Northwest Fishing Reports

I was wondering if its possible to have to much weight when river fishing and be missing bites because of it? anything advice helps

I take it you are drift fishing?

yes you can but even if you are running 1oz cannon balls or pencil lead you should still feel bites/floss. are you feeling the weight tic along the bottom?

Yea, you want it to drift naturally like scot says. Other wise your picking your weight up off the bottom and your corky end up swinging like a half moon infront of your weight until it gets up enough current pull to move your weight off the bottom. With less weight your weight will float at the same rate as your bait in a smooth line across the bottom. YOu can still feel takes a bites, but I've found that you're less likely to get them. If you can manage to pull it up off the bottom enough to keep it floating at the same rate as your corky you can get the same effect, but that end up being more like jigging than drifting. I find it works in eddys and really slow moving but deep pools that you need to get to the bottom of.

well the reason i ask is i find my self using more weight to get the distance but i guess that means i need a new rod and less weight

If you just need distance then a longer rod and a well oiled reel. Longer rods will flip lighter weights out without a problem. Too much weight is no good at all. Your rod will be bouncing all over the place.

.... and a baitcater setup with a properly adjusted break will help immensely. I much prefer baitcasters when drift fishing.

You would be surprised on how much a good reel even on a shorter rod will cast out lighter weight

i have a seven foot rod and i want an 8'6 or 9 but im stuck with this one till i can purchase a new one. so i guess i will just have to play around with different weights till i find one that works!

What kind and kind and size of line are you using?

seven foot diawa with 17lb trilene

That mainline is too heavy for the setup you're using. Drift fishing dick nites and corkies I would run 10-12lb mailine with either an 8lb or 10lb leader. 15 lb mainline tops, but for silvers that's what I run pulling plugs. I'd say 12lb maxima crystal ivory or ultragreen would do you right.

would that make it easier to cast farther if the line was lighter?

leif-liden wrote:would that make it easier to cast farther if the line was lighter?

Yes.

Further casts can be attributed to a longer rod, a better reel, and lighter lb test line. As others have said, 17lb test is probably overkill and I'm not sure what good a 7' rod will do either.

if you got a spinning reel than a quality lighter line will help a lot. with baitcasters line size doesnt help alot, i cast around the same distance with 20lb as i do with 12lb. also a lot of times distance is over rated, don't know how many times i've been out this year and everybody was casting over the fish to hit the far bank.

With spinning reels a lighter line lets it unwrap from the bail easier, thats why spinning reels have bigger eyes to allow the least amount of friction on your guides, when using a baitcaster a heavier and or stiffer line keeps it from coiling while you make a cast (smaller guides on the pole). my spinning rod is normally spooled with 8lb maxima or 10lb, either of these of all that i need for river fishing and lets me get a good long cast

fear_no_fish wrote:normally spooled with 8lb maxima or 10lb, either of these of all that i need for river fishing and lets me get a good long cast

Agreed. Most NW guides recommend running 6-8lb line for pinks and and 8-12lb for coho and steelhead.

Matt wrote:

fear_no_fish wrote:normally spooled with 8lb maxima or 10lb, either of these of all that i need for river fishing and lets me get a good long cast

Agreed. Most NW guides recommend running 6-8lb line for pinks and and 8-12lb for coho and steelhead.

I have changed my main line twice this year........and will change it again. I have two seprate spools so it makes it a little easier to change my mian out. I change mine to the river I am fishing, snags and what not.