Thread: Uncle Don's coffeehouse 2018

Great explaination Aaron,

When I saw the photo last night I knew exactly what happened. Just like we talked about, a standard treble hook has a much greater risk of coming out with these kind of hook sets. The fish hits the rotating or spinning spoon from the side, the hooks hit the lower jaw, they take off for Wisconsin, and it rips out of the fish. With your new setup, they take off and hook themselves. Plus it looks cool for the hook to go all the way through the jaw of the fish! I like it.

MDNR several years ago had to change the law as it was written regarding hook and line fishing when specifically dealing with the Salmonoid species because of exactly what Aaron talked about. When trolling, the fish has to make an attempt at the bait and it doesn't necessarily have to be in the mouth of the fish. We had a great deal of discussion with the MDNR when this rule changed and basically put, if it was in the head, the fish made an attempt at the bait!

In the river, a lot of times these fish will come up and slash their tale at the bait to stun it. Of course, when you hook one that way (done it too many times to count) it is NOT good and must be released!

I used to be able to tell (within a pound) how big a salmon was. Because I have not handled them in awhile, I am a tad rusty. My best guess on that fish of Kevin's would be 24lbs give or take 2 on either side (22 to 26lbs). Very nice and fresh 4 year old fish.

You get a chance to pick up any of those Elberta Clippers yet? If you can't find them, let me know and I'll do some digging. I "think" I might still have a few laying around along with another "trick" or two!

Just like with walleye fishing now, when we were salmon fishing, we were always looking for an edge over charter captains and other fishermen. Oftentimes, it was the baits that these fish had never seen before that worked. We would go through our old boxes and pull hot baits from 10 plus years previous and put them back in to action. Boy would those light up. You kept it quiet as long as you could. I can tell you that through the late 90's to early 2000's, no body was fishing with J-Plugs. They seemed to be a thing of the past. Trolling baits in the 80's were pretty much limited to what kind of prism style tape you could put on the baits. In the 90's, people started using air brushes, dipping methods, and other to paint spoons. J-plugs or body baits went out the window. Many people forgot about them. Heck, at one time in the early 2000's, you couldn't even buy them in a bait shop.

We pulled boxes of them out of storage and went to work. There is a little trick we used to do. Going out of the harbor in the morning can take about 30 minutes. Oftentimes I would use this time to get all of my 14 or 16 rods ready to go. I pulled an old play out of our playbook and started taking two rods with J-plugs and letting them back 100 feet. You clip them on to a cannon ball and let the ball down in the water 4 feet. This was 5am and pitch black. These salmon are up at the top of the water and would slam these plugs! Someone wrote a story about it a few months later in Woods N Water and, as they say, the rest was history (and so was that trick).

At any rate, during this time, I would scoure the land for different baits. Oftentimes going to Northern Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Quebec to find different baits. ALL of them came with single hooks due in large part to their regulations. At first we would take them off and run treble hooks but, some of the baits (like their larger J-plug version) you couldn't do that with. Eventually we started running this long shanked 4 and 5/0 designs and, as Aaron has found out, they work so much better than a traditional treble hook.

As with other things, change is hard for some people. I have had the privlidge of working with some of the best designers in the industry but I never asked them why they chose treble hooks over a single hook. My guess is that too many people have it engrained in their heads that a treble hook is better. In some situations (like with spoons) I think Aaron has the right approach. Numbers do not lie and I always advise to keep a log book. What he is finding now is something that probably 95% of the salmon community wouldn't listen to him about (at least in Michigan)! 3% might listen, and 2% would have a subjective mind, change a couple of hooks, and run their own test.

Great job Aaron and great find!

Originally Posted by wicklundrh

You get a chance to pick up any of those Elberta Clippers yet? If you can't find them, let me know and I'll do some digging. I "think" I might still have a few laying around along with another "trick" or two!

Short Story = No, but attempted to........


After we were done talking to you on the phone, and then picking on you, Hey, you didn't know you were there in spirit did you..... LOL

Kevin & I stopped at Snug Harbor Outfitters, and I had all intentions of looking for them, BUT..............

At that point, Kevin was drooling slightly, and overly GIDDY, and it was contagious, and common sense thoughts went out the window being so close to the water, and the thoughts of fishing.
Kevin ended up getting some Perch Rigs, I think, and I replaced some of the tackle I lost last time out, I got a new Spoon, Flasher, and a Glow J-Plug, as I did not have one. I substituted the lost Meat Rig for the Jplug.


