Fishing with meat

[Honey Pit]

Guys,

I've been salmon fishing nearly 15 years but have never tried fishing with meat. My perception was it wasn't worth the hassle. I finally feel like that may not be the correct perception and I should bite the bullet and give it a try.

But, I don't know anything about it. I wondered if anyone could recommend a video or other material that could help educate me on how to fish with meat? Also, if any of you have any tips for me I'd appreciate it also. Better to learn from your mistakes than my own...

Bob

[ZachEno]

New Addiction, I finally got into running meat this year and like running it on 300 copper with DW meat rigs. Eastiest way is to get some Earie Dearie premium trolling strips and put them in a freezer bag with Fire Brine and leave in the freezer until you need them. I like the blue fire brine. I hope that helps. Good luck!

[buster107]

To make things simple I run Big Weenie meat rigs!!! Put a toothpick in with the meat a put it in the water!! The bait head turn the meat at the right spin out of the box!!!

[Gnarf]

Capt John King meat rigs. Also lots of videos on his site and on youtube from him. They just plain work

[SUPERTRAMP]

Pro's and cons on meat! I run it when nothing else is working. If I don't have to I prefer not to. I hate running Spin docs, Paddles, dodgers and attractors. It changes the presentation a lot. That said when we are forced to go with big attractors, we do use DW and Big Weenie meat rigs, I buy commercially brined and frozen herring strips, u can refreeze them if you don't use them up. Biggest draw back is they are smelly and expensive. An average meat rig cost is around 15 to 20 bucks, then there is the Attractor, Depending on Brand 12 to 15 bucks. I am personally not a fan of running big flashers on copper rigs, its hard enough bringing in a 300 or 450 copper with a spoon on it. As of today I have not run any meat rigs this season. We average around 10 fish a trip and spoons have done 95% of our work.

[Charger]

I also did not want the extra work of meat rigs but now we always run at least one Big Weenie rig off a diver or rigger and sometimes both. Prefer to leave the spoons on copper. Being stubborn just did not work(kids made me use them) Some days they are the best thing going.

[Boltman]

I too am not sure of the hassle .......,the smell for darn sure don't want the smell but if it brings in fish then so be it!!!

[Sly Selea]

I run meat (usually strips) with 10" spin doctors off my divers later in the morning. Brined or unbrined, haven't noticed a big difference. Once you get used to it's easy. Don't forget the round toothpicks.

[SeaCatMich]

This is my 4th season of running meat. I have tried others but now only use the Big Weenie meat rigs behind big (11") flashers -- both BW "fish" shaped and other brand flashers and paddles. 90% of the time from July through September I have at least 1 meat rig in the water off of a wire diver and often one on each side of the boat. Have also run them with success off riggers and copper. I love that the BW heads run right out of the package. They work with strips and full herring.

Almost every day the biggest fish taken is on the meat rig. Nothing beats fighting an angry King on a wire diver. The hits on the meat rigs are violent!

To help manage the herring I use a small 6 pack size soft-side cooler. The frozen bait goes in the cooler the night before fishing and it is ready to use the next morning. As the day goes on, I add ice cubes from the fishbox to keep it cold.

[anthonyyost]

There are days when you cant keep a meat rig in the water, but the flasher and teasers are the important thing, need the right color.

I have real good luck with the Jon King Black and white glow paddle with the red eye and red teasers.

[danthebuilder]

All it takes is one fish to absolutely hammer your wire diver like you've never seen before and all those so called "hassles" of meat go away.

[Broadcast]

Been fish'in meat for over 10 years. Feel it consistently takes the biggest fish, as their senses are more developed. Also, helps catch more fish, when fishing is tough. 1/3 of the spread has meat in it in all positions. Diver, rigger & copper. Try it

[Hooked Up]

I also thought it was one more thing to have to mess with, but after a buddy brought a meat rig last year, showed me how to rig and run it, and landed the biggest king to date for my boat (24#). I'm now running it on 1-2 rods of the spread.

The fish I've caught are definitely larger on this.

I run the BW meat rig with herring strips...unused strips can be refrozen and used again.

