Northwest Fishing Reports

Moved up to Port Ludlow last fall and am trying out bank fishing for the first time. I have been out several times without success (Marrowstone Point and Salsbury). Like everyone else, I hope the fish show up soon.

I have a question regarding fishing cut plug herring. My reel is currently spooled with braided line tied to a ball swivel and a 18" mono leader. Sometimes I have been using a herring helmet, other times not. When I retrieve my bait it seems to be in the top 6" of the water. Is this correct? I have good spin and have even tried an 1/8 oz egg sinker, but the bait doesn't seem to spin as well. Any suggestions or is retrieving the bait this shallow ok?

My only experience has been fishing the jetty at Ilwaco years ago. I would rig a float, then about 3 feet of mono, then a 2oz banana weight (for casting ability), then another 3 feet of leader to tandem hooks and a whole herring, inside hook through the bottom of the mouth and up through the top of the head, and trailing hook in the side. Tighten the hooks a tad to create a bend in the herring for a gentle spin with the current. Cast out and let the rig "drift" with the tide, reel in at the end of the drift and repeat. I had very good success on coho with this set up.

I would recommend using a setup as Mike described, and use a slip bobber with a bobber stop up top. That way you can adjust the length of the leader/drop.

It's coho deadly.

Thanks for the tips. Going to give the slip bobber a tip this week.

What type of bobber would you use for this

Just an idea, why not use a cut plug with the sponge inside and not have to worry about it? Load up the sponge with herring smelly jelly and cast away.

Again...just an idea. Brad's makes some killer cut plugs with the sponge in the middle.

You are getting very bad advice. Ditch the bobber thing.... Braid is ok, just use a premium ball bearing swivel to attach leader to the braid. Use 15# clear leader material. Leader should be 36-42". Add a split shot above the swivel if you want a little more distance, but it is not needed. Yes, your cut plug herring should be about 6" below the surface. Use a 3/0 for the top hook and 2/0 for the trailer. It should have a tight spin, not a wide spin. Cut off the tail fins to get a tighter spin. The salmon don't care. Watch the old timers at Marrowstone and mimic them. Ask them questions. They will gladly answer your questions.