July 15 is fast approaching and the unnecessary non-retention in OUR AREA WILL BE OVER. Here are a few things to take care of. If you have any salmon left over in the freezer from last year get it smoked up and make room for incoming fish. As far as your gear goes, check over your downriggers before you head out. If you have stainless cable or you have purchased used downriggers with stainless cable and see any rust on the cable replace it or your cannonballs are gone. This is a very common issue especially if riggers have sat for several month. Sounders (fish finders) also act up if not used for several month so turn it on a.s.a.p. and check it out. If you are prepping boat for season these are some mandatory items you must have. For tidal fishing anybody who is fishing at at any age must have a Tidal License. You must have the proper safety gear depending on the size of your boat, heaving lines are often overlooked. Be sure to have a Descender on your boat for releasing Rockfish, this is mandatory when tidal fishing. Stop in to your local shops if you have questions about this. A gaff is a must have tool on your boat, learn how to release fish with this. You will be releasing countless fish and there is no need to net them in most cases. The gaff release will save a lot of fish and save you plenty of time. Learn the gaff release technique or at the very least pliers over the gunnel release. The days ahead are going to be hot, bleed all your fish out right away and keep them on ice very important. A friend of mine sadly lost an eye recently due to a fish hook ALWAYS WHERE GLASSES ON BOARD WHEN FISHING, especially kids .Going to be late for work so going to wrap it up…Although you are permitted to use barbless treble hooks when fishing for Salmon, switch over to single hooks to cut down on fish mortality. We have some great new hook systems at PRO that will catch you more fish guaranteed, stop in and see me. So if you are new to fishing or have any questions about regs or gear simply stop in and see me this week and we will help you out. Will go over some other things in the next couple days so stay tuned. Oh by the way the Salmon fishing is FANTASTIC RIGHT KNOW…SAM OUT!