Common Sense, & Elberts Clippers went the wayside of Fishing Pox.... Lost thought process.

But I can tell you this, Kevin may not look FAST, but when that rigger went off, you would have thought that a lightening bolt went straight up his BACKSIDE......If it had not been for the fishing pox, and Kevin telling me its "Still there" , I would have had visions of Becky chasing a Triple Cheese Burger, dressed in Kevin's cloth's.

OE

He played college football once. He might not have been a wide receiver but he sure could get off the line quick! I guess that is what you saw. That off the line quickness. He wears gym shorts and sweat pants just in case he needs to show off those old skills! Fortunately, you are not at high elevation or bottled oxygen might be required.

I know how it goes in a bait shop. You walk in with one thing on your mind, and then you are hit with attention span overload! That is how we end up walking out of there with stuff we didn't even know we needed. Wish I still had some gear for you. Probably had close to 200 flashers, dodgers, spin doctors, fish catchers ect... to go along with nearly 5000 spoons. I bought them by the box, not by the package.

Originally Posted by wicklundrh

He played college football once. He might not have been a wide receiver but he sure could get off the line quick! I guess that is what you saw. That off the line quickness. He wears gym shorts and sweat pants just in case he needs to show off those old skills! Fortunately, you are not at high elevation or bottled oxygen might be required.

I know how it goes in a bait shop. You walk in with one thing on your mind, and then you are hit with attention span overload! That is how we end up walking out of there with stuff we didn't even know we needed. Wish I still had some gear for you. Probably had close to 200 flashers, dodgers, spin doctors, fish catchers ect... to go along with nearly 5000 spoons. I bought them by the box, not by the package.

With the exception of my FLIES & MEAT RIGS, & my 2 planer boards, for Salmon, everything I have for Salmon fits into this tackle bag that I got from Repocast auction for $7.00, including the 4, 3700 Box's. That's it. Its not allot, but what I do have is usually effective, unless Steve is on my boat.........





I did a search on the Fishing reports, and put a spread sheet together, of the lures that were hit the most often, and started with those years ago. It has served me well. I do have duplicates of all Salmon Spoons, EXCEPT Moonshine HAPPE Meal, I have 4 of those......

That & They Glow, kind of like Ginger Ash, Just make's me feel comfortable....

Years ago someone wanted a Oak cabinet made, I started it, then they sold their house.....didn’t need it and I was kinda stuck with it. It’s been kicked around, moved around and cussed at for about 10 years.

Today it became useful



The rest of my stuff fits in several metal school lockers.

I came close to burning that cabinet a lot of times, I guess there was a reason to hang on to it after all. It also came in handy to hang my Bimini top on.




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Yep, then was a time when I was slim and trim , wind in my lungs and sometimes did things before I thought about it first. But now I think a lot before moving forward I’m still in shape just a bit on the round side, and yes Arron and rich got me pegged, if I hear “fish on, outside board or any phrase like that” I’m like that slim and trim back in the early 90’s guy on the track team they used to call “robo cop”. Lol
It’s been fun learning and fishing with Arron. So while we were in the bait shop I’m looking at the perch rigs, I find what I came in for and now I’m waiting for Arron..........now I’m like a kid in a candy store all these salmon rod and reel combos just calling my name, I’m thinking , I’ve already got the down riggers at home, maybe if I just....... no no no, hey Arron let’s go I think I hear the fish calling our name
I don’t think I can afford a walleye and salmon tackle habit. I would probably be homeless and divorced


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I agree Kevin, although I'm sure its a lot of fun to hook into one of those brutes you guys caught.....I look at it as, well how much is this going to cost to outfit my boat to pursue this specie. That's what makes it nice that Aaron will take interested people out.
At this point there are a couple key items I feel I need to up my game walleye fishing, one a kicker, two possible TM upgrade which would crossover into the trout/salmon fishing......but then there is downriggers, traxs system, and I'm not sure what all cause those guys have a language all their own.

For now, I'm more than happy to buy some jigging equipment as that looks pretty easy to get into and going out on the big pond with Aaron......just watch the expiration date on the milk before I go.

Don't you just love the diversity among this group? Every one on this forum is someone who another can learn from.......