Northwest Fishing Reports

I tried out the wedding ring for the first time today. I had good results, but I missed over half of the hook sets. The first couple of missed hooksets was because the worm covered the whole hook after getting a bite. So I swtiched out the hook for a larger size 6 gama octo hook. I was able to land a fish with a larger hook. Then I missed hooksets again during my fishing trip. I was trolling from a float tube.

When do you guys set the hook when trolling? Should the hookset be during the intial tap tap or wait untill the second round of tap tap?

I always use a two hook set-up w/ wedding rings...it's really important if the fish are short striking the lure. 9 out of 10 times they will hook themselves and it will be on the second hook. The good news is that you're getting strikes!! lol

I don't set the hook when I'm trolling. A common mistake, one that I make every now and then is to grab the rod too early. Let the fish take the lure and run with it, count to five and then grab the rod. I think many times a fish will have a hook torn out of its mouth with a hook set. As MAV186 pointed out, a trailer hook helps, especially with walleye. And...make sure your hook(s) is/are sharp!

wait for the steady tug then set the hook. use 2 hooks and only leave about a half inch of worm behind the last hook.

If you are not using the bigger double whammies with 2 hooks I use a size 4 or 6 bait holder/snell hook. I let the fish hit it then I pick up the poll and wait to feel the fish before setting the hook "softly".

Good luck
TAZ

Never "set the hook" when trolling lures. Let the fish take it, you'll know when it's on. Switching to the Gama was a good move, I change the hooks on any lure I put in the water. They don't come with quality hooks and or leaders, in the case of wedding rings (make your own)..........Trout have tender little lips and you 'll rip'em right off, we're not talking bass here.

What type of knot is used to rig a double wedding ring ? I am heading to Baker Lake this weekend and would like to give this rig a try.

Thanks to all of those who chimed in. I was very excited from getting hits and setting the hook as hard as I could. I probably ripped the hook out of thier mouths.

I plan on adding a second hook somehow and be more patient next time. Looks like I need to let the fish hook itself and gently set the hook instead just in case.

returnofthefish wrote:I plan on adding a second hook somehow

Use the double whammies they come with 2 hooks and are a little bigger. IMO they are the best of the wedding ring brand...
I have had really good luck when changing hooks and leaders just using the standard size 4 snell it seems big but it works!

Yes Macks paved the way with the wedding ring but the quality of the hook and leader they use on the wedding rings are awful. Tie your own with a quality 6lb line and a size 6 bait holder hook (Gamkatsu, Owner, Mustad,). A lot cheaper too.

Anyway, I think your problem was just bait thieves. This time of year almost every lake has tons and tons of small perch on the prowl(almost impossible to hook these guys). This is a huge down fall while using a wedding ring during the summer.

GPC I have found the spinners work a lot better on a higher diameter line I like 8-10 lb... But I kept all the old bodies and pieces and tied my own also. My biggest upgrade that made the most difference was the bigger blades I got at sportsmans.... But the bigger double hook wedding rings seem to work just fine out of the package...

The knot you want to use when tying your double octopus hook rig is called a bumper knot. I know some folks just use a plain old snell, but I like to think that the bumper gives the knot a little added protection. When tying the bumper for rigs that I won't be using with egg skeins or bait chunks I use only 5 to 7 wraps before I start the snell. Once you get the hang of it becomes second nature. After you tie on the first hook you simply thread on the second hook to the desired spacing and repeat the process. This will become quite useful when you take up salmon fishing as your hoochie rigs and herring rigs will be tied in this exact same manner. In fact I'll use this same knot to tie on all my hooks with only a few exceptions, siwash hooks and dropshot rigs. Below is a link to instructions on how to tie this knot, you may find better but this should get you going in the right direction.

http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/reso ... erknot.htm

Yep, for good knots in mono, it's all in the lube, a little water or spit makes the line tighten evenly with out kinks.

G-Man wrote:The knot you want to use when tying your double octopus hook rig is called a bumper knot. I know some folks just use a plain old snell, but I like to think that the bumper gives the knot a little added protection. When tying the bumper for rigs that I won't be using with egg skeins or bait chunks I use only 5 to 7 wraps before I start the snell. Once you get the hang of it becomes second nature. After you tie on the first hook you simply thread on the second hook to the desired spacing and repeat the process. This will become quite useful when you take up salmon fishing as your hoochie rigs and herring rigs will be tied in this exact same manner. In fact I'll use this same knot to tie on all my hooks with only a few exceptions, siwash hooks and dropshot rigs.

This knot also goes by the name of Egg Loop Knot
As G-man stated this is a very useful knot when you start Salmon fishing. Below is a photo of one variation that I use regularly while bottom bouncing for Salmon.


Here's a couple of youtube video links showing you how to tie an Egg Loop Knot:

Single Egg Loop Knot CnCqtoku-XE

Double Egg Loop Knot for use with your home made wedding ring.
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When you get really good at tying the Single and the Double Egg Loop Knots...
Why not try the...
Pimped-out Egg Loop Knot
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Sorry for jumping this thread, but thanks for the knot tips. Great info as always.

After looking at the various sites provided, I have another question. I guess i imagined this double weeding ring rig a bit different. I had imagined a double leader type setup with 2x the beads and rings, one set on each leader. After looking at the egg loop knot it looks like I would be adding 2 hooks to one leader using one set of beads and ring.

Now that i uderstand the vision, would i place the beads and ring between the lead hook and the trailer hook or just above the lead hook? My guess would be to place the bling above the lead hook.

Thanks again

Put all the beads and blades in front of the hooks, you want both trailing behind the lure. Only space your hooks and inch to an inch and a half apart, bait the front hook and leave the trailer alone

Bodofish wrote:Put all the beads and blades in front of the hooks, you want both trailing behind the lure. Only space your hooks and inch to an inch and a half apart, bait the front hook and leave the trailer alone

Thanks for the quick reply, i will give it a try at Baker Lake this weekend. I am going fishing, not catching so my only expectation is to have fun.

Here's a quick question (related). I hear that dodgers work well by adding an extra wiggle to the lure. Would that actually improve the wedding ring effectivness? If that's possible.

sure I run them behind dodgers and popgear.

I don't think that a wedding ring would not work better if its swaying back and forth because wedding rings are not a imitation of baitfish. dodgers and flashers are used to make a lure look like a swimming fish because minnows don't swim in a perfectly strait line. my guess is that a dodger would make the trout work harder therefore make the wedding ring less affective. that being said if you use a long leader between your dodger and lure it will not affect the action.