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Red Hot Neah Bay Bucktailing

3K views 37 replies 22 participants last post by  Kim Hampton 
#1 ·
#11 ·
remember to practice clearing your line and getting these fish on the reel. sooner or later you are going to hook that whopper and all of that loose fly line will lasso something, reel, rod butt, boat stuff, you name it, and its going to cost you a fish.
 
#18 ·
I just got back last night from 4 days up there. This is what I found, some coho are close to the marina, but if you want to get into numbers you need to head to swiftsure, or deep into the straits. We landed around 30 - 40 coho and pinks a day, with around half of them casting, and half caught bucktailing (I know Chris, I'm going to hell). Lumpy seas, big tides, and big swells made it tough to do much more then bucktail, but when we would hook up it was pretty easy to get a double casting in the vicinity of the hooked fish.

Rockfishing was good. Check the weather before you go. Have a good time, it's a pretty spot to fish.
 
#16 ·
i couldn't disagree more. fish earn the reel. if it's a big "whopper" it should have no problem earning the reel.

in my years of guiding fly anglers offshore at neah bay, i saw more fish lost to people trying to get a fish on the reel than from tangles due to a fish not being on the reel. in fact, in 5+ years of guiding all levels of anglers and all the salmon i landed learning and scouting the fishing over the years i cannot remember one fish lost to a tangle.

paying attention to getting fish on the reel means you're not paying full attention to the fish on the end of your line.

fyi, first fish on the video earned the reel... i hated it because i then had to restrip out line... which wastes valuable time drifting over productive water and quite likely meant one less fish hooked.

i really need to ignore the BS posts more.
i coudn't disagree more. far too many folks figure saltwater fishing is like trout fishing. practice with the small fish leads to skills that you will absolutely need on that 200+# bill fish leaving for the far side of the pacific, that 150# tarpon who is going to rip off 200 yards of backing before you can blink an eye.

personally i really don't care what you do topwater but watching your fly line waving around with a deck full of obsticales is a clear indication that your clearing the line skills are non-existent. but i guess you have never watched your fly line jump up off the deck as that big trophy heads for the horizon. me, i practice on each and every fish i hook no matter the size simply because practice is what it takes. the trophy guides i fish with would laugh you off the boat once they saw your skill level as they are there to work their butts off to get you into fish not watch you lasso your reel.

i really need to ignore folks who think they knowitall!
 
#20 ·
you have caught far bigger fish than i have and probably ever will. i have only tangled with bonefish and tarpon up to 40 lbs in southern saltwater and big blue sharks offshore in the pacific northwest. i have no interest in trophy hunting and even if i had the money for billfish or trophy tarpon i would spend the money heading north for steelhead. to each his own.

but in this thread we're talking about coho fishing offshore at neah bay, and since i have far more experience than you at neah bay i'll stick to what i said about getting coho on the reel. when you're drifting through rips the amount of time you're fishing matters, and spending extra time stripping line back off the reel will cost time when sometimes the rip may only last another 30 minutes or you will drift off the fish (or both). the more casts i can make, the more likely i can enjoy a bright coho jumping at the end of my line while guides thousands of miles away laugh at my terrible line management.

and i think the above (along with your first post) is why there is a general lack of fishing stoke on this board. it'll make me think twice about posting photos, reports, or videos. why put up with the BS?

fine, i'm a know-it-all... can you please start ignoring me?

i would also love to hear from other board members who spend time chasing trophies in the southern hemisphere on their thoughts on line management and putting small fish on the reel.
Heh, I like to read GT's posts, and I really do respect what he has to say. But man, these are just salmon in the PNW... While I'd love to have a big fish hammer my fly, it doesn't happen often here. Chris knows his shit, and he's sharing a pretty cool experience. Why nit pick the line management? It's just some cool footage of fishing at Neah Bay... I think a 20lb lingcod is about the only thing that "deserves the reel" around here.

Thanks for sharing Chris, it got me fired up for casting to some salmon.
 
#19 ·
Chris, having fished with you at Neah Bay with my son Caldwell, I would ask that you please continue to post and share your experience. We had a dream day on the water that my son still talks about. If you ever find your way down in Seattle I would be honored to take you out on the sound to learn more and share ideas about fly fishing for Pacific Salmon. I continue to learn every time out on the water. I find that I learn more when I am not talking.

Best regards, Steve
 
#23 ·
I fished for a couple of days late last summer at Neah where I probably caught 30-40 of these a day, on my 6 weight TCR. Probably 1 out of 8 or 10 I put on the reel. I just hate working my line back out after getting the fish in and then getting back out in the water.
 
