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where to start???? super saltwater noob.

17K views 36 replies 18 participants last post by  Toolguy 
#1 ·
Well I just bought a 19' boat, ski/fish cuddy. I have boating experience, I grew up in the interior and it was water skiing from a ski boat, or trolling in a 12' can. I have Been out on a few charters, but have never gone it alone. I need to get some basic ideas for fishing the inside waters here. I have a couple of boys and I want to head out for a day, set some crab/prawn traps, do some trolling for Salmon, maybe end of with a little bottom fishing. I live in Surrey and am close to Crescent beach marina, but could trailer anywhere. Any advice, books, blogs would be appreciated. I need a couple rod/real combos and a downriggers to start, what should I look for just starting out?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Vacman ....welcome to the forum AND the sickness. ;)

SO many questions and SO many answers. I would tell you this much to start.....make sure you are comfortable operating a boat out on the salt. It is and can be much different than interior lakes when you have to start watching for tides, currents combined with winds etc can make for some treacherous condtions. One of the worst spots "locally" can be the mouth of the Fraser if the conditions are just perfectly "wrong" for boating. I would tell you this much and a great start would be signing up for a Power Squadron course; it is time AND money very well spent if you plan to be on the ocean quite a bit.

http://www.cps-ecp.ca/pacificmainland/

What type of boat are you running? You want to ensure you have an engine that will troll slow enough or give you that variable in speed from VERY slow to a couple of knots. Quite often you may require a kicker engine to be able to make slight adjustments to your speed when trolling.

Have you purchased downriggers as of yet? For the most part in the local waters you are going to want to have them....they are not mandatory but VERY helpful to get your lure down to where the fish may be. At times you are going to be trolling all up and down the water columm from depths around 200' (tends to be more in the winter for feeder springs) right up to just below the surface and there are tons of things to take into consideration as to the depth you are fishing.

Do you have a fish finder/depth sounder/GPS type device of any kind? This is really a "must have" as well unless you are very good at reading charts and staying true to course.

Rods/Reels; at this point I would go to your local tackle store (not Canadian Tire ;) ) and pick up a basic mooching reel by Shimano or Daiwa and sometimes they will even come in a combo with a rod and reel. Talk to the guys in your local tackle shop as they will get you set up with a rod/reel combination that will be ideally suitable for using with downriggers. The good thing is too......you really don't have to break the bank to get started out.

Techniques.....tackle.......OH wear to start!?!?! Conditions, type of fish, time of year etc have so many variables as to what to use. 'Generally' you are/may going to be using a flasher (but certainly not always) that will hook to your mainline and behind you will have a length of leader that can vary from ~3 feet up to 8ish feet. What you have at the end of that leader can be a myriad of things including all sorts of spoons, hoochies (squid imitation) plugs or a teaser head of some sort with an anchovie or herring in it being the 3 "staples". The need for a flasher and length of your leader will vary on times of the year, what you are using for a bait/lure etc.....as I said....TONS of variables.

To be honest......there is far more to explain that just can't be typed in a single reply. I would HIGHLY suggest spending some time going back through the salt forum and you will find all sorts of info on a WIDE variety of topics related to salmon fishing. Spend some time reading through threads over the past year and you will pick up a lot of valuable info.....keep a pen and paper by your PC and make sure you jot down questions as specific questions are much easier to address than the wide varied topic of "Salmon Fishing in the Salt - 101". ;)

There are some great websites out there to spend time on and a bit of googling may turn up a great deal of info. This site if full of info and you could spend days reading through all sorts of topics on fishin' in the chuck.

http://www.salmonuniversity.com/index.html

As for prawns and crabs.....it's pretty straight forward in getting geared up. You need a trap(s) for each as they are different traps. For both you will need a float with your name and phone number clearly written and visible on it. It is much easier using bait buckets/cages......I use buckets for prawns to hold the pellets in and cages for crabs as I generally use chicken/turkey backs or fish carcasses (hali remains work great ;) ). For crabs......you will likely want to have anywhere from 80'-120' of line depending on the depths you are going to be targetting them. Remember to take into account the tides when you are judging the depth you need to be at.

