First Coho Season

[Hepker]

having done the "check out every spot that looks fishable" between monroe and startup in the last 3 weeks i'd recommend not trying to hit everything from the prison hole to reece road. there are way too many spots to stop and check out, even more if you consider there are two sides to the river. anything that looks like private property/private drive (if you are using google maps) has a 98% probability of being private and the owner is unlikely to allow access or charges. again, i've been there/done that. there is lots of farmland with what looks like roads that are private and usually gated. many have private and/or no trespassing signs. with that said. make your list shorter. throw the tackle box at 2-3 diff spots and learn your way around. then when you go again you know what to expect and hit the fish hard. good luck.

[Hepker]

forgot to add that if you have waders use em. many of the gravel bars have really wide shelves from 50-100 feet that only get you into knee deep water before you can hit a main channel. waders will get you closer to those channels unless you want to fish 20" water

[ragibby]

Thanks for the Info. I just bought new waders last Friday so any spot I can possibly use them I'm going too. I'm excited to get out there this weekend. Let it be Saturday morning already. Good luck out there guys.

[kyamukun]

i'm also in the same boat. but then again i'm not only noob to coho but salmon in general. second year in the Pacific NW and first year on the rivers! fortunate that i'm learning during an odd year as i've been having fun catching pinks. but i quickly learned why lots of experienced anglers were knockin pinks even before they were in the rivers. nonetheless been learning a lot and enjoying as i learn more!

my buddies have landed coho in the puyallup and i've seen tons landed in the green, all with corky and yarn. i've tried dick nites and blue foxes, but not sure if my rig is correct. i've been using the same rig as with cork and yarn (3/8 to 1/2 oz sinker and 4'-5' leader). been thinking about using a 3-way swivel and dropping the sinker on 6" leader and keeping the lure on 4'-5' leader. as far as presentation i've been tossing it the same as the cork and yarn - up river, let it float back and feel the sinker bounce on the bottom. is this correct? if not what should i be doing differently?

i've also tried drifting eggs that i cured from the pink hens i've caught. only problem is keeping the eggs on the hook as it seems the pinks will cannibalize them - i've landed a few bucks on roe. i'm using an eggloop knot and placing a puffer on the hook after the roe. any suggestions here? haven't tried the float yet, but my question there is how to determine the leader length? without being on a boat with a depth finder seems like you just have to gauge the river and guess at the depth.

[mizm05]

You just have to keep adjusting the depth of the float line until you find where you want to be. I never use a 3 way swivel with the weight on a length of leader when drift fishing. Just use a snap swivel and attach the weight to the snap. Works just fine.

[racfish]

Another way is to use hollow core lead. I thread it on above the swivel. Check your line alot to make sure there are no fray areas on line.I use 3 way swivels for plunking only.

[spoonman]

I use pencil lead clipped to the swivel, and I like a fast presentation, especially in clear water. So I keep clipping my lead until I'm just barely tapping bottom every three seconds or so. Dick nite size is also important I use #1 #0. But i really like a Flouresent red corkie, gamakatsu# 2 hook black yarn, eggs and herring oil. That's been my go to for the last few years for coho

[NFCustom]

Don't listen to the elitists who think they are above drifting a cork...it catches fish just as well as any other method depending on the river conditions/layout. Some people just think they are above it and better than anyone else who doesn't fish the same way they do. And don't ever let anyone tell you they don't foul hook fish with a jig, spinner or spoon, because it happens to all of us. I see guys/gals foul hook fish all the time using every method discussed on these forums. So the fishing elite can hate on corkies all they want...if it helps them sleep at night...so be it.

I brought in a hog silver the other day on the Green and he absolutely slammed my cork while I was retrieving. You will never be able to tell me that was flossing or snagging. He slammed that thing like a freight train and took off to the races. I simply run a single bead or cork, very small, maybe size 12 to 14. No yarn. And orange works best for me...so who's to say they don't strike it like they strike eggs that are drifting past their face?

I have caught tons of fish on bait and hardware in my life and I can count on one hand how many fish I've foul hooked. Isn't this your first salmon season Miz?

[natetreat]

Whoa there buddy. New guy wants to catch fish, not an online fist fight.

[ragibby]

Just a little update on how my season is going. I went out fishing today (saturday 10/26) fished prison hole for 2-3 hours and saw one fish jump. I stuck mostly to dick nites and jigs. no bites. My dad did catch a really fresh looking humpy that actually hit the lure. We almost crapped ourselves when we saw the white belly whipping back and forth. But when it got closer and we got a good look at it we knew it wasnt the fish we were looking for. Although it was still bright. Just a little green on the back.

We took the advice and tried a few different holes and no fish. We evenually made our way up to reese road and decided this was our last spot then it was time to head home. Right as we got there we saw a whole bunch of reds rolling and jumping which got us really excited. Finally found some fish. We fished there for 3 hours and no fish were landed. I took everyones advice and through the whole tackle box at them. Eggs on float, dick nites (50/50, nickle w/chartuese tip, frog pattern), jigs (marabou, squid skirts, mr. twister tails) corky and yarn. And nothing. My float did dive down one time but i was too slow to set the hook.

Ill be out again tomorrow. I talked to some guys and heard that there is a good amount of fish holding in the snohomish sense the water is so low and hasnt rained in a long time.

Everytime i go out there i feel like im getting closer and closer to landing my first coho. I couldnt have done it without your guys input on everything from gear to location. Im really thankful that i stubbled upon this site and found such an awesome group of friendly and helpful fellow anglers.

Thanks Guys, Ill let you know when i finally do land my first silver.

Thanks and good luck out there.

[BentRod]

Good effort and good attitude. Keep at it and it'll pay off eventually. There are certainly fish still to be caught, but right now's a tough time to be targeting them, so you have your work cut out for you. Good luck tomorrow.

[The Nuts]

This is my fist season as well and just started 3weeks ago. I guess I've been very lucky cause I've brought home (3) 10lb silvers thus far. I've been fishing in only one spot and that's on the west bank of the snohomish river under the 522 bridge. I don't congregate with all of the other anglers but move a little down stream along the bank. I've caught all my silvers on pink squid jigs (the most recent last Sunday the 27th). I believe my recent catch was mainly because of my efforts to be very quite and as stealthy as possible. Since there's a deep visibility in the water I knew the fish could see me. So I decided to almost crawl along the rocks on the bank staying as low as possible and as quite as possible out to the hole I've been fishing. Once I reached my spot I SAT DOWN AND DIDNT START FISHIG FOR ABOUT 15 min. I wanted to make sure I didn't spook the fish with my presence. Then I started jigging. Keep in mind I never stood up once while fishing. I stayed in a crouched position up against the rocks and jigged from that position. Within 15 min.... WHAM!!!! Hook set.... And net wet!

[gsus32]

You'll get one this is my first coho session as well and I've broght home 4 and lost 4 and released one you'll get yours !!!

[ragibby]

Ill be out there again this weekend. Scoped out a few new spots last weekend after fishing thomas eddy for 5 or 6 hours (mostly hiking, scoping out some nice spots.) I know i have found where they are hiding out at. This weekend ill be going out to see what they are biting on. Going to try eggs, again, and maybe get some sand shrimp and throw a little peice on my jigs or something. Ill figure it out. Got a good feeling for this weekend.