ASK JD: Sea Monsters, Flat-lining plugs, Pink Worms, etc.
December 28, 2007
Okay, here’s the latest round of reader questions from the mail bag:
JD, Read your article “plugging for steelies” in Salmon Trout Steelheader, thanks it helped. Have a question on weight and weight rigging when backtrolling plugs. Do you flat line plugs or use weight and how do you determine
what to use, and then how do you rig it? Dropper line or slinky sliding on main line or what? Thank you for your help.
Best Regards, Ron
Hey Ron, I’ll assume that we’re talking about backtrolling plugs for steelhead, here (yes, in case you’re wondering, I can’t remember the exact article you’re referring to, though I’m sure it was very well-written by one devilishly handsome author!). Anyway, when plugging for steelies, I never add weight to the plug. Since I’m rarely fishing in water that’s deeper than 6 feet, it’s just not necessary.
JD, You wrote a piece about a UHMW shoe from My Rock Proof Boats. That article seemed to be incomplete and STS did not have any additional info. Do you have any additional comments that were not in STS, and do you have any contact info for them? Did you notice any loss in power? I was wondering if the plastic would flex under load and not maintain tolerance around the the impeller? Thanks, John N.
Yea, in the layout process, that article got a little messed up, it would appear. All the paragraphs are there, but somebody in the editing room got them mixed up. I’ve had one of those UHMW shoes on the lower end of my Yamaha 115/80 jet for several years now and have beat it silly. It’s still hanging tough. I have not noticed any loss of power — the thing is as rigid as a brick and, in fact, may have picked up a MPH or two. www.rockproofboats.com
Hi JD, I noticed your video about threading a pink plastic worm. Was just wondering if you fished it like beads, drifting along the bottom or do you also drift it under a bobber? Any other ways? Do they like the pink worm as much as roe or plugs?
Thanks, Frank
Frank, I like to drift fish worms along the bottom with a Slinky-style weight, just as you’d do when fishing eggs. They are also effective under floats and also backtrolled behind divers out of a drift or jet boat. There are times when steelies will clobber the pink worm better than anything else. Of course, there are days when they’re not into it as well.
Let’s just put it this way: I always have pink worms on the boat during steelhead season and use them on a daily basis. One year, while guiding on the American River, all I used the entire season were pink Action Tails worms from Mad River Manufacturing. Great baits and Jimmy’s a cool dude. Check out his website Mad River Manufacturing.com for more ways to rig a plastic worm for steelies.
JD, My wife and I are headed for Scotland this spring. Any fishing suggestions?? Maybe a little Nessie fishing at Loch Ness??
Regards, Monte K.
M.K., I’d say try brown trout fishing…I did a little search online and found that if the Loch Ness monster exists at all, he (or she) could only be about as big as a sixth grader. A new study shows that there is only enough fish in the loch to feed a 31 kg (about 67 lb) creature. The scientists used sonar to estimate the number of fish in the lake and came up with an annual food supply of 93 kg. Since a cold blooded animal like Nessie would need to eat about three times its body weight each year, it could only weigh about 31 kg. Not that a 67-pound creature on the end of your line is a bad deal, but if I’m chasing monsters, I want something a little more impressive…
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