#24 ·
Fun video. I also noticed, as gt, what looked like a lot of obstacles to "worry about" in getting your line tangled. Don't be too sensitive to a little criticism on here. gt's observations, and others, is what makes this site one where you can "learn something". I think he has a good point. We all have our different habits of playing fish, some good, some bad. I too, try to put a fish on the reel. I keep cool about it while doing it, will pause to make sure everything is somewhat under control, that way you "won't" lose fish getting them on the reel. Maybe you have never had a coho "rip" line quickly out your guides and accidentally loop your fly line around your reel seat or handle or something. Shit happens... Anyway, take it easy and keep posting. Just keep in mind that this thread helped others. Tight lines!!!
 
#26 ·
Maybe you have never had a coho "rip" line quickly out your guides and accidentally loop your fly line around your reel seat or handle or something.
You absolutely fricking gotta be kidding. This is not meant disrespectfully, but Chris (topwater) has probably caught as many 'line ripping' coho in one year than you have in 10. That's what he did for several years as a living; guide folks fly fishing for coho at, yes, Neah Bay. Not resident coho where you pray they get you on the reel, but 'line ripping' coho.

In a perfect world, it's nice to be able to get fish on the reel for so many reasons. But, there are many instances where it's not, too. As Ibn noted, these "Are salmon in the NW"; watch the video again, they are small coho, not line rippers. Yep, Chris was in someone else's boat who had lots of line grabbing stuff laying around; yep, it would be awesome if the fish got him on the reel.

Bottom line, as Ibn noted, Chris is experienced knows his stuff, he knows when he does and doesn't need to get a fish on the reel, he shared a great fish catching video with music that others didn't like (but I did), and I hope he makes others and shares them with us all.
 
#25 ·
This has evolved into an interesting thread. Regarding the line issue, another thing to consider is the potential for line tangles/birdnests (not to mention treading all over on your $70 line in a rolling boat). I actually worry about that as much as getting my line hung up on something in the boat. Some lines have a propensity for hanging up on themselves when quickly pulled, especially in salt water. This actually happened to a friend of mine 2 weeks ago. He hooked a nice fish and had a pile of line at his feet and initially played the fish off the reel. But then the fish took off and somehow a knot of line got pulled through his spool and got hung up in one of the eyes and the fish broke off. I guess he was lucky the line or rod wasn’t damaged. I definitely try to get larger fish on the reel as quickly as possible and don’t seem to have an issue doing so. While I might disagree with Chris on this, I certainly respect his experience and opinions. I’ve exchanged PMs with him and he’s been very generous in sharing his knowledge.
For the record, I was at Neah the weekend before last and while I didn’t find any coho inside, there were good numbers of them around the whistle buoy that Friday and especially Saturday. I must admit I bucktailed at least 20 fish that Saturday. I did also get several striping a clauser on a sinking line, but I was doing much better bucktailing. Maybe I was fishing too deep and my angle of retrieve was too steep.
 
#29 ·
Topwater has it spot on.... at least for the fishing he's doing. I don't put fish on the reel unless they earn it themselves. I'll strip 'em in if they let me, and it doesn't matter if it's a bonefish, steelhead, salmon or trout. Maybe I just do it that way because I hate stripping all that line back out to start casting again. A friend of mine who is a pretty darn good ffisherman reels his line in every time he changes his fly. It drives me absolutely bonkers just watching it..... maybe he's just "practicing for that once in a lifetime fish." ;)

Watching the video I did notice a darn good bend in that rod for the entire fight. That's what counts. Hook, land, release, repeat. I let the fish dictate how I need to go about landing it. If I can strip 'em in, that's what's going to happen. I don't go into every situation with a mindset that I'm only going to play the fish a certain way (as in, I must fight every fish from the reel). If that works for others, great!

Thanks for the vid! I don't see anything to nitpick about.
 
#32 ·
I'll add. It does make a difference if you're fishing for 1 grab a day or 30. I'll be more careful when the fishing is tougher. But, if I'm on good numbers of fish in a day, I couldn't care less if I take things a bit too lightly and pop off a fish or two. For me it's all about the take. After that I'm just trying to get it in as quick as possible so I can search for the next take. Putting a fish on the reel just for the sake of putting a fish on the reel takes time away from my next cast. Playing a fish is the least enjoyable part of the hook, land, release game I play.
 
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