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