Crabs are usually in waters that are 30 feet to 100 feet being the "norm" but you will find them both shallower and deeper...nothing in the salt chuck is set in stone. Make sure when buying your gear if you don't buy weighted line that you buy a clip on weight for your line, as you don't want any excess floating across the surface of the water. For example, if you drop a trap in 80' of water but have 120' in your set up you are going to want to clip the weight on the line maybe 30' below your float if that makes sense. That way your line hangs straight below your float and doesn't float across the surface causing difficulty for boat traffic.

Prawns are much deeper and we generally target them between 280 and 350 feet of water. One thing that is key when prawning......is make sure you have a friend on the boat who thinks pulling up a light little prawn trap is for sissy's. Fire a couple of beers down his throat and then sit back when the trap needs to be pulled up from 300++ feet down in the water. Proceed to tell him when he starts to tire....that you CAN NOT STOP OR THE PRAWNS WILL SWIM OUT OF THE TRAP!! :eek: This is essentially BS but it is funny to piss people off none the less.

As for bottom fish in and around Vancouver.....it's tough to get much in the way of ling cod, snapper, rockfish etc as the bulk of the area is closed with many restricitons on bottom fishing and a lot of Rockfish Conservation Areas where you can not fish for anything.

Take some time and go through the regs as this is likely the most important thing to ensure you know what, where and when you can fish for various species. Make sure you know your species of salmon as you would be surprised how many people "bonk" the wrong species thinking it is something else. I have seen it before with confusion between smaller springs and coho getting mixed up etc. Not too good to run into the fisheries guys when you have made that mistake. ;)

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/index-eng.htm

As I said....go back through threads or use the "search" feature as you will find LOTS of info on gear, lures, rigging, techniques, areas to fish, prawning, crabbing etc etc etc.


Howzat that for a quick "high level" intro?!?!?

If you need to as well.....there are some good people on here who may be willing to head out with you to give you some pointers and help ya get started.
 
#3 ·
I was a total beginner 2 years ago when for the first time I went into the wide ocean from McDonald Boat launch in Richmond. I could not find my way back !!!!!

You are lucky that Crescent beach and all that bay before Point Roberts and Galliano Island pretty easy to follow , navigate and fish. Mind you it is shallow but I saw salmon jumping there on several occasions and tons of bait fish which is usually a good sign.

Crabbing in that bay is very busy and commercial, so you will see thousands of traps that if you are not careful can be quite dangerous for your outboard (or inboard) propeller. so be careful there.
Also galliano Island is just straight forward across from that Mud Bay and you only have to be careful of the BC Ferries. Man these things are big and fast and that is their only passage there on their way to Van Island. But reward is on the further side of that island and the beauty of it is breath taking.

When I passd my Motor Boat Operator Course things became clearer.

The biggest help was a GPS and nothing fancy just a simple 49 bucks Bushnell (I caught one day sale, It is very simple maybe not too reliable but it knows where it is and general direction and that is what matters for me. I never go beyond horizon line so this device is enough for me). Once I locked my home base, the pointer showed me exactly where to go. I mean I could elaborate much more but I am sure that you have past that instance already.

for bottom fishing I find that Galliano Island is the best. You will Have a million of Dog Fish on too, but there will be some others also if you are patient.

Here is what helped me on salmon. A down rigger is a must, spoons and plugs (Dick nite's)
and bait of course.
You can troll anywhere you want around coal harbor (that is how I call it) and further away from any Fraser river inlet. Vancouver harbor is good too. While you are there you can also make a quick run to Bowen Island but make sure you avoid spots where Cod and Rock Fish is protected.

