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[andrew5]

Hi All,

prior to this Samsmon season, I have stuck to fishing fro trout withthe spin caster, but primarily using the fly rod. This is my first attempt at salmon on the river. I am curious to see what the concensus best method for catching sockeye would be.

I would consider myself a beginner/novice angler. I will be fishing off the bars up and around chilliwack, but am willing to go anyhere. I actually live right on the river in New West.

Question: How do i give myself the best shot at being successful at this fishery?

Bouncing betties? I still don't entirely understand that process...

Float fishing

Bar fishing?

Thanks in advance guys - I have always found that this forum provides some great insight from some extremely knowledgable guys. Hope everyone is enjoying the kick off to this promising season!

Andrew

[andrew5]

Oh, and before someone suggests going to the docks in Steveston (I do love that place though), I am more interested in learning to salmon fish for the long run than merely putting some meat in the freezer.

[alwaysfishn]

Go to a salmon bar and watch and ask questions. There are a lot of helpful folks around that will be willing to show you how. 

[fishseeker]

Bouncing betties, long leader seems to be the general approach - not my favorite way to fish.  Like alwaysfishin says the are lots of helpful people around but if you go to the more crowded spots I would suggest you watch out for the small percentage of unpleasant characters on the water.   There are about 1 maybe 2 percent who think they have an exclusive right to the water and will give you a hard time if you cross their lines - had an unpleasant experience last weekend.  Just got to ignore the dingbats.

If you are learning to Salmon fish in the long run I would suggest the sockeye fishery is not the best intro but that just my opinion.  A lot of people really enjoy going after sockeye.  

PS:The last two weekends were a first for me too.  A lot of people were using leaders as long as 15 feet but I simply could not manage leaders that long without tangle ups and snags.   In the end I preferred to go much shorter (..say 8 feet) even if it meant less chance of flossing (..aka snagging..) a fish.   I did not catch anything - could just have been bad luck or maybe my weight was not enough (You need to feel it tapping the bottom as it drifts by you).

Also, make sure you have reinforcement around your weight otherwise your line will fray and you will lose fish (..just ask the tackle shop about that and they will show you the thing for that).

Enjoy.

[andrew5]

Hi Fishseeker,

I am wel aware of the potential for "dingbats" out there. I did actually spend a couple of days out during the pink run last year.

can you explain to me the theory behind bouncing betty's?

This is what I know so far:

you have a weight shaped like a big marble between your main line and your leader. then you leader, followed by a hook. you throw it out there, and let it drift down the current. this is where i'm lost. are you trying to hook the body of a fish, or get it into the outside of it's mouth?

I was under the impression that keeping a foul hooked fish was illegal?

[DragonSpeed]

You are trying to get your leader to run into the opening of the fishes mouth.  Then, imagine like your flossing your teeth, you run the leader through the fishes mouth until the hook hits the mouth.

Pull - Fish on.

[andrew5]

Hi Draginspeed,

having never tried the BB method, i can't say for sure, but this seems really difficult. Is this really the most productive way? I guess my question is, how do you know when your line is across the fish's mouth?

My guss is that you're going to tell me that you have to "feel" it. This seems like something that would take a long time to get the hang of. I keep reading about everyone hitting their quota's in under thirty minutes. Are they all using the BB method?

maybe you can see your line floating in the water, then suddenly stop floating down river... woudl this be the time to set the hook?

Thanks so much everyone,

Andrew

[island boy]

you'll know when it's there.

[dennyman]

Flossing sockeye is as dragonspeed described.  For success you need to be in a section of water where sockeye are moving through and where there is some current to move your bouncing betty. Ideally you want some sand or gravel on the river bottom otherwise if it is too rocky you will be getting snagged a lot. Depending on the current you will use a weight from either 1 to 3 ounces.  Make your cast at a 45 degree angle upriver, don't tighten up on the line on the reel yet, let the line straighten out, and then I usually engage the reel. You will start feeling your weight bouncing on the bottom and if done right your leader will unfurl and fan the section of water you are working. Once your line has reached 180 degrees reel in and cast out again.  There is some finesse required to get the leader to fan out properly but once that starts working for you, the leader will get pulled through the fish's mouth, and the weight will pull the hook into the side of its mouth. Once you feel the weight at the end of your rod, it is fish on. Big thing to understand is that this is a harvest fishery as the fish do not bite but instead are flossed.

[vancook]

Andrew5, if you're looking to see what a bottom bouncing set up looks like I would suggest searching on google as you can usually find pictures of how people set themselves up. Also if you go into your local tackle shop the staff there should be able to instruct you on what to do and what you need.

[Sterling C]

Go to a salmon bar and watch and ask questions. There are a lot of helpful folks around that will be willing to show you how. 

Andrew, if the sockeye fishery does not completely turn you off of salmon fishing, please do not take this mentality to other rivers.

[WildRod]

I agree with Sterling's comment.  People's tension runs a little higher around this fishery and they are more anxious to get their quota.  The should-to-shoulder bars can accentuate their displeasure and they may take out frustrations on less experienced fisherman.  Not all fisheries are this competitive, so don't take it personaly and don't get discouraged.

[FlyFishin Magician]

Here is a pretty good description of the sockeye fishery - and a good perspective on it as well.  It's called Sockeye 101 (from the BCFR forum):

http://www.bcfishingreports.com/forums/entries/16-quot-Sockeye-Fishing-on-the-Fraser-River-quot

Sorry Rod - I'm not trying to advertise the other site, but I read this and thought it would be good for beginners to read.

[andrew5]

That summed it up perfectly. It filled in the last few remaining questions I had. Irealyl understand the difference between the Sockeye fishery and the rest of the fisheries now.

For the record, I am not new to agling, so I wouldn't even think of taking the atmosphere of this fishery as the status quo.

Thanks fo ral the help guys. looking forward to putting my research into practice.

Andrew

[Matt]

Oh, and before someone suggests going to the docks in Steveston (I do love that place though), I am more interested in learning to salmon fish for the long run than merely putting some meat in the freezer.

Learning to pull sockeye out of the Fraser will do nothing to increased you ability as an angler as Fraser sockeye don't bite.  Instead, they are "flossed" by drifting a long leader with the current until the leader is drifted into a sockeye's open mouth.  At that point the weight keeps on drifting and pulls the hook into the corner of the jaw.  No angling mojo required, its all hydrology.

If you want you're two sockeye, assemble the gear described in tonnes of recent FWR threads and hit up any bar named (search).  Floss your two fish and stop fishing.  Keep the sockeye you catch, as the one's that are released have a goo chance of not making it IMO with water temps being so high.

Please don't ever use this flossing technique anywhere else, or you'll get shamed off the river.  The Fraser sockeye "fishery" is a pure meat harvest, nothing more, please don't confuse it with sport fishing.

Hope that helps.