Mooching for Salmon

[@ValcoBayrunner]

your technique is motor mooching, calm days drifting above fish lower bait and reel back up and lower again for slowly for coho, but like you said for kings keep it in front of them. sometimes when lowering i had the lead stop like it was on the bottom when it wasnt, reel up the slack and set the hook, 💥 boom 15 pound coho.

[@spiltmilt]

Thanks for the video guys. Taking my kayak up there in a couple weeks to try my hand at some blackmouth. Mooching sounds like the way to go without a downrigger.

[@doctoredable]

We use a parachute off the bow to slow the drift and use the lightest weights that will keep the line as strait down as possible. We stagger depths to prevent tangles. The rods towards the bow can fish deeper than the rods towards the stern. Best results are to leave the rod in the rod holder. When you see a tap feed some line and wait for the rod to load up before picking up the rod. We use barb less circle hooks to prevent shorts from getting hooked in the throat so they can be released unharmed..

[@koogleyou557]

Had a lot of success w similar set up w anchovie. Head hk w circle hk and 1/2 hitch near tail drifted just above bottom (2 cranks) way more fun (& quiet). You can actually feel the chinook tail slap your bait to stun it b4 coming back around to eat it. Then simply let them swim off w/ it. Look fwd to trying your method w a cut plug and movement. Saw 1 comment about water anchor (parachute) we did same - works out perfect for that bit of angle you want if you have wind and/or current. Love this goddamn stuff!!!

[@wrybread]

Weird, where I mooch, off Tomales Point near Bodega Bay, we all emphasize eliminating line angle. And personally I've never had any issue with tangling, but I'm usually in 90 feet or less. And I find it a lot more productive than trolling, at least in some conditions (for us that means later in the season when the fish are more schooled up).

[@TheOutdoorLine]

Your fish down that way might want a slower bait. It seems like when our fish up here in SE Alaska get close to the hatchery and a little lazy just dead sticking the bait can work great sometimes. For the most part we drop the baits down and reel them up to keep them moving though. Either way it's a fun way to fish for sure

[@wrybread]

TheOutdoorLine Interesting point. Its funny, I'm pretty new to mooching, been doing it for 2 seasons now, but I'm in a community with lots of ex-commercial guys, and some that currently mooch commercially (not as guides), and I'm fishing the way they all do. But then looking around KZbin it seems like we have a unique way of mooching down here. I'm wondering if I should try moving my bait through the water column like you guys do it a bit more, at least on slow days. And, unfortunately, we do get our slow days... And thanks for the fantastic videos by the way.

[@TheOutdoorLine]

Might be worth a try especially when the fish just come in and they're still aggressive. Sometimes a whole herring will out fish a cut plug too...just something else to mess around with. Good luck down there and thanks for checking out the vids...much appreciated!

[@koogleyou557]

Hey Im in Santa Rosa. Thats where I fish. If you ever need an excuse to fish gimme a holler.

[@trbarret]

Like your video, we fish this way up in oregon on the nehalem river and the ocean outside of tillamook. We troll like you describe and hold our rods. When we feel a bump on the bait we let the herring free fall for 5 seconds and then reel up the slack and set the hook and fish on! sometimes they just hammer it. Do you ever use this technique of dropping the bait on a bump? our hook up ratio on the bump of the bait is probably 90%+ but can only be felt if you hold your rod. thanks Terry

[@TheOutdoorLine]

Dropping the bait back works awesome if you know what your doing.

[@jrf5369]

any advice for fishing the "HOLE" at deception pass

[@RajSharma-jc8fo]

can u use spinners with this weight

[@BigfishinonWhidbey]

Nice Vid. We do it a little Different over here on the west side of Whidbey. I have a series of videos about cut pugging and mooching on my channel. Check it out, hope it puts blood in the boat. Keep your rods in the water.

[@jcharlesmith]

Where do you buy those weights?

[@robendsley4806]

Outdoor Emporium and Sportco carry them in Western Washington

[@Vanboozin]

That is not a mooching rod OR reel