Allright, we all know that standard gear for a bankie @ Blue Creek or Barrier is AT LEAST a 8 foot leader. But what other rivers around here do guys throw those types or rigs? I'm not talking about the guys that throw 6 footers at the nisqually or Kalama. I'm talking about the "real deal" flossing rivers. 8 foot leaders or longer.

Did you say 8 FOOT leaders????????????


has anyone ever wondered how long that fish is on your hook before you finally realize it?

what a joke!

By the way what does "FLOSSING" mean?

The Fraser river in B.C. during the sockeye season. From what I've seen, if you're not using 10' leaders, you're not catching fish.

The Puyallup and Carbon during the silver,king and chum runs but you dont have to have that long of leader do to the water visability!!

On the lewis river we use 2-3 ft leaders. I use usually 3-4 ft on the cow at blue creek and do just fine. 8 ft that is lining the fish

Riter drift on the sky after the 8/1 opener. lots of flossers .8' leader with a fly,watch out for all the experts. :p :p :p :p :p

Why would anyone want to know where are all the best places to snag fish? unless you are a game warden. I can't see why anyone would want to know that .

...so you can fish elsewhere.

hmmmm! shorter leader, less reaction time for the fish. the cow is a joke! i can't believe people actually fish leaders three times the length of their rods i do just fine with a short leader, and i usually will LAND my fish, instead of fighting it for ten minutes and three slips in the drink.

Why is a guy standing on the bank throwing a 6-8 ft leader a flosser,but a guy can do the exact same thing in a boat with the exact same setup and he is not?
Just curious.

Because there's a REASON for using a long leader from a boat. From the bank, there's no advantage using a leader longer than about 40".......unless you intend on doing some dental work.

From a boat the long leader gives your bait a natural presentation, from the bank it just lets you cut a 10-foot-wide swath across the river.

I don't know about leader length but you can go to any Washington state river in the fall and see more snagging that legit fishing.

we need more enforcment with officers having more ability to issue citations based on what we all know to be true through experience not based on what they can prove in court to a judge who knows nothing about fish or snaggers. Thier word in court should be the same as an expert pathologist in a homocide trial.. Mostly though we just need more fish anf game officers willing to do their jobs. Not just driving around looking for yellow stickers on windshields.

I normally use 5 to 6 foot leaders. I feel that gives me a natural presentation from the bank. I have never had a problem missing fish because the leader is to long, nor have I had a problem catching fish with long leaders. I am not flossing.I use too but I used 14 foot leaders for that.

There is definetly a market out there for snaggers so why the heck doesnt the fish and game depo raise the fines ridiculessly and open snagger Zones on hatchery only Terminal fish areas like Hoodsport, and Gorst creek. Would that take the pressure off some of the native stocks? Alaska does it Missouri too!

Yeah, but do we really want to be like Missouri ??

As most of you know, long leaders typically = hooks in the mouth. Hence, flossing... Do I floss on the Cowlitz. Didn't used to, but ever since last summer I've become pretty darn good at it. I also thought that it was a form of snagging. But you got to remember, the Cowlitz is full of fish that were meant to be caught. If they aren't, they are shipped back downstream so they will. Flossing on the Cow is no big deal and it's only effective when there are large concentrations of fish with swiftly moving water. I've never "snagged" a fish on the Cowlitz. Sure, I've got a few on the outside of the mouth, but never a body shot. I think that some of you feel that lining fish means hooking them in places "other" than the mouth. If I foul hook a fish I let it go automatically. I've snagged far more fish with a short leader than with a long....
Go ahead and bash me now but I know some of you can see what I'm saying.

I agree. I've had better luck getting hook-ups in the mouth with longer leaders than shorter ones. Sure I snag fish, mostly chum, but I never keep them; I rarely keep chum. But I only fish 5+ foot leaders in clear water, if the water is stained then I might go shorter by a foot or two. If your want to to see snagers, go to Tolkul Creek durring winter, people fish here with leaders under a foot!

Jay

Wouldn't flossing be a good thing if it means hook in mouth? If I'm correct on this, then why are you guys talking about it like it is a bad thing?

Jay

Dan S
Another question.Why is a long leader needed for a natural presentation out of a boat?Your cutting the same long swath.But extending it by the length of the drift.
Why isnt a short leader just as effective from a boat as it is from the bank? Especially since your able to cover so much more water and adjust the speed of your drift so much more efficiently.
I only started freedrifting last year.Although we had a lot of success I'm not very knowledgable of the ins and outs of it.I had best luck when the bait was between 1oclock and 3oclock.And even had a a few hookups when dragging the bait straight behind the boat.But tried my best to avoid that angle.As I always heard its not productive.
If your line is at 3oclock,dont you stand as good or better chance flossing a fish than a bankie?

Fromcuthroattosteelies,
I commend you for an honest reply.And agree with your logic about the terminal fisheries.Those fish are put there to be caught.I really dont care how anybody does it.Especially when there are huge excesses of hatchery fish.When it comes to smaller runs,Nates etc.Then I dont agree with that tactic.

FromCtoT you make a valid point. All of those hatcheriy fish are there for people to catch. You pay for them with your licencses. If flossing is required to catch them than do it.

Fishingjunk15, if you are fishing tokul creek with a leader longer than a foot you're fishing surface film. I have'nt seen to many winter run hatcheries rise to anything. But then again, if you are fishing tokul creek are you really fishing?

Want to see some snagging at its finest, head to your local north puget sound river during chum season. I have never seen fly guys so exicted landing moldy dogs. I have a problem with that because they are disturibing wild spawining fish. Oh well, what can you do. If I call local authhorities to report a violation nothing is still going to happen. Oh well, what can you do. On the other hand, check out whatcom creek in late oct, early nov. The snag fest of all snag fests. Its a shoulder to shoulder jerk off. I watch once in a while for entertainment. I think its great. There's a 100 people fishing, and loving it. They are all hatchery fish. There for the people to enjoy. I call it equal fishing opportunity. Keep the crackers in one box. I would hate to see the majority of those people dispursed through out a river system.

Yes hatchery fish are there to be caught....but LEGALY. Lining/flossing is legal in other states but not in Washington per the definition in the regs. Snaging is defined as hooking or attempting to hook a fish in way in which the fish does not volunteerily take the bait IN the mouth. When lining/flossing the fish accidently catches the line and when you set the hook it penitrates from the outside in. Yes you can legitimatly catch fish with a long leader, but its not needed. FCTTS admitted that he started lining fish, thats snagging, thats against the law. No other way to put it.
With the logic stated above why not just chuck a stick of dynamite in blue creek and harvest your limit, after all those fish are there to be caught and thats the way they do it in Alabama (no offense intended to Alabama residents )

RL