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 Post subject: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:49 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 5:03 pm
Posts: 422
Location: Charlevoix, MI
Salmon season is picking up now in Northern Michigan. This is my second season from the PA and I have had 4 fish on in the last 2 days and lost all of them within the first 10 seconds. In retrospect, I think that the problem is that I need to set the hook very hard, very soon, due to the hard mouth of these Chinook. Trolling with 2 rods mounted on the sideboards puts me at a disadvantage, because I have to 1) Notice the hit, 2) Immediately lean way forward to the point of getting out of my seat in order to pull the rod out of the rod-holder 3) Set the hook. I am usually trolling with about 12 oz of lead to get down to 80-100 FOW where the fish are now, so pulling the 9 ft rod out of the tube holder one-handed from full arm extension with a mad Chinook at the other end is a challenge. So, what is the next step - Relocate the rod holders to the rail so they are closer? Angle them backward instead of forward to make pulling the rod out easier? Forget about pulling the rod and just reel like crazy and hope for a good hookset? Very frustrating. Also, do you bother trying to pull up line #2 while playing a salmon on line #1 in order to avoid tangles? Help!


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:55 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:29 am
Posts: 421
I use Scotty clamp on rod holders mounted on the side rails, works great!


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:11 am 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2009 3:24 pm
Posts: 100
Location: Waverley,Nova Scotia,Canada
I, too would use the siderails. Where I live, in freshwater, the rules are 1 angler, 1 rod, so the question of retrieving the second line does not apply. Regards....


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:45 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:29 pm
Posts: 2763
Location: High Point, NC
There are several things you can do to improve the odds of a good hookset.

Switch to "circle hooks" and no hook set is required. I've used these and it seems odd at first to begin fighting a fish upon which you haven't "set the hook," but I've never lost a fish or found the hook not to be squarely set in the corner of the fish's mouth.

Use a longer rod. Although this provides the fish a bit more leverage against you, it also allows you a greater "sweep" and thus removes slack from the line more quickly.

Switch to braided line. Mono stretches quite a bit, as much as 30%. Braid stretch is virtually nil.


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:01 am 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 5:03 pm
Posts: 422
Location: Charlevoix, MI
Thanks for the advice, guys. I have ordered the siderail mounts and extenders, as atavuss showed in his previous post viewtopic.php?f=78&t=22688&p=100209&hilit=+rail#p100209
That should put the rods within easier reach. Tom - I am trolling large spoons, plugs and flys that come pre-rigged with several treble hooks. I have never seen circle hooks come on such gear. Is there such a thing as "circle treble hooks"? With regrard to slack in the line, I am already using braided line with 9'rod, and suspect that the slack in the system is located between the 12 oz torpedo weight and the lure which is typically trailed 20-50 ft behind on a fluorocarbon leader.


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:22 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:29 pm
Posts: 2763
Location: High Point, NC
Thanks for the clarification. You can, however, install single circle hooks on your plugs and you may find your hook up ratio increases over standard treble hooks. Just something you might try on a couple plugs to find out.


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:11 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 07, 2010 12:08 pm
Posts: 66
Location: Michigan
Jim,
I hate to brag a bit, but I'm 3 for 3 this season.
5 pound king
15 pound king
22 pound king

I'll email you a pic of my setup with the 15 pounder in my lap.

I hit Arcadia, Frankfort and Manistee the last several weeks.
The fish are much shallower now and I've had the best luck within the harbor areas (surrounded by the piers) and just outside.

I use Slide Divers (http://www.slidediver.com/) in order to get to the right depth and not have to fight both the lead weight and the fish. These slide divers have the unique ability to allow long leader lengths and only slide back to the barrel swivel several feet from the lure after the fish strikes. Now you don't have to unclip a lead weight while fighting the fish.

