hoochies
I have been fishing salmon all my life. I have been fishing Puget Sound Blackmouth for about 20 years. I know a little about how to fish but one of the most important lessons I have learned during this time is how to take information from several sources to create a style of fishing that I can use. This is one of the themes I have tried to apply to this site and everything I write whether it be on-line or in print. My goal is not to teach people how to fish but to share information so that my readers can create their own technique.
To that end when I find something on-line or in print that can add to the conversation I like to share it here. This is an incredible collection of videos by my friend Mike Jamboretz of Jambo’s Sport Fishing explaining in great detail how he fishes Blackmouth in Puget Sound. These videos were created by Mike and Doug Saint-Denis of Ridge to River Outdoors. There are four videos in all. Try to watch them in order. I did but I have been back through them several times as they are packed with information.
Enjoy!!
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Well it is late but I here that guys are catching kings right now in front of the Harbor. Usually when they are late like this they are running by so it may not last long. Get your green gear, find something that floats and get on it!!!
Read up on how to rig stuff on the where and how page here
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
My original plan was to go to the Sportsmans Show in Puyallup on Saturday but on Thursday I couldn’t take it any more. I’ve been talking to guys about reels, shopping for parts for the boat, working on the trailer and studying everything I could on electronics.
I need to get back out on the water so bad I can taste it.
So I left work early, called a buddy of mine and off we went to the show.
We stopped to look at the chainsaw carvings on the way in. This guy does some great work. We watched some dock dog practice and got some info for the wife for next year. Patti plans to enter Grace in the competition next year.
We finally entered from the boat side and worked our way through. There were the Defiance boats first then some bass boats and drift boats. Outside the tent area we found the River Hawk Boats. These are the big Aluminum boats you see at Cabelas. These are good boats made in Medford, Oregon.
Next we checked out the camp cooking tent. It smelled yummy but since we were so early there was nothing going on yet.
We entered the main hall and walked through the myriad of outfitters, guides and lodges. Spoke to a few. Spent a little extra time at the Women in Waders booth.
We came to the Wooldridge section and could see the big offshore they had there. Next to that was the something I had till now thought was impossible. The new Wooldridge 20′ Sport Pilot House. Not a typo, a 20′ Pilot house boat. I include a link to the video but this little rig ROCKS!!!
This is a great boat for the Pacific Northwest. Whether winter blackmouth fishing or offshore for halibut this is a great boat for two or three fishermen and with a 75 gallon fuel capacity it has the range to run for tuna with the big rigs. This little rig has everything right where it needs to be from locking rod storage to and enclosed head. They even hid a sink under one of the seats. All this at a weight of 2540 lbs. means you can tow it behind just about anything and launch and retrieve it by yourself, which happens more often than you might think.
After that we went buy to see what was happening at the Stealhead pond and watched Tom Nelson catch and release a couple stealhead. Walked by the archery area as some kids were learning to shoot. and back out into the maelstrom.
We went by some RivTech drift boats and picked up some “Wiked Lures”. I’ll let you know how the Wiked Lures work out but they look killer for Blackmouth. Stopped at the XRodz booth and chatted up Jim Mercier. He had some great deals on some beautiful rods. Not only do these rods not suck, each one is a work of art.
And lastly we went by the Sportco booth to see what was happening there. 
They had some great deals on gear including this one on Lamiglass Rods.
I learned some new things about Lamiglass production that we will be discussing later. Overall it was a good show. I spent too much money but enjoyed some great people, made some new friends and learned a few things.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
It’s the end of October and that means some great fall fishing is coming to a close and with it goes the retention of wild kings and the ability to keep two Chinook. The good news is blackmouth season is upon us. My personal favorite Puget Sound fishery is blackmouth, or local kings, so I get very excited about this time of year. We are back to releasing wild Chinook (adipose fin in tact) and only keeping one Chinook but there are still some chum around and local coho to fill the two fish limit. And we will have winter crabbing in area 11 this year starting November 21st seven days a week til December 31st.
There is nothing like a crisp clear winter day, where the sun is out and the water is perfectly flat. There is very little competition for these fish so I am usually the only boat out, or one of just a couple. If I’m lucky I can get my buddy James or one of the other hard cores to go. We fish Blackmouth mostly at the tide changes, and hour before to an hour after. I’ll fish the Girl Scout Camp or Point Richmond on the in and Point Defiance on the out. Or Gig Harbor on either tide. There is a hump just north of the harbor that holds fish on the leeward side.
I troll between 2.5 and 3 MPH but will go slower if I’m running fat plugs like the Tomic Tubby’s. I usually run spoons or hoochies in green. I also have a couple Tomic Plugs one white and one green that work really well for Blackmouth. For instructions on rigging these check out my youtube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe. And you want to run this right on the bottom. usually if you run your downrigger ball the same depth as the water, or even a little deeper for the angle, you will usually be close enough. These fish are sitting on the bottom and feeding up.
Don’t forget to wear a life jacket when fishing in the winter and let someone know where your going and when you’ll be back. Unlike the summer, there aren’t a lot of other people around so a small mistake could be disastrous. Good Luck
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Guys are catching Kings right now in all the usual spots. Now is the time we wait all year for so get out there and get some!!!
This one was Jessica’s first salmon and was good for 19th place in the Gig Harbor PSA derby last Saturday. The winner was a 25.42 pound hog caught near Nisqually by Russel Stone.
