We seem to manage to get up to Hoodsport about once a year in November with mixed results. This year we are gonna be up Nov 6-8 in a boat and I had some questions for anyone who cares to share.

What are your prefered lures and methods to consistently catch fish from a boat?

I've tried dragging corkies with a slow retrieve with very little success and seem to snag fish that way too - what is the trick to it? As for just setting the corky out there, the fish aren't that close to the bottom so I have to believe that those who catch fish that way just line them. I've done well with corkies but only from the bank when there is a good current and all the fish are swimming through the same way and I'm sure they're just being lined.

Someone else suggested tiny spoons last year - How small? Do you switch out the hook for something larger and doesn't that ruin the action? Or are you actually hooking and landing them on the tiny stock hooks? How much weight do you put in front of it?

Has anyone had good luck with jigs? Seems like snagging would be more minimized and it would basically like the slow retrieve corky thing. I caught one this way last year, first cast of the day, but then nothing else. Any thoughts?

My best consistent luck has actually been on steelie sized pink spoons retrieved very slowly and with a siwash hook to minimize snagging. We seem to lose 3 times what we catch though - fish that are clearly mouth hooked. I guess maybe the weight of the spoon makes it easier for them to shake it.

I'd appreciate any advice - on forum or off.

ALSO, if we get burnt on Hoodsport anyone got any secrets they want to share with out of towners about where on the canal to get some late silvers or where to find chum thick in some river from the bank? Don't worry, we don't come up enough to ruin it for you. Just looking for a fun couple days vacation is all.

Steve

#1 bobber and herring
#2 green jigs sometimes with a little red.

Thats all you need to have a action packed day.

Dont use bouy ten for a bobber! The bobber just floats the 1/2 ounce keel sinker and the herring thats it.
Unlike for silvers do not impart any action on the jig during the retrieve. Just a steady retrieve is all you need.

i like to fly fish for them,small little chum candy fly. have had people in the boat with me who do not fly fish......have them put on a clear casting bobber that u can put water into to give it wt. and hook a fly 5ft down from that. works 4 me. good luck

I stopped by the hatchery on saturday evening and the fish were in there pretty thick.
There were only 3 boats there and about 50 bank fisherman. ALOT of snagging going on as usual. But I did see afew fish being landed head first. I did see a teenager C/R the largest chum ive ever seen well over 20lb and I would guess it was over 25lb. He caught it on a green corky and a trout rod. He had it on when I got there and fought it anouther 20 minutes before getting it in.

Here is one of many fish I caught last Sunday at the Zone. A yellow w/orange dots Pot-O-Gold spoon really produced for me.

Does anyone have an idea of the netting schedule at the hatchery? I've got a buddy coming in from out of town between Nov. 5th and the 9th. He wants to fish Hoodsport and being his host, I need to get him info. I have been to the Point No Point Treaty fishing page but it looks like their chum fishery is still listed as being up in the Straits. Any help would be appreciated.

They net on Tuesdays and Thursdays in front.
I have seen them net on weekends.

I've tried the fly thing and been frustrated because when the fish are thick it seems like you snag them a lot. And I always suspect I'm just lining any that I catch. Any suggestions?

I'd have to disagree about the lining comment on corkies. I go with small corkies, yarn, and a #2 hook. The majority of my fish are hooked in the mouth - and I can feel the fish hit the corkie vrs the drag of an obvious snag. Lets face it - with that many fish milling around, anything you throw that has a hook on it is going to snag a fish now and then. Watch the way the angler retrieves the line. When I reel in it's a slow, steady retrieve vrs the obvious fast or "jerking" technique. I'm not sure why you've had no success with corkies... try small green ones next time with streaming yarn behind. good luck.

I'm ashamed to admit it , but I've gone every year for the last several years to the Big Hoodsport Chum Harvest. I cannot count the number of chum I've caught there on corkies, flies, spoons, spinners and every other way possible, in every possible part of a fishes body (including the mouth even!)

The fact is that with that many fish around, they will snag themselves. Sometimes in the mouth!!!

Chum tend to swim around with their mouths open and their big teeth just waiting for your line to get in them. THe fish feels the line, turns to swim away and whammo..... fish on. You actually feel the "hit" and they're caught in the mouth, but it's always the same story.

Let's face it.....when the fish are that thick, we're catching them on accident, and it isn't very sporting at all. You can either accept that and enjoy it (like I do once a year) or go fish somewhere else.

