Fall is just around the corner and the fish can feel it. Things are picking up and good fishing is just around the corner. Last week’s rain (over 2 inches in Mapleton) will cool the water down and draw fish in. Here’s what I’ve seen the last few days and what others are reporting:
Fish Are In On The Umpqua
A good bite has been happening on the Umpqua recently. Fish down toward Winchester Bay for a chance at both clipped Silvers and Chinook. Last week fish were caught up to Reedsport and above. Herring are the bait of choice and most anglers are running them with flashers. My experience is that there doesn’t seem to be as much debris in the water on the Umpqua, making it easier to run flashers. As with the Siuslaw, most boats move with the tide, making it easier to keep your presentation on the bottom and in the strike zone. Over the weekend there were quite a few boats, so fish the weekdays for less traffic.
Crabbing Picking Up
Crabbing is starting to get a lot better during the last couple of weeks. All your favorite crabbing bays (Alsea, Siuslaw, Winchester) are producing good catches. Best crabbing will be found during the incoming tide, close to the mouth. Recent rains should not slow down catches as there’s not enough fresh water to push crabs out. Many different baits will produce, including shad, tuna heads, chicken or turkey, salmon carcasses, etc.
Not Too Early For The Siuslaw
Though more fish are present down south on the Umpqua, a few fish are starting to show on the Siuslaw. Fishing will get better as the water cools. Some fish have been checked in for little effort.
Know Your Closed Area
Last Friday I ran into some very nice guys from the U.S. Coast Guard, Siuslaw River Station. They informed me that when the Rough Bay Warning Lights are on and the bar is closed, the area downriver from Marker #4 is restricted. If you have any questions, you can call the U.S. Coast Guard recorded message at (541) 902-7792. Next, you can tune your AM/FM radio to 1610 AM. You can also hail the Coast Guard directly on your VHF radio channel 16.
See you on the water,
Action Jackson
(Please send comments or questions to Action Jackson at 268-6944 or www.actionjacksonfishing.com)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Brining Herring
Hello Readers! I’ve recently been getting some questions on preparing herring for trolling. Here’s an quick and effective brine I like to use. Remember to experiment with different scents as it is a key to success. No single scent is the most effective every day.
Herring is probably the #1 bait for Fall Chinook salmon. If you talked to 100 salmon anglers, you’re likely to get that many different brines for herring! There are numerous scents and secret recipes that fishermen have, too many to go into here. Start with a basic recipe, and experiment. What’s that? You say you have the surefire, can’t miss formula? Shoot me an e-mail and I’ll try it out!
The Basic Recipe
This recipe will brine 4-6 dozen herring. Don’t need that many, cut back the ingredients equally to fit the amount of bait you want to brine. To eliminate unwanted scents, use latex gloves to put together the brine.
2 ½ gallons distilled water. You can use tap water, but let the water sit overnight. This allows chlorine to evaporate. Scent is very important. You want to make sure the herring only absorb the scents you want them to absorb.
3 tablespoons of Mrs. Stewart’s liquid bluing. This makes the herring’s scales really shine. Mrs. Stewart’s is not particularly easy to find, so don’t start asking around the night you need it. Randy’s Riverview Market in Mapleton stocks it, and local grocers can order it.
4 cups rock salt, canning salt, or non-iodized salt.
1 cup powdered milk. Powdered milk firms the herring without burning it.
Scent of your choosing. Popular scents include garlic oil (from a jar of minced garlic) or 2 tablespoons of pure anise oil.
Mix all ingredients together, making sure to allow time for the salt to dissolve.
Now, For the Herring…
Most herring purchased these days are “shrink wrapped” to preserve them and minimize freezer burn. Partially thaw the herring before you brine them. Make sure to poke holes in the package as you allow them to thaw. If you don’t, the plastic wrapping will pull scales off these delicate fish during the thawing process.
Letting Them Brine
You’ll want the herring to brine at least overnight. If possible, store them in a cool spot or refrigerate the herring while they brine. After brining, they can be refrozen. Frozen herring cut much better than soft herring, and you’ll lose fewer scales. If you’re fishing all day, put some herring in a small cooler that you’ll be opening a lot, and place others in another cooler that stays shut, keeping the bait frozen until you’re ready to use them.
Drop me a line and let me know what you think about these or other topics.
See you on the water,
Action Jackson
(Please send comments or questions to Action Jackson at 268-6944 or www.actionjacksonfishing.com)
Herring is probably the #1 bait for Fall Chinook salmon. If you talked to 100 salmon anglers, you’re likely to get that many different brines for herring! There are numerous scents and secret recipes that fishermen have, too many to go into here. Start with a basic recipe, and experiment. What’s that? You say you have the surefire, can’t miss formula? Shoot me an e-mail and I’ll try it out!
The Basic Recipe
This recipe will brine 4-6 dozen herring. Don’t need that many, cut back the ingredients equally to fit the amount of bait you want to brine. To eliminate unwanted scents, use latex gloves to put together the brine.
2 ½ gallons distilled water. You can use tap water, but let the water sit overnight. This allows chlorine to evaporate. Scent is very important. You want to make sure the herring only absorb the scents you want them to absorb.
3 tablespoons of Mrs. Stewart’s liquid bluing. This makes the herring’s scales really shine. Mrs. Stewart’s is not particularly easy to find, so don’t start asking around the night you need it. Randy’s Riverview Market in Mapleton stocks it, and local grocers can order it.
4 cups rock salt, canning salt, or non-iodized salt.
1 cup powdered milk. Powdered milk firms the herring without burning it.
Scent of your choosing. Popular scents include garlic oil (from a jar of minced garlic) or 2 tablespoons of pure anise oil.
