SALTWATER FISHING cont.

The best Humpy rig is a pink F15 squid 16 inches behind a white plastic flasher. Put a little Power Bait under the squid head and go very slow. How slow you might ask? As slow as you can, then slow down! Fish this rig in the proper location at the proper times and limits will be almost automatic. Follow a different method and you are on your own. Be ready for the occasional Chinook or Coho who has not read this paper and will strike at your set up even though it is not their preferred bait. I know fish go to schools but I don't think they quite know what we expect them to do.

Humpies will also go for a jig, a pink Buzz Bomb, a spoon, or even a squid/herring combination at times, but the absolute most successful rig in salt water is that described above. Use the zigzag method and if you get the strikes on the inside rod, the one going slower and deeper, adjust your speed and depth. If you get the strikes on the outside rod, the faster and shallower rod, adjust again.

Like the Coho, these fish gather in huge schools, so stay with the school when you find it and come back to that location on your next trip because the fish will be there. During low water years they will stay out in this area until the first heavy rains come, then make a beeline to the river. These fish have an extremely tender mouth and will come off often, do not force them to the net, guide them gently.

Chum: These fish feed on the same things as the Humpies, but I know few people who actually target them in the salt water successfully, except in the Hood Canal. Fishing off the Hoodsport Hatchery or in that area, rig up a river fishing rig with lead, leader, corky (green, orange, pink, etc.), yarn and a very sharp hook, cast it into the schools of fish trying not to catch the other 100 people doing the same thing and either let it lie there or slowly retrieve it to you. You will know when the fish is there, they are not subtle and you can have the time of your life, especially if you have hooked a 20 pound Chum in the tail or dorsal fin. These are also great on a small green or pink fly but use a #8 or larger fly rod, they will destroy anything lighter. Trying to force a Chum to the net, as many people have discovered, can break strong rods. So be careful!

Sockeye: These fish are not targeted in salt water but if a fishery is open in Lake Washington, head down into the maddening crowd and have a good time. This is a boat fishery and there will be plenty of them to keep you company. Use a "0" chrome dodger with one or two red hooks about 9-16 inches behind (yes! just hooks!) and go very slowly, very, very slowly with either six ounces of lead or at 45-65 feet on your downrigger. In the old days we used a F20, flame orange Flatfish, but in about 1988, this method came into vogue. Sockeye are krill eaters and the hook apparently looks like a krill to them. I have no other idea why it works but it does.

There is also a fishery for Sockeye in Lake Wenatchee some years, use the same method there. At Lake Wenatchee, the launch is at the opposite end of where the fish gather and it is a long run up the lake. The wind comes up to 25 mph and this can be a nervous run so be careful. The state also has a small, unimproved launch at the upper end, but it will be crowded (the fish are small also). These fish have a tender mouth so be gentle.

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