Isn't salmon fishing from a boat boring? What's your opinion?

[kirkster]

:shock:Here's an idea, Next time your on a boat and get bored. Just jump overboard. That will liven things up.

 

[halibuthitman]

I think I would share your perspective if I was sitting in a boat and having someone else run the show. On the other hand when you own your own boat it's a whole new ball game. Nothing I like better than to take my boat offshore out of Newport. I like planning my trip checking the weather conditions, getting the gear together and making sure all the boat equipment is functioning. Then heading out between the jaw and crossing the bar smelling that ocean smell. Then your job is to get on the fish that are somewhere out there. Sometimes it's just my wife and I. Other times we take friends and when you hit into the fish and have four crazzy coho on at once it becomes a real blast, not at all boring. You also have the benefit of having the freshest fish around, all chrome bright and sealice hang on them. The trick to having fun with it is learning how to do it and doing it yourself. Like tying up your own mooching riggs, then rigging your own gear. The other enjoyment comes when you pay your own gas bill:shock:

For myself I do not enjoy hiting the Columbia anchoring up and sitting. I need to be moving.

I am also a believer in doing all kinds of fishing. I hit the banks a lot on the Sandy with the spey rod. I hit the banks of the Crooked and Descutes with the 5wt.

Fishing to me is like eating I like a varity sometimes cheeseburgers sometime T-Bone!

I think you would have been a great commercial fisherman... spydey, one day mabe you will get the chance to push a driftboat down a 35 ft bank into a river you forgot to check the river levels on, drift through a dark lonely canyon.. watching steelhead shoot up or downstream as you pass.. slide up onto a gravel bar with ut anyone elses footprints on it, no empty prawn containers.. a herd of 5 elk will blast across the river downstream and you will hear no cars and see not another soul.. and you will see why we call them magic carpets.

 

[Mad dog]

:shock:Here's an idea, Next time your on a boat and get bored. Just jump overboard. That will liven things up.

Kirkster, you crack me up man!!!

Salmon fishing from a boat is not as boring as this thread....that's for sure!!!

Gonna make your whole assumption that salmon fishing from a boat is boring based on one fishing experience? Not all salmon fishing from a boat is anchoring in a hogline with your rod in a holder! I guess you missed Steelhead stalkers post on a 30+ coho day casting spinners from a boat! I'm sure that they fished area's that had salmon rolling and boiling everywhere! Pretty exciting casting that spinner waiting for the next Ho to rip the rod from your hands! Doesn't sound boring to me!

I also know of a hole that is boat fishable/accessible only that has at least 40/50 fall chinook in it right now! The boys went there last week and hooked multiple Chinook flyfishing and casting gear, they even had a double on at one point with one fish hooked on a flyrod and another hooked on spinning gear! How is that boring? Most salmon fisherman fishing from boats employ the same techniques that bankies do....boat fishing for salmon is just not only plunking from a boat!

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

Two of my best days of fishing ever came out of a boat! Fishing is a blast not matter what you are doing, just thinking about hitting the bank for winter steelhead gets me pumped but then again the thought of drifting the Umpqua for big, mean steelhead gets me even more pumped up. Enjoy what you are doing and go fishing!

 

[kirkster]

Two of my best days of fishing ever came out of a boat! Fishing is a blast not matter what you are doing, just thinking about hitting the bank for winter steelhead gets me pumped but then again the thought of drifting the Umpqua for big, mean steelhead gets me even more pumped up. Enjoy what you are doing and go fishing!

YA YA!! what steelhead_stalker said:clap::clap::clap: I could not have explained any better.

And like the sign says hanging at the helm next to the old skipper. "SHUT UP AND FISH"

 

[fishnquest]

All of my salmon fishing has been from a boat, mostly in the ocean trolling with downriggers. When the fish are not biting, yeah its boring. I mean, lets go rockfishing or something! When they are biting its a blast, I can't get reset fast enough. In other words, Eureka was really boring, Alaska was a blast.

 

[kirkster]

Kirkster, you crack me up man!!


Its all in good fun, and done with a smile

 

[Thuggin4Life]

Going to the coast in the rain and the wind to try for salmon and I can't wait to sit in the boat.

 

[halibuthitman]

Going to the coast in the rain and the wind to try for salmon and I can't wait to sit in the boat.

the weather buoy on the north coast is registering seas to 22 ft right now... and the forcast is for 30-35 ft seas by morning... so wear your water wings!!!!:shock:

 

[GDBrown]

Airplanes & Salmon fishing

Airplanes & Salmon fishing

I was out of town when this thread was active but I just can't pass it up.

