Reef Runner Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Good day, Last night was a perfect day for Salmon fishing. The rains let up, sun broke and the run in full swing, my cousin and I headed down to the Credit River to try and intice a Chinny to bite. I was determined to get a fish proper hooked, not lined, and have asked members of the board a few days back to help me out with setting up my rig. Graciously, many OFNers replied with good info and I went out and bought three way swivels, octupus hooks, tied up some bags and headed down to the banks. There were a couple other gentlemen there, very kind and conversational. They advised that all week they've only witnessed two fish being caught in this spot. I wished them luck and I sat down to tie up the rig. And I tied, and tied, and tied.....lol. I sat downstream from the others so I had ample room to drift. First cast I feel a little pressure, reel in a respecatble stick Second cast, in the water for not more than 10 seconds...WHAMMO. A nice hit and the fight was on...it was an epic, reel screaming 5 minute battle. This fish took me everywhere, upstream down stream, long runs, runs coming straight at me, acrobatics, even had to horse it around a bend. The twenty pound Power Pro stood the test and the gentlemen sharing this tretch with me, seeing as I had my hands full, kindly netted the beast for me. First thing I checked, fish was properly hooked, in the side of the mouth, the #4 octopus hook came out easy. A couple of pics with a nice Hen and she was released to spawn for a future generation of Salmon. Didnt have a scale, but everyone there affirmed it to be roughly 25lbs. A BIG, BIG thanks to the OFNers who shared thier knowledge and experience with me and helped me greatly getting this girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snag Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Well done!!! Feels good to be rewarded when trying a new tactic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anders Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Awsome! Well Done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marko Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Great looking fish man, some murky water tho! none the less well done, hopefully many more to come Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bly Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 WTG Reefrunner! Congrats on what I am sure will be only the first of many this season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnsled Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Great catch Reefrunner!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmls Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 awesome...congrats. This story reminds me of my first carp this summer...It was my first day out using all my knowledge on Hair rigs to the test...needless to say i owe my first 20lb brute carp to the members of OFC .This board is awesome !!! Hope you get many more this season reefrunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 WTG dude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addy79 Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 sweet fish fo sho! got towels?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leecher Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) Great job and catch reefrunner A real nice looking salmo and your smile says it all Thanks for sharing Leechman Edited September 10, 2008 by Leechman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fishing For Life Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 who said Salmon dont bite when in the river? living proof! WTG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modny Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 I drove by that spot today.... is the water always as merky? or is it cause of the rain? Nice Fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted September 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Thanks for the kind replies all, it was such a rush haullin' her in. Again a big part of this catch can be attributed to the great members here on OFC. Thank you all. Shore lunch...the water was murky because of the rain. TO ALL OF THOSE WHO PM'd FOR THE SPOT: Nothing personal, I just dont give up spots, especially when they're local haunts. I will not reply to any PMs asking to divulge such info, sorry. I wish you all the best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrealHeader Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Fishing for life this salmon was 100% lined using the 3 way bottom rig, usually with a marshmallow or earplugs if your smart. It is a 100% legal way of fishing for them, just unethical in the eyes of many. The fish are almost always hooked in the mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted September 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) Fishing for life this salmon was 100% lined using the 3 way bottom rig, usually with a marshmallow or earplugs if your smart. It is a 100% legal way of fishing for them, just unethical in the eyes of many. The fish are almost always hooked in the mouth. I guess I'm not as smart as you bud. When you're not being donkey take along walk of a short pier. I know the difference between a foul hooked fish and one that took the bait. Thanks for your input, guess you know more than alot of us here. Your a real ass-et to the board. Cant wait until you post a report on your fishing expertise, because until now you haven't. Edited September 10, 2008 by reefrunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrealHeader Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Its ok, I didn't say the fish was foul hooked, just lined. You probably noticed the fish slid on the line before it hit the hook, this is why the key is to reel fast and set the hook when you feel pressure. Legal? yes, Ethical? that's debatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLofchik Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 To be fair it's about 50/50, hens are alot harder to line and unless there's a definitive pic of the hook placement I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Atleast it wasn't caught on a marshmallow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinnerdoc Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 good for you reefrunnerbut i would have to agree with clofchik ..it's a fair 50/50. i wouldn't go as far as where stealheader took it though. it's really sad though coz i have been there in river and saw a lots of guys 'fishing' , with the bottom bounce rig and no bait whatsoever..i even had this guy tell me that i am wasting my time casting spoons. i beg to differ as i am not one to just sit and wait, that's just me though. i like to work it, i am lure kind of guy. i tried the bottom bouncing bef on carp and had some luck with it, but not my cup of tea. congrats on the hen. and i know exactly where you caught the fish. i've beed there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Nice fish but it doesn't look like a hen to me. Those fighting teeth in the front of the jaws are only grown by the males and only at spawning time. Sometimes they get that big that they look like a dog's canine teeth. If you saw any eggs falling out of that fish, then it would be some kind of genetic deviant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurraylien Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) looks like a hen no hook in the jaw http://www.usgs.gov/features/lewisandclark...nook_Salmon.jpg Edited September 10, 2008 by hurraylien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Runner Posted September 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) No I didnt feel the line slipping, no I didnt reel like mad to set the hook. Yes, the hook was INSIDE the jaw. Seems like your an expert on lining, stealheader, share a report with us! Get out, fish and PROVE you know what your talking about and not a bag of wind. Looking forward to a report! spinnerdoc...I'm a lure fisherman as well. I know lining is unethical, hence, why I asked OFNCers to enlight me on proper methods and took the time to learn, rig and spend the $. Keep chuckin' them spoons. I respect the opinions of OFNers that can back it up, if it was 50/50, I can accept that. I realize now why great men like Lew don't report anymore. Shame a windbag like stealheader has to rain on a parade. Sorry yall, didnt mean for the post to turn sour. Edited September 10, 2008 by reefrunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splashhopper Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Fishing for life this salmon was 100% lined using the 3 way bottom rig, usually with a marshmallow or earplugs if your smart. It is a 100% legal way of fishing for them, just unethical in the eyes of many. The fish are almost always hooked in the mouth. What does " lined " mean? When i bottom bounce I only use a leader with a weight above the swivel and then my hook and bait at the other end. What is this newbie missing in this situation? Sincerely, Splashhopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboi Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 So, do you find that in the rivers (not the mouth) salmon will bite lures (spoons, spinners) just with casting and retrieving? or is it a better method to use a float and drift the hardware? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted September 11, 2008 Report Share Posted September 11, 2008 The reason that Pacific salmon die after spawning is that their digestive system completely shuts down before they stage at the river mouth. They'll still hit a lure from reflex or anger or whatever but they're incapable of really eating anything. They'll attack a spawn sack and crush it but the thought on that is that they're killing another fish's offspring to give their own more of a chance. Have you ever pulled in a spawn sack that was still intact but empty and you didn't feel the hit? The fish has merely crushed it and let go. Sometimes you get lucky and the mesh gets caught on the teeth and the hook happens to turn the right way. If they're actually on the nest and actively spawning, they'll attack anything that moves too close to the nest and if something actually drifts into the nest, they'll pick it up to move it away. Bottom line is they're not eating anything. Open one up and see what's in the stomach, you won't find a thing. The reason that fish doesn't have a prounounced kype or hook on the jaw is that it's not ripe yet. Give it a week. Those teeth are a dead giveaway for a male fish. They'll get bigger in the next week too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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