Hoodsport Update

Did the tribes net Tues/Thurs? Anyone care to share what it was like up there today (Saturday) or after a trip up there tomorrow (Sunday)?

One word....SPECTACULAR! Chums were every where. Three of us, in my friends boat, landed at least 30 fish. All released all except for five. Man, my arm is sore. :p

All fair hooked? Just wondering how they are biting or if most of them are zombies...

I wonder the same thing. I'm from Portland and haven't fished chum that much. I've seen them real aggressive in river, literally chasing down your corkie. But up at hoodsport I've always wondered if I was just flossing them or if they were actually going for it. Do you think that most of the fish legally caught up there are taking the bait? I know that this is kind of a can of worms but inquiring minds want to know.

Flossed!! Alot of fun to catch, but nonetheless flossed!

RM

i've flossed more chums in the past month than i have my own teeth in the past ten years

So what about these guys talking about fishing a herring or jig under a bobber - those fish probably aren't flossed.

Fisher,

I tried a jig underneath a bobber many years ago at Hoodsport, also tried various chum flies with absolutely no success whatsoever. Several times I had the offering with literally hundreds and hundreds of fish near it with no take whatsoever. I'm sure there are guys on this board that are getting chums to bite, perhaps when the fish are still very bright. From my experience, however, nearly all have been flossed. I don't fish Hoodsport anymore because of the rude crowds that gather there, just not my type of fishing. Wish you luck!!

RM

The problem with the snag zone is that the fish are out of there element.They are running scared and wanting to reproduce not feed or deal with the instinct to do so.

I have had fair success with hearring at times in a spot I fish that doesn't have a snag zone hence alot less traffic.Trying to do it in an area with alot of preasure has never done me any good.

I was curious, so I tried the snag zone yesterday. Wow. The words that come to mind are "obscene" and "chaotic." There are so many fish, its impossible to tell what the heck is going on with your line. I have a very, very, very hard time believing any of those fish "bit" at anything, but there is no way to tell for sure. I felt some whacks at my line that were strike-like, but they could have been tails, or other lines, or anything...

My limitted experience at Hoodsport has told me that probably most if not all of the fish are flossed. But it seems like most people seem to at least pretend otherwise. So the real skill you need up there is flossing huh? Is it better to go river fishing for them, like in the Skok or something? I have definitely had chum chase down a corkie and hammer it river fishing down here so I know they will given the right conditions.

here's a dumb one - whats flossing

Its when the goal isn't to have the fish see the lure and bite it, but rather to get the leader into the fishes mouth like dental floss. Hopefully the hook will wind up embeded in the fishes mouth somehow, whether through its own movement, your detection and strike, having the line caught in its teeth, or a combination of all of the above. It's not really as sporting or exciting as actually having fish take the bait, but some fisheries are mostly a floss fishery.

A prime example of this type of fishing is Jim Teeny sight fishing for salmon or steelhead in riffles and flossing them with his nymphs. There's a real skill to it - you just have to decide if its the kind of skill you want to spend much time developing. When its the only way to catch fish because they simply aren't biting, what else do you do? Either stay home or floss.

Today, there were a lot of snaggers out at the Zone. Guys using Buzz Bombs and Pt. Wilson Darts. Some of the fish were kept and some were released. I stayed with corky and yarn. Most of my fish were hook-in-mouth, very few snagged. I don't know why but the chums really seem to like the clown colored corky and yarn and would strike at it. BTW, I use a 12" leader. Is that considered flossing?

Ive never fished Hoodsport or cared to for that matter after hearing some of the stories, but why does DFW keep this "snag zone" open?? All it creates is a bunch of degenerate slack jawed snag maggots! These people take their floss/snag techniques to the steelhead holes and other places they shouldnt be in. Something needs to be done about the terminal fisheries in this state(zoo creek,tokul,reiter,bogey etc...) and the ethics of some of the people who use them.

sorry for the ranting but leave the trash fish(chums) alone and catch a real fish

We fished Saturday also. Didn't do as well as Carl do to our anchor which was much to short. We don't use our boat too often so we weren't really prepared. But we did catch and release about 10 on corkies.

We fished Saturday and it was a zoo. Lot of fish and people.

A 12" leader?! So do you just leave it sit on the bottom or is it a slow or jigging retrieve or what? Maybe the biters are closer to the bottom? That is very interesting. Well, I'm going tomorrow, fortunately I've got some clowns corky stash.

BTW, what size hook? I bought #1's so I can use them elsewhere too but they seem a little small for chums.