I went few times toward Gibbsons in How Sound too but somehow I could not get into fish I liked. I mean I saw seals and there was fish on the Fishfinder but I tried depth and slow and faster and it did not work. But that is all new for me and I have to grasp so mush more and I find no time for that. I am into ocean fly fishing too and now started Spey so I think I have to set my priorities soon. Good luck this was my brief experience compressed into 3 sentences.
Oh, I forgot for bottom fishing pieces of squid are all that you need. In my opinion of course.
 
#5 ·
wow,thanks for the intro..:thumbup: First I am definitely going to do the power squadron. And I will have a fish finder/gps on the boat It currently has a humminbird mount/transom thing. The boat has a 3.0l (4cly) merc i/o. I can drag a bucket if it is too fast!!!
I am looking at buying a couple of downriggers, is electric the way to go????
 
#7 ·
wow,thanks for the intro..:thumbup: First I am definitely going to do the power squadron.
Very good call. I think most of them have a fall session and a winter session so you would likely find a course starting in January.

And I will have a fish finder/gps on the boat It currently has a humminbird mount/transom thing. The boat has a 3.0l (4cly) merc i/o. I can drag a bucket if it is too fast!!!
Good call with the bucket.....cheaper than a kicker at this point. ;)

I am looking at buying a couple of downriggers, is electric the way to go???
I guess it depends on your budget. Cape R has those two manual ones which is a great price if you are looking to save some $$$......from the ease of operation the electric's definitely are the way to go. They are a huge asset if you are fishing on your own as well.
 
#6 ·
Manual Down Riggers

Hey I got a couple of Manual down riggers, with wire .

I'd let them both go for $75.00 a pr , so if interested PM (personal Message) me and I'll email you a pic of them.

Both in good shape and I used them for 15 years before I got my electrics.

Cape R
 
#8 ·
Before you do anything...

I would go on a couple of charters locally with a guide. I wouldn't mine them for info...but you can definitely bring along some munchies and chat the guide up about techniques and look at their gear. For example, Bon Chovy Fishing Charters, one of the advertisers on this site, would probably show you a few tricks.

:)
 
#9 ·
I would go on a couple of charters locally with a guide. I wouldn't mine them for info...but you can definitely bring along some munchies and chat the guide up about techniques and look at their gear. For example, Bon Chovy Fishing Charters, one of the advertisers on this site, would probably show you a few tricks.

:)
I agree... It's like a fast track learning curve
 
#12 ·
Just a note that I am still here, thanks for the great tips. I am almost done Power Squadron!! Wife is taking it with me, and we are looking forward to getting the boat outfitted a bit and using it. I am in the market, for a couples of downriggers, electric preferred.
vacman
 
#13 ·
vacman, you mentioned you had the transom mount thingy? Did you mean the transducer? If so search Humminbird on Craigslist. There is a guy selling a Humminbird fishfinder/sonar without transducer for 50 bucks. There are also a bunch of other cheap and cheerful ones.
 
#16 ·
Rocky....you may get better results if you send the message to them. Or also look through the buy and sell as I believe they were listed in there and you'll have an idea if they were still available.

There have been a fair number of used sets off electric riggers floating around the various BC fishing forums (3 that I frequent) over the past few months.
 
#17 ·
Welcome Rocky! I bought the twin to your boat in November. 2005 bay 192 cuddy, 3.0 merc. Needed everything... So far picked uo 2 scotty 30" downriggers on CL with new cable and mounts for $150, life jackets at costco, paddle + fire extinguisher Walmart, boyant heaving line Canadian tire, 2- downrigger rod/reel combos on ebay... Most imprtant and thanks to this forum my wife and I took the powersquadron course. I am going to pick up a couple crabtrtaps at Army and Navy this week. My boat has a Huminnbird mount and transducer installed so I am in the market for a fishfinder/sonar.
Thanks for the tip on CL arrgh!, but that one was gone ARRGH!!
Vacman
 
#18 ·
need a set of downriggers and I would like to save a few bucks if possible. I just bought a 2005 1952 Bayliner cuddy and I needs everything. Send me a message if you still have a set of riggers you yould like to sell.
Be careful buying used Scotty downriggers because the manufacturer in Victoria is making it clear to all that all repairs, warranty work, parts etc. will not be offered to owners who purchased used. Now, this will be difficult to enforce as third party vendors like Nikka can always get parts but not sure about repairs.
 