I was out tonight and there were several fish caught, including one that I broke off for my other daughter Kristina. Sorry Babe.
Anyway this is a great time to go fishing so get out there in anything that will float and get some!!!!!
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
It looks like this rain has done it’s job and some kings are moving in to the area and plenty more are on the way. Try the girl Scout Camp on an incoming tide or Point Defiance on the out. There have also been some nice fish caught in front of Gig Harbor early in the mornings and evenings this last week or so. When fishing in the Gig Harbor area I will often stay “between the cabins”
View Gig Harbor (www.GigHarborFishing.com) in a larger map
I have been known on an out tide to fish farther south near Point Evans. You don’t want to get too close to point Evans because the bottom is rough and you will lose gear.
Try kingfisher spoons in cookies and cream and green uv, the 3.5″ apex in green and smoke or ace high flies. Any of these can be run with a flasher.
I have also been seeing great reports coming from my friends in
Ucluelet, BC 
and LaPush. 
Westport has been doing well also and if your like me and excited about Tuna a friend of mine went 40 miles and got one last weekend. That was an expensive Tuna but it is only the beginning of some great fishing to come.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
As I was fishing yesterday morning with my buddy Jeff We snagged this dude. It’s an eight and a half inch herring. The herring in the south sound tend to be a little smaller than in the north sound or the ocean so smaller spoons, hoochies and plugs usually work better here. Kingfisher and Apex spoons in the 3.5 inch or 4 inch Tomic plugs are my favorites. I also like needlefish hoochies. They give a smaller presentation to more closely match what the salmon are eating.
So at the end of our day we snag this huge herring. Can you guess what I’ll be trying on Thursday when I go out next?
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
This has been by far my most popular post so I decided to re-publish it at the beginning of this season. I hope it helps.
That title ought to get some weird search engine traffic. I’ve posted a little about using Hoochies for catching salmon here in Gig Harbor. Since the invention of the downrigger trolling has become the most common way to fish in the Gig Harbor area. Hoochies are by far the most popular artificial lure in the Gig Harbor area for trolling due to their versatility and the wide variety of colors, patterns and sizes. I am going to show you a couple different ways I rig hoochie rigs for Gig Harbor Fishing.
First I tie all my own leaders. This way I can tie the hooks closer together or further apart depending on what species of salmon I am fishing for, bait and strike tendencies etc… I often like to put a couple glow beads in between the hooks. Also, tying my own leader ensures that I have no one to blame but myself if one breaks off. I’ll do a post on tying leaders for Gig Harbor Fishing soon.
Remember too that a hoochie by itself has no action. It just kinda
lays there. You have to run some sort of flasher or dodger.
My friend Jerry used to do real well with a white hoochie behind a silver dodger. Some people have success running Hoochies behind Les Davis “ford fender” Flashers.
I like to use green hot spot flashers with the glow on one side and the Mylar removed on the other.
The first Hoochie rig I will share with you is one that has worked well for me this year for Chambers Creek
cookie cutters. These are 15 to 18 lb fish that are passing Gig Harbor on their way to the Chambers Creek hatchery to die. This is a glow needlefish hoochie with a green, blue and purple salmon fly in it. This is a great example of an experiment that actually worked so don’t be afraid to try different things. I tied this one on a 38” leader of 40lb test mono with 6/0 owner hooks close together and two glow beads between them.
The other hoochie rig, and by far the most popular fishing in Gig Harbor is the green glow hoochie. Gig Harbor guideline number one is: any color as long as its green. I will usually tie this on the same leader rig as the other. Two owner 6/0 hooks close together with two glow beads. I’ll typically run 36” to 42” leaders for Kings and shorter for Coho 32” to 36” on a green hot spot flasher.
Some like to run a piece of yarn inside to hold your favorite scent product. Some like to run a twinkle skirt or a glow head insert. I’ve had pretty good luck with just the hoochie but try stuff. Experiment with it and make it your own.
Here’s a video I made on hoe to tie the rig for your hoochies:
Experiment and send me a note to let me know what type of hoochie rig works best for you. I love to hear from people having success fishing the Gig Harbor area (or any other) and as always welcome your questions and comments.
Good Fishin to ya,
Kerry W Allen
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
My friend John Keizer just did a great, if a little long, video on tying spoons with micro hoochies. I cant wait to try this.
Check it out here: 
Also check out his other videos on the Salt Patrol Website here: 
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
We got a little bit of rain this week. We also have a full moon. catch rates have slowed a little over the last week and several people are getting discouraged. This happens most years but usually a little earlier. The kings have been holding up north for a while and trickling down a few at a time. We have had some great days and some average days but it has been pretty consistent up to this slow down.
What happens next. I have never met anyone that can think like a fish but here’s what I think. I think the remaining kings once they smell the fresh water will run for the rivers. That means the ones that are here will leave if they haven’t already and the ones up north are going to run by here on there way south. So I need to be out every chance I get because I want to be there when they run by. This will mean a lot of hours of trolling and not catching but those of us that fish the South Sound are used to that and the rewards are some multiple fish days that rock. Hopefully we will get a good Coho run in September also.
Good Fishin’ To Ya’
Kerry W Allen
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Gig Harbor Fly Shop
Gig Harbor.com