Salmon fishing, whether from the bank or a boat, is like flying an airplane. There is the excitement of the take OFF followed by hours of shear boredom finalized with absolute terror (the landing/hookup) and undying gratitude when it is finally over. (fish in the boat/on the bank) Then you can't wait to do it all over again because you love that adrenalin rush.

Been there, done that, in the air and on the water. Believe me if I could afford to do anything it would be flying, I really miss it. But I'm happy as a lark to be able to fish here in Oregon.

GD

 

[kaimuki49]

someone observed that salmon fishing is really more like "harvesting". when the fish are at a particular place, when they are running, u get them. u got to be at a SPECIFIC place during a finite point in time. its not akin to real fishing which requires going out and searching, presenting different lures, working different locations etc etc. trout fishing for example. thus, some people would find salmon fishing (no matter if boat or bank) boring.

the salmon just "are". when they run, they run. fisherman just intercept them.

 

[kaimuki49]

Ok, so before I get into any questions, reasons, and experience, etc., I just want to make it clear that this is not a bashing thread. In no way am I bashing salmon fishing from a boat or anything like that. :naughty: It is more curiosity and probably lack of experience, that has initiated this thread. :think:

Ok, so now that that is out of the way. Isn't salmon fishing from a boat boring? I mean, casting out, sitting down, and then waiting, while one does nothing, for a salmon to happen to come along and take the bait, seems to me to be somewhat boring. Again, this is a personal opinion. Now let me give you why I ask if it is boring. It is based upon my very small, minute, tiny bit of salmon fishing from a boat. I have been salmon fishing from a boat once and it was soooooooooooooooo boring

A friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him on a guided salmon fishing trip. I had never been salmon fishing so I said sure. Besides that, it was free (for me) and they needed to fill the last seat or else the guide wouldn't go. So why not.

So we got out on to the water a little down river from the Bonneville dam. We cast anchor and then the guide/captain proceeded to rig all the 5 or 6 lines and cast them out for us. We sat there and did nothing for 4 hours. Just talked, chatted, and ate some snacks. It was a little cold but I was fine. I took a few naps. Eventually we started hooking into some salmon. By the end of the day all of us had two salmon each, so not a bad day as far as the catch goes. The other boring thing was that when a salmon was hooked, we would fight it for like 20 mins before we boated it. Then the captain would proceed to rig the line again and cast it out for us.

It was very ......... hhhhhmmmmmmm ........ boring for me. I just sat there and then twice, for twenty mins each, I fought a salmon and then sat there again. We were on the water for a total of 9 hours. Plus I had to get up @ 2:30am. It was a 90 min drive out and another 90 min drive back. This was years and years ago but it has stuck with me since. What was the point? It seemed very ........ passive ....... very retroactive. I would sit there and do nothing. Even if I was the one who rigged the lines and cast out, it seems that it still would have been passive and boring to me.

So why do those of you who salmon fish from a boat do it this way? Granted there are mores areas, rigs, times, etc, to fish for salmon from a boat. I would imagine that the tidewaters would be fun, with a group of friends and not some random people. Probably hitting your favorite river and your favorite holes would be a blast cause you know the area well. Going and exploring some new waters seems intriguing to me.

But sitting in a boat and doing nothing for hours just seems so ..... as I said before, boring...

My friend that took me years ago, all he does is salmon fish. And all he does is go with guided fishing groups. He has been doing it this way for like 17 years. this year, he finally broke out his boat and went to the coast for a week. I guess he had been taken notes from the various guided trips over the last 17 years. Where holes were at, what bait, what times of the year/seasons, what lines, how to rig them, etc. In the last 5 years he has been using a GPS to pinpoint his location on the guided trips.

Anywho, I digress. The whole sitting in a boat and doing nothing but waiting for a salmon to come along seems like such a waste of energy and time. When I fish, I like to research where I am going. Find it on a map, look at the topo maps, analyze my rigging, and then be pro-active. I try to read the river/stream/lake as best I can. I find it much more enjoyable to be pro-active and invest my time and energy into actually looking for the signs of fish and the actual fish. I enjoy it even if I don't catch anything. And then to hook into a fish makes it even more exhilarating and multiplies the value factor for me.

It could be that because I am basing my opinion off of a single non-enjoyable experience, I am tainted (hehehe ) hence my question.

