"On smaller tides," Perry said, "I have a tendency to fish the lower bay, either at the Ghost Hole or in between the jetties."

Regardless of the tide, one lower-bay spot nearly every guide tries to hit, is the Ghost Hole, a 12- to 22-foot deep section of the bay beside Highway 101 between Garibaldi and Bay City. It always seems to produce fish at dawn. A morning low or high slack can be unbelievable at the Ghost Hole.

If the tide is continuing to come in, the Ghost Hole or Coast Guard Hole, right in front of the Tillamook Coast Guard station, are good places to hit.

Anglers with bigger boats will also head across the bar into the ocean during an incoming tide, but will hurry back in before the tide starts pushing out and making the mouth of the bay rough.

During an outgoing tide, lower-bay anglers have learned to fish along the north jetty, pointing their bows uptide and holding in the current, basically back-trolling their baits behind the boat. "Along the north jetty on an outgoing tide is a great place to back-troll and wait for the fish to come moving through," Perry said.

3 BEST BAITS
Plug-cut herring, large spinners and sardine-wrapped FlatFish or Kwikfish plugs are the go-to baits, depending which area of Tillamook Bay you are fishing. Herring works best in the lower bay, while spinners are productive in the middle and upper sections.

Plugs are the top choice of anglers who anchor at the mouths of the Trask, Wilson and Tillamook rivers and who fish the steady flow between high or low tides.

FISHING HERRING
Before trolling herring, anglers will brine them since they hold up better after being plug-cut. If using whole herring, green-label baits are the best choice. Purple- and blue-label herring work best for plug-cut baits. A plug-cut herring has a flash and spin that big salmon just can't seem to resist. The baits also release more scent.

"I like the biggest herring I can get," Perry said of the baits he'll be plug-cutting.

A basic brine consists of bottled water (you don't want the chlorine in tap water) and rock salt. Let the baits soak in the brine overnight. While fishing, store them in an ice chest to keep them as cold as possible. Soft, mushy bait is nowhere near as productive as fresh, clean bait.

For trolling herring in Tillamook Bay, the best set-up is an 8 1/2- to 10 1/2-foot rod rated for 20- to 30-pound-test line and able to handle 6 to 10 ounces of weight, combined with a level-wind reel spooled full of 20- to 30-pound monofilament or 65-pound-test braided line.

A rod with a softer tip and moderate to slow action works best when trolling herring, since a fast-action rod will often result in fish letting go when biting after immediately feeling resistance.

"The salmon are going to chomp, chomp, chomp," Perry said of the bite. "If you jerk too quickly, you are going to miss a lot of them."

The new 8 1/2-foot Ugly Stik Lite rated for 12- to 30-pound-test, or the 9-footer rated for 15- to 40-pound-test, works well for Tillamook Bay's big salmon. It allows the salmon to mouth the bait without feeling the rod. And by the time the rod is loaded up, the fish is hooked.

The combination of graphite and fiberglass in the rod allow the salmon to pull down on the bait without feeling the rod pull back.

The basic Tillamook trolling rig includes a spreader or large 3-way swivel tied to the mainline. A 6- to 8-foot leader is tied to two solid-tie hooks. Eagle Claw has developed a stainless steel, thin-wire hook exclusively for Tillamook Bay. The hooks hold up to the saltwater conditions. They easily pass through the herring when hooking them and don't tear them up.

Size 2/0 to 5/0 are used. When using plug-cut herring, it's vital to add a bead-chain swivel halfway down the leader to avoid line twist.

Many guides will also add another bead-chain swivel directly to the 3-way swivel or spreader where the leader is attached.

A 1- to 3-foot dropper is attached to the other end of the swivel or spreader to attach the weight. Depending on current, 4 to 8 ounces of lead are generally used. But up to 12 ounces may be used on an outgoing tide along the jetties.