Snoho Coho: Tips and Tricks

[Steelheadin360]

Every November I start counting down the days until September

The Snoho Coho. One of my favorite fish to catch. Hard fighting, snappy, and BIG, everything a fishing addict such as myself is looking for.

Starting in early September the Coho begin their journey to Puget Sound rivers, first being targeted by fishermen in the salt, then meeting up with the freshwater guys. Many fish wait in the salt and feed until the river temps start to cool, but a few will shoot up early in the month giving us a great chance to go out and fish in shorts and a t-shirt. This is one of my favorite times of the year to fish. But, these low water fish can be tricky to get to bite. Early in the month with low, clear flows you want to downsize your presentation. Casting or drifting size one Dick-Nite's in Nickleback Frog or 50/50 are a favorite as well as trolling Yakima Bait Co. "Little Fatfish" in Metallic blues and greens. Another good way to target these early fish is free drifting small cluster of eggs, but make sure they arent too salty!

The First Big Rain

Around mid to late September, Mother Nature usually blesses us with our first big rain of the season, I wait for this like Christmas morning. Rivers get high and muddy, but they cool down, and that gets the big fish trucking up stream. Right after the Snohomish drops into shape (around 9k CFS) I start pulling plugs. This isn't your normal backing plugs down a slot, you will be trolling upstream slightly faster then the current. My favorite Plug for this is the Y.B.C. Mag Lip 3.5 in Feeder, Good Ol' Boy, Fish Monger and Red Devil finishes. Dont worry about the sardine wraps here, but instead take a little Pro-Cure Super-gel Predator scent and smear a little on the bill of your plug. Run these 25-40' behind the boat and put that rod in the rod holder. When a fish grabs it DO NOT pick it up until the rod is doubled over and line is peeling off the reel. Speaking of rods and reels, You are going to want a 8'6"-9' Medium to Medium/Heavy casting rod, paired with a high quality casting reel. Load your reel with 30-50# Powerpro line and add a 6' top shot of 25# high quality mono to absorb those take downs. My favorite rod and reel combo is a NW Rods
NWC-9MH paired with a Tica Caiman GT. Plenty of power and line capacity to handle those big boys.

​Techniques

I spend all of my time on the river above the town of Snohomish, but still fishing in the tide water. As the tide begins to back the river up the fish use it to help "push" them up the river. Its easier to swim through a lake then a 3 mph current. So I try to plan my fish around the tides, fish an hour or two before High slack, then fish until you stop seeing rollers. This isn't saying you cant catch fish all day long, there is just peak times to intercept fresh fish. Look for water that is 4-12' deep and troll your plugs upstream just slightly faster then the current. When you get to the top of the hole, kill the motor and float down stream casting plugs at the bank (if the boat traffic allows), I have caught many fish this way, and it is a blast feeling a ticked off Silver smash your plug. Another way to fish is anchoring up in some of the upper channels, away from the trollers, and sit on plugs or plunk eggs. Coho are very willing egg biters. As the river drops and the water clarity increases, sometimes the plug bite can fall off. Time to put the plug rods away and grab the float rods. Bobber doggin and free drifting eggs is a great way to catch these fish when things clear up. Use a quarter sized glob of eggs and fish it close to the bottom if using a float. Looks for jumpers holding in slots or swimming upstream and put your bait in front of them. Another one of my favorite ways to fish for Coho during clear water conditions is "twitching" jigs. I have worked with one of my Pro-staff, Joel's Jigs, and he has an AWESOME line of twitching jigs for Salmon. My favorite is the Suicidal Bunnies in either Naughty Kitty or Meat wagon. Look for jumpers and cast the jig straight out, allow it to hit bottom, and quickly raise your rod tip 6-12". Keep twitching and allow the jig to swing behind the boat, then twitch and retrieve it back to you. Don't pull it out of the water until its right at the boat, many fish will hammer it within feet of you.
​
In conclusion, I hope this helps some people out. I also love to answer questions, so if you have one give me a call or shoot me an email. I will be running trips on the Snohomish and Skagit for Coho throughout the season.

Everyone have a safe and fish-filled fall!