#20 ·
Decided to go gps/sonar/fishfinder. humminbird 583. I have put the boat in at crescent beach 4 times, done some crabbing,floated around with a pod of grey whales.
I have all the gear, DRs, cannonballs, clips, rods reels hoochies,stinky oil, net, flashers.... and am ready to do some salmon trolling. Advice on where a noob should start? I have done a couple of charters out of Sewells marina in horseshoe bay, I read Bon Chovies report that there is some action around Bowen island, I am not ready to venture across the straight.
 
#21 ·
We have had the boat out alot in the chuck at Crecent Beach and done some crabbing with good success. We put in at Suset beach last sunday and toured Howe sound. I am getting comfortable with the boat, everything is functioning , I added a second battery on a perko isolator switch, repalced all the gauges.
So now i want to do some salmon trolling, I am going out sunday I am going to put in at Porteau Cove, I have sudied the regs, marked the park and rockfish conservation areas on a chart, looked at some of the fishing reports online so i am good to go....
two questions, 1st advice on where to drop my crabtraps, 2nd other than "hole in the wall" where is a good place to drop lines?
 
#22 ·
I can't help you with crabbing up in Howe Sound but if I were you I would launch at Vanier Park on Kits Point. You can drop your crab traps out in the bay....find some good lookin' depths ion th 50-80ish range; the commercial guys likely have hit it pretty hard so it may not be great but there are lots of spots to try.

As for fishing.....I have been over on the WCVI so I haven't paid too much attention on the local scene but I would try either hole in the wall if you do put in at Porteau or....things have supposedly been decent in the Bay. Fish from Atkinson in along West Van but if there are lots of boats as you get closer to the Cap I would stay out of the fray as a newbie. Things can get pretty tightly packed in there and people can get a bit ornery if you're not "following the flow".

Aside from that you can try out in the Bay amongst the freighters or go out towards the Bell Buoy and that area off of Point Grey.
 
#23 ·
I'd agree with Pippen and try Burrard instead of Howe Sound at the moment. I'm making the trip from Gibsons on Saturday. Had good success last time I was down and according to a new post on the BonChovy blog, its picked up again after a lull. I had a lot of luck on white Hoochies at 22ft for the Coho and a bit deeper at 50ft with Green/Glow Coyote for the Springs. One line or the other was popping every 10-15 minutes around the tide change, but pretty quiet otherwise. I fished along West and North Van but from what I've been hearing, closer to Point Atkinson/Pilot Cove/Sandy Cove might be better at the moment. It also seems around Point Grey and the Bell Buoy are good. Had a look at Sewells board today and they've been catching at the Bell Buoy, Hole in the Wall and somewhere called Bill's Point(??). If you're committed to Howe Sound, Halkett Point might be worth a try or possibly Hutt, but personally I'd head to South Bowen and try from Seymour Bay around Cowan Pt and along the southern coastline to Roger Curtis. I'd try 80/120 ft at the moment and see how it goes. Good luck!
 
#25 ·
thanks for the tips, we put in at porteau cove, dropped some crabtraps at britania beach and fished along the coastline. Skunked, but i did get the rods in and used the downriggers, yes I hit bottom once, lost a DR clip. tried a purple hoochie and an army truck behind a big silver flashers. I was seeing some hits on the fishfinder around 50-60 feet, so i had one dr at 50ft and one at 60. I am going to go out again tuesday, all sugestions are welcome.
???one question, is there a boatlaunch other than Sewells ( 30 bucks for parking) that is close to hole in the wall? I checked and low tide is 8 am so i want to be hard fishin from 7-9 right? flashers? ( ok three questions):p
 
