Im getting the pinks itch!!! when can i have at em?

['OL GREY DOG]

i like pinks...my friends (all the "cool" river guys)laugh at me...pffttt...i like my pinks out of the salt away from the mouth of the fresh water...because i think as soon as a pink gets 1 good sniff of fresh water they start go'n down hill fast as far as quality goes...IMO...so i fish 'em off of Browns Point up Tacoma way...i put in (for $12 buck$ ouch) right across the sound from there at a modern ramp that the tide never gets me at..and i park my rigg in a big park'n lot that's patrolled so i have all my windows 'n stuff when i get bk....has taken longer to run across the bay 'n bk than it did to put limits in the boat....if you do it...upon run'n over there stop 'n look around for fish show'n themselves...i run in close to shore but outta range of the bankies.....if ya dont see fish do some casting and keep look'n for fish...you'll most likely see bankies or other boaters go'n crazy some where up or down the shore or around the corner....some of the biggest i've caught were on the outside of a school that was be'n worked hard from the guys on shore...

made a couple trips last time they came through ...that were strategically plan'd out....just to kill meat...i even barrowed a small child ..so's i could have 3 tags in the boat without overload'n 'er !!!...lolol...anyways wife got off work early and we were on the freeway head'd north by 4:00....caught 3 limits and a few crab...bk on the 16 headed home on a empty freeway at 8:00...too easy

a P.S. to this is....pinks are where i became a fanatic about break'n a fishs neck to bleed 'em while their heart's still pump'n..then gut'n 'em and ice'n 'em inside and out immediately...IMO the care and the be'n farther out in the salt makes a big difference in the tablefare....DOG

[tnj8222]

They taste just fine to me.

[fear_no_fish]

They taste just fine to me.

me too, when i keep one, its bleed right after it goes on the stringer then gutted a minute later and tastes like a good salmon dinner to me, most of my pinks get smoked up though and they still taste great
stop being so picky!!

[racfish]

Pinks are decent if cooked within a few hours of catching them. I tried smoking them but I couldnt keep them lit.

[knotabassturd]

I love pinks for many reasons- first and foremost I can catch enough of them within 7 minutes of the house to have my wife believe it is actually worthwhile to fish LOL. At least while they are thick.

Also, like others stated, bleeding them and icing them right away really keeps them in good shape if from the salt. If they're from the rivers I just fillet them and give them to the Mrs to make Vietnamese fish cake (too soft mostly for my liking although sometimes fresh enough to smoke).

They are good biters too, at least in the salt and river tidal areas.

Hoping my daughter can get a few this year to get her more into the fun of salmon fishing but at 8 years old not sure if the crowds will allow much opportunity for her.

[fear_no_fish]

even when they hit the river they still are fine to me, i normally only keep them if theres sea lice on them though

[fishingboy]

:bounce: Pinks in Sekiu as of this week! Another 4 weeks til the trickle of pinks here!:-({|= :bom: :bball:

[racfish]

The last pink season ,spoons and buzz b's in color pink were scarce. I went out and bought pink ans pearlescent pink finger nail polish and painted some of my beat up spoons and Buzz B's. It worked quite well. Just a FYI....

[wolverine]

Rac, that's a good idea. Just keep it away from your finger and toe nails .

[returnofthefish]

Anybody ever paint a spinner pink and caught pinks with it sucessfully? I am really eager to try to catch them on jigs this year and other lures. I was thinking of casting and retrieving or doing the same twitching with a bobber. Any thoughts on catching them with jigs? Sizes?

[Maurice]

I dont use B-Bombs anymore found better gear last time, I got all my pink stuff starting in Janurary, I didnt want to get caught up in the frenzy again. Found a CB weight supplier getting 50 1/2OZ CB's for $8. so I bought 500, should be enough for the rivers........

[Gringo Pescador]

I am really eager to try to catch them on jigs this year and other lures. I was thinking of casting and retrieving or doing the same twitching with a bobber. Any thoughts on catching them with jigs? Sizes?

