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[Rodney]

Well, after watching TtotheE lossing two coho in a row this week, I just had to get out there and find that coho myself. This morning, I decided to fish from just after sunrise until whenever.... I gave Steelhead King a wake-up call, but I guess he rolled back into bed soon after that. Good thing FishOn kept me company during most of this fishing outing, because it sure was cold with that strong westerly wind!

High tide was around 9:30am today. If my calculations were correct, the fish would be coming in between 30 minutes before and after that time. Sure enough, the fish, mostly chum salmon, began to surface in front of us around 9:30am for about 30 minutes. They were 100 feet out, 50 feet out, 10 feet out... All over the place, just not on our line! I still need to get the lure pattern right for these chum salmon. Despite what most say about chum, they are just as unpredictable in the salt as other salmon species.

A couple of taps here and there, and I ended up hooking two small bull trout while FishOn was there. FishOn then decided to leave around 10:30am because it was simply too quiet or too cold. I really wish he didn't leave... Ten minutes after he left, my spinner stopped turning. An instant strike resulted with an explosion on the other end of the line. Bang! The classic rod kicks took place for a few seconds before the fish took off like a topedo. With all that excitement, I made my way down the rocks too fast, ended up slipping and landing on my butt. A classic Rodney hookup indeed. The sore butt was the least of my concern, I was more worried about that thing at the end of my line. It ran towards me so fast that I was having trouble picking up line with my spinning reel. As soon as I regained connection, it shot out again to the right, then left... Then a couple of leaps confirmed it was a chrome ocean fresh coho. A closer look also revealed that it was a hatchery fish. I was being very careful with it, putting enough pressure on as it continued to run several times. At last, it surfaced and I slowly guided into the net.

Roughly around six to seven pound I think, I really need to get a scale. But look how chrome it is!
This was the spinner I made last night and it certainly did the job.

Once things settled down, I decided that it was only wise to fish a bit longer to see if a school was passing by. By now, the other three bar fishermen have switched from roe to spinners. I continued to spin. Ten minutes later, the spinner stopped turning, line went slack, then it was pulled down instantly. I set the hook, yet another explosion! The coho surfaced immediately and leaped out of the water. At the same time, the hook popped straight out and the spinner flew right back into me. Oh well, at least it confirms the spinner pattern is right and the first fish wasn't simply a fluke.

A couple more small taps took place after that, but nothing was produced. I called it a day by noon, best to save the strength and patience for another trip.

[The_Roe_Man]

Good job rod.Nice fish

[d_w]

thnaks for the report, nice fish rod

[sassyboy]

Nice fish Rod, Looks like a nice big fat hen.

[Rodney]

You know what? That's what I thought first too, but nope, a buck it is.

Nice to be able to catch an estuary coho for once again. The last time I touched one or two of these, or briefly connected, was last year right before the big flood. The last time, when I was able to get into a dozen of these in one tide change, was back in 1997, almost on a daily basis for two weeks. It's amazing to see the difference in fight between a ocean fresh coho and a river staging coho. This one was much more acrobatic than the ones that I have been hooking in the Vedder. Not that I am complaining or anything....

[redtide]

did you fish the south arm or the north arm of the fraser. i alwasys stay near river road in delta/surrey. nice fish rodney....you still da man!

[FishOn]

Rod, I knew I should have stayed longer. You're fortunate I left, otherwise those coho would have hit my lure first . Good on ya, that's a nice fish.

I'll try again tomorrow and intercept those fish before they spot your atttractive spinner.

[Steelhawk]

What size & colour of spinner works for you Rod and what type?  I had good result with size 1 nickel Indiana on the slow clear pools in the Vedder (two coho on Friday on this small spinner).  Just wonder what works in that colour water of the Fraser.  Do you do fast or slow retrieve?  Congratulation on your success with those ocean fresh coho.

[Rodney]

Not too sure what size the blade is... The one I used yesterday was slightly bigger than what I normally use. Size 4? When the clarity is that low, bigger blades would obviously work better. I usually use the same size spinner body for spring bull trout in the Fraser too, except copper... (I don't know why, more hookups on copper than silver).  French blades by the way.

The retrieve is fairly slow, for both my spoons and spinners. I am fishing just above the bottom. With the spinners, once the blade stops turning (ie. line completely slacks) then that's a bite. Sometimes adjusting the speed throughout the retrieve would also help as I find many fish would simply follow the lure right behind it without commiting to the take.

[Steelhawk]

Thanks Rod.  The information is much appreciated.  With the colour of the spinner, it has been said that brass or copper works better in coloured water, and silver in clearer water.  Perhaps that explains why there are more hookups with the brass spinner in lower Fraser.