The Metkin Release: Last of It’s Kind?
With salmon season upon us, and with most of us starting the season by trolling, we’ll probably go about it as we have for decades by dragging around some bait or proven lures. No doubt these enticing tidbits will be weighed down with some massive hunks of lead, lead that will most likely fall off the line when a salmon hits. The lead will most likely fall off the line if it is attached via a sinker release.
The mystery of it all is how most people take the humble sinker release for granted. I have no idea where or when or how the technique of trolling around for salmon with sinker releases came about, but no doubt some rather clever individual came up with the idea and everyone followed suit.
The most widely known of the sinker releases is the copper tube variety most commonly called the “dog whistle” and for an obvious reason: it looks like one of those “silent dog whistles” that use to be advertised in the pages of comic books and outdoor magazines. Pull on the rear of the release and the tines of the cotter pin in the copper tube retract and slide behind a slot in the tubing. The eye of the sinker is placed into the slot, the tension is relieved on the cotter pin, and one of the tines will skewer the eye of the sinker, holding it in place. When a salmon hits, it pulls on the cotter pin, the tines retract, and the sinker falls out. Simple!
The dog whistle is the most common of the spring releases, but is by no means the only design. I have, in my collection, maybe five or six other clever designs that never made it big with fishermen. In fact, when I happen to show off some of these little known designs, the most common response is, “WOW!! That’s COOOOL!!” I do have to say, however, that the dog whistle is the only spring release design left that is actually manufactured and sold nowadays.
Unlike the spring releases, there are three designs in the market that I would call “gravity releases”. Basically, a sinker is attached in a slot and is held in place by the water pressure pressing it back into the release. When a salmon takes the bait and rips line off your drag, the resulting water pressure is reversed and pushes the sinker off the front of the release and gravity does the rest.
The first of the gravity (as far as I know, anyway!) releases is this clever little stamped brass job designed and manufactured under the “Alure” name. Next there was the Metkin release, a twisty, turny release made with stainless steel rod bent and shaped into a release. The third design is a stamped plate design marketed by Real Image.
Mike Metkin, the designer and manufacturer of the Metkin release, is a mighty, meaty salmon fisherman, and about as nice a guy as you would ever want to meet. You can take just one look at Mike and you can feel the passion he has for catching salmon.
The Metkin release was his baby and you can tell he is proud of his product.I bumped into Mike, I wanted him to bend me up a few “special” releases that had 250 lb. test ball bearing swivels instead of the usual brass barrel swivels. Why? Because, my friend, I was using these for slow trolling live bait for tuna and marlin! Yes, the release, armed with the heavier swivels, is strong enough for these blue water brutes. Trolling live bait with a sinker release is a deadly technique for these pelagics, especially when the surface is too rough for surface trolling.
The Right Way To Roll
“The Devil is in the details!” I once heard say to me, and I have never forgotten hearing that expression. What it exactly means, I don’t know, but I conjecture that it has something to do with the fact that sometimes it is the little details that can make or break the best of intentions. Take, for instance, the library at the University of Illinois. The building was designed to weigh a certain amount, and the foundation was constructed to support this weight. The building is sinking about an inch a year, however, NOT because the calculation for the weight of the building was off, but because some bright person forgot to consider the weight of all the books that were going INTO the building!
I once wrote about the best tool for salmon fishing to come along in years, the Intool “Killer” Loading Tool. Since writing that article, hundreds of salmon chasers have come to me to tell me how this little tool has changed their lives. Indeed, this wonderful machined aluminum tool has made loading bait into a Rotary Salmon Killer ridiculously simple. Most have found what I have come to believe for years, that the straighter you can get the bait into the head of the Rotary Salmon Killer, the more effective it usually is.
There are a few people, unfortunately, that have complained that there were days that the Rotary Salmon Killer wasn’t at all that effective, and this on days when everyone else seemed to catch fish at will. I had to think about this for awhile, and suggested the usual, that they try rigging the Rotary Salmon Killer with a tandem octopus hook setup, to snatch what might be considered “short strikers”. While this modification turns the RSK into one of the deadliest rigs available for salmon trolling, this didn’t seem to help these few “unlucky” sorts.
To figure out what may be happening here, we have to go back to the original bait trolling setup, the crowbar hook. This specialized hook has a long shank with a needle eye, and the secret for its effectiveness was to put a minor bend mid-shank of the hook. With this bend (and it had to be made on a trial and error basis) the hook gave the bait a slow rolling action that proved deadly on salmon. Hooks with the proper bend were highly prized, and never … I mean NEVER … loaned out to anyone, not even the best of friends.
The Rotary Salmon Killer eliminated all this guesswork by having a little fin on the plastic head that would give the bait the proper roll that entices salmon to bite. More salmon fishermen have caught more salmon on it than with all other similar products before or since its introduction; but then, you have those pesky lapses in its effectiveness that have gone unexplained.
Well, I think I have come up with an explanation for this little mystery. Remember those crowbar hooks? When a bait is impaled by one, the point of the hook is always rigged coming out the bottom of the bait. This way, the bait always rolls “back first”. When it comes to the Rotary Salmon Killer, the bait can be inserted with either way, left or right side facing the fin side of the plastic head. With the bait inserted with the fin on the right side of the bait, the bait will roll the requisite “back first”. With the bait inserted so that the bladed side is on the left side of the bait, the bait will roll belly first, and this, apparently, is no where near as effective as rigging it in the proper “back first” manner.
Other Rigs To Consider
As of this moment, I would venture to conjecture that the Rotary Salmon Killer has caught more fish than any other device of its type. Nowadays, however, there are other devices that deserve mentioning. A couple of years ago, another “bait hood” came to popularity, the Krippled Anchovie and Krippled Herring bait holders. Unlike the RSK, these rigs were equipped with tandem octopus hooks, a rigging style I made popular for the RSK.
Earlier this year (2004 AD) Dick Pool introduced the Pro-Chip roto head, an RSK with the addition of the eChip emitter. Results so far this year have been showing that the eChip really works, sending out a small electric charge into the water that supposedly simulates the emission by injured baitfish.
And now, all the rage, is the FBR, the Franko Bullet Rotator. Apparently, this bait hood gives bait a tight spin that drives fish crazy. Preliminary tests show it to be very easy to use and highly effective. The trick to the use of any of these bait hoods is the placement of the rear hook. The adjustment should be made such that the point of the rear hook is even with or slightly behind the tail of the bait. You will find that you will hook a lot more fish with the hook positioned thusly, and may even find that you will hook fish that haven’t left any scratches on the bait!
Salmon Leader Considerations
When one goes into a typical tackle shop around these here parts and asks for a salmon trolling leader, one will most likely leave with something like a six foot long mono leader of 30 lb. test with a simple snap on either end. Most likely, you won’t be offered a choice in the matter, you will simply be given a pack of six foot long 30 lb. test leaders. Why? It’s probably because they work …at least, most of the time.
“Most of the time” is the operative phrase in this whole business of salmon trolling leaders, and for a majority of salmon chasers, it is a good enough answer. Someone once did a survey and figured out all that was needed for a slot machine to pay off was to have something drop out of it somewhere in the neighborhood of once every 11 to 17 pulls or so. That means the machine always ends up taking your money! But when it comes to salmon leaders, as long it catches salmon once in a while, by golly, we’re gonna use it!
As “sophisticated” pursuers of salmon, however, I think we can, and should, do better than that. By understanding several nuances of leaders, it may be possible to fine tune your leaders to produce more consistent results.
Somehow, in the history of salmon leaders, six feet became the standard for salmon trolling leaders. I was wondering why this would be when the thought came to me. Back in the “old” days, leader material came in pre-cut lengths of 42-44 inches often called “tippet” material (not to be confused with fly fishing tippet material).Two of these tippet pieces tied to both ends of a swivel plus the plain snaps on each end minus the material to tie the knots and … voila! … you have a six foot leader!
When this leader is attached to a sinker release and a trolling lure like a Krocodile is snapped to the end, the lure will swim in a certain manner. Most of the time, this swimming action will attract a salmon to bite. I will be the first to admit that on certain occasions, when salmon are on the tear, as long as you are dragging something remotely interesting in the water, salmon will bite it; but those occasions don’t happen every day. Also, whatever lure you are using will often perform best with a very particular leader length and diameter.
Let’s consider the aforementioned Krocodile. The 3/4 oz. Krocodile seems to be perfectly mated to the six foot 30 lb. test leader. Most of the time this is a deadly set-up. The same leader, however, will usually kill the action of a 1/4 oz. Krocodile, and this particular leader won’t have enough oomph to slow down the action of a 7 oz. Kroc.
Is killing, or at least slowing down, the action of a lure necessarily a bad thing? Noooo … it is just another option you should consider. Take the 3/4 oz. Krocodile, troll it behind a six foot 15 lb. test, 30 lb. test, and 40 lb. test leaders. If you watch carefully, there will be subtle but noticeable differences in the way the lures swim. Actually use them while fishing and you may find days when the salmon will prefer one leader over the others. What is this telling us?
