Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3614 June 23- July 7 2017 | Page 7

FRESHWATER
VOL.36 • ISS. 14
7
June 23 - July 7, 2017
Charter Boat Salmon Notes
presents
^
Hammer Time on the New
Easy Rider! Lucas, one of
the boat’s deckhands posses
with several limits of big Golden
Gate king salmon that were
taken on the troll early in the
2017 season. These are the kind
of results anglers dream of when
they hunt for salmon from the
deck of a charter boat.
T
^
This is a modern charter
boat salmon fishing rod in
action. It’s a rugged 7 foot Ugly
Stik Tiger fitted with a husky
PENN lever drag reel loaded with
65 pound braided line.
^
This is the bait tray on the New Easy
Rider during the heat of battle. Tray
bait anchovies and herring are the main
course because they work day in and day
out. For the large herring, hooks attached
to short stout sections of cable are the rig
of choice. For rigging rolling anchovies,
we see a pile Capt. Joey Gallia’s barbless
hooks fitted with twisted stainless steel
wire harnesses. With both rigs the harness is inserted inserted through the
baitfish and is secured in the baits mouth. You simply snap one of these
baits to the end of your leader and you’re fishing.
^
Here we see the deckhand
waiting for “color” as an angler
just up the rail brings a big salmon
near the boat. When salmon are
the target the deckhand is your best
friend. Take his advice on baits,
depths and tactics. And when you
hook up, pay special attention to his
instructions. He’s a professional that
makes his living netting salmon from
a moving boat and he wants you to
succeed!
Charter Boat Basics
Tips Ocean Kings!
study in contrasts. It must be powerful
he Chinook salmon is the
enough to handle heavy lead weights,
dean of California saltwater
but it has to be flexible enough to
gamefish. Over the decades no other
cushion the salmon’s
game fish has monopolized
powerful bursts. It has to be
the California saltwate r an-
stiff enough to impart prop-
gler’s time and imagination
er action to dodgers and
more than the venerable
flashers, but soft enough
king salmon. With ocean
to keep from ripping the
salmon seasons underway,
hooks from the salmon’s
this is a great time to take a
mouth or breaking the line.
look at the tactics involved
In days gone by, trolling
in bringing home a mouth-
rods
were constructed from
watering salmon dinner.
solid fiberglass and select-
Trolling and mooching
ing a trolling stick was a
are the two accepted ap-
proaches to catching ocean
by Cal Kellogg simple proposition because
there were few to choose
salmon here in California.
from. Today the troller has a myriad
Trolling accounts for the vast major-
of choices from a number of manu-
ity of the kings boated in any given
season and is the best approach during facturers not to mention the option
of having a rod custom built to meet
the early season when the fish are
individual preferences.
scattered.
In general terms, any 7 to 8 foot
The preferred method of salmon
fast
action rod designed to handle line
trolling from a California charter
from
15 to 40 pound test will get the
boat has changed little over the past
job done. My current favorite is a dis-
40 years and is unique to our region.
countinued Fenwick Saltstik 1870 or a
What sets us apart, is the fact that
7’ Cousins Classic Fiberglass F870-7
we troll with large round sinkers that
rod. These rods are rugged and versa-
weigh from 16 to 48 ounces attached
tile enough to be used for rockfish and
to our lines.
sturgeon fishing in addition to salmon
These sinkers fall off when a
trolling.
salmon is hooked via a spring loaded
The rod should be balanced by a
sinker release. It’s somewhat like a
reel that is strong enough to handle
primitive form of downrigger fishing,
heavy weights. The reel should be
except that the weight is attached to
able to hold a minimum of 200 yards
your line instead of a downrigger ca-
of 25 pound test monofilament line.
ble and is lost with each hookup.
My favorites include the PENN “Baja
The ideal salmon trolling rod is a
FISH SNIFFER
HOW – TO
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9