fishing techniques

When salmon are concentrated around a bait ball, or congregating to spawn as in June with our spectacular Herring Cove run, jigging is an extremely effective method to catch salmon.

Of all techniques used for salmon, jigging is the most demanding. The success of the angler is dependent upon locating the salmon and also upon manipulating the jig properly to elicit the strike response. Jigging is much more like hunting than other methods.

The angler, after detailed instruction by their Baranof guide, briskly works the rod up, then down to the water's surface, causing the jig to turn over and flutter erratically downward, mimicking the action of a stunned and wounded baitfish.

Serious jigger's fish around the tide change, as jigs should be fished only vertically. After years of teaching guests to jig for Kings at Herring Cove, Baranof captains have learned that boat control is often the difference between success and failure between two different boats fishing the same area, using the same jigs

For the world class salmon fishing in Ketchikan waters, trolling remains the single most productive method of saltwater salmon angling. Even with trolling, knowledge of our local waters to locate salmon is still essential, as fish concentrate in certain areas such as Mountain and Survey points for feeding and migrating.

The downriggers used on Baranof boats for trolling allow for multiple lines to be fished at various depths off the back and sides of our boats.

Presenting a cut plug herring or lures at a proper depth and speed, and with the right action to elicit response from salmon is the primary fishing method for Kings. Once the Silver and Pink salmon are running at full swing mooching or jigging may be the appropriate approach as the sheer numbers of fish make the use of trolling downriggers cumbersome.

The real art of trolling is in the rigging and presentation. The use of flashers and scents are common ways of bringing fish in from distances. Having the proper movement of a whole herring, cut plug, or lure is critical. The art of the cut plug or rigged herring having just the right spin or wobble when pulled through the water can quite often be the difference between catching your limit, or returning home skunked.

Mooching for Salmon is one of the most effective fishing techniques in Southeast Alaska especially in the waters surrounding Ketchikan. When mooching each angler is provided a salmon pole of medium to moderate action and a Penn reel with line counting capabilities.

With brief bursts of power from the trolling motor your Baranof guide strives to keep the line at a 45° angle from the rod. Each angler works the herring cut plug as they reel at slow to moderate speeds to provide action to the bait. By alternately "free spooling" line out and subsequently reeling, the angler can effectively cover the desired portion of the water column.

Optimally your guide will mooch with the drift to keep the lines parallel to the boat, providing the best presentation to the Kings and Silvers that normally face into the drift.

Of virtues required for mooching, patience is paramount. When mooching it is a mantra among Baranof guides that a guest MUST NOT set the hook while the salmon is biting as, often times, a salmon will play with and mouth the bait before engulfing. Our guides, therefore, continually preach not to set the hook until the rod loads.

Fish don't just jump into the boat. You have to catch 'em. And when you're dealing with wily salmon, you've got to do more than just dangle a little bait in the water: You've got to make them believe they're chasing something potentially delicious. In essence, you've literally got to lure them onto the hook.

"We have to outsmart 'em on a daily basis," says veteran Ketchikan fishing guide, Clay Slanaker, "and we've got all kinds of toys to help us do that!"

Spoons, flashers, hoochies. What works best? "Well, they're all very effective," says Slanaker, "depending on the day ... the depth you're fishing ... the tides ... what species of salmon you're fishing for ..." Spoons? They're small metal lures that imitate herring and baby cod. If there are a lot of codfish in the area, says Slanaker, you'd choose a spoon with a gold back and a white belly - in essence, one that will blend in with the crowd.

Flashers are thin sheets of metal, about three inches wide and a foot long, that are designed to weave through the water, catch the sun and trick salmon into thinking there's another fish feeding nearby. When used in conjunction with hoochies (i.e, imitation squid), flashers wobble in the water making the imitation bait appear to come alive.

There are, literally, hundreds of different kinds of lures, which can be used in a thousand different combinations. The only "right combination" is whatever gets the fish to bite, says Slanaker. "It might be the ugliest lure you've got, but if it's catching fish, it's a beautiful thing!"