Tips in fishing for salmons in alaska

Alaska is known as one of the most bountiful areas with salmon, and is ideal for fishing trips. This is because of extreme tides along the West Coast and the gush of ocean currents that create an environment ideal for the breeding of thousands of baitfish. It is also known as one of the best places to go if one wants to fish for giant King Salmon, the largest specie of salmon fish. The best way to catch these giant salmon (in saltwater) is through trolling or by angling a baited line drawn into the water. Fishing for giant King Salmon can be a year round activity (especially in Seward). The most sought-after species of salmon are the following: 1. The King Salmon (Chinook) are the largest of all these species. Its weight averages between 20-40 pounds, the heaviest recorded of which is 112 pounds, and can be as long as 3-4". It has a blue-green back that is lightly spotted. The average life span of a Chinook Salmon is about five to seven years. Its flesh can range in color from ivory white to a deep red. Common names for this specie of salmon include tyee, springs, mouth/kings quinnat and tule. 2. Silver Salmon (Coho) on the other hand is slightly smaller with an average weight of 8-12 pounds. These specie prefer small streams in which to spawn between the months of July to November. 3. Sockeye salmon, on the other hand, are the most sought-after of its entire species because its flesh has a color of deep red and it has a firm rich flavor. In fishing for salmon in Alaska, one has to be well equipped with the right equipment (and donned with the appropriate apparel). Listed below are some of the needed equipment/materials and tips for hassle-free fishing: 1. You must be clad in layers of warm clothes (not necessarily bulky ones as it can hinder in the fishing activity). 2. Over these everyday clothes, a waterproof overall, boots and bibs are likewise necessary to ensure that one would stay dry since after a hook-up, some fish may resist with maximum struggles. 3. Fleet or cruisers that offer services for fishing are usually stocked with bait. 4. A guide on board a cruiser ensures that even amateur fishermen will enjoy the activity by providing crash-lessons onboard. They usually hook the bait for the guest and inform the party as to where specific species of fish may thrive for selective fishing.

Wireline trolling for bass

Wireline trolling is a technique that is used by many thousands of New Englanders every year to catch striped bass. It can be very productive if you know what your doing, but many people think you simply put the line out and motor around in your boat to catch fish, and are surprised when they see others catch fish after fish in the same area and apparently doing the same thing and even using the same rig. Well, there must be something different. Knowing where the fish are holding, what their feeding on and the speed to troll at are just some of the considerations to take into account. Where are the Fish. You have to go where the fish are, not where you want them to be. You also have to go when the fish are there, not when you want them to be there. For any kind of Bass fishing, early morning is usually the best. Early in the season they may feed throughout the day, but as the season progresses and the sun gets higher in the sky you won't find them feeding during the day unless there is tide and a lot of bait or a weather pattern to entice them into activity. You may find them holding on structure and be able to catch them but its pretty certain that there is something in the way of food down there to keep them interested. If the fish are holding on structure, you have to present your offering over that structure, if you are off by 50' there is no joy. If you are trolling and mark and catch fish, turn around and keep going over the spot until you stop catching. Don't go trolling away unless your damn sure there is something better to head to. And! don't spend too much time trolling around a spot and not catching. Tides and currents. Bass are ambush predators and a current will provide them with the opportunity to lay in wait for a small creature to be swept past their position so they can gobble it up. It is the current generated by the tides you need to pay attention to. An example of this would be the Block Island North reef. The currents there provide areas which bass like to use as ambush points, and some of these are places to troll wireline. Trolling Speed. Never troll at the same speed all the time if it isn't working. Often fish will follow your offering and are waiting for that trigger that tells them that their prey has detected them. Speed up, slow down, change speeds, speed up during your turns. You will be surprised how many times you hook up fish immediately or very soon after a speed change. Sometimes only going at a particular slow speed works, or a particularly fast speed. The most important thing to do is pay attention to what is going on when you hook up. You need to notice if it is always during a speed change, only when you go fast, only when you go very slow, etc. If you speed up and turn, and the inside line picks up a fish, you may not have enough line out since the inside line will usually go deeper, the outside line shallower. Current can be used to control your speed. If you want to go very slow, troll directly into the current. There is one area I fish trolling to the same spot and slowing down as the boat gets near it, going into the current. At times we are barely moving forward, and when I reach the spot on my GPS one or both rods will go down with fish on (tide is very important in this case.) There are times when you will catch most of your fish only trolling in one direction in relation to the current. Pay attention to what is happening when you hook up. Trolling Depth. This is extremely important. Your depth finder can mark a million fish below 30' but if your trolled rig is only 20' deep you will end up being very frustrated and catching very few fish. Your offering must be presented in the "strike zone", which is the area close enough that the fish will be interested in hitting your lure. This strike zone can be very large when fish are feeding aggressively, or very small if they are "turned off". If you see fish smashing bait on the surface, try letting out a small amount of wireline and troll around the feeding fish, not through the middle of them. So many fisherman shut down the fishing very quickly by trolling through the middle of breaking fish. It is the most idiotic thing they can do. You need to have the lure down near the bottom if you are targeting Bass that aren't feeding aggressively near the surface. If you are in water under 30' deep, it is only necessary to be within 5' of the bottom unless the fish are very sluggish. In deeper water. light penetration becomes an issue and it is necessary to get as close to the bottom as you can without dragging. The rule of thumb is to let out 10 feet of wire for every 1' of depth. This is varied by boat speed and the weight of your lure. Naturally, going slower will cause the rig to go deeper and fast will cause it to run shallower. Remember, if you aren't dragging bottom once in a while, you're trolling too shallow. Matching the Hatch. You need to troll an offering which is representative of what the fish are feeding on. If there are hordes of sand eels then you shouldn't be trolling 6" soft plastic shads. Bass most often eat bunker, sand eels, and squid. Lures that represent these species are ones you should have available to you. If you catch a keeper, open up its stomach and see what it has been feeding on. Sport Fishing. This is supposed to be a sport. Keeping the boat in gear and continuing to troll after you have hooked up a fish is winching, not fishing. I have seen so many bass skipping across the surface of the water as they are being reeled up, it's absolutely ridiculous. You should be fighting the fish and not the boat. Where is the fun in that? So the advice is take the boat out of gear after you hook up. By following the guidelines presented here the reward will be more success for your fishing trips. The last and most important piece of advice when your not catching is this: remember to ask yourself: "what do I need to change?" Are you going too fast, using the wrong rig, trolling too shallow, etc. Watch what other people are doing, it may give you a clue. Catch 'em up!

