So you’ve put in your hours on the river, bought all the tackle, fished a float, drift fished, filled your tackle box up and now you’ve finally hooked your first fish!  That’s the moment when you see that float down, and you feel the hard tug of a big fish. Your adrenaline is pumping. You’re drag starts singing. You rod’s doubled over and you’re knee deep in the water and just holding on. Now what?

Hooking a fish is hard enough, but when you get it on you are only half way there. Lots of anglers will find that once they hook the fish, they can have a hard time getting it to shore. Let’s talk about some of the techniques that will help you get that fish on the stringer, rather than swimming around in the river 30 seconds later with a sore jaw. Nothing is more disappointing than feeling that tug and losing that fish.

Keep your Cool –

You’re first instinct when you hook a fish is to reel and reel until he gets in. You’re going to have to suppress that instinct. When you get that hook lodged deeply in the fishes jaw, yell “FISH ON!!!!” really loud. This lets the other anglers around you know to reel up and let you play out your fish. After that, take a moment before you start reeling to see what that fish is going to do. It may make a line peeling run, or it may just try to sit on the bottom, and what it does is going to dictate what you do next.

With the tackle that we’re using to hook fish, we’re probably going to be fishing with light line and a lighter rod than you’d think would be capable of bringing in such a big fish. This is when playing out the fish is going to be important, because if you just try to yank it in, you’re looking at broken leaders and bent hooks. Let the rod do the work.

Let the Drag and your Rod do the Work

It’s important that you set your drag for about half the breaking strength of your leader. This is going to keep you from breaking off. When that fish runs, your drag is your defense against a broken line. You’re going to use the flexibility if your rod as a cushion against the violent headshakes, taking the force of a powerful fish and spreading it out to your rod likes a spring. Every time the fish pulls against the rod, he’s using up a little bite more of the energy that he has, and the length and taper of the rod is going to help you tire him out. A tired fish is a docile fish and much easier to net.

Your rod is going to have the most power when it’s kept at a 45 degree angle to the water. If you hold your rod straight up, you’re putting all of the pressure of the fish on the tip of your rod rather than pulling against the entirety of the rod. The main strength of your rod is going to be in the butt or lower section of your rod. Keeping your rod at 45 is going to use all of that power to your advantage.

Directing Traffic

You’re going to look at the river and get the lay of the land. Across the way there may be some stumps in the water. You don’t want the fish to head that way. Downstream from you, you have the tail out, which includes a large riffle with swift current and large rapids that will drag that big fish downstream and spool you in seconds flat. At your feet Are some large boulders, upstream you have fellow anglers with their floats still out. You need to take control of that fish and direct him into the one place he doesn’t want to go: your net!

When that fish starts to run downstream, the first thing you want to do is bring your rod down and lay it against the water upstream. That will pull its head around and send him towards you and turn him upstream. You’re going to want to pull against the direction that the fish wants to go. When he heads back upstream, turn your rod and pull in the opposite direction. Putting pressure against the fish parallel to the surface of the water is going to encourage that fish to stay in the water, rather than jumping up and out.  

Try to avoid pulling straight up on the fish, because this is going to pull his head up and out of the water. As cool as it is to see that fish tail walk across the top of the water, there is a reason why they’re jumping. It’s the best way for them to gain slack in the line to shake that hook. Tension on the line is the most important part of the fight. If you lose the connection between you and the fish, that split second is when the fish is going to have the leverage to get the hook out of its mouth.  Jumping is the best way for it to get that leverage. A good technique for subduing a jumping fish is to lower your rod tip and pull down on the fish, sending him back down into the water.

Pump the Rod and Keep Tension

You’re going to want to bring that fish closer to you. That can be hard if you’re just reeling him in, he’s pulling too hard against the drag and you’re still losing line. The way that you’re going to gain line on the fish is by pumping him in. Raise your rod up to the 45, and as you bring is back down, reel up fast on it ensuring that you don’t lose tension on the fish. As you’re pumping him in, you’re going to continue directing the fish with your rod angle. When the fish makes a run, you’re going to have to let it run. Reeling against a running fish is going to twist your line up, and isn’t going to do much to gain any ground on it.

