Northwest Reel Life April 2023 Volume 2 Issue 8 - Flipbook - Page 26
be filled with bait and scent.
Spinners are another option.
is flowing by looking at the
ships which will swing with
the tide.
When it comes to gear, leave
the downriggers at home.
Everyone here uses a dropper
weight and trolling set up.
The standard is a cannonball
on a slider, and the weight
will vary depending on the
tides and current as well
as how many rods you are
fishing. Rods at the front
of the boat need heavier
weights so they do not drag
back into the rear rods.
The set-up can differ a bit
depending on what terminal
gear you plan to use. One
of the most popular set-ups
includes a triangle flasher
such as the Big Al’s Fish Flash
from Yakima Bait Company
or the UV Triangle Scent
Flash from Mack’s Lure. The
advantage of the UV Scent
Flash is the ability to add
extra scent. A brined herring
that has soaked overnight in
Pro-Cure’s Brine-n-Bite keeps
the baits solid in warm and
fast running currents. It also
as increases their shine, and
that little bit of extra flash
helps the salmon locate the
26 | NWFISHING.net bait,
as the waters can be a bit
murky. Some anglers also
choose to dye the herring
to a bright chartreuse color
or blue, with Pro-Cure’s Bad
Azz Bait Dye or their Brine-NBite Complete in chartreuse
or blue making it a one-step
curing and dyeing process.
If you do not know how to
properly plug cut herring or
do not want to mess with
bait, then you have a few
other options. One being
the Simon Cut Plug, which
resembles a plug cut herring
and is solid, but has a scent
chamber that also holds a
miniature chem-light that
makes it more visible. Brad’s
Cut Plugs are also popular
here because you can stuff
them with bait and scent.
Just be sure to check on this
lure regularly as it is secured
with a rubber band, and any
missed bite means the lure
could have been opened.
Yakima Bait Company came
out with the SpinFish a few
years ago, and they have
become popular at Buoy
10. The larger sizes mimic a
wounded baitfish, while the
small 2.0 and 2.5 sizes work
much like a spinner but can
When fishing spinners,
small SpinFish, and the
kokanee size Brad’s Cut
Plugs, most anglers switch
to a 360 flasher. These are
the standard 11-inch flashers
that saltwater anglers use.
The flasher makes a large
rotation, and using a short
and stout leader of 40-pound
monofilament, the spinner
or small lure kicks out. Add in
the spinning blade or action
of the lure and it creates an
impulse bite, where a salmon
reacts to it and grabs it out
of instinct as the prey tries to
get away.
The advantage to using
spinners or spinning lures is
that if you miss a bite then
there is no worry if it not
working. You can leave it
in the rod holder and keep
fishing. With bait you need
pull it in and use a new bait
every time you get a bite, or
every hour or two without
bites. With the scent holding
lures it is best to add more
scent every few hours as well.
The bite can be very tide
and water temperature
dependent. When the water
is warm, such as during low
tide, and the only water
flowing is the summer
Columbia River runoff, then
the bite can turn off. The
incoming tide pushes colder
water into the tidal zone,
and this helps with the bite
as well as pushing in fresh
fish. For days with a low tide
swing, anglers often head to
waters closer to the ocean
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