Dogfish questions

[troylangdon]

My family is fairly new to the puget sound, and I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on where? How? to catch some dogfish around Everett/Mukilteo. We just purchased a boat, and my 3 boys love to fish, I figured these hungry suckers would give them a good fight, and it seemed after reading many posts that there are plenty to go around. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Our boat is moored at Everett marina, so somewhere close would be great!

Thanks,
Troy

[BentRod]

Anywhere and everywhere! The rats of the sea. Any type of meat on a hook dropped down near the bottom should do it.

[Jake Dogfish]

Drop a herring down to the bottom and reel it up a few cranks. Drift with the current, you can move your bait around a little but it is not necessary. Once you catch one there will most likely be more in the area. Good luck.

[troylangdon]

Thanks guys... What depth do you think??

[racfish]

The Dogfish capital of the Puget sound are Possesion,and Jeff Head. Drop a herring to the bottom and you'll catch doggies. Remember not to kill them unless you eat them. I do believe its illegal to catch them and just kill them like shamefully Ive done in the past with a lot of others.

[BentRod]

I've caught them in 20 to 100 feet of water. Never fished for them deeper than that. The most I've caught were in Henderson Bay in about 50-60'. I believe they tend to school and when you get in the middle of them they're all over the place.

Oh, and be wary of the barbs. One behind the dorsal and one on the tail. You'll know it if they get you with one of those.

[troylangdon]

The Dogfish capital of the Puget sound are Possesion,and Jeff Head. Drop a herring to the bottom and you'll catch doggies. Remember not to kill them unless you eat them. I do believe its illegal to catch them and just kill them like shamefully Ive done in the past with a lot of others.

Sorry to be a pest, is that north or south of the muk ferry?? I found Jeff Head, but seems a bit far to run, Possesion seems the better choice. Thanks for your help.

[Matt]

Here is your best bet: Launch at Everett, go down to the left and around jetty island out into the sound, head towards Hat Island off in the distance, drive for about a mile, then turn to your right and make your way towards the mouth of the Snohomish River. You will hit a big droppoff (actually, going towards the mouth you will come up onto a flat), this cliff runs all the way from Tulalip Bay on down to Jetty island, get up on the flat and anchor up in about 15-40 feet of water. Use whole or half a herring on a 1/0 - 4/0 hook, use less bait and a smaller hook if you want to catch sand dabs too, they are abundant out in that area as well. Drop the bait over to the bottom and let it sit, occasionally lift the rod tip about 4 feet and let it fall back down. At first, you won't be getting many bites, but as the scent of the herring travels the doggies will move in, once they are on your scent trail it is pretty much non stop action. It is a 5 minute boat ride once out of the jetty and if it gets choppy you're not far from home. Slack tide will have the least amount of current to deal with. My buddies and I frequently do this while waiting for our crab traps to fill in July. Use a trout pole with 8-10lb line for added fun, these puppies really run A LOT on light gear. Also, their teeth and skin is very abrasive, be prepared to go through some gear, we were using 100lb mono for the leader to keep them from cutting it too easily, also steel leaders may be an option.

Good luck!

[wintersteelhead]

If your really serious about targeting dogs(i think your pulling my leg) use a steel leader. I think a musky outfit would be perfect. They dont have teeth, it's more like rows of razor blades. Here's a fun trick... When you catch one, grab it by the nose and hold it straight out. Thay look slippery but the skin is like sandpaper and they will go stiff and hold horizontal. It's fun for first timers!!!!!

[TomD]

Leave it to Matt to have a good picture for all occassions!!!!

Another post talked about the spines... Be careful of those. They are on the upper fins. You can see one right near the logo on Matt's shirt. It's the white area, though I have seen some more brownish.

[Matt]

Yup, other than those 2 spines and their mouth you don't have to worry when handling them. Look out though, they know they have that rear spine and love trying to slash their tail at you. Most of the time I just release them over the side of the boat and never touch the nasty lil' buggers, lol.

[pauljdav]

The real secret for catching dogs is to "try" to catch a real fish. If they think you want a delicious salmon they will not stay off the hook.

They do like it near the bottom. Almost any depth. I also have caught them in my crab pots.

[The Quadfather]

Anywhere, and everywhere.. OK, so everybody has their favorite dogfish photo. this one looks like child abuse via dogfish,, but he was totally OK within a few moments, and now loves the memory. Your kids will dig this, to them, it's SHARK FISHIN'!

[Fish_Bait111397]

Ive caught many of them right off shore.
Ive caught them on shrimp, herring, but my all time favorite is SQUID!
Ive caughten over 10 just on squid in one day.
Ive never used a steel leader, usually just 15lb test. But have hooked into one that was probably about 5.5 feet long, that would of been a good time to use one. He cut right thru it as soon as he got close to the shore. There not that hard to catch, just gotta find them. Early morning, late evening are more so better times ( ive experienced) to fish for them. have caught them all thru out the day tho.
Good Luck !

[Gonefishing]

The real secret for catching dogs is to "try" to catch a real fish. If they think you want a delicious salmon they will not stay off the hook.

They do like it near the bottom. Almost any depth. I also have caught them in my crab pots.

Hence my signature image.....

Caught what seemed like a jillion of them over 3 years all while trying to catch salmon. I'd lose salmon left and right and barely even pull the rod back ... bammmmmoooo doggie...