It tells me that sometimes leader selection can be more critical than the lure used on the leader. If your confidence is in a particular lure, it makes no sense to equip all the lures in the boat with the same leader. Try having one of another pound test and give the salmon another look from which to chose. You may be surprised at the result!
Generally speaking, the longer or heavier the leader, the less action you will get. The shorter or lighter the leader, the more action you will get. Combinations of both will yield varied results, with any particular combination being the key to success on any particular day on the briny deep.
The Little Kicker For Salmon
The salmon season has kicked off with a bang … at least, if you were there where they were biting! Because the bite is mostly a krill bite, the lure draggers seem to be doing better than the salmon chasers who are choosing to drag bait. The two most productive lures right now are the small spoons and the bent banana lure.
Of the former type of lures, the spoons that have been most popular are the Krocodiles and the #3 Needlefish. Of the latter type of lures, the Apex and the new Echip Stingking are catching more than their share of fish. Were you to drag around these lures on your next trip, could you do anything to distinguish your lure from all the others?
One of the easiest and most effective things you can do to make your lure special is to add a trailer to your lure. It is actually not very easy to find a trailer as I can’t seem to name even one after market maker of single hook trailers. This means, most likely, that either you will have to know someone who would be willing to tie you a trailer, or you will have to try and tie one yourself.
Tying is not a particularly difficult task, and any number of beginner’s guides to fly tying will have more than enough information on how to tie a simple trailer. Suffice to say, however, that plain white bucktail probably works better than anything else, but it doesn’t hurt to carry an extra “stash” of colored bucktail trailers whose colors co-ordinate with your lure.
One little item that will provide a little spice to the plain bucktail trailer is the use of mylar, flashabou, or something similar to add flash or sparkle to the trailer. And like a spice, only a small amount is needed to perk things up. I am speaking of maybe only a dozen strands or so to the usual pinch of hair that is tied to a hook.
While a bucktail trailer can work on both the spoon and Apex type lures, the Apex type lures have one advantage over the spoons … it is easier to use a small Gold Star mini-sardine on the trailer hook. The mini-sardine is Gold Star’s name for their 2” octopus skirt that comes in a myriad of colors. These work exceptionally well on Apex type lures because these lures have a hook that is attached to a small swivel, and this swivel is the perfect stopper for the skirt.
This means, of course, that the lure has to be re-rigged as it comes “out of the box”, but that is something I do anyway, so I don’t consider it a particularly troublesome task. I like to rig these Apex type lures with seven foot leaders made from 25 lb. test P-Line CFX or SeaGuar fluorocarbon. It isn’t always that the fluorocarbon catches more fish than plain nylon monofiliment, but why take chances?
I also like adding a few strands of mylar to the hook before slipping the mini-sardine over the swivel, just for that little extra sparkle. The addition of a trailer to these lures will indeed slow the action down a bit, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. It seems that bigger salmon have a certain fondness for the slightly slower acting lures.
The Proper Trolling Speed
Trolling seems to be such a mindless “no-brainer” of a project. Simply put your bait or lure into the water and drag it around until some dumb fish kills himself on the hook.
Well, some may think that trolling, boiled down to its basic elements, is just this simple to do. The expression goes, “Even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while!” (or … in France, I believe the expression is, “Even a blind pig can find a truffle now and then!”, but I digress!) This is one of my favorite fishing myths, as it leaves more salmon, stripers, and halibut out there for me to catch.
The strangest thing is when someone tells me he would rather mooch than troll because trolling is so boring! I mean, if being under power is so boring, what would free floating out in the middle of the ocean be like???
So here we are, in a boat, lines in the water, the motor running, and we are pointing the boat hither and yon. How much more can there be to it? Well, lots! As in any other form of fishing endeavor, there are (among many things) the variables of depth, speed, and direction.
The first variable to consider is depth. Some would say that the most important variable IS depth. Given the fact that no one in his or her right mind would troll at 20 knots, any speed from “in gear” to ten knots can excite a fish into striking, and I mean just about any fish that is normally caught trolling (which leaves out fish like carp, but will include fish like channel catfish!). The determining factors are two: the ability of a lure to swim at speed and the ability of the lure to stay at depth.
Back in the old days when I used to do more black bass fishing than I do now, I would fish for the bass with all the usual methods; worming, cranking, ripping, etc. If it came close to time to go home and I didn’t have enough fish (not always the limit, just enough for whatever reason) I would “speed troll” for the necessary fish. I would put on the truest tracking metal lipped deep diving crankbait I had (usually a Rapala Deep Diver 90). I would let out 75 feet or so of line and troll the 15 foot aluminum boat at three quarter throttle with the 9.9 horsepower Johnson. Even at that speed, which would be more like albacore or marlin trolling, I would get all the bass I needed! I made sure I was fishing in a depth that the lure was occasionally ticking the bottom.
