Large June Chinook, huge net error!!! Still fun though!
June 18,2025
It’s been a little on the slow side for me. Took a few weeks off to build a pond/stream water feature at home because I needed something to do when they closed 13 last month. Went out a few times but couldn’t make it happen. Got out today but was a little late. All my friends had fish by 5:15. I arrived around 5:30. No nets at all that I could see. I remembered a hint I got a few years ago from a couple of guys that were nailing a fish on every pass, “lose the flasher”. I did back then and caught, did it last year and caught so I tried it again today and got a nice one. Netting it was another issue! I grabbed the Kokanee Beckman that I always use for Chinook under 15lbs. He didn’t fit and the lead hook got caught in the net. Got my hands on him but couldn’t get him in. Still an awesome morning and great fight! So much more fun when you actually hook something.
Started with an orange hoochie OG236R with a silver skirt, 6/0 hooks and the black/gold flasher that always got big chinook last year. Figured I’d change out every 30 minutes until I found something that worked. No hits so changed to Brads stuffed with tuna and no flasher. Still have the Wiggle Fin swarm hanging off the downrigger ball though. Just got the next rig ready when the rod took off.
Some of you may recognize the location but I fished that same area on Saturday with the same rig and didn’t get a bite. Fish where you like to fish. I’m pretty sure the fish are around all over so if you’re not hooking up, change it up. Fish deep, fish shallow. Change your rig until you find something that’s consistent like the orange hoochie was last year. This fish was 30’ in 50’. Bait was all over close to shore. I fished the edge of the bait. I figured I’d show them something different than what they were seeing here. Turns out a nice big Brad’s herring spinning like a wounded bait fish was an easy target for a big chinook. Change speed too, slow it down, speed it up. Make a lot of S turns if traffic allows. Good luck out there.