Racine 7/15-18

[Grey Beard]

I awoke at 330 and no surprise after doing same for the last week. The forecast for today said time to go home and call it another year of great times fishing Salmon A Rama. No board winners this year but lots of bites boating 132 over the 6 days of fishing and missing close to 80. I could not get the shallow king bite figured out so by 7AM I would blast out to 220-260 and enjoy some of the best quality Coho and rainbow fishing I’ve ever had. They weren’t everywhere but one morning it seemed we could get bit only going north and quite a current so stayed on that track for 5 miles and got bit the whole way.

The big kings were hard for us to find and looking at the leader board shows they are around and the weights reminds me of years gone by. We would setup in the dark on structure with lots of bait and good temps and sometimes not one bite. Some days I’d run a mixed spread of flashers, spoons and Brad’s. Another day fished the 3rd hill with a Milwaukee spread of 6 white flashers and flys and nadda. The last day we fished glow spoon spread off Can 14 and bumped the structure finding tons of bait but not a lot of hooks. We teamed up on a fish that hit a 5 color and a mag glow I got in a grab bag. The way it ran I was worried it was foul hooked and had to circle it 3 times to bring it to the net. It was hooked right in the mouth and weighed in at 23.8#, the biggest in I can’t remember how long but at least 8 yrs. I kind of forgot how tuff those 20#+ are and looking forward to more challenges.

My out deep spread didn’t change a lot because it just kept working. The thermocline was down around 45’ with 59 at 35’, 56 at 40’, 52 at 45’ and 49 at 55’ so a nice break. Riggers were typically set at 40, 50 and 60 and 50’ most active and 60 the least. Dipsys were set on 3 out 75-90 and 80-120. Best setup on the dipsys was a smoked Opti with an oval of Oz tape and dbl aqua fly. Other dipsy varied a bit but Big Al Flasher in Green with Brad’s Mountain Doo was good. Every day the 50’ rigger was always Big Al with UV blue, LBB teaser and Brad’s Seahawk. 40’ rigger I’d use the same but didn’t fire as often til I changed to Big Al Green/Gold with green/lbb teaser and Brad’s Lemon Lime. Deep rigger was always Spotted Cow with either white or smoke dodger or Big Al’s in pearl glow and was good but the quietest. Riggers by far out performed dipys and boards. I think that very “noisy†spread sucks in Coho in open water. Using the Big Als vs dodgers allowed me to push my Depth Raider speed to 2-2.3(old so add 0.4mph for GPS matching on new Depth Raider). Will have to see how that kind of spread works for kings.

Stud on the boards was a 5 color with a 3F orange/chart Evil Eye taking multiple nice bows and a couple of coho. Fullcores and 175 copper took the bulk of the hits using various Brad’s cut plugs, some with Big Als and most with teasers. You wonder about teasers and so do I. Brad’s Kevorkian with a purple/LBB teaser on 175 copper that puts it in the rigger range was working well. I only have on purple teaser so put out a naked Kevorkian on the 8 color which should be in the same depth range as the 175 copper. Copper hits 4 and 8 color nadda. I’m making more purple teasers. One of my biggest screamers was on a Shamrock with a teaser and the 75# snap opened. Ugh.

Wish I was out there,

Grey Beard

[KJ pluggin]

Nice load of fish there Michael.