How not to fish for salmon

This was a disappointing trip, but I will post it anyway.  Maybe someone can give me advice, or learn from it.  A day and one half on the Rogue River estuary trolling, led to one salmon briefly on the line, probably not really hooked right.  I saw a lot of fish caught, mostly chinook in the 10-40 lb range.  
--first mistake, I didn't have anything to keep the anchovies cold.  They decay really fast, and I probably spent some time fishing with bait that was too old to be interesting.  Back home after the trip, I found the solution--a wide mouth drink and soup plastic thermos with a loop to tie it down--but that was back home.  Last trip, I saw some live anchovies  or something similar around the dock at Dot's but nothing big enough to use this trip.  
--keeping the rod where you can get it quickly for a strike is a problem.  Best solution if you troll a lot is probably to get a Hobie, but barring that, putting the rod in a gimbal right in front of me and resting it against my shoulder seemed to work best.  I need some sort of side to side bungee setup to stabilize the gimbal and keep the rod from sliding off my shoulder.   Also, you need to know the drag well enough to keep it loose while trolling, then tighten it to bring the fish in, but not too much.
--I tried to get by with a really old Shakespeare reel.  I had to bybass the level wind because it wasn't working.  This made it hard to judge the amount of line out.  (Standard practice is five times across the level wind.)  And it also led to problems with the line piling up on one side or the other.  For the next trip, I have a new Penn which I resolve to lubricate faithfully.  
--A lot of fishermen pointedly asked me how I would ever land a fish in the boat.  Standard practice is a large net with an 8 foot handle, and I watched several fish being lost at the boat even with this.  This size net is out of the question on a kayak.  My two options were a large game bag (probably useless for anything but a jack)  and a gaff with a two foot handle.  I think it is legal to gaff if you are sure it is a chinook.  I may get a gaff with a longer handle for next trip, or bring my short-handled 24 inch net.  Are there any successful chinook salmon fishermen out there that can give advice on landing technique?
Good news is that the paddling was doable.  I stayed out seven hours one day, and I'm in lousy shape.  The trolling speed for chinook is so slow that I could easily keep up with most of the power boats.  Only problem was, you shouldn't go past the sand bar when the tide is running out.  I had a hell of a problem getting in from there.  But upstream, I could paddle against the current and tide. 
After a couple of days, my wife was tired of our very convenient but not very pretty RV site, and wanted a change of scenery, so we moved to Sunset Bay state Park, near Coos Bay.  This looked great.  I was sure there would be lots of lings there, but the swell and wind made it very difficult to fish.  I was out about 5 hours the first day, fishing between 40 and 70 feet, for nothing.  Didn't even see fish on the screen.  Couldn't go too far out because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back against the wind.  
Second day was so bad that I just fished inside the bay at less than 25 feet, for nothing.  The rocks are sandstone there, so the fish holding areas may be completely different from what I've seen before.  Maybe I should have taken Spike's advice and caught a half day boat out of Coos Bay to learn the local techniques.  This is a nice protected area to launch, even on relatively bad days.  The campground is a long carry, but not too long with wheels, from the beach.  

Before the Rogue River, we had spent three days at Shelter Cove.  Rock Fishing is closed there unless you can get 15 miles north of town.  Talked to another guy who did that--two hour drive-- and got some really nice lings, but my old RV wasn't up to that, so I tried for halibut with no success.  Greenlings were biting on my sabiki bait rod, and I caught one from shore, which was legal.  Got enough abs to get tired of them.

Thanks for the great read this morning Shasta. Goodluck on your next salmon trip.
Try to remember to take some great pictures next time. Fish or no fish. I would
give advice on how to catch salmon but I don't have any. We are on the same
boat on this one. I need advice as well.

Take care,
Jedmo

Too bad about the lack of fish on your trip, Shasta.  I think you're doing the right thing - just need more time.

A frozen bag of chovies should be fine for the day's fishing, and a little cooler (with a beer or two in it  ) would be fine to keep them cool.  If you're talking live chovies then I'd go buy dead if I were you!

Placing the rod under your leg is the best place for trolling and quickly reacting to a strike, IMO.  If you started working with a bungee you're asking for a clusterf#*$...

Old gear can work, but you're definitely better off having gear that's in very good shape since a salmon will test the gear much more than a big ling or rockfish will...

Forget the gaff for a salmon.  Get a big net - an 8' handle is NOT necessary.  Just a standard BIG net.  Short handle is not good - I've heard guys say get a short handle for the yak, but I think that's ludicrous.  I reach out and net big fish about 4-5' from me.

And just an FYI, driving two hours north of Shelter Cove for big lings is a pipe dream. 


Nothing wrong with a learning trip, and thanks for sharing.   

I would also add that you should try to get a net that's coated and knotless with a smaller mesh than old-school salmon nets, 3/4" or smaller mesh is good. They are much better for the fish because they minimize scale loss and abrasion. They also have the added advantage of not snagging up on the hook as much. The smaller mesh keeps the fins from splitting when you lift the fish out of the water.

I don't think you can use a gaff in fresh water.

Very entertaining report, Shasta.
Did the guy at the Cove drive the backroads to access the legal water to the north? Or was he suggesting you drive back over the hill and up to Eureka? Sorry if I sound confused. But I'd love to do some 4X through there---that w/b a fun way to access pristine+fishy areas.

Not sure where he launched, but it might have been down the bad road that leads to Usal Beach.  I haven't been there yet.  That's supposed to be a difficult launch, but swell was down that day.