Garbage bags. Garbage bags? Garbage bags for survival needs for one.

Garbage bags for fish transport for sure. You'll get none of those annoying, "did you catch any" "where" or "on what" questions. It seems pretty clear you probably have fish in there but they never ask. Choose a dark color for confidence. It works!!

Garbage bags for ....... yes garbage. The bonus about The Aqua Man Garbage Bag Storage System(rubber bands) has nothing to do with the millions of uses of the garbage bag! It's the rubber bands!! Rubber bands for rods, line or stops etc. Just fold and roll the bag up like a man and wrap it up in with crossing rubber bands for compact storage. The whole system will fit in the smallest vest pocket. Don't let the inexpensiveness of this product full you. No fisherman need be without one of these megafunctional little units.

I'm going to put in a couple tips I have posted before (they aren't entries in the contest here). And I have a jig question that could lead to a good tip that all of us could use. ...

- Tip: While canola and mineral oils do work well in baitscent combos I feel compelled to tell you about the best one available ... Spectrum brand Flax Oil. This is coldpressed from flax seeds and strained. This is a highly refined oil that is rich in omega-3 fats, as is fish oil, and while it has little taste the taste is does have is slightly 'fishy'. It's the only non-bait oil that I use anymore for my custom scents. It's great! Find it in health food stores or dept.'s, and drink a tablespoon a day to get the same vessel heatlth benefits as eating omega-3 type fish (salmon, tuna, etc.) 3 times a week!

- Tip: Get a couple of the approximate 2" by 5" lure tape sheets, one in chrome mylar and one in flame red (or other good colors such as chartruse or cerise pink). With the skinoil washed off your hands, carefully remove the backing from both sheets and carefully stick them together, trying to smooth out any lumps or bubbles; and pressing it all well together. Then cut varying sizes of torpedo shaped pieces - about 1 1/4" by 1/4". Then punch or slit a small hole up near one of the tapered ends and then put your egg loop leader hook thru it and let it dangle from the lower bend in the hook. Put your egg cluster on. You now have a tiny 'flicker' spinner hanging off your bait that flashes from chrome to red. Flcikers more if the eggs aren't hanging over it, but still works a bit if they do. Good for driftfishing and tailout swings - and great for backbouncing! Make smaller ones for clear water silvers/steelhead and larger ones for colored water or chinooks. Just bring the compressed sheets and small scissors along to adjust sizes for conditions.

- Question: I have tried using the smallest wiresnap at the end of my jig leaders to facilitate the quick changing of jigs to work a hole. Of course this allows it to hang more down than level (as Cowfish mentioned above), so is not as productive of rigup. Can anyone think of a way to have a quickchange rigup and still have the jig stay more stationary level? Maybe Cowfishes superglue gel trick would work with the tiny wiresnap for this? (Assuming the the drop of hardened glue scrapes off easily enough). Ideas?

Idea (not a contest tip):

Another idea I have but haven't had time to try yet is find a way to secure a very small sardine filet to the underside of chinook spinner blades to both slow it down and put out the great fresh bait scent (as with Kwikfish). Maybe small dental rubber bands could do this? Or perhaps thread wrapping the small filet, or other bait piece, onto the treble hook shank could help productivity. If you try those with success let me know .

RT

RT-
I have actually rigged sardine fillets on spinners before. Which actually leads into another tip, another one I really didn't want to share because it's something that if someone had the time and money could make a lot of money on this idea.
I have successfully fished the mouth of the cowlitz with alvins but in the last two years I have just dominated with this rig, it goes like this:
What you need-
The ability to tie a spinner, a package of light sticks, components to a spinner and variable blades.
First, I tie my treble hook on then when you open the package to the light stick there will be a clear plastic tube inside. Take the clear plastic tube and slide it down on the spinner shank as if it were the body, next finish with a bead, interchangable blade clevis and you're done tying the spinner. Now when fishing the spinner, take the light stick and crack it so it luminates usually green or red light sticks work best. Insert the light stick into the plastic tube (you may need to lube up the tube so you can insert the light stick) once the light stick is in, the spinner sits a little cockeyed, so that is where the bait wrap comes in. I take a small piece of sardine or herring and wrap it on the opposite side of the light stick. It covers all senses that salmon and steelhead have. It's like a strobe light when you put it in the water.
I have had a ton of success on this at the mouth of the cowlitz during the fall, catching limits of chinook, steelhead and silvers. I have fished it both anchored and trolling with great success.
Keith

RT, What if you were to incorporate Cowlitzfisherman's tip, and pre-tie 36" or so leaders to the jigs you were going to use.
Superglue the knot so that the jig rides horizontally, and attatch the small wire clip to the other end of the leader. Then tie a small barrel swivel below the float, and you could snap on whatever jig you wanted to use at the moment.

