Electricity vs.
afteryou
2013-01-03 01:11:24
Please keep in mind as you read this that I am not in any way trying to call anybody a liar, nor am I trying to imply that anyone wasted thousands of dollars in pursuit of the perfect field. I am only suggesting a cheaper less hair pulling method of achieving the perfect field. My secondary objective is to get some of the more mystical of you to cough up some tidbits of information if only to prove me a raving lunatic. My third objective is to amuse. :roll:
It’s all in your head. I am not trying to say it cannot make fishing bad if your so hot you shock the $#!@ out the fish when they get near or bite the hook. I fished a boat that had that problem. I corrected it by removing the bonding system, after that it caught just fine winter/spring King, Coho.
I will also add two things:
(1) I am not an old timer, more of a lower mid timer.
(2) I have fished three different boats one wood and two fiberglass. I can’t really tell the difference between them except maybe my first boat (the wood one) might have been a little fishier.
Ok. So I’m not saying that some boats don’t fish better than others and I’m sure as heck not trying to say that some people don’t fish better than others. I feel that I personally fall somewhere smack in the middle or maybe upper middle of the “Jones’ ”. That is to say I seem to keep up with the boats around me just fine. From my observation (I am sure some of you will agree) what seems to be the biggest modifier in income across the fleet is effort (read beer drinking). The only thing I have learned for certain as a troller is that you have to keep making one more pass if you don’t want to have to get a winter job.
Here is my speculation.
For myself, it seems to have more to do with mood and mindset than electricity. I can’t really remember a day (my memory is not very good) when I put the gear in the water with a bad attitude and made a ton of money. I think nearly one hundred percent off the Kings I have caught I caught while staring off out the window picking my nose, not while I was hugging my marks watching the bottom machine like a hawk going “come on here fishy, fishy, fishy.”
On second thought maybe my nearly one hundred percent is too high. I’ve also caught lots of fish dragging my balls back off the rocks going “come on don’t break please, please”.
I have never taken a line voltage. I made a very professional attempt at isolating my guirdies but they have a tendency to become connected to the bait house when they get wet. I can’t tell the difference. I wish I could, that would make things a lot more straightforward. This is all very mystical to me.
So I figure if it’s going to be mystical why not use things that are better documented (though not proven) and in many cases a lot cheaper or even free. Things like Mojo, karma. Juju, auras; things of that nature. Over the years I have developed way’s of clearing my mind of fishing related thoughts while still managing to avoid the kelp wads, well most of the time anyway. Seriously though this seems to work for me and maybe only me. That would seem to be on par for the course in the mystical fishery that is salmon trolling. I suppose it’s a bit like meditation, trying not to send bad juju down my lines or jinx myself with things like saying or thinking “gee I hope I make over a ton of money today”. I am also a strong believer in Murphy’s Law.
A little off to the side of the subject, I used to get really mad fishing by myself when I would hit a big kelp island. Sometimes I found my self screaming, “why can’t I just get a break”. This always seems to happen during the bight. Then as I got older and wiser (snicker here) I realized that I was getting breaks all the time. Every kelp wad I didn’t hit, duh!
So I’m tying this into the rest of my ramblings with “attitude makes the difference” to quote the famous bumper sticker and to not send bad vibes down your wires.
Lastly, I worry that some of you may be thinking I am some sort of crazy hippie. I assure you this is not the case. I also hold many conservative views. I am what happens when Rednecks marry Hippies. Ha ha ha :lol:
Abundance
2013-01-03 01:52:47
Ooookaaay... nope, I'm not touching this one. Alright, maybe a little. How many minutes out of a day do you stare at the screen, willing a fish on? Probably a fraction of the time that you spend thinking about the nature of life and what sounds good for lunch. And the more days that you have gear in the water, and more effort that you put into getting the gear to the right depth and color, the more productive your fishing. Catching salmon when rock jumping is a common occurrence. They think that it's getting away, and grab it. Try speeding up now and then on the drag. Some people swear by it, and I think that it helps. Most of the good bites that I have had where when I was getting stressed and at the end of my rope. They show up by their own schedule, whether you are ready or not. I consider myself religious (although I am obviously not going to talk about that), but Jinx and Juju are what I am going to call my little brothers next pair of guinea pigs that need their sawdust changed every day.
kjwelder
2013-01-03 04:49:57
Salty
2013-01-03 08:34:14
No fair Karl, you have a degree in this kind of stuff. A big part of trolling is believing in magic A tool like that turns the magic into numbers which can be understood scientifically and applied forpractical business results. What is the fun in that? Where else can us hippie rednecks go to escape reality other than trolling around wondering about the black magic of line voltage?
afteryou
2013-01-03 17:50:35
All right Salty you got it!