Why do you fish for salmon from a boat? Perhaps you do it differently than what the guide did for us years ago. Perhaps you go to different spots, etc. If so please explain. I am not trying to say that salmon fishing from a boat is a waste of time in all cases. And I am not trying to put anyone down or anything. I am actually interested in possibly giving salmon fishing from a boat another try :dance: but would really hate for my second experience to turn out as my first. Thus my post inquiring as to why others do it.

Sorry that the post is so long. I wanted to make sure that I explained my past experience but also that I am not trying to bash or troll on anyone else.

Thanks for your time and explanations.

-Spydey

YOU PRETTY MUCH HIT THE HEAD ON THE NAIL HERE lol. That's salmon fishing - and using the guide thing, what is that about. Sad.

 

[kaimuki49]

a lot of guides are social misfits, most are premadona types who actually think they do something important in the world. have over-inflated sense of their worth. but, after all people keep paying them to whore themselves out, sell Nature like a commodity, and lessen the sport for true fishermen, so they gonna keep trucking i guess. as long as city bound, lazy people think what they do on a guided trip is "fishing", guide boats will clog the serenity of the water ways.

 

[SantiamDrifter]

I get the feeling this guy doesn't like salmon fishing. Maybe its just me lol

 

[kaimuki49]

lol, well for me i am neutral - sort of. urrrr, no not really. u are correct, not salmon fishing fan - BUT mainly because of the whole rude, pressure, guide scene. its like some frantic rush, no holds barred, to get to the "run"!!!! what happened to civility, kindness, enjoyment of Nature, sportsmanship! oh how i morn the genteel, friendly old days before any schmuck who could borrow 20K for a boat he dont know how to use, swarmed upon the waters.

be safe. aloha, tommy kai

 

[GraphiteZen]

lol, well for me i am neutral - sort of. urrrr, no not really. u are correct, not salmon fishing fan - BUT mainly because of the whole rude, pressure, guide scene. its like some frantic rush, no holds barred, to get to the "run"!!!! what happened to civility, kindness, enjoyment of Nature, sportsmanship! oh how i morn the genteel, friendly old days before any schmuck who could borrow 20K for a boat he dont know how to use, swarmed upon the waters.

be safe. aloha, tommy kai

You are exceedingly non-neutral.

 

[bigsteel]

lol, well for me i am neutral - sort of. urrrr, no not really. u are correct, not salmon fishing fan - BUT mainly because of the whole rude, pressure, guide scene. its like some frantic rush, no holds barred, to get to the "run"!!!! what happened to civility, kindness, enjoyment of Nature, sportsmanship! oh how i morn the genteel, friendly old days before any schmuck who could borrow 20K for a boat he dont know how to use, swarmed upon the waters.

be safe. aloha, tommy kai

whats the beef with guides man?? most rivers here have HATCHERY SALMON AND STEELHEAD and there here for us to harvest,a guide is just trying to make a living like the rest of us.sounds like youve missed the RUN a few times:lol::lol:

 

[SantiamDrifter]

lol, well for me i am neutral - sort of. urrrr, no not really. u are correct, not salmon fishing fan - BUT mainly because of the whole rude, pressure, guide scene. its like some frantic rush, no holds barred, to get to the "run"!!!! what happened to civility, kindness, enjoyment of Nature, sportsmanship! oh how i morn the genteel, friendly old days before any schmuck who could borrow 20K for a boat he dont know how to use, swarmed upon the waters.

be safe. aloha, tommy kai

I agree with you, I dont like a lot of the salmon anglers out there. Theres two different breads of anglers, Salmon vs. Steelhead. Now a lot, like myself target both. But everyone will have a perferred species. I would hands down fish for steelhead over salmon. The thing I notice with salmon fishing is it brings out the worst kinds of anglers. Its just something about the "big" fish that makes all the low lifes want to come out and play.

That being said, I still love salmon fishing and would go crazy if I didn't because I need something to pass the time until the winter's start coming in.

 

[JeannaJigs]

Ditto. (to what santiamdrifter said)

 

[kaimuki49]

Ditto. (to what santiamdrifter said)

yes santiam drifter i understand totally what u are saying - many many folks feel as we do. of course we still salom fish as we can, but the high spirit of it is rather sapped away by all the issues it raises. i just stay AWAY from the ridiculous loudness and frenzy of it all - if i catch, great. if i dont, that's great also.