When bonking a Freshly Caught Springer be sure to remove your thumb from the fishes mouth, as they have extremely teeth (sorry RBF! :p)

As RT has stated, Preparation H can be used as a substitute for shrimp oil, however DO NOT SUBSTITUTE SHRIMP OIL FOR PREPARATION H!

GutZ

ok, go to an art`s and craft store, buy some glitter, take the hooks off your plug and wipe it down with thinner, then spray some good glue on it, i use 3-m spray glue, then lightly sprinkle the glitter on it, after its dry spray some clear over it, it realy works, make sure you buy good glitter also. salmon go nuts over the newly painted plugs...chrome and red glitter work good, you can see it alot further under water than you can a regular chrome plug.

RT, When I fish with prawns I like to use a prawn threader. I like to run my line all the way through the prawn from nose to tail. If you use the store bought threaders they have a flat spot where you run your line through a small hole and when you pull your line through the prawn it rips the insides of the prawn up. I found that if you go to the local hardware store and get a piece of brass hinge it works alot better. The brass hinge looks like a long tube with a hole about the size of 40lb line. I cut me a piece about 10 inches long and bevel one end to a sharp point. Then all you do is slide the tube through your prawn nose to tail and then slide your line inside the tube. Once the line sticks out the blunt end pull the tube out of the prawn and slide the hook up the prawns nose. At this point you can straighten out your prawn or leave it bent. Then either add a spin-glo or what ever you like, spinner blades work good too! I think if you try this once you'll never want to do it any other way. Price of brass hinge(tube) about a $1.00 or $2.00 for 36".....Fishhead Vic

Rt, the trip better be somethin special. Here are two tips.
1. When bobber fishing tidewater use two hooks with a double tie to the lower hook. Ignore the lower hook when putting your bait on. 5%-10% of your fish will be hooked by the lower hook only.

2. Again when bobber fishing use a calibrated bobber. Fish are neurtal bouyant, and at times will just mouth your bait, when a fish mouths your bait with a calibrated bobber you will be able to see the bobber raise up a little.

Hey RT,

Maybe you could slip a short piece of VERY SMALL rubber tubing over the eye of your jig hooks, then snap through the rubber, through the eye, and back out through the rubber... might keep your jig from hanging the wrong way on the snap.

-N.

When using round cork floats, you can use the little mini glow sticks you can get at commercial fishing stores (SeaMar). Drill an extra hole in the cork float, just a shallow hole the depth of the length of the light stick, and slightly smaller than the light stick in diameter, so it jams in there. Position it just to the side of the regular stopper hole... allows you to fish a little earlier (o-dark 50) than you normally would, and still see the bobber go down.
I haven't tried it in super clear water, but depending upon how deep you drill the hole, not much of the stick is visible to the fish in the water.

-N.

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: StorminN ]

Here's one that will save you a ton of sandshrimp if your side drifting-credit should go to Robbin Rhoades-after you thread your shrimp on, slide a piece of foam/earplug above the shank of the hook so your shrimp has a "bumper". This will stretch your shrimp a ton and allow you more time on the water!

I guess I will give one up too. This is for all you float fisher people out there,You know when your float fishing and the float moving down river and your line is moving ahead of it and your trying to mend it and your float is moving out of the spot you want to be in. to help from doing this try line float for fly fisherman, cast it as far as you can and as you retrieve ithold the line float on your line all the to the bobber stop. this will make it so easy to mend or lift your back behind your float

Here's my four tries. Hope they're more lucky than my lottery numbers

1. When tieing slip tie mooching leaders use dacron for the slip tie material. This will reduce line friction and the chances of loosing fish from broken line.

2. When fishing herring for chinook brine your herring in rock salt, river water (the water you will be fishing works best), powder milk, and Mrs. Stewart's clothes brightner.

3. Purchase small ziplock bags and place your spinners and plugs in the bags when not in use. This will keep bad scents off them and keep them from getting scratched in the tackle box.

4. Always wash your plugs with Lemon Joy soap before fishing them and placing them back into the tackle box. It romves bad oders before fishing and removes scents add to the plug. The scent(s) we add to plugs wear down the finish.

Bringing this back toward the top.

--------------
RT
Admittance Gate Attendant
Sauk River Steelhead Ranch

My simple tip: Take a kid fishing, the look on his/her face when you've just netted their first silver-sided "monster" is unforgetable! Remember your first salmon or steelhead..I thought so.

Humpy
Smolt
Angler # 1224
posted 05-13-2001 09:58 pm

Howdy,
My tip is one I learned from Jean Enerson, Never ignore the obvious. The spot right next to the bridge often is as good as it looks. The spot where the fish jumped is a good place to cast. The type of lure that the guy who has caught 10 fish is using is worth a try, even if it's beneath your sporting ethics to catch that many fish. Know what I'm sayin'...

