Hi all!

I'm new to saltwater fishing after fishing the beautiful lakes of northern Manitoba for 40 years. I just moved to Nanaimo in late September and bought a boat. Well today I decided to try some jigging to see if I could catch something from the saltwater. After jigging around the Five Fingers all day all I caught was this ugly thing (actually caught 2 of them) now what is it?
Any tips on where I could go to catch anything that looks like a fish would be greatly appreciated. I plan to get some down riggers soon but til then I just want to catch something. Catch and release is all I'm after.
Again what is this??

Richard

Kinda looks like a sea cucumber... never seen one that "deflated" though.... supposedly some good eats

fishaholic is correct.it is a seacucumber

and YES-- the lateral muscles ARE good to eat. Its a PITA to clean, but the strands taste similar to scallops.

Hear its like a scallop flavoured bacon strip..

CL No steel on the mini sage yet....

Printster:-

Jigging is best around rocky reefs, rocky outcroppings on islets etc. for the most part.

I prefer an incoming tide...seems to produce better results for me.

I like to use tuffline rather than mono......30lb test will do.

At the end of that line put a swivel and then add 6 ft. of 20lb test mono leader.

Then tie that to a lead jig.

I like Spinnows in the Pearl White/Black backbone color for a "goto".

Tie it direct to whatever came with the jig in the package. Do not add your own clips or anything.

Use the appropriate size jig that will get you to the bottom. It could be 4oz.or it could be 8oz . or more depending on how fast the tide is running and how deep you are.

Get to the bottom and then come up about 3ft........bring your rod tip up slowly and then.......let the lure fall....but not to the bottom, just the end of your line.
Don't do this too fast....the fish get tired pretty quick of something that is moving too fast for them to catch.

Often times you will get a hit while your jig is freefalling on the way down.

(I'm talking basically about bottomfish...here...not salmon).

Your hooks need to be as SHARP AS YOU CAN GET THEM.

Have a look at a marine chart, look at where you want to fish and then figure out the current direction that runs both ways. Drop your lure upstream a bit and then "drift" by the target area with the current. As you approach the target area your lure should now be at the right depth.

If you are using too light a jig, it will not stay down for this.

You only need to be from (my favorite) anywhere between 70ft and 130 ft for best results. If you are inshore and really shallow all you get are small rockfish and they really should be left alone.

For flounders........pick a sandy bottom from 50ft to 120ft deep and drop your jig right to the bottom and "floorwalk" it across the sand....don't go too fast for these fish.

Try to use only the necessary size of jig that will get you down there.

Thanks everyone especially SeaFever for that nice detailed explanation, definitely going to try that next time I'm out

Prinster:- a couple more tips for jigging...


I use a Daiwa M-1 Plus for jigging...these reels are very good for that....

But if you want salmon.........you can do two things for a reel....use the Daiwa and estimate your lure depth by "pulls".....that is you figure out how much line is going out per pull (distance of line from reel to first eyelet that you make each time).

Or you can use a "Line-counter" reel...which has a dial on it that shows you how much line is out.

Salmon are not always near the bottom....for instance you could be in 200ft of water but the Salmon are down about 70ft. on that day.

A good depth sounder or fishfinder should show you where they are holding.


If you don't have one you have to guesstimate.

If you are around huge reefs or a place with lots of dropoffs,walls and rock structure.....salmon often like these places especially where there is a back eddy that will hold bait that is pushed in by the current.

Many of the colors that people use for salmon with spoons and hoochies also work for jig colors..... I would go with a starter selection of Green/White, Green/Glow, Metallic green, Black/White, Pearl White for general use.
Pinks and Sockeye use Pink, Coho use Chartreuse or Metallic Blue or Watermelon.

Different style jig bodies have different actions.....if it is a "C" bend it will have a different action than an "S" bend or a "hockey stick" bend.

The Spinnow has a fluttering,revolving action which is very good for many applications. Any jig with a slight eliptical "C" bend is usually pretty good too.

I like the Tuffline over mono because when you are deep the Tuffline will transmit the smallest of "tics" and "hits" whereas mono gets too elastic and you can't feel what's going on down there much at all. Plus with the Tuffline you get better hooksets.

thank you seafever, makes me want to go buy some jigs, never tried it.

seacumber however looks disgusting

SeaCucumbers are found usually near the bottom crawling around.....

I often snag them when I am jigging by accident....

If you are jigging right on the bottom you will snag them and other things from time to time...

When I get a bottom snag that doesn't want to release, I go back in the opposite direction a ways and then pull from there...if that doesn't work I go off to the side.

Usually I get the jig back.....then straighten and re-sharpen the hooks.

But you don't always get them back.......

By the way....hooks must be barbless if you are targetting salmon.

On a treble hook for bottom fish I usually flatten one barb on the hook....this way when you get a "button-up" it is way easier to get the hook out and less damage to the fish if you are releasing it.

You can "drift-troll" a jig.....that is, just let the current carry you along (or the wind) with the jig in the water behind you. But if you do this you need a really good bead swivel where the tuffline connects to the leader.

I always have a bead swivel there on the line for jigging regardless of what I am doing.