Photo by Mike Gnatkowski

Summer produces the gentle flat seas along the Pacific Coast that offshore anglers look forward to, not only for creature comforts but also the inshore salmon action. Sit back and let the boat and the equipment do the work while you can, because soon somebody will be shouting, "Fish on!" Locate the baitfish and you can just about be guaranteed some muscle-stretching, exciting action.

Trolling with either frozen or fresh herring or spoons is the generally accepted method of fishing. "What's most common in open seas is trolling with either a diver that will pull the bait down to the depth we would like to reach, or the use of round, cannon ball sinkers. We adjust the depths by line counter reels," says Oregon angler Jack Glass.

Randy Lato, a northwest Washington guide out of LaPush, prefers using downriggers for keeping baits at the right depth along the Washington coast. Lato, 42, says fishing for Chinook salmon in July consists of trolling using downriggers, a Deep Six, and a lead line. He and his parties, fishing from a 26-foot Olympic, target the Umatilla Reed, about 12 miles offshore.

"I run two downriggers, one off either side, and in between them I use two Deep Sixes," Lato said. "A fifth line is a 6-ounce banana sinker with a pretty good leader on it with a whole herring. When trolled it stays within the first couple feet of the water." His trolling speed is 2.2 mph.

A downrigger is basically a large electric reel with steel cable on it. A big lead ball that weighs 8 to 15 pounds is hooked to the line. The fishing line is clipped to a snap on the lead weight and both descend to a pre-selected depth chosen on the reel. When a fish hits, the fishing line pops loose and then it's just you and the fish.

The Deep Six performs the same basic function as a downrigger in that it carries your bait down in the water column by diving when trolled behind your boat. The line releases when a fish hits, allowing you to play the fish. Divers with a dished or concave face tend to track straighter than those with a flat planing surface. This allows trollers to position trolling rods close together without line tangles.

Finding salmon is related to finding baitfish, which Lato locates using electronics. "You see big schools of bait; they show up like a big cloud on the screen," he said. "I have my best luck fishing right below (the baitfish). If I see them from 50 to 100 feet, I drop my downriggers to 110 feet. The kings hang out right below and come swirling through and work on the weaker baitfish."

He positions the Deep Six 18 pulls off the reel, but since everyone's "pull" is a little bit different, Lato defines his as the distance from the reel to the first eye on the rod in its holder. "I keep that right in the prop wash," said Lato. "The bubble action that the prop generates simulates bait right below the top."

In artificial baits, Lato uses Hot Spot Flashers and Coyote Spoons, preferring the green spatter back whether deep or shallow, and maybe a green glow. "I have a half-hour rule: If a bait isn't catching something in a half-hour, it comes off and something else goes on," Lato said. "That way you are working your gear up and down, constantly drawing attention."

Sometimes the fish work the bait up close to the surface, boiling on top of the water, trying to get away from salmon. Then the birds come in and start picking up a meal. "You can see that a ways off and you jump right in on the action," said Lato.

If lots of bait is showing on his electronics, Lato might try mooching, using banana weights and herring for bait. "I will just ease it down, ride it with my thumb, go straight down, maybe a 100 to 150 feet. I reel up at about the same speed as when the bait descended, so the bait is spinning. The fish will hit that real good, especially if there is a feeding frenzy going on; they just absolutely go nuts. When you find the bait, you pound it. Just keep working that area. Sometimes they are looking for herring, sometimes candlefish, sometimes sardines."