Mix all ingredients together, making sure to allow time for the salt to dissolve.
Now, For the Herring…
Most herring purchased these days are “shrink wrapped” to preserve them and minimize freezer burn. Partially thaw the herring before you brine them. Make sure to poke holes in the package as you allow them to thaw. If you don’t, the plastic wrapping will pull scales off these delicate fish during the thawing process.
Letting Them Brine
You’ll want the herring to brine at least overnight. If possible, store them in a cool spot or refrigerate the herring while they brine. After brining, they can be refrozen. Frozen herring cut much better than soft herring, and you’ll lose fewer scales. If you’re fishing all day, put some herring in a small cooler that you’ll be opening a lot, and place others in another cooler that stays shut, keeping the bait frozen until you’re ready to use them.
Drop me a line and let me know what you think about these or other topics.
See you on the water,
Action Jackson
(Please send comments or questions to Action Jackson at 268-6944 or www.actionjacksonfishing.com)
Tie Your Own Spinner Rigs For Blueback
If you’re looking for some fishing in the river until good numbers of Chinook show, look no further than Searun cutthroat trout, or Blueback. Right now there are plenty around, they’re aggressive and great to eat. Local fish expert Lynn Hood tells me folks are doing very well in the vicinity of C&D Dock, but fish are available from Mapleton down (and probably above if you know where to look).
Spinners Are Popular
Running into Hood at The Riverview Market was inspirational. He was tying up a spinner for Blueback that looked very simple and effective. It reminded me of the anchovy spinners used at the mouth of the Rogue River for Fall Chinook. The big differences are that you don’t need a treble hook, and you don’t need heavy leader. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
10-12 lb. leader. I thought about this one a lot. Some guys would say that this is too heavy for Blueback. It’s true – it is more than you need. But here’s why I say use it – if something much larger grabs your spinner, you want to have at least a fighting chance of landing it.
An assortment of 4-6 mm beads. Look for different colors such as orange, green, blue, chartreuse, yellow and red. Get some beads in each 4, 5 and 6 mm if you can find them. If you need help finding bead sources give me a call and I can point you in the right direction.
Plastic clevises. A lot of folks use wire or metal clevises and that’s fine. Let me tell you why I use the plastic – because you can change spinner blades quickly. Simply snap one off and put on another. And rarely do you lose a blade (unless you lose the whole spinner).
An assortment of #3 and #4 Colorado spinner blades. Try some of these popular colors: silver, brass, copper, and some painted blades (green, fluorescent orange, blue, etc.). There are many different finishes available. Again – if you need some help – I can tell you where to get started.
Baitholder hooks. These hooks have a long, straight shank that has barbs to help hold a nightcrawler on the hook. Experiment with different sizes to get what you like, but I often use something between a #1 and #4. Gamakatsu makes a very good Baitholder hook that’s sticky sharp out of the package and stays that way.
Very Simple, Very Easy
On approximately 36” of leader, tie on the hook, add 3 of the large beads, 3 of the medium beads, and 2 of the small beads. Add the clevis. Add the blade to the clevis. It doesn’t get any easier. On the river, add ½ nightcrawler and troll your spinner behind a Ford Fender™ or Cow Bell™. Don’t forget to use a small trolling rudder to keep your rig from twisting up.
The Blueback are in, so if you’re not catching switch colors, blades and location until you find the formula that works.
See you on the water,
Action Jackson
(Please send comments or questions to Action Jackson at 268-6944 or www.actionjacksonfishing.com)
Spinners Are Popular
Running into Hood at The Riverview Market was inspirational. He was tying up a spinner for Blueback that looked very simple and effective. It reminded me of the anchovy spinners used at the mouth of the Rogue River for Fall Chinook. The big differences are that you don’t need a treble hook, and you don’t need heavy leader. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
10-12 lb. leader. I thought about this one a lot. Some guys would say that this is too heavy for Blueback. It’s true – it is more than you need. But here’s why I say use it – if something much larger grabs your spinner, you want to have at least a fighting chance of landing it.
An assortment of 4-6 mm beads. Look for different colors such as orange, green, blue, chartreuse, yellow and red. Get some beads in each 4, 5 and 6 mm if you can find them. If you need help finding bead sources give me a call and I can point you in the right direction.
Plastic clevises. A lot of folks use wire or metal clevises and that’s fine. Let me tell you why I use the plastic – because you can change spinner blades quickly. Simply snap one off and put on another. And rarely do you lose a blade (unless you lose the whole spinner).
An assortment of #3 and #4 Colorado spinner blades. Try some of these popular colors: silver, brass, copper, and some painted blades (green, fluorescent orange, blue, etc.). There are many different finishes available. Again – if you need some help – I can tell you where to get started.
Baitholder hooks. These hooks have a long, straight shank that has barbs to help hold a nightcrawler on the hook. Experiment with different sizes to get what you like, but I often use something between a #1 and #4. Gamakatsu makes a very good Baitholder hook that’s sticky sharp out of the package and stays that way.
Very Simple, Very Easy
On approximately 36” of leader, tie on the hook, add 3 of the large beads, 3 of the medium beads, and 2 of the small beads. Add the clevis. Add the blade to the clevis. It doesn’t get any easier. On the river, add ½ nightcrawler and troll your spinner behind a Ford Fender™ or Cow Bell™. Don’t forget to use a small trolling rudder to keep your rig from twisting up.
The Blueback are in, so if you’re not catching switch colors, blades and location until you find the formula that works.
See you on the water,
Action Jackson
(Please send comments or questions to Action Jackson at 268-6944 or www.actionjacksonfishing.com)
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