think they do it as service to the sportfishing community. They also repair reels and rods on-site. Few others, including OE do the same. Once I brought some reels in to reload, and the owner noticed that the drag was almost gone. She (yes they are a married couple) opened up the reel, dug out an old fiber washer and repacked with new silicone grease – no charge. She gave me a half-dozen too for future use. That’s service. While I was there, an old-time customer volunteered that they had the best worms and maggots around – better even than Texas where he used to fish. Now I don’t fish with either, but it’s nice to know that some stores take the time and effort to stock up on rare and unusual items. The fellow after him was buying several dozen frozen herring for a trip to Neah Bay. They looked good – frozen solid. They have also special ordered many small items for me in the past and had them ready for pick up in less than three days. That’s service.
Mike – I’m not picking a fight – I just think the other side of the story deserves being told too. Hope you and your friends get your limits this Saturday.

CD, thanks for the response and I don't take it as picking a fight. I didn't name the store because I realize there are two sides. My friend may be misrepresenting the interaction with the owner, I don't know. I'm just reporting what was said to me.

I'm glad you have had good experiences with the store. I think that for any of these independant tackle stores to survive they have to go the extra mile. I'll ask my friend if he saw the sign or needs glasses. BTW, for a further example of how much a newbie my friend is, read the post I'm adding to the "Funny L Wash Stories" thread.