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[Piranha]

I was at the Stave river on sunday with my fly rod. I had Umpqua Steelhead strength 8lb leader and that was not enough. I had 3 strikes that ended 0-3 for the fish.  Everytime the leader broke in two after the fish decided to dart downstream and me adding some resistance to slow down the fish. I'm guessing that might of been a chum that took my flies. Maybe a 12lb strength line might be better, eh?

[younggun]

if u have a short rod then stronger leader because u can really use alot of leverage like a 10'6 drift rod, and there is no shock absorbtion

[Gooey]

8lb should be enuff for most coho applications but if you start hitting chum, then yes 8lb is light.  I usually use 12lb lead for coho if I know the chum are around, if I am fishing around log jams, or if I am hucking $5 spoons and spinners.

On a side note, I have landed big springs and chum on 8lb...it just takes time.  If you are snapping them off then you may be a little heavy handed while palming the reel for that added resistance.

[Pat AV]

8lb umpqua and 8lb ultra green are light years apart as far as strength and abrrasion resistance go. 8lb fly tippet is too light for ho's but 8-10 lb ultragreen would be just right.

You can use a 15 lb 9ft tappered leader with a piece of 8 lb ultragreen for tippet that will be enough for coho. You can also tie your own leader:

1) tie 3 ft of 25 lb ultragreen to your fly line with a nail knot or loop to loop system
2) surgeons knot 3 ft of 15lb ultra green to the end of the 25 lb section
3) Surgeons knot 3 ft of 8 lb ultra green to the end of the 15lb section.

This method is cheaper than buying tapered leaders and turns over almost as well

[testo84]

8lb should be enuff for most coho applications but if you start hitting chum, then yes 8lb is light.  I usually use 12lb lead for coho if I know the chum are around, if I am fishing around log jams, or if I am hucking $5 spoons and spinners.

On a side note, I have landed big springs and chum on 8lb...it just takes time.  If you are snapping them off then you may be a little heavy handed while palming the reel for that added resistance.

the fresh chum sometimes fight even really well on 12lb its just crazyyyy

[Rodney]

Pat AV's advice on tippet is a good one to go with. I don't flyfish for salmon much but will let you know what I generally use when gearfishing for them. For spincasting with a spinning reel in the Tidal Fraser River and Fraser Valley tributaries, I always stick with 8lb test Maxima Ultragreen as my main line and tie the lure directly to it. It has never been a problem, for fish up to 15lb, but I generally fish in waters where current is slow or does not exist. On my baitcaster, it is spooled with 12lb test Maxima Ultragreen, the leader is either 8 or 10lb test depending on the amount of chum salmon in the system. 8lb test is strong enough to land both chum and chinook salmon, but it does take longer to bring them in. Most people just choose to break it off as you are only losing one hook and avoiding exhaustion on the fish. If I am spincasting in water where all coho are big (12lb+) and chum salmon are abundant, I choose to use 12lb test as my main line. This way I can bring in the fish faster and avoid losing my lure.

[fintail1]

it also depends on clarity, if you are fishing in clear water with chum around it is stiil worth it to use an 8 lb leader instead even if there is a bigger chance of hooking a chum, because if you fish the right water you will catch coho

[younggun]

the one thing i hate though is when they do the coho role u have to throw away the leader gets all turned up and then snaps easy