I have to say that you are right for the most part but also dead wrong. I've seen too many fish chase and nail something. Chum can actually be quite aggressive. That's why I asked the question in the first place - because I've experienced how fun it can be when they are aggressively biting.

So on the corkie thing you use a slow retrieve - are you fishing close to the bottom or just using a little weight and trying to keep it up say in the top 3' beneath the surface?

Fisheromen:

I use about a three foot lead to a swivel and weight, which is about 1/4 oz sliding weight on the main line. I seldom snag bottom and I start retrieving when it hits the water.

Gottagofishin:

I have to disagree with you about the fish being snagged in the mouth - but the reality is how could an angler possibly know if the fish hit the lure or got flossed? The only gauge that I can use is that 95% of the fish I catch are hooked in the mouth. I find it hard to believe that those fish are all getting snagged on the inside corners of their mouths. Also, I've had days where I couldn't buy a fish with my setups (which is darn frustrating with all those fish around). So the open mouth theory I can't buy (but I will conceed that some may be sagged that way).
I will agree with you that when you fish there you have to have the right attitude and take it for what it's worth. It's a fun time but hardly serious fishing. I look forward to it and am not ashamed of enjoying it.

Try a cerise maraboo or rabbit fir jig inder the smallest float you can get away with. I look for moving schools and just let it sit as they fly by. the water is so clear there you can often see them hit the jig. I have often had them chase a cerise chrystal flash streamer.

I'm no expert but i hate snagging and if i snag more than 3 then i change to something else. This has lead to 2 lures that kicked ass for me.
A 1/4oz #4 Gami Jighead with a thick body of hot pink marabou tied on and fished under a float. And a White 1/8oz wardens sonic roostertail.(For some reason only the wardens seems to work well)

I dont think they are hitting on feeding instinct, i think it is a territorial instinct. If you hold that rooster near a few fish eventually one will come over and take a swipe at it. Just drifting it with no weight worked really well, even for silvers. There was no doubting the take downs on the pink jig, evey one was in the mouth. Thinking territorial, i put on a #70 hot red HotShot, just dead drifted it then closed the bail and wham, hooked my biggest of the season.

Don't just think green, or corkie. I like Easy's spoon, just another idea to add to the arsenal.

Thanks for the good suggestions. I admit they are nasty fish, but it is a hoot for a couple of days a year!

I have fished Hoodsport for about 12 years or so and caught chum on corkies, spoons, spinners, flies, etc.

Last year I discovered one particular rig that outfished all others. It is the rainbow colored cheater, medium sized, combined with the same colors of yarn and smeared with shrimp smelly jelly. Leader length is about 20-24 inches and make sure the hook floats off the bottom. Using a sliding lead rig helps feel the hit of the fish. These fish are defiinitely biting, though some do get lined or snagged. Be patient and don't jerk at every line bump, to avoid snagging. If you can't find rainbow cheaters, rainbow corkies will work, too.

Watch out for any yahoos out there, and you should have an enjoyable time catching fish after fish. Don't walk up behind anyone without telling them "right behind you".

ltlfish,
I fished finch creek once for chums.I made a cast and scared a school into showing itself.There was only fifteen or so people fishing.I did not know that a couple of non english speaking men had snuck up behind me trying to get to the school of fish I had spooked.On my next cast I hooked one of there basbll caps and sent it flying out into the canal.This of course scared the bejesus out of the fellow and he started yelling in another language at me.I reeled in his hat handed it to him,stepped out of the spot I was holding, and left never to return to fish just, watch.

Guys,there are chum litterally all over the canal.There are spots that will give a little solitude and the oportunity to fish salmon that are not all spooked up buy the hordes.Just do little exploring!

When exploring my method of choice is a herring and bobber.IT WORKS.Corky and yarn if it is a river mouth.When the fish are not all spooked up and being pushed around a tidal flat they will aggresivly bite.I have a local spot here in town that puts out beautifull fish untill the first boat rolls into the estuary.MY bobber always quits diving.

Love the bobber

When you guys say bobber are you talking float...or corkies.

A book Im reading right now refers to corkies as "bobbers".


If it is indeed a float, how far are you guys setting it above the mainline/leader?
Any preference to what type, color, etc....

I agree with ltlcleo, get out and find some solitude. I quit fishing hoodsport as soon as the movie a river ran through it came out and a gazillion begining flyfishermen started whipping lines everywhere! At first it hit me as cheap entertainment but I also grew tired of the idiots fighting down there over dark chum salmon . I had to laugh though when I witnessed the russians dipnetting the holding tank.