Northwest Fishing Reports

all right so ive recently got into slatwater fishing.and now i would like to know a few things about it. first things first.dog fish i really wanna catch one. ive hooked many upon many.and i now all i want to fish for are dog fish.i bought a lot of hering and a keep catching bull heads.witch i dont mind but most fishing trips thats all i catch.everyonece in a while i will hook a flounder or a shark i caught a cuttthrout the outher day on a worm.wen i was fishing the saltwater witch is kinda wierd but cool.but my main question is what bait can i use that will attracked dog fish the most?my dad told me to use liver?? or chicken.....but ive had luck on hering but.mostly its a bullhead.so what can i use that will increase my succes on dog fish fishing??? and say i wanted to eat one just to try it out.i know not to keep the 6 gillers so what kind of dog fish can i keep and eat?or are dog fish nasty? thankxx

If you are in a boat use herring well off the bottom to keep from catching sculpin or flounder. Dogfish are definately NOT leader shy so use the heaviest leaders yo have. Drop your rig to the bottom and slowly reel it to the surface. They have a real funny take...sort of a mushy bump bump. Used to fish for them when I was a kid off the OLD Camp Grande dock on the north end of Camano Island. Had a blast.

i've used squid off of the piers at dashpoint and redondo and hooked dogfish but also alot ratfish too. as far as eating a dog fish i've heard if you bleed them quikly and get em on ice soon, there are ways of cooking them; never tried it though good luck and watch those teeth and spines

Dogfish, yeah they're kind of fun for awhile... until you salmon fish. The herring is a good bait, use a large piece of herring, so to avoid the other fish. I think it's best in like at least 50-60' of water, and not like 300 or way deep.
But they are easy to find. And like was already said, I would have a good 20lb test leader, or just use your main line of 25-30lb test. Take a look at my avitar, that is a good size one that I caught with my son.

I caught a couple of dogfish about a month ago, in about 10 feet of water, from a boat anchored in a bay. First time ever doing this, and had no idea that I would catch anything at all. I dropped the weight to the bottom, and reeled up a little to avoid crabs. Used a double hook salmon leader with once hook thru the eyes, and the other thru the body of the herring. Used 25 pound test main line.

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Should just go out with me lol it seems to be all I can catch. Anywhere i go on the sound I find them quickly it seems. Like stated though the herring is your best bet. If you are on a dock you can use a whole herring with a salmon double hook set up just hook the top one through the head and the other down towards the tail and just send it to the bottom with a weight. Using the the whole herring will keep the smaller stuff off like the bullheads and flounder. Depending on where you fish you might get a ratfish or crab but should get plenty of dogfish as well.

Just for your information- dogfish urinate thru their skin. I use to fish for them commercially and man does a fish hold stink when it's full of dogfish!!

well 2 day me and my older brother launched my boat at chambers around 7:45 P.M and fished with herring and i caught a sucker.that all we got fo the day but a lil shark chased my bait. and we got some decent bites. wen we headed out past the bridge. but as we cam back we saw some people useing huge nets.and if you ask me.i think the reason the salmon population is super low is cause peopl keep running out them nets and kiling all the fish. and it really made the fishing skunked.but all in all it was beautifull out on the water but i wish we caught more fish.... i have caught a nive cutt on a worm there. but so far a chambers all i caught is suckers and one cutt and seen many upon many salmon jumping. but yea.

Shark fishing at Chambers is tough. I've had many follows with an old boot but can't ever get them to the boat. Might even try tossing a few DuPont Wigglers.
Its tough work but keep trying.

yea ive had some sharks follow my bait but no takers.i think mabey they would like some big plater of food. and how is it that regular worms work in salt water?

TheOne wrote:yea ive had some sharks follow my bait but no takers.i think mabey they would like some big plater of food. and how is it that regular worms work in salt water?

If dogfish are following your bait and aren't taking it then you are pulling it from their mouths. Leave it still. Dogfish donn't "follow" herring and just nose it. They aren't picky and will hit anything. Herring is about the perfect bait.
Find a spot with dogfish. The entire sound has them now it seems. Go to 30-100 feet of water. Put a chunk of herring (1/4 of a herring) and drop it to bottom. Reel a few cranks off bottom. Set pole in holder. If you go 10 minutes without a bite, move. Continue until you find fish, but it shouldn't be that hard at all.

i think i may just do that sam.it really makes sence and since i have a raft i will be drifting.so i can troll it along the bottom kinda.but not really the bottom mabey about 6-12 inches from the bottom.how dose that sound?

and yes herring are just about the perfect bait.i think we can add herring to the list of legendary baits.like worms and crikets.

TheOne wrote:i think i may just do that sam.it really makes sence and since i have a raft i will be drifting.so i can troll it along the bottom kinda.but not really the bottom mabey about 6-12 inches from the bottom.how dose that sound?

The One -- I hooked and released over 10 dogfish and I was on pace for 100 at both Possession Bar and Jeff Head this week. Dogfish are thick most everywhere, but much more around MA9 Possession. These fish are so easy to catch. I hate dogfish as they destroy my leaders, but not always. They are found all throughout the water column. We caught most of ours in 40-115 feet of water in 150 feet of water. It's the simpliest fishing going. Head to West Point, Jeff Head, Possession (especially) and find out personally. You will not be disappointed. For those that hate dogfish, like myself, stray away from using scent on your lures and avoid baitfish imitations which literally mimic a herring unless the dogfish are far, far away. They love the herring schools that have been congregating in the Sound. When the Ho's show up here in 4-6 weeks, they will be angry and fiesty with lots of bait to go around. Dogfish are not a good table affair. Soaking the meat in vinegar is a must; then bake with a ton of lemon and spice. They also put up a lame fight, but don't let that deter you. We need more like you to slap these dogs silly and remove them from the Sound. They're TOO thick.

yea they are kind of weak fighter's. over at horse head bay. me adn my lil brother were hooking eaither nurseing sharks or dog fish im not shure but man theese things were huge.some of them could have been 4-5 ft in leagth easy.i hooked one bigger than our boat.and the boat had to be at least 9 ft long.well mabey it wasnt as big as the boat but close to the size.and ever since then ive been hooked on dog fishing.its a shame i cant seem to catch anything outher than cabazon and copperrock fish and suckers...i see many outher fish but nothing ever wants to bite really.outher than.suckers and rock fish and cabazon..mabey i need to go further out!!!.

When a boy, we went out on the sound near the point, got a lot of Cod and a few dog's. My mom grew up on the water and always told us that you can NOT eat a dog fish!! Was very stuborn like only an Irish woman can be on that subject. So we brought home the dogs and skined and cleaned em before we docked. We knew what parts were cod and what were not. BUT after she battered them and fryed them we were lost!!! After we ate the whole plate we told the family gathering what they ate....NO one could tell the difference.

You can't get any better for dogfish than herring in my opinion. If you aren't catching them you may be fishing a little to close to the bottom. BUt it is probably mostly a matter of there just aren't that many in the area. Definitely use a tough lieter
20 or 30 pound becasue they have sharp mouths. Another thing that I have done to catch those is actually cut the herring in half becasue not only do you get twice the baits, you get extra oils and scents pouring out into the water from the guts of the herring. Good luck!