Possession Coho 2014

Not for this area but might be useful. I shore fished a river up on the northern end of Vancouver island last week and the Coho were patrolling the mouth and moving partially up river at slack and incoming. We had some action on the ebb as well. We used flatfish and spoons but they were biting other rigs we tested as well. Friend landed one on a fly rod as well. Landed about 40 fish between three of us, kept 2 for dinner. Great fishing. I only had 8lb test on a lightweight pole so the fighting was very good indeed. Strandby River, bit of a walk for sure.

Greg
 
Catch 22":1d95eb4v said:
1 for 3 on Friday and 3 for 4 this morning at Richmond beach
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IMHO, this year's Coho run definitely separates the men from the boys. Kevin, Patrick and Troy I count among the men. Unfortunately I fall in the boys category. :sad

So far this run has been hit or miss with the really good fisherman finding the fish consistently. Way to go guys! Hopefully I find more success in the next few weeks. Time is running out.

Peter
 
I agree with Peter. I must be in the boys category as well, because this year's coho has been alot less action on our boat than last year.

I'm definately not putting the amount of time in that some others are out there but I don't remember it being so unproductive. We've burned through alot of fuel and only have 4 fish to show for it. Also, its not just us, when we've been out its not as if all the other boats within view are landing fish.

We'll keep trying and hoping to have some better luck soon. I should have planned a Sekiu trip this year!
 
Hopefully Roger (SENSEI), myself & Jim will get out for an early bite in the morning @ Everett. Took a side trip to Westport, WA to pick up some Tuna for canning Saturday. Man, a great little town and port area. I will have to go back and spend some time there.
Byrdman
 
If there's no room at Sekiu, probably not, head to Port Angeles. Go from Ediz Hook out to the yellow separation buoy at the US/Canada boundary and start fishing. Jim on Work Release is smacking them out there. Willing biters as they are still feeding.

We went 4/5 on Saturday 9/20 and 1/3 on 9/21. Covering lots of ground and found them at 60' in am and then 74/101 and 60 later in day. Yesterday, calm and sunny 74' and 120'.

Keep at it, they will come in.
 
It's very wierd. 4 years ago I had the worst king season ever until this year. I only got 5 or 6. Usually ( because i fish. Lot) i get far more than that. Also 4 years ago i had the best coho season ever. Same thing this year... Horrible king season followed by a great coho run. It makes me wonder if each of us fall into our habits and favorite spots and it corrilates for better or worse with the runs each year??
 
I think there are a couple of factors here. First, it seems to me that the Coho this year are more "lockjawed" this year than in the previous two years. That's why it takes a good experienced fisherman to know what it takes to find the fish and get them to bite. That's the second factor, finding the fish. I think the good ones know how to work the water column, are successful at finding the bait and have their standby lures that they're confident in using instead of changing up all the time.

That's how I'm going to approach these next two or three weekends. I'm going to work the water column to find the fish. I'm going to try to do a better job at finding the bait. I'm going to stay with my go-to lures, the ones that I've had success with. Basically, I'm just going to grind it out.

I'll keep you posted to see if those tactics work for me.

Peter
 
Nice day in Everett aboard SENSEI. Put 4 in the boat with 3 of us on board. A little sloppy at times during the day up around the south end of the run as we approached the area 8-2 / area 9 line. Got a couple in line with shipwreck. Saw another C-Dory... named C-Otter. He was putting one in the cockpit netted up as we past headed back to the ramp. So things are looking better this week than they did last week. Happy Fishing!

Byrdman
 
Here's some things I do besides the above:
-Keep your speed up, if your cable isn't at 45 degrees or more, then those lock jawed coho don't seem to bite. Basically, you have to piss them off with a fast moving hoochie in front of them.
-Troll at least 3.25 and sometimes faster, especially if going with the current.
-Lots of turns, usually the rod on the outside of a turn will get bit.
-Smooth water with sun, go a little deeper.
-A formula table from a friend on downrigger cable angle and depth of cannon ball: If at 45 degrees you are fishing 75% of depth on your counter due to the blow back of the ball. 100 feet on counter equals approx 75 feet depth of gear.
-Drop back your gear about 15 feet, any further back causes more of belly in your line.
-When one fish hits, adjust DR to depth of hooked fish and keep that line in the water fishing.
-Don't keep trolling along after you caught a fish, turn around and work the area.

May be cruising this weekend so get out there you guys and get 'em!
 
