I'll start by saying I'm a total beginner. I've been trying to get into bigger fish (than trout) for 3 years, and not having any luck. I've got myself a decent jet sled, and have been taking every opportunity to get out there. This is my first post, and honestly should have posted many times before except I've been too embarrassed at how skunked I've been.

My buddy Jared showed up today around 9:30am, and we got all our gear together to go down to the river. We dropped in at High Bridge, and went first down just below 522. We found a nice spot just near what looked like a decent channel, and started out.

We both started with a black/purple jig setup. From all the reports on here, I thought that would be the right start.

After a while a couple came up on the other side of the channel and started bank fishing. I could see from afar they were running a pink jig setup, and were bringing them in fast. At a certain point Jared decided to run pink also. Still no luck. I'm fairly certain it's technique we're missing, but have no idea as all year I haven't had really any consistent luck.

Still no bites. We decide that the waters are right, but we need a change of pace. We head up river to the confluence, in hopes of trying to hit things right there. Another boat is there, and they claim no luck. We sit for a while trying a really swift spot by a log with no luck.

The other boat left, and so that kind of opened up the path for me to try and power up the Sky. I had done it a few weeks ago with success, and so we went right up it. There is a weird spot up there I had been wanting to fish since I saw it.

So we get up there, and I was thinking it would be a good spot since the river gets narrow and turns into a channel. We fished this spot for a while, it's was really cool to see nature do it's thing. The fish were hanging out in a slow spot, in preparation for a rock climb to the next area. You could see them shimmy up the rocks to avoid the quick current.

Unfortunately, it turns out that just turned into a snag spot. I tried and tried, but ended up having to stop because I think I was hurting fish more than anything. 5 bucks to the boat, but snagged from their hump. :( We did our best to keep them in the water and let them free immediately.

I switched to another tactic for a while, but eventually I was just down trodden. I think that spot could be good. You could see them everywhere, but I think my presentation sucks.

All in all, we had a great day. Lots of fun, and saw some cool things nature had to show us.

customweld

9/21/2015 8:41:00 AM

Hi. Just wanted to say, keep up the hard work and keep trying. Having a boat helps but technique is helpful. I would suggest maybe going out with a guide, pay the fee and learn from someone who knows. That can save you time, money and give you a great time years ahead. I'm not a guide however I would love to have that career path. (maybe someday). Otherwise, Youtube, talk to people and ask advice at the tackle stores. Coho is here and get some dick nites, and you'll hook up soon.

Good luck!
Ken

scodar

9/21/2015 11:15:00 AM

I'm absolutely committed. :) I know I'll get there. I've thought about the guide thing, but I'm a bit stubborn. I may yet to it though, it's just a matter of waiting till I've had enough.

I did ok last pink season, for being my first. I managed to at least catch, but it took all season. The success I had then though was a shore technique that somebody showed me. It was using a slip float and a jig, to put the jig just above the bottom. I didn't want to revert to that this year, mainly because I want to learn all the other styles that work. We'll say, maybe I'll just revert to that at some point here so I'm not skunked.

molto_bravo

9/21/2015 1:55:00 PM

Scodar, I can totally relate to your story. I've been in your shoes before and know how frustrating it can be when everyone around you is catching fish and you're not. Having said that, the thing that helped me the most besides asking other fellow anglers, is booking few trips with guides on the Skykomish and Snohomish rivers and learning from them first hand as customweld pointed out. But you'll need to pick your guide carefully since few of them are not welling to show or teach their "most effective" techniques. From that prospective, I found John Thomas from Rotting Chum to be one of the best in that field (disclaimer: I am not affiliated with him at all, just had many pleasant and informative trips on his boat in the past :)
I also have a drift boat and fish the Snohomish very frequently. So, if you like, you can join me on my boat and I'll be happy to show you my techniques for catching pinks and cohos (for steelhead I am still a newbie so can't help you there :) If you're interested, drop me a line and we can go from there.

Tight lines!

Goldrigger1

9/21/2015 3:25:00 PM

LOL. Been there with a great boat and all the tools. Even an expensive Orvis rod. Nope, no good. Didn't catch much until I got a guide on the Snoho. Amazing how much money and time I lost being stubborn. Thinking I'm real self-reliant can be one of my ego deals which slows me down.

You presented a lure in your post. Did you know one of the things people love to do is help a person they connect with. Its been proven in scientific tests. We like to help especially if it is to solve a problem. We get a little endorphin rush from it.

scodar

9/21/2015 5:00:00 PM

@molto_bravo, Thanks for the suggestion on a guide. Maybe I'll actually get around to it soon, and get past this. I've always been a self-learning my entire life, and so paying someone to teach me something I already love seems weird. I guess I'll just have to get over that and suck up some pride. Also, I might just take you up on your offer. Fishing from a boat is definitely what I want to learn most.

@Goldrigger1, :) I figured as much. I read these forums constantly trying to see when fish are running or where the good stuff is at. I figured at some point I would have to stop lurking and be part of it, no matter my skill level.

dalvers63

9/22/2015 11:18:00 AM

I've been where you are, too, and have to agree with everyone else in suggesting a good guide. They will help you with setup and technique. You already know where the fish are by your post so just a bit of help and you'll be set.

While I've caught many a pink on jigs the last few weeks I've been casting Dick Nite's with great success. Good luck out there and you'll get fish soon I'm sure!

MoonValley

9/22/2015 7:56:00 PM

As a fellow rookie, I feel your pain. :) Last year was my first real attempt at salmon fishing, and there were times when I wanted to throw in the towel. My buddy was catching ten per day and I might land one.
We've had good luck on the Sno with jigs and with a frog/nickel Dick Nite in small sizes. The thing we felt helped us most is SLOWING DOWN. Work near the bottom, jig twice, pause for about a two count, jig twice, pause... Nice, slow jigs. We felt like the fish were hitting the jig on the drop, so the second jig was when we typically hooked up. With the Dick Nite, we were catching loads of fish with a four foot leader behind a 1/2 ounce dropper. Let it settle a couple of seconds, and then slowly retrieve. Toss in a little tug here and there. Low and slow was what worked for us. For a while there we were landing fish on 50% of our casts. When I could feel the dropper ticking along the bottom, I knew I was in the zone and expected to get hit.
As far as jigs, we had solid results with smaller jigs. Pink or cerise heads, pink or purple bodies. Short squid skirts, or maribou. Jigging did tend to result in more foul-hooked fish. With the Dick Nite, all but one fish were hooked solidly in the corner of the mouth.

I just bought an old Hewes Craft River Runner II, so maybe I'll see you out there.

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