Outdoors

POSTED: Saturday, Jul. 04, 2009

SALMON DERBY: More tips to fish by

MORE TIPS TO FISH BY

From derbies past, here are more sage home-waters advice from the veteran salmon fishers of the Bellingham Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers:

• To keep thawed herring baits firm throughout the day, with scales intact, store them in a cold brine consisting of three parts pickling salt and one part powdered milk. Stir dry mixture into three parts saltwater to make the solution and, if desired to enhance bait appearance, add green, blue or purple food coloring. Fred Kaiser

• After using a lure anointed with a scent oil, to avoid residual build-up and fouling odor, be sure to clean them thoroughly before stowing them back in your tackle box. Roy Lentz

• To mask human scent, spray all fishing gear with a light petroleum-based product such as WD-40. Also for lures, try a bait scent such as Mike's Kenai Cocktail. Use it in herring brines, too. Casey Ingersoll

• For plastic squid or hoochies use leaders, 40- to 48- inches long, of 40 to 50 pound test monofilament. Roy Lentz

• Think faster trolls for chinook. Maintain 2.5 to 4.5 knots, depending on the tide. Running with the current on a tide change is sometimes more productive. Jim Jorgensen

• To rig whole or cut-plug herring baits, use fluorocarbon leaders in 5- to 6- foot lengths, tie on two stainless steel Mustad No. 92553 hooks. Cindy Geri

• At Lummi Rocks on the west central side of Lummi Island, fish with a green flasher and spoon at 50 to 60 feet deep. Debbie Haddad

• Along Waldron Island's southeastern shore, troll from north to south on the ebb tide, running your terminal tackle at the 80- to 90-foot level in 120 feet of water (20 fathom line). Kathy Kaiser

• At Eagle Bluff, fish a Coyote spoon (in such paint schemes as Cop Car, Halloween or Super Trooper) on 42 inches of leader behind a green flasher. Bruce Johnson

• West of Sucia Island in the Hummer Hole, troll a Green Hornet needlefish style hoochie on 42 inches of leader tied into a Hotspot glow flasher in red, green or white colors at 110-130 feet. Mike Hougen

• A tested, highly reliable rigging is an 11-inch, blue/gold Beckhold Fishcatcher flasher with a four-inch yellow Coyote spoon. Jim Jorgensen

• From among the squid (mylar (plastic) hoochie) patterns, use the full size Og78R or Og142R also fished on 40-50 pound leaders 42 inches behind green, red or white colored Hotspot flashers. Dab a little Smelly Jelly on the lure, too. Bill Melton