Posts: 23 | Homeport: Everett WA USA | Fishing Here Since: Jul 2000

Howdy,
RT on your float/jig question my advice would be to use a simple clinch knot to attatch the jig. For two reasons, first that knot grabs the eyelet tighter than most, and to ease the task of changing colors it can be undone with your thumb/finger nails. Also the clinch has like 80-85% breaking strength which I like, so as to avoid the line snapping off near your hand snarling a run with all that mono.
My tip is on spoon fishing for river Humpys.(can ya feel em coming) While pink spoons are tried and true producers, plain metallic finishes (chrome, brass) can be just as effective many times(red too) My real gem is a technique known as the Meisner twitch (named after its inventer) Cast out and slightly upcurrent of a horde of Pinks, and count down your spoon to what you suspect would be a foot or two off the bottom( as a rule of thumb I count a foot a second) counting will allow you to get a good feel of what is the danger zone saving you from snagging bottom or that log the fish love hiding around. The twitch is accomplished by dead drifting until the spoon swings nearly in front of your position and its weight is signaling a no slack situation between rod tip and lure. Now just wiggle that rod tip much like a timid K-mart shopper would while testing new rods in the sporting goods asile. No jerking, just that tip rapidly going past center a couple inches each way as fast and spastic as you can. Try doing this acouple feet under water in front of you to see the desired flutter/twinkle action this will impart on the spoon. Just don't be suprised if a gang of Humps appears right there in front of you all doing the death dance trying to grab what I think they take for a small batch of krill. Have some fun.

Gotta throw this one in to the mix, and it may appear cheesy. Here are my tips with an example.

Make sure you keep your eyes, mind and ears open when you fish. It seems easier said than done, but how many times do you go to a river and fish with the same old tried and true methods, strike out, then go home, and say there were no fish to be caught. Here are a few things that I would give a whirl.

1. What is everyone else using. If it's big gaudy stuff, try going 100% the opposite direction, and down size the color and size of your gear. Vice Versa is also true.

2. Change your leader lengths constantly. You never know where fish are going to be in the water column. Modify your weight when drift fishing. I have had great success by sometimes fishing a little faster, or a little slower than actual current speed.

3. Try fishing water that others pass up. A prime example is the rolling water near sweepers, on inside corners. We had great luck fishing this stuff last year in Alaska for steelheads. Guys were rowing right by this stuff, and we whacked fish all day long for a week straight, because they hadn't had anything put in front of them yet.

4. Watch what other guys are doing that are more succesful than you. My Dad used to tell me if the guy is standing on one foot and chewin gum, copy exactly what he's doin. How many times have you ever gone to the river, and just watched succesful fisherman catch fish. There is a reason for it.

5. Be mobile. Sometimes there is a night and day difference between staying in the honey hole, and heading for new water. Don't be afraid to experiment with new spots.

6. Explore new water when the fishing is great. In know the old addage is "don't leave fish, to find fish". Unfortunately the best time to find new areas that hold fish, is when the fishing is great in the old honey hole. You are more likely to hook up in new spots, and gain confidence to have another spot for a rainy day.

7. If you are drift fishing, be very aware of the water you are covering. A foot further upstream, to the center, or downstream, allows you to cover totally different water. Break the hole down like a grid, and cover every square foot of it. If you ever sight fish steelies in ultra clear water, you'll see how they react to your gear. This is why being persistent, and having an organized means of covering the water is so important.

8. If your spot turns ice cold, you may be better off by sitting on the bank for 30 minutes, and resting the hole. Can't tell you how many times we thought the hole was fished out. Sat on the bank for a half hour, ate a sandwich, touched up my hook, put on new leader, then step in the hole and whack another handful of fish.

I think we could all do a lot better by just slowing down a little bit, and keeping our senses tuned in to what is going on around us. Keep an open mind, experiment a little bit, and try to show them something they don't see from other guys. Good luck and good fishin.

Bringing this back toward the top of the BB for a 24 hour deadline extention, to midnight Monday the 21st. (Because I forgot to post an alert about the deadline coming up, which I had planned on posting Friday for those that had missed this thread). ...

I will then pick a top 10 and send them to knowledgable fishermen not entered in the contest. The cummulative votes will decide a winning entry and runner up unique fishing tip. ... I won't post the top 10 picks so the next 10 best guys, etc., won't get upset . Yes, I am a chicken about my 10 picks. They will all be good ones and the winner will be voted on, so no one guy has to take any heat for the winning picks; anounced by Friday. And thanks much to all who participated, and thus have helped all of us with some excellant fishing ideas. - Steve (RT)