#26 · (Edited)
thanks for the tips, we put in at porteau cove, dropped some crabtraps at britania beach and fished along the coastline. Skunked, but i did get the rods in and used the downriggers, yes I hit bottom once, lost a DR clip. tried a purple hoochie and an army truck behind a big silver flashers. I was seeing some hits on the fishfinder around 50-60 feet, so i had one dr at 50ft and one at 60. I am going to go out again tuesday, all sugestions are welcome.
???one question, is there a boatlaunch other than Sewells ( 30 bucks for parking) that is close to hole in the wall? I checked and low tide is 8 am so i want to be hard fishin from 7-9 right? flashers? ( ok three questions):p
There may be a launch at Sunset Marina?? I have boated past it many a time but never looked or checked if there is a public launch. As I said earlier.....for this time of the year I would focus more on English Bay or the Bell Buoy. There are springs and coho out there and guys seem to have been doing fairly well as of late. I am not familiar with the water out in front of Britannia or if it is very "crabby"....but you may be better off on that front in the Bay as well. I know prawning in Howe Sound very well and have been doing it for years.....just never looked at crabbing in there unless I was over towards Keats.

As for dragging the little flashy thingys behind your boat chasing salmon. Don't be afraid to mix it up a bit and change out your offerings if you aren't getting much luck. Try some different colours on the flasher, hoochies vs spoons vs bait etc. Sometimes you have to play around until you find what's workin' for ya. Also....if you are trying to get a bead on the fish and find what depths are working you may want to split your downrigger depths a bit further apart. If you have one at 50.....maybe try one at 80-100-120. The fish can be anywhere in the water column and rather than focussing 2 rods at the same depth when you are seeing where they may be at, it is well worth it to stagger them a bit further apart.
 
#29 ·
I guess it is all about the sacrifice. Went out at 6am, dropped some crabtraps, gear down and trolling by 7, lots of action on the fish-finder and a few other boats trolling the tide-line at bellbouy. by 7:30 we had snapped both DR cables and left a couple hundred bucks worth of gear on the bottom. NOTE TO ALL: if you buy used dr's, spend the $20 on new cable!!
We packed all the weight we had in our tackle boxes on and trolled for another hour, NOTHING. My buddy was pretty green and his chumming the water didn't seem to be helping the fishing, so we decided to reel it in and go check our crab traps. NOTE: crab traps placed in line with the commercial ones may not be there when you return.$50 trap, line,float gone. The trap that was there had 3 female crabs so we reeled it aboard and decided to head Back to Vainer park. Note: my boat drafts a lot less water when up on plane, but the leg will still stop you when you hit a sandbar. Interesting to be out on the harbor an be able to step out of your boat and walk around it. Leg up, everybody out and push for deeper water. NO DAMAGE!! unless you count ego.
$300 at army and navy and I had the DRs re-cables, weights, clips, crab-trap.... And we spent the afternoon trolling the tide line ( minus one seasick com-padre)... No fish... but for a $500 day I wouldn't of traded it for row 2 at the lion king. Probably not many views in the world that beat the city and the mountains from the water in Vancouver harbor. I cant wait until next time....
 
#30 ·
I sure hope you got braided downrigger line? Pay the 10 bucks and put a snubber on each, it'll save you a lot in lost lead! Put a 5lb weight on your trap too, some non-commercial traps get picked up and moved with a strong current, it's a good idea to weigh them down a bit.

As for bottoming out, I'm sure it's happened to lots of us. If you have an iPhone, there's an app chartplotter that's saved a prop or two of mine, especially in new waters.
 
#32 ·
I find the braided line better, less drag, doesn't carry an electrical current (which they say can repell fish). But most important for me is that there's no need to crimp cables. There are some downfalls such as the quick release clip slipping up a bit and the auto stop needs to be done creatively with a swivel.

As for being as strong, I doubt it's as strong, but I have hooked up a commercial crab trap on the bottom with my ball and was able to bring it up with some effort and nothing snapped.
 
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