The world top water fishing champion

The World Top Water Fishing Champion I was fishing a small lake in central California back in 1980, I think it was that year. I had been fishing for a couple of hours and doing ok, catching some 1-2 pound fish and in a far distance I could see this man walking up with a bright red jacket. The closer he got, the more I noticed his jacket and all the patches on it, one said 1978 World Top Water Bass Fishing Champion, along with about 20 other patches. We began to talk, of course, I wanted to know all about him and he began to tell me about how he became champion. Now, I do want to say one thing here, I forget what he told me and I don't even know for sure if there is such a tournament for the World Top Water Championship but I watched this guy fish. He was probably in his 50's or early 60's at the time and fished this lure different than I have seen before so I paid special attention. Finally, after seeing him catch a half dozen fish while I caught two I asked him what he was doing and what bait he was using that he was doing so well. He said he only used one kind of bait and opened up his tackle box. Can you imagine my surprise when the only lure he had in there was Rapalas. I mean bunches of Rapalas, every color and size you could imagine. I said where's the rest of your lures, he smiled and said this is all I use. By the way, at the time I was fishing with a Rapala, that was ironic to me. I said "that is what I'm using now". He said "yeah, I see that but you're not fishing it right". Well, I had fished for bass for about 25 or so years then and wondered what in the world he was talking about, me not fishing it right. I had fished Rapalas for as long as I can remember. So, I said "what are you talking about not fishing it right?". He said "well, all you're doing is throwing the lure in and reeling it back. I said "yeah". He said" have you ever noticed a minnow or shad or whatever, he said they never go very far, they usually move a few inches at a time and they dart." He said "that lure of yours is supposed to imitate the baitfish the bass is after so make it act like one." Then he showed me and guess what? He was right! His acted just like a baitfish and even looked like one swimming the way he did it. As he stood there twitching the end of his rod and letting it sit every two or three twitches then twitch it two or three times more and let it sit, I seen his point. I also seen him catch another bass, which made me a believer. Now I don't know if this man was the top water champion or not but I do know one thing.........his technique works. I have used it on most of my retrieves anytime I fish top water and it works. Cast the lure, let it sit, twitch the end of your rod two or three times and let it set again. The only thing I have done is add one additional move. I throw the lure out and let it sit, twitch the rod two or three times and let it sit and then I move the lure so slow it barely cause a ripple and that is when I get most of my hits. Try this techniques the next time you fish your favorite top water lure and see the results.