I've tried all if it for pinks(from the bank) - spinners, spoons, dick nights, drifting all with ok success. Then Hootchies on a jig head worked better than the spoons & spinners. But my best luck has been pink tied jigs. Last pink year I was hooking up about 2x the guy next to me on each outing with them.

This last year I started painting and tying my own jigs for steelhead. So I painted up a batch (50) of 1/4oz jigs for pinks and have been tying them up (much cheaper this way).

Here is my setup:
10.6 M float rod - for casting distance and because is it pretty whippy so is more fun to fight em with.
8# Power Pro braid - for casting distance
6# leader
1/4oz jig.

Cast, and jig it back to you. When I say jig, I mean it a twitch, tip of the rod only going 1-2' (not hooksets).

Last pink run I filled my catch card with this method. We'll see how I do this year.

[A9]

Another fan of the "twitch" method with 1/4 ounce jigs in the river. The color pink works good as you would imagine but even white or chartreuse will get you hookups. In the salt, the same jigs work, as do buzz bombs and the other standard tackle.

On a side note, ran into my first pink of the season fishing in area 10 this morning. Saw a few jumping around, couldn't tell if they were resi coho or humpies but they are out there...

[knotabassturd]

Pinks for me means dash Point and 100 fellow pink freaks LOL. With that in mind, I rarely use Buzz Bombs cuz it involves too much casting and retrieving which inevitably leads to crossed lines and cross fishinpeoplez. I just use 1/4 oz jigs with a short hoochie skirt (both pink) with the twitch method mentioned by Gringo Pescador.

PS- wolverine, I think racfish might skate by with the pink manicure if he wears a pink baseball cap and claims he's a cancer survivor. Long live pink :-)

[rjn cajun]

Not trying to hijack the thread. I`m not a salmon guy so I`m wondering if the pink run is supposed to be like the last one. I live a few miles from the green and could still smell them. Went down to see what was going on and the river looked like it was ALIVE!!! Just wondering if it`s gonna be as good this year?

[fear_no_fish]

Even if it isnt as big as the last run there should be more then enough fish to catch,

[natetreat]

I read somewhere that Pinks and Chum can interbreed, making Chumpies. Has anyone ever caught a chumpy? I'd love to see a picture of that monster in it's spawning glory.

[Toni]

Pinks for me means dash Point and 100 fellow pink freaks LOL. With that in mind, I rarely use Buzz Bombs cuz it involves too much casting and retrieving which inevitably leads to crossed lines and cross fishinpeoplez. I just use 1/4 oz jigs with a short hoochie skirt (both pink) with the twitch method mentioned by Gringo Pescador.

PS- wolverine, I think racfish might skate by with the pink manicure if he wears a pink baseball cap and claims he's a cancer survivor. Long live pink :-)

Same place for me but I am using 1/2 oz this year. With a stinger hook.

knotabassturd are you sure it is only 100. I bet you it is more! When are you going?

[Toni]

Not trying to hijack the thread. I`m not a salmon guy so I`m wondering if the pink run is supposed to be like the last one. I live a few miles from the green and could still smell them. Went down to see what was going on and the river looked like it was ALIVE!!! Just wondering if it`s gonna be as good this year?

It might even be larger.

[knotabassturd]

Toni- I'll be down there often enough to probbaly run into you, spokey and some others I'm sure at times. No set dates just yet, will play it by ear and see how much time I have available when that fast-approaching time comes up. I don't get a lot of days on the water these days but won't complain:-$ Just happy to get out!:cheers:

LOL ya probably more like 150 people#-o Maybe 200???:-& Ugh I hope not.

On the stingers I'm withyuh. Those darn jig hooks just aint up to snuff (I buy a pack of the Cabela's cheap stuff). They (stinger) helped me in 2009. I just tied a Gamak in when tying off the eye of the jig to the main line.
We are allowed 2 barbless as long as 2nd hook is at or below the jig, correct? If not I'll just cut the jig hook off and work with the stinger Gamakatsu.

Should be a good year! Hope the runs pan out true to forecast.

Have fun out there.