Northwest Fishing Reports

Switching gear from sockeye to pinks in the salt. Next Monday will give it a try. High tide is 7am, about when we will start. What's your opinion on fishing an outgoing tide at shipwreck - with the tide flow or against it?

For Pinks it don't make any difference. Pinks like a slow troll and in my experience they concentrate in a few locations, so you don't really need to cover lots of water. For Silvers, I often troll with the tide and then run back up and troll through again. Silvers like a fast troll and you do need to cover more water. Silvers tend to not be concentrated in one area (most of the time).

Pinks tend to show themselves by rolling, jumping and just kind of cruising on the surface. Just look for that.

Thanks for the reminder. Toni, JoAnn prefers sitting back and having the boat do the work.

Mike Carey wrote:Thanks for the reminder. Toni, JoAnn prefers sitting back and having the boat do the work.

She did - with the bobber

Heading out Monday as well with a boatload of Nebraskans. I'm all geared up for trolling and jigging, but really hoping we can find a jig bite

Gringo Pescador wrote:Heading out Monday as well with a boatload of Nebraskans. I'm all geared up for trolling and jigging, but really hoping we can find a jig bite

They can be deep so make sure you have at least a 1/2 oz jig. Also maybe a glow head?

For pelagic fishes like Silvers and Pinks, it is best to troll with the current. The fish will swim with there heads INTO the current for the most part, especially so in the upper water column. So if you go with the current, you will be dragging it into their face, if you go against it you are dragging it up from behind them. Although you will catch fish both ways, and it seems to matter very little for pinks, I think trolling with the current is more effective. There is also significantly less drag when fighting a fish and keeping the boat in gear. As a rule of thumb we almost always troll with the current when salmon fishing. In the rare instance that there is a very soft tide change of 5 ft or less we will, on occasion, troll both ways. Far and away we usually go with it and make runs back.

I like to always troll with the flow. I feel trolling with the current allows you to cover a lot more water with a lot less effort as most of the time you can just idle or just barely kick the motor in gear for pink salmon. Also, if its choppy trolling with the current makes for more pleasurable fishing in my opinion since the boat pretty much just rolls with the waves instead of trolling against the current and taking them head on with the bow climbing over them and then crashing down and repeating over and over.

I agree. Pinks can be caught going either with or against the tide. Fishing with the tide is typically better and you cover more water. Once you find them, circle or figure 8 back through the school.

What about trolling cross current, can that be as effective as trolling with the tidal flow? Probably not recommended in areas of heavy boat concentration. But in open areas, away from the crowds?

If the Salmon are facing into the current. Would it be a fair assumption that the bait fish would be moving with the current, toward the front facing Salmon? So, your offering would look more natural to the Salmon, if traveling in the same direction as the bait, as apposed to the opposite direction?

I think you're over thinking it.... lol

Matt wrote:I think you're over thinking it.... lol

REALLY?..................cause, I thought I was onto something......LOL!

I suppose I'll climb back under my rock.

MotoBoat wrote:What about trolling cross current, can that be as effective as trolling with the tidal flow? Probably not recommended in areas of heavy boat concentration. But in open areas, away from the crowds?

If the Salmon are facing into the current. Would it be a fair assumption that the bait fish would be moving with the current, toward the front facing Salmon? So, your offering would look more natural to the Salmon, if traveling in the same direction as the bait, as apposed to the opposite direction?

Try it and see how it works. Thats how new techniques come into play. Someone ignores what "everyone knows" and sometimes they come up with a winner.

Of course, sometimes everyone does actually know

I troll cross current quite often when clear of other boats. Downside: if the current is strong the downrigger line will be dragged sideways to your direction of travel, which means the uptide (current) downrigger cable will be dragged back under the boat...possibly near the prop. A prop guard may, or may not, protect your cable if the cable is draped across the lower unit.