Definitely worth the effort:cool:

[Honey Pit]

Guys,

Very helpful responses. I gotta give it a shot!

Thank you all! I love the willingness to share info among big lake fisherman!

[JWheeler]

You can't have enough tools in the box, so to speak. In 2011 one pattern meat rig, bar none, took more fish over the course of the summer than any other lures on the boat. I still remember it on the 250' CU. Put it out, sit down, and ZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGg.....did this one weekend pretty consistently. Moo Moo Meat Rig was it. But, on any given day, who knows what's gonna be hot. in 2012 it was the big white paddle and the riverside fly down deep that shined.

[RogueRiver]

Just tried running meat for the first time yesterday morning;took a 21 lb. King on it and lost one of similar size. 190 back on a wire diver.

[Onchorhyncus]

Most will agree out here in the west that salmon often prefer meat, especially prior to their accent into the spawning streams and rivers. However there are exceptions to that (you know how fishing is!). Salmon take hardware often very well but most anglers agree that in saltwater (their main home and feeding grounds) a herring or anchovy is the "go-to" bait. Even out here where these types of baits have been the standard for over 50 years, many anglers have difficulty rigging a herring. Conditions such as current, trolling speed, hook placement, and terminal rigging, all must be understood and it is not too difficult once you see the set-up. Yes I am biased. I manufacture Sure Spin Herring Helmet that has made experts and the new angler highly effective at using bait fish, giving them a very effective way to "match the hatch." Typically bait trolled has a short life span as water pressure degrades the bait and then the action is lost making the bait ineffective. Sure Spin allows you to troll with downriggers, buck heavy current, or troll with weights, my LongLiner, or metal lines with confidence. Sure Spin has become very popular here from Alaska to California, even inland for trout, in 2 years. So for any fish that eats baitfish Sure Spin will be an excellent approach to trolling. Take a look at my fishing partner Dick Jacobs rigging the Sure Spin:

and visit my website: www.anglerinnovations.com Good fishing to you all!, Steve Lumsden, Boring Oregon (yes, that's Boring, Oregon, just 45 minutes from Mount Hood)

[SUPERTRAMP]

Most will agree out here in the west that salmon often prefer meat, especially prior to their accent into the spawning streams and rivers. However there are exceptions to that (you know how fishing is!). Salmon take hardware often very well but most anglers agree that in saltwater (their main home and feeding grounds) a herring or anchovy is the "go-to" bait. Even out here where these types of baits have been the standard for over 50 years, many anglers have difficulty rigging a herring. Conditions such as current, trolling speed, hook placement, and terminal rigging, all must be understood and it is not too difficult once you see the set-up. Yes I am biased. I manufacture Sure Spin Herring Helmet that has made experts and the new angler highly effective at using bait fish, giving them a very effective way to "match the hatch." Typically bait trolled has a short life span as water pressure degrades the bait and then the action is lost making the bait ineffective. Sure Spin allows you to troll with downriggers, buck heavy current, or troll with weights, my LongLiner, or metal lines with confidence. Sure Spin has become very popular here from Alaska to California, even inland for trout, in 2 years. So for any fish that eats baitfish Sure Spin will be an excellent approach to trolling. Take a look at my fishing partner Dick Jacobs rigging the Sure Spin:

and visit my website: www.anglerinnovations.com Good fishing to you all!, Steve Lumsden, Boring Oregon (yes, that's Boring, Oregon, just 45 minutes from Mount Hood)

Steve:

I live in Michigan and have since the late 1960's, but I know Boring well, my mother taught school there from 1962 until the middle 1980's. Her name was Marjorie Stafford, she taught English at the 7th and 8th grade. She still lives in Milwaukie, at Willamette View Manor. In Michigan I have been fishing Salmon since the early 1970's, and we have been primarily a hardware fishery. We run meat but it is only for the late summer King fishery. We are just now getting into that time of the summer.

[Onchorhyncus]

Hi Supertramp!

Didn't go to school in Boring as I grew up in Marysville Washington on Puget Sound. I've lived here since 1988, so didn't know your mom. Thanks for getting back to me. How interesting!