Palming or Thumbing the Spool

There will be circumstances where that fish is going to make a run towards the sticks that you just can’t stop with the drag alone. This is when the knowledge of the breaking strength of your line and rod are going to be the key. To slow the fish you’re going to have to palm the spool, gently pushing on it to add that additional drag on the fish to slow him down. A lot of times that additional and sudden force on the fish can stop it dead in its tracks and send him in the opposite direction. The danger here is that that additional drag is going to have the ability to break your line. Knowing how much pressure you can put on a fish before the line breaks is something that you’re going to have to be able to feel out, and with a little time you’re going to have a feel for your gear and know that lines breaking strength. Of course this is going to be your last resort when trying to stop the fish, because the risk of breaking off is going to be pretty high.

Take your Time and Tire Him Out

The object is to tire that fish out so that you can bring him to shore and get him in the net. Don’t try and net the fish until its good and tired out, because as soon as it sees the net, it’s going to run again, and often that first glimpse of shore is going to summon the strength to escape that the fish didn’t even know he had. You’ll often times get the most exciting runs out of the fish the moment that he sees the gravel, and you’ll have to hold on. Take your time and tire him out so that the fish is not going to be thrashing around when that net comes for him.

Banking and Netting

When netting the fish, net it head first, and don’t net until you know you’re going to get it. Missed lunges are going to knock that leader free, and fish lost at the net are the worst type of fish. Have your netter ready with the net halfway in the water, direct the fishes head towards the net and use a fluid swift stroke to engulf the entire fish in the bag. When the fish is in the bag, you’re going to pull it straight back and up, folding the net around the fish, making sure that he can’t escape. Get the net and fish up on dry land before you unhook him, and if you’re going to keep the fish, give him a quick whack on the head to calm that flopping. When you’re looking at nets, make sure that you get one that is bigger than you think you need, because if you’ve got a bag that is too short and you have the fish only half way in, he’s going to slide right out and break your leader.

With these techniques, you’re going to be able to bring that fish to shore quick, and you’ll have more fish on the card than in the water. Playing a fish is simple: keep tension, take your time, direct its movements and pump him in.

After a few inquiries regarding my thoughts on this year’s coho fishing I got to thinking that a Blog post may be in order. So just in time for the Everett Coho Derby… Our recent coho success or even the bigger picture, my boats overall success on the salt this year is not just luck but I am not sure what it has been. There are a few constants in our methods so here is what I know.

This year a majority of our saltwater salmon fishing has been off the downriggers pulling 11” flashers followed by a spoon or a hoochie of some sort. I love mooching cut-plug herring and usually am quite successful with it, but quality local herring has been hard to come by. The herring issue combined with the fact that for the most part the mooching fisheries on Puget Sound are either too crowded or further away than the various troll fisheries, has put me on the troll. On my boat I run manual Scotty downriggers (electrics are on the list) so my rig is nothing fancy. I removed the stainless steel downrigger cable that came with my downriggers and I spooled them with the synthetic braided downrigger cable. The braid significantly reduced my blow-back. The braid is also much quieter in the water with zero cable whine. I have three sets of downrigger balls, an 8# set for trout and kokanee fishing, a 10# set for freshwater salmon and finally a 12# set for saltwater trolling. This winter I plan to modify my downrigger mounts and may run 14# balls in the salt when all is done. My blow-back is about 30 degrees when fishing for chinook and 45 degrees when fishing for coho. As might be expected those are only rough guidelines and you will need to work out your boat’s sweet spot. Actual boat speed is harder to figure out. These days most boats are running GPS based speed indicators not over the water. On the sound or even in a river the current and wind can greatly impact your GPS verses over the water speed indication. For my boat our idea trolling speed is more based on the tachometer reading and blow-back than on some form of speedometer reading. Our RPM based speeds are 1,050-1,100 RPM for coho, 1,000 RPM for chinook and 450 RPM (yes 450 rpm, I am able to advance/retard my timing to give me more control over idle speed) for freshwater salmon, trout and kokanee.