The vast majority of what I posted was to amuse. If somebody laughed than it was a success. :lol:
However you also understood the real underlying topic. Like I said I have never taken a line voltage. This is not because I don’t know how, but like Salty said it would “turn magic into numbers”
The way it stands now when I am not catching I know it is because there are no fish under my boat. I have friends who when they are not catching worry that one of their zincs may have fallen off. They inspect old wires running through the bilge or they monkey with their black box in desperation. I remain calm with the knowledge that there is just a lack a fish.
I am a superstitious person, through not to the extreme. I think that many fishermen are, at least just a little anyway. What I worry about is diving into this electrical thing and losing confidence in my setup. Never again able to accept lack of fish as the reason for not catching. Always worrying about where the knob on the black box is set. Should it be pulsing or not?
So here it is, if I start playing with electricity it will turn my piece of mind into hard facts that I will not be able to ignore. I worry that this will affect my catch rate. Like I said I am not a high-liner but my catch history is good. I would hate to jeopardize that as well as my low stress level in search of a few more fish. What if I never figure it out and catch less due to self doubt (there’s that vibe down the wire thing again). :D
Salty
2013-01-03 18:54:09
Afteryou,
That works just fine as long as you are in B or C as explained in another thread. It does not work when you are in A. It works fine when you are in B and communicating with people in B. It does not work so well when you are in B and start communicating with people who are in A. Particularly people in A with steel or aluminum boats or with a wizard.
It works fine when you think a good day is thirty kings and you discover a guy on your drag who you showed your hot hootchie to is catching 50 plus. It works fine, and this actually happened to me, until you are following your mentor down the drag with the same depth, the same lures, etc. and he has 33 after two passes and you have 4. When he ends up with 85 kings for the day and you are in the teens.
But, facing reality, is tough stuff, much more fun to believe in magic and live in the fog. I couldn't find a picture of a roach clip to post here. I use it now days to attach to the end of the wire on my volt meter to clip onto my gurdie wire. I hear it has other uses related to magic and fog.
Salty
2013-01-03 18:54:54
Inverted A and C in part of the previous post.
Abundance
2013-01-03 22:30:21
Sorry that I was such a wet blanket. Things always sound better in your head then they do in print. I get that you meant to amuse, and its not like I can explain some peoples fish finding ability in a manner that makes any more sense than their "aura" attracting them in. One thing that has managed to keep me puzzled is how kings seem to strike while I am on the radio. Is it just me, or does this happen to other people? It could just be that I am on the radio for enough of the time that the odds just won't allow for anything else.
Salty
2013-01-03 23:09:08
I have noticed this and believe that every time you push the button on the VHF, CB, or sideband you are sending a radio beam into your field, the water, and the air.
Apparently you also think that it makes you catch better. :lol:
Carol W
2013-01-04 05:10:26
Thanks for the laugh Drew.
One time years ago I was fishing Hidden Falls on the Antares, I went and anchored to take a noon siesta as soon as I laid down Lyle who had the Sydney called, now why would he call me I wasn't even on the drag, "Oh well everytime you talk on the radio I catch." was his reply I reached up and turned the set off I wasn't going to talk a fish on while I was anchored.
Keep your hand on it
Tom
Salty
2013-01-04 05:38:37
Drew,
Had to cut that post short due to getting ready to go watch my alma matter, Oregon, play in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, I do believe talking on the radio helps and have noticed that sometimes after a long time without a bite, I get one within seconds of keying the mike to call or respond to a call.
Unfortunately, I have not seen a relationship between cell phone texting and calling and bites. As some of you may have noticed I also believe changing speeds, direction, and running gear also helps get bites.
spike christopher
2013-01-04 17:24:23
Salty, now I understand why you are on the radio so much, OH NOW I AM JUST JOKING. love the forum and all the input, you got to admit Salty you stepped into that one/ what fun/