When it comes to fighting the fish, make it easy on yourself and use the 'yak itself to simply keep a good bend in the rod and let the fish pull you and your rig around, this tires the fish right out and is by far the most fun part. Next tricky part comes when the fish is right alongside flopping around. If the fish is sizeable, you don't want it flopping around, especially with that mouth full of hooks. Pedal and steer slightly away from the fish until it isn't flopping around and can be boated safely. Then you need to carefully slide it into the 'yak with the hooked end pointing away from you.

You can also jig for these salmon with hardware. Generally setup so that you can "see" your own jigging spoon on the fish finder and start at or near the bottom with about a two foot high jigging motion, pause a second or two and jig again. It's definitely not rocket science, but persistance truly does pay off.

I also have to reach a bit and pull a bit in order to remove the rod from the rod holder after the fish strikes. For me good quality extremely sharp hooks (many lures come with hooks that aren't really sharp enough; the hook point should easily scratch the surface of your finger nail) go a long way toward the fish simply hooking themselves and staying hooked, then I can take my time getting the rod out of the rod holder and the fight is on (actually more of the fish pulling and me simply holding on and reeling a bit, pedaling a bit and controlling the rudder a bit).

The 22 pounder pulled the 'yak and myself around the Frankfort harbor twice before she was under control enough to come visit me.

Fun!!!

_________________
March 2010 Hobie Pro Angler

CBull


Last edited by CBull on Fri Sep 02, 2011 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:59 pm 
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Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 5:03 pm
Posts: 422
Location: Charlevoix, MI
Hey Chuck - Good job on the salmon this season! I am envious. I have 2 wks vacation and timed them just right this year for salmon on Lk MI. I have been out before dawn each day for the last week, fished 4-8 hrs each day, and have nothing "in the box" to show for this yet. The salmon up in Charlevoix are still pretty deep. I am typically targeting things in the 70 - 100 ft depths. I have had mixed success with dipsey and slide divers at these depths. Half the time I am too high, and half the time I am dredging zebra mussels off the bottom. The thing I like about the torpedo divers is that they tend to hang almost straight down so you can see them on the FF, and set the depth much more accurately. But, then they make it much harder to set the hook, fight the fish, etc. I look forward to the salmon moving in shallower so that I can use less extreme techniques. In the meanwhile, I am getting a lot of strange looks from the power boaters, charter captains, etc who troll the same waters a mile or so offshore using downriggers. I'd love to show them a 22# Chinook to prove that kayaks belong out here too!


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 3:07 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 07, 2010 12:08 pm
Posts: 66
Location: Michigan
Strange looks and funny comments here too!
Those looks tend to turn to disbelief and curiosity once you can hold up a stringer with some nice sized fish.
I tend to ask how much gas the captain put in this morning and mention that it only cost me a bowl of cereal and milk or maybe a sandwhich. That usually turns things around toward the positive.

When I was camped in Arcadia several people asked how I did on lake Charlevoix, I'm assuming that may have been you (I've never been on Charlevoix with the PA)? Funny, as if there is only one of us out there!

Last year I couldn't hook a salmon; you've at least had some brief action... Persistence.

_________________
March 2010 Hobie Pro Angler

CBull


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:05 pm 
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Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:37 pm
Posts: 13
Take a look at Sifisto's kayak (look for his setup/rigging) and where he has his rod holders mounted. They are actually slightly behind his seat which allows him to simply reach to his side to pick up his either rod without moving from his seat. I do little to no trolling in saltwater, but when I go up to freshwater lakes this year, I plan on setting up two rods to troll for crappie. BTW, if you go with the circle hooks you should have no issues.

Be blessed,

Boiler


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 Post subject: Re: Fish On! Now what?
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:38 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 5:03 pm
Posts: 422
Location: Charlevoix, MI
I have relocated the rod holders to the rail and this works fine for topwater trolling. I still have to occasionally use lead to get down into the zone, and find that this is causing some loosening of the rail itself. I have tightened the allen screws on several occasions, but I suspect that dragging 8 ounces of lead plus a plug through the water at the end of a 9-ft lever (salmon rod) puts a LOT of stress on the mechanism that holds the rails in place. Anybody else have this problem?


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