I try not to keep any secrets and for the most part will share any information that may help other fisherman be successful. This helps to feed a network of fishing information that is often used to plan a trip. I rarely just go fishing and the planning for the next trip starts with the fish caught during the previous trip. Although more aligned with saltwater fishing than fresh I always make a point to check stomach contents. That is the fishes not mine, I usually have some idea what is in mine. If the fish are loaded with horse herring, gravel and candlefish, krill or some other form of aquatic tidbit I adjust the lure type and size accordingly. Many of the Mukilteo to Shipwreck coho I have dissected this year have had empty stomachs. To me this suggests that that many of the fish have already stopped feeding and are transitioning to a reaction or territorial based strike instinct. To align my lure strategy accordingly I have incorporated some of the crazier spoon patterns or have included an orange or red insert in my hoochies. I am keeping all my offerings on the smaller side. For my overall saltwater fishing this year the year to date stomach content analysis suggests that candlefish have made up a bulk of the available food source. To “Match the Hatch” I am running the smaller spoons and candlefish or needlefish hoochies. Although I always hit the water with my standard lures tied up and ready to go, chinook gear on 42” leaders and coho gear on 32” leaders I always have the materials on board to retie and make adjustments as necessary. As part of my pre-trip planning I always thoroughly research the tides, based on the tides I establish a plan, a back-up plan and a back-up to the back-up plan. Although you need to be able to shoot from the hip, I rarely just wing it and fish without a plan. I know the early morning fishery is usually better, but don’t count out the various tide phases at different locations. Last year while fishing the south sound I had a 12 hour fishing plan that included hitting various locations at specific tidal phases, including one that I felt would be holding fish for about ½ hour during an afternoon tide. We arrived and with gear down just 10 minutes we hooked two adult kings putting one of the fish in the boat. On arrival I knew exactly what I had planned to run, at what depth, direction and speed. Planning, planning planning!    

Trolling speed dialed in, lures in order and your chosen hunting area all sorted out now what about depth? For me that is a tough one. I know that when coho fishing the standby theory is to start shallow and then fish deeper as the day progresses. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the theory and start by looking for meter marks. If I am not seeing fish or bait I move on but when I do, that is the depth that I fish. While fishing recently and having very good success, every single hit we had was off a meter mark. I was constantly adjusting the depth the gear was running at to align with the meter marks. Many times I had just raised or lowered the gear to a meter mark when WHAM-O we would hit a fish. Sure you can catch fish by running your gear at a set depth and just trolling around until you hook a fish but your odds of hooking-up are greatly increased by chasing meter marks. I am constantly watching the meter and make immediate depth adjustments when I see a meter mark. After a hook-up I try to hit the “MARK” button on my fishfinder and will usually circle back around and re-run the area. I almost always leave the boat in gear after a hook-up and adjust the other downrigger to whatever depth the fish hit at. Again recently this tactic produced multiple doubles one set being a 10# and a 13# coho. Chasing meter marks is a lot of work but very effective.

I have been launching early, less to hit the early bite than to avoid a hocus-pocus and long wait at the ramp. We have caught fish all hours of the day and through all phases of the tide. That said I have found the schools to be more organized first thing in the morning. I think that the boat pressure tends to scatter the fish making it more important to chase meter marks as you move away from the early am fishing hours.

When rigging my hoochies I tie the leader to assure that the trailing hook is placed so that it is exposed behind the hoochie/insert combination. I use beads if required to align the bend of the leading hook with the forward edge of the hoochie tentacle slits. A final thought, although antidotal this year I have found that while running hoochies, smaller herring strips have been much more effective than full herring strips. Also, when running spoons I use banana smelly jelly, NOT! For the smaller spoons I use anchovy and the larger spoons either herring or bloody tuna smelly jelly scent.

I hope this helps or is at least a starting point for your coho success. Pre-trip planning will not guarantee success but will greatly improve your odds of going home with a box full of something other than melted ice and waterlogged bologna sandwiches. For your drooling pleasure I have included some snapshots from my fish finder. Each one of them was taken as a fish hit and kicked out of the downrigger clip.