Bank Walker !

Get a life ; then get a boat and catch some real fish.

Herm

Trash fish? Dam, i'd rather catch a 10lb chum than a 10lb chinook. Is it the fight or the flesh?

We hit it today and saw everyone with a fish on except us. We tried everything. I got 4 huge rock cod on 3" purple tube jigs. That was it though.

We couldn't believe all the fish being caught so we payed a little closer attention and almost everyone was using a buzzbomb in 10Ft of water. How could you not snag them? Everything from that point on we saw was snagged and most kept.

I did see a 25lber and a few 10-15lbers caught by this one guy that was using just a green corkie with a 2 foot leader. Big deal, but he was plunking it. No doubt there on if he snagged/flossed or not.

After a while we swithched to small buzzbombs and third cast i snagged a 15lber, buddies 4th cast he snagged another so we just left. Very dissapointing to say the least.

I used size 1 hooks the other day, and they worked fine. I prefer smaller hooks, actually, as you'll foul hook fewer fish. As for whether you should jig or retrieve, I don't think it makes a difference. I'm guessing you'll snag more fish in the belly by jigging, though, than you would with a slow retrieve.

I think MOST people that go to areas like the Zone are not going there to snag or floss intentionally. Their intentions are genuine, to legally catch fish. When there are so many fish in the water the catch rates increase dramatically and so do the ways the fish are caught.

Don't get me wrong, there are people who fish the Zone and all they want to do and try to do is snag or floss.

I have found most, not all, of the people who fish the Zone to be courteous, friendly, and polite. Most people are there to have a good time fishing.

Sometimes there is an A-hole in the bunch to stir the pot. On Sunday, there was a guy on shore yelling (constantly), cussing, picking fights, and being very disruptive. If I had been on shore I would have sent him for a swim.

What it boils down to for me is, DO YOU WANT TO FISH OR CATCH? I think catching is more fun than fishing any day.

EL,
That is the experience I have had at chico at the begining of the run in the past.The people that are there are a pretty good group of people.They are in the know and flossing and releasing chums.After a few days of hot fishing the snaggers come out of there holes and blatently snag.The people that come down at this point,and are not in the know have no choice at this point but to snag with the rest of them,or leave.

Unfortunately I hate to see a fishery that promotes snagging like these do.Like was mentioned earliar these people end up using there new found knowledge anywhere there are stacked up fish.I feel it degrades our wonderful sport and that we loose alot of respect with the general public with these snag festivals.What does a tourist on the canal think when he/she witnesses this spectacle.

Thes people that enjoy snagging chums are also the same people that get mad when the skokes strip chums for there roe.It is alright for them to stomp all over a fishery but it is wrong for the indians to net them and sell the roe to japan.I would really like to know how many of the boots drug up pn the shore and taken home get eaten.

It also amazes me how many people will travel a couple hundred miles to snag fish out of the canal.When the kings were dodging hooks on the skoke I drove buy and snickered as I was headed to a canyon somewhere back in them hills that believe it or not is full of trophy rainbows.I caught 23 trout that day and one summer run steelhead.On the return trip I smiled and thought these are the people in a month or two who are going to get on the internet and tell me about the canal.

I was there saturday and I dont think it was a zoo at all. I would say more of a circus. I have been crowds before but this was like opening day at mineral lake only put all those people in an area the size of a large mud puddle. Alot of a-holes out in the boat line. But finally got a spot to drop anchor next to some pretty nice folks. And I will have to say thanks to easy limits for his advise. It worked well for us. But I will say that my first chum ever was snaged and released. But I was a big boy and a great fight. And we did manage to get some hooked in the mouth and it swear that they bit the hook. But Im not an expert on this type of fishing. We did see alot of buzz bomb snagers . One guy a few boats away must have snaged 50 fish at least.

Hey EL, I know hwat you mean.
That A-hole screaming was a drunk.
He was annoying the hell out of everybody.
We left at 11:00 so we did not have to listin to him.

Also any one banking it at the zone fish inside the orange bouys.
Those markers are where the property ends for the WDF&G, on either side is private property, unless you are in a boat or any other floating device (since you are not touching land) don't tresspass on their property with out permission.

These people own tidal rights out to the last orange markers.
People who own the land next to Finch Creek are very nice if, you respect there property and ask permission I am sure they will let you fish in front. The people on the otherside of the hatchery are not as nice and they are trying to shut down the hatchery because of the tresspassing and it is why the orange markers were put in place. Just respect there land and there should be no problems.