When it comes to lure design, most will have an optimum speed at which they will “work”. Too slow a speed and nothing happens. Too fast a speed and the lure will often swim off kilter or refuse to swim at all.
Notice that with the speed trolling for bass that the proper depth was maintained. The same lure, swimming mid-depth, would result in very few fish caught. Yet the lure, swimming just above the bottom, was my “guaranteed” go to lure and method; another indication as to the importance of depth.
The deeper one needs to fish, the harder it is to maintain the speed at the higher end. This is mainly due to hydrodynamic friction “lifting” the lure from the proper depth. Heavy sinkers can be used to keep the lure down, but then the heavy sinker would take away from the fight of the fish unless some kind of release mechanism is used, either via a sinker release or the use of a downrigger. Even then, water, being the viscous element that it is, still provides plenty of resistance and therefore limits trolling speed.
This factor is usually no big deal as, mentioned above, most lures have an optimum trolling speed built in to them. This is the speed in which they swim in the most enticing manner. Most of the time, conventional rigging methods will keep the lure in the most productive depth. Since, as in the case of salmon trolling, most lures have different optimum speeds, I feel that it is important to not mix your lures and baits. Mixing lures and baits is the usual practice for salmon fishermen as a way of trying to find out what salmon have a taste for that particular day. I feel that most of the time, however, that the one lure that is struck is the one swimming best at the speed being used; which brings us to direction.
Out in the ocean there are currents at all times, which gives rise to tides. Since this direction changes four times a day, the speed of the water changes in different directions and has to be compensated. The easiest way to do this? I like to troll a rod right next to the steering station of the boat where I can keep an eye on it. Let out just enough line so you can see the lure/bait (hookless, of course, to stay legal!) swimming under the surface and adjust the throttle until it swims most enticingly.
When it comes to depth, in addition to having all the lures or baits being similar, I also believe that all the baits/lures should be trolled at the same depth. In the middle of targeted area, you may notice that the bait may be balled up on the meter. Adjust the lines so that the baits travel at the lower depth of the bait balls.
If there are no indication of bait balls, look for the different kinds of indicators that tell of “edges”: color changes, scum lines, etc. Since most baitfish are plankton feeders and plankton tend to be on the surface, it doesn’t usually make sense to troll too deeply. The party boat favorite of forty pulls is a good place to start. Generally, though, I like to start at twenty-five pulls in the morning and progressing to forty pulls as it gets closer to mid-day. The exception would be the one rod I call “the little stinker”, which is the only rod on board rigged with a one and a half pound ball (when the rest are two and a half pound balls) and set seventy pulls behind the boat. The odd fact is that the little stinker only works when the other baits are rigged and running together.
Any deeper than can be achieved with the limitations of any particular line/sinker combo and you should refer to Bob Franko’s excellent article on downriggering.
The Final Chapter
So now we have covered tackle, lines, leaders, sinker releases, bait rigging, lures, troll speed, and depth considerations, the only thing left to do is catch fish. When trolling, release the rigged baits or lures to the preselected depths, adjust the drags so they barely hold the sinkers, set the trolling speed indicator next to the steering station, then keep your eyes and ears open for all the information you can gather while the boat is running.
Hopefully, if all is right, a rod will go off and the clicker will be screaming! Resist grabbing the rod too quickly … the boat movement will keep the fish hooked. No need to go too far, simply a count of 15 will do, just in case there were more than one salmon interested in your offerings.
Remove the rod with the fish on from the rod holder and turn the boat in the direction of the fish, making a big circle with the salmon in the center of the big circle. This is the universal signal of a hooked fish and other boats are supposed to respect your space. Keep the line tight, let the fish bounce around, then play it to the boat. Leave the boat in gear while attempting to land the fish.
The fisherman with the rod should step back from the gunnel to let the net man in to net the fish. Dip the net into the water ahead of the fish and have the fish swim into the net, never try to net the fish tail first … it just won’t happen.
One last tip for you with boats on trailers. With the boat on the trailer, Epoxy some CDs to the bottom of the boat. Position them so they do not interfere with any of the bunks or rollers on the trailer. As you are trolling, the CDs will gather light and “flash” under the boat. This light show will attract a number of fish to your boat, and thus, your baits. Sounds weird, but it really works!
If you have made it this far, you will realize that there has been a lot of information that has been shared, and I feel that I have barely scratched the surface of salmon trolling knowledge. Any more details can probably be found on the various chat boards, or call us at Hi’s Tackle Box at 415.221.3825.
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