I caught up to Ryan Bennett of Reel Deal Guide Service (360) 840-1155 and asked him to talk a little bit about hover fishing, a technique that has really caught on the last couple years for taking Chinook on northwest rivers. I've fished around Ryan for years and can attest to his fish catching abilities. Ryan has an uncanny ability to put fish in the boat and pays very close attention to the minute details that consistently produce fish.

What type of terminal tackle and bait do you like for hover fishing?

My rod of choice is a 964c, it's an 8' long heavy with a moderate-fast action rated at 12-25 lb test & 1-6 oz. I couple the rod with a larger bait casting reel loaded with 25lb mono. I then slide an ez-slider on the main line with a couple beads and a small piece of tubing, then I tie a bead chain swivel to the main line. My hooks are double-tied 3/0 and 4/0 hooks tied opposite each other on 40lb leader that's three to four feet in length.

I don't use any spin'n glo, corkies or flotation devices while hover fishing because I want my bait presented below the weight. I run a pretty short dropper of about 4 to 8 inches. The weights I most commonly use are cannon ball style from 1/2 to 6 oz. I attach the weights to the dropper with a duo lock snap for easy changing of the weight. Now for the bait I'm strictly an egg fisherman while hover fishing. I like really wet baits for this, one that milks out really well, though I do add some different scents to my eggs in the curing process like shrimp, anise and tuna oil to spice up the bait a bit.

Exactly what "is" hover fishing?

Hover fishing is really exactly what the name describes, hovering your bait in the hole. This is done by slowly moving the boat and I mean SLOWLY, through the hole. I like to have everyone drop their rigs to the bottom and reel up 2 to 4 cranks on the reel, placing the bait a few feet off the bottom. I really pay close attention to my fish finder and will inform everyone to reel up a bit or give a pull or two off the reel. You really want to do slow movements with your rods while using this technique. The bait is presented straight down and you really don't want to have any line angle whatsoever. Sometimes you get the no brainier bites that instantly spell "fish on" and other times it feels like a trout pecking at your bait. My saying is, "Hook sets are free!" When you do get a bite you want to give the rod a solid hook set, you don't need to knock it out of the park. A good hook set will do just fine.

Is there ever a time when anchoring is effective for hover fishing?

This technique is best performed from a jet sled equipped with either a kicker motor or electric trolling motor. As for which motor to use my choice is to use my electric because of the slow speed of the presentation, you want to move through the hole at a snails pace. The use of an electric can allow you to do this very well. I never anchor while hover fishing, as you need to move your bait through the hole and cover the water.

What kind of water works best for hover fishing?

The type of water you are looking for would be best described as deep holding water, typically found in larger rivers, steep cut banks, rock walls, places where the river really digs out the holes. I like to fish water 20 plus feet deep with a minimal amount of current speed. You are really looking for the deepest holding water you can find on the river.

What rivers have you had luck with this?

This technique is best done on the larger rivers due to the type of water you are looking for. Rivers like the Skagit, Cowlitz, & Lewis are some of my favorites for this technique.

This is an extremely effective technique for fishing deeper holes for Salmon. It's a fun way to fish because the bites are often not that ballistic strike you usually get while pulling plugs, but when you set the hook into a fish there is no doubt about it, you often feel the big head shakes we all like to feel at the end of our lines so much. So when you find yourself in water you might think is too deep and slow give it a try you may just surprise yourself!!

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