I'm new to salmon fishing in the sound. Set up w/ 4 rods off two downriggers. I've mixed it up w/ cut plug(which i've given up on- too much hassle and i'm not a big fan of bait fishing), silver horde plugs(4"), hoochies/flys small and large behind metallic and non metallic flashers at varing leader lengths(usually about 2 flasher lengths back) and spoons behind flashers. I usually fish my deepest at 150' anf its twin 30 feet above. the other set at 100' and the twin 30' above it. Fishing the west side following the contours at 160'-140' after the high tide. Catching some shakers, but no keepers. Whats am i missing....any tips

Rask, keep at it , if you're catching shakers you're on the right track, at times I'll catch 15-20 shakers between every legal fish. Continue working your gear on or near the bottom, and if you can find schools of baitfish stay as close to it as possible, finally, I wouldn't leave the dock without herring, thats what I've had the most success with. good fishing

One of the basic rules for blackmouth is to keep your lures near the bottom where ever you fish.(If your fishing in 160ft of water and your deepest set is at 150ft you are fishing too far off the bottom) The only exception is when you are marking bait clouds with larger fish around them higher in the water column. I have also found that fishing the plugs will eliminate most of the hassle of hooking the smaller shakers. The other thing is that you should be fishing the west side on an incoming tide before the tide change. hope this helps. One other thing, think green in your lure color selection.

Typical of trolling during this time of year, maybe you should learn how to fish. Try mooching, holding your rod is much funner than just looking at it. LOL If you can find the bait, mooching is much more effective than trolling. And before the dogfish comments come up, they are gone now.

Wouldn't leave the dock without a dozen. Try a herring strip inside a green squid with a white hot spot dragging mud.

First off I would forget stacking, too much hassle with shakers. Just fish two lines. Get in 120-160 feet of water and have one guy concentrate on keeping the boat in those depths. The other guy makes sure the downrigger leads are just off the bottom; meaning every couple of minutes releasing the lead until it hits again and coming off just a couple of feet. Having out 200 feet plus of wire will not be uncommon. Don’t get lazy though and leave them rolling on the bottom, the west side and the “tin shed” have some notorious downrigger lead graveyards, you can usually get away with rolling them on the east side though. Next I would by a couple of each of the following 5 inch Tomics, #600, 603, and 84 FLG. You can get them as rattlers or not, I haven’t found much of a difference. On the clip on the bottom of the plug put a strong split ring then a barrow swivel then a 5/0 siwash hook and get it sticky sharp. You’ll still have to weed through a lot of shakers but the keepers will come. Good luck.

Beezer

Thanks for the info. anybody adding flavor to the artificials; scents, oil, or strips of herring? I was thinking i might try some squid strips because there so tough. anyone try this? Does it make a difference?

Rask, blackmouth fishig at the Bar is really good right now. If ever there was a fishery set up for mooching, it is the winter blackmouth fishery, Use light gear small hooks, and jig up your own bait. [it is legal to have a rod out with a herring jig, and to be fishing with another rod, at the same time.}Please use a release tool, and not a net, as you will be releasing a lot of undersized fish. But hey, if sitting there for hours at a time, watching your rod is your thing, [some call it boat plunking], then by all means, keep on trolling, but Please have someone in your boat watch where you are going, and Please don't cut across my lines.