Salmon Fisher":1zw5y6ps said:
Here's some things I do besides the above:
-Keep your speed up, if your cable isn't at 45 degrees or more, then those lock jawed coho don't seem to bite. Basically, you have to piss them off with a fast moving hoochie in front of them.
-Troll at least 3.25 and sometimes faster, especially if going with the current.
-Lots of turns, usually the rod on the outside of a turn will get bit.
-Smooth water with sun, go a little deeper.
-A formula table from a friend on downrigger cable angle and depth of cannon ball: If at 45 degrees you are fishing 75% of depth on your counter due to the blow back of the ball. 100 feet on counter equals approx 75 feet depth of gear.
-Drop back your gear about 15 feet, any further back causes more of belly in your line.
-When one fish hits, adjust DR to depth of hooked fish and keep that line in the water fishing.
-Don't keep trolling along after you caught a fish, turn around and work the area.

May be cruising this weekend so get out there you guys and get 'em!
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Great tips Patrick. I'll use them this weekend when I limit! :thup
 
I a gree with the idea of turning around and fishing back through an area where you get. Hit 100%. Coho especially seem to be in tight groups. On sunday all our fish were within probably 400 feet of the same spot. Troll the tightest circles you can when you find the fish. When i fish alone i can turn the boat in a very small circle and i seem to do really well that way. Also, on sunday we pulled the high rod out to allow us to turn over the same spot as quickly as possible when tje bite was on. We got two hits in 5 passes over the same mark in about 30 minutes.
 
I've been stuck in land for over a week!! I'm itching to get on the water this weekend. Hopefully all this rain doesn't lock their jaws up as they prep for their runs upstream.
 
Salmon Fisher":33pozlpz said:
Here's some things I do besides the above:
-Keep your speed up, if your cable isn't at 45 degrees or more, then those lock jawed coho don't seem to bite. Basically, you have to piss them off with a fast moving hoochie in front of them.
-Troll at least 3.25 and sometimes faster, especially if going with the current.
-Lots of turns, usually the rod on the outside of a turn will get bit.
-Smooth water with sun, go a little deeper.
-A formula table from a friend on downrigger cable angle and depth of cannon ball: If at 45 degrees you are fishing 75% of depth on your counter due to the blow back of the ball. 100 feet on counter equals approx 75 feet depth of gear.
-Drop back your gear about 15 feet, any further back causes more of belly in your line.
-When one fish hits, adjust DR to depth of hooked fish and keep that line in the water fishing.
-Don't keep trolling along after you caught a fish, turn around and work the area.

May be cruising this weekend so get out there you guys and get 'em!
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One thing that has added significantly to my count has been setting a waypoint every time a fish pops a rod. You start to see patterns in how the fish hold. Pretty interesting to see the trends of red X's on my display.

Current seams, even the most subtle hold biting fish. There is one that forms near the end of the ebb (about 1.5-2 hours from slack) right about half way from Muck to Shipwreck closer to shore. It's subtle but runs to Picnic Point. It's always good for a fish or two trolling south on the inside of it.

Salted herring does wonders too. I fillet the herring when only partially thawed (cuts easier) then layer them with rock salt for 3-5 days. Toughens them right up and pulls the tissue bound water out leaving them oily and full of scent. I add them to everything but spoons. After each trip I wash my gear in Lemon Joy to get the funk off them and keep them from getting grungy. One hootchie rig I have I've been fishing for over a year with the same hooks and it alone has boated at least 20 fish.

I switched to braid on the downrigger (which is awesome btw) and also braid on the reel with a 30 ft topshot of mono. The braid leaves much less slack and stretch but the topshot of mono offers just enough to absorb the shock of a fighting fish. I drop my gear 25 ft back of the release clip. If I have 60 ft of braid out on the DR, my line counter on the reel reeds 85-90. When a fish pops the clip I tend to get better hook sets without all that slack from the mono but the bit of mono helps at close range.

The most productive thing of all for me though, talking to guys like you about what's working and what's not!
 
Was jokingly called the Coke theory yesterday on SENSEI. I carried two cans of coke for the day....about 5-6 hours of trolling. Each time I opened a can of coke in the cockpit.... before I finished each coke...we hooked up a double....at two different locations on the water. One around shipwreck, the other up near the north end of the run around "the brown house"...that has a green roof.... Wish they would put a big bright yellow dot on the green roof as it would make seeing the brown house easier. :smileo

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Byrdman
 
Byrdman":2kpe12sh said:
Was jokingly called the Coke theory yesterday on SENSEI. I carried two cans of coke for the day....about 5-6 hours of trolling. Each time I opened a can of coke in the cockpit.... before I finished each coke...we hooked up a double....at two different locations on the water. One around shipwreck, the other up near the north end of the run around "the brown house"...that has a green roof.... Wish they would put a big bright yellow dot on the green roof as it would make seeing the brown house easier. :smileo

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Byrdman
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Next time take more Coke and drink it more quickly!
 
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