[mizm05]

Right on...thanks Zack. Me and a buddy are gonna hit some bank spots on the lower river this weekend. Hoping to run into some chromers. Great tips in this article. And I just happen to have some 50/50 dick nites ready to go!

[scraig1962]

Thanks for the tips. Perfect timing for the coho run. Most of the time its hard to find write ups like these until after the fish are gone, so I appreciate it. Never heard of Joels Jigs, but after looking at the site, i will have to order some things up. What size jigs do you run in the river for twitching?

[Steelheadin360]

PM sent

[kyamukun]

Very informative post, and very much appreciated! This will be my first time on the Snohomish with the boat I bought this spring. Looking forward to trying out some of your tips. Thanks!!!

[Steelheadin360]

Good luck out there! Be sure to watch what is going on around you, if people are catching fish (plug colors and such) and say hi if you see me out there!

[steelseeker]

Good stuff, ya twitchin jigs kills em when other methods arent catchin their interest,one of my favorite ways, can you find these jigs in the stores?

[Brat Bonker]

WOW where is the like button at haha great read thanks for the great info, guessing these tactics work just as well on the Skagit. but it is hard to beat eggs up there tho and for any river for that matter

[natetreat]

Early season tidewater fish like the plugs. When they hammer it hard enough to put a back lash on the reel, that's when you know it's on! I gave mike my secret color to troll and he's like, no way, this isn't going to work. Shore nuff, the mag lip 3.5 buried it!

[Mike Carey]

ya Nate, that was one hot fish! I have an idea I want to try with plugs this year on the rivers that I think will work quite well.

[Steelheadin360]

Mike, are we gonna put another river clean up together this year?

I think we should have a WA Lakes Coho Derby

[sealegs]

Outstanding information. thank you. I was on the snoh on opening day for Coho. I used DN green#1 and didn't catch a coho but did catch what appeared to be sea run cut x 4. Sent them home and tried again for Coho without luck.
question about twitching jigs. I tried with a bait caster and doesn't cast out more than 10 feet. I understand the twitching action but fear that my bait caster is not casting as far as it should. is the distance a major factor?

[BentRod]

Outstanding information. thank you. I was on the snoh on opening day for Coho. I used DN green#1 and didn't catch a coho but did catch what appeared to be sea run cut x 4. Sent them home and tried again for Coho without luck.
question about twitching jigs. I tried with a bait caster and doesn't cast out more than 10 feet. I understand the twitching action but fear that my bait caster is not casting as far as it should. is the distance a major factor?

Before you start thinking you're not doing something right, check what the lure rating is on your rod and tell us what type of baitcaster/line it's paired with. My rod has a minimum rating of 3/8oz lure weight, which means it does not want to cast 1/4oz-3/8oz lures very far. A lighter action rod would do better. If you're gear is adequate then it might just need some adjusting.

[sealegs]

I will check my gear and return with my findings! thanks!

[3footvis]

Try a spinning reel for twitchin jigs. It's easier to cast & freespool the jig down to the bottom quick, especially in deeper water.

[Mike Carey]

Mike, are we gonna put another river clean up together this year?

I think we should have a WA Lakes Coho Derby

I'd like to if I can make it work with my schedule. May be short notice. No derbies! Way too much hassle.

[BentRod]

Try a spinning reel for twitchin jigs. It's easier to cast & freespool the jig down to the bottom quick, especially in deeper water.

I also prefer using the spinning reel for the jigs, which is more forgiving of light lures, but it can result in line twist after a while, which is a pain to deal with. The baitcasters don't have as much of a problem in that regard.

[3footvis]

Try a spinning reel for twitchin jigs. It's easier to cast & freespool the jig down to the bottom quick, especially in deeper water.

I also prefer using the spinning reel for the jigs, which is more forgiving of light lures, but it can result in line twist after a while, which is a pain to deal with. The baitcasters don't have as much of a problem in that regard.

True, but there is the possibility of "professional over-run" aka birdsnest!

[BentRod]

"professional over-run" aka birdsnest!

I have another name for it, but this is a public forum.

[sealegs]

"professional over-run" aka birdsnest!

I have another name for it, but this is a public forum.

that is part of owning a bait caster I can live without!