I have a capable boat but sometimes I like to just sit on my rear , enjoy the scenery and plunck. My favorite spot is just below Bonniville Dam near Tanner Creek . Summer and fall nooks are my favorite. I have done pretty well at times. The usual set up , spreader with tear drop sinker and spin and glow with coon shrimp and various scents. Stout 11 foot rod with Penn 360 GTI level wind. I can get it out about 40 yards or so. Sometimes when I reel back to shore I discover that for the last hour I have not been fishing , everything is tangled. Less of a problem if I keep a short dropper . The current is heavy and there is a rocky bottom. I also give the rod a jerk just before I hit bottom. I have tried plunking without a spreader but I think the spin and glow is to close to the bottom. I got a 28 pound summer nook last year on my last cast of the day with no shrimp or scent. Using bait always invites the terror of a 10 foot sturgeon finding it. That has happened to me more then once , no fun ! When I get hung up I usually get everything back but the sinker , there must be a lot of lead out there. I have seen folks use rocks for sinkers , duck taped on . I can sometimes see the tip of the rod throbbing which tells me the lure is working. On the C.R. beaches I never lost any rigs , sand bottom. Patience is the key . It is great to take a break from the boat ramp zoo and incompetent boat owners. Any thoughts ?
plunking
- Thread starter cchinook45
- Start date
My thought is this would be more appropriate & probably generate a livier discussion in the dirt bag forum
pnwflyfishing.com
Freshwater & Anadromous
Trout, salmon, steelhead, bass, walleye and beyond! Rivers, lakes and any and all freshwater.
pnwflyfishing.com
Thanks
Whoa… 60 year time machine.
I caught my first steelhead plunking on the Green in the very early’60’s. Yellow/Orange Spin-N-Glo & yarn and a lead pyramid.
The sweet smell of alder wood smoke and Borax’d eggs wafts through the memory in my mind…
I caught my first steelhead plunking on the Green in the very early’60’s. Yellow/Orange Spin-N-Glo & yarn and a lead pyramid.
The sweet smell of alder wood smoke and Borax’d eggs wafts through the memory in my mind…
Yeah, well. I was all of 10 when I last plunked… so there’s that.
I remember it being a very nice, relaxing way to fish in agreement with the OP.
I remember it being a very nice, relaxing way to fish in agreement with the OP.
Whoa same here only late 60’s. Right where Southcenter is now.
Used to be a good duck hunting spot right about where Nordstroms is now too
And pheasants at Smith Brothers!Used to be a good duck hunting spot right about where Nordstroms is now too
In years gone by, I plunked alot. Instead of lead we used smaller Railroad spikes tied on with cotton string at Tanner . I have not done that in years. No matter what you use for weight. You normally lose it.
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Spin n glo's and old guys plunking I'd visit with when I was 10 years old that would have been born in the 1880's, that's fun stuff to reminisce about.
Hell, when they were 10 years old there were people born in the 1700's still alive !
I never caught crap plunking our coastal river but I'd watch those old guys skip a 10 pound steelhead in like it was a shaker smolt with their gear heavy enough to wrangle a big sturgeon, or have a 50/50 shot of landing a runaway cedar tree coming down the river.
Hell, when they were 10 years old there were people born in the 1700's still alive !
I never caught crap plunking our coastal river but I'd watch those old guys skip a 10 pound steelhead in like it was a shaker smolt with their gear heavy enough to wrangle a big sturgeon, or have a 50/50 shot of landing a runaway cedar tree coming down the river.
Last edited:
As a 10yr old growing up on the WA coast, if i wanted to go steelhead fishing then it was to go go with my grandfather who only plunked. By the time i was old enough to drive i got pretty good at it. 60plus yrs. ago i used to fish in a shack just across the road from Gryfalcons house with my grandfather. Even though we never met there we have shared stories of the place.
I like to plunk and use to plunk for steelhead a lot.
These days I plunk for sockeye in the Skagit river in June before the lake opens up.
Plunking is very relaxing for me. Some folks can't stand it, too boring they say.
My thoughts are that sometimes, other more active hands on types of fishing turn into a lot of work. Not that I don't partake of those types of fishing but sometimes a more simple, back to my roots method of fishing is just what the doctor ordered.
Last edited:
Caught my first Skagit sockeye back in 2022, it’s now one of my favorite fisheries. Especially when you find a particularly scenic spot to just relax in. Sometimes I wish there was a saltwater beach equivalent
Used to plunk the lower Puyallup with my dad. Fun to watch the rod go off.
Good times around the fire with him and his friends. They tossed back quite a few adult beverages while doing so.
Used to also go down to the Ballard Locks in the late 70's, early 80's and watch all the old guys from the Ballard area plunk. Damn they caught some nice fish bound for the Cedar. I remember one particular brute that fell to a orange flatfish and it getting netted off the stairs.
SF
Good times around the fire with him and his friends. They tossed back quite a few adult beverages while doing so.
Used to also go down to the Ballard Locks in the late 70's, early 80's and watch all the old guys from the Ballard area plunk. Damn they caught some nice fish bound for the Cedar. I remember one particular brute that fell to a orange flatfish and it getting netted off the stairs.
SF
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Believe I posted this on the old site. Took this shot in 2016 when I took a hike along our river and saw plunkers on the other side releasing a wild steelhead while they had a hatchery steelhead hanging in the trees.
Looked like the scene could have been from the 1940's so I fixed the photo to look vintage.
reverse AI
Looked like the scene could have been from the 1940's so I fixed the photo to look vintage.
reverse AI
Last edited:
