Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[FlyFishin Magician]

One thing I forgot to mention is the coho "bite" or strike.  I can count on one hand the number of times my float dived on a coho.  Often, the float will just bobble or slow down.  Any unnatural movement of the float (esp. if short floating) will likely mean a fish has just taken the bait.  So don't expect the float to dive when a fish bites.  I suspect that many novice anglers miss the strike because they do not recognize when a fish has taken the bait.  This is particularly true when fishing bait such as roe.  Hardware, on the other hand, will tend to illicit an aggressive strike resulting an a "float down!".  It took me a long time to be able to detect the slightest take.  Also, resist the urge to go "bass-masters" on the strike.  Just gently, but deliberately, lift the rod tip and that should be good enough to set the hook.  People who violently raise their rod tip resulting in missed fish and a "ripping" effect on the water's surface may only result in spooking the fish.

Anyway, good luck and have fun!!!

[clarkii]

Get out on the water. I have never really targeted coho, only going out 3 or 4 times specifically for them, and nothing.

I have landed two on the fly, one on a squidro in December (bronze wild and no fight) and the other was chrome and surprised the heck out of me as i was cuttie fishing.  Both cases where the same, the fish was caught in frogwater.  For those using flies, streamer fishing for cutts is pretty much the same as streamer fishing for coho.  They will hit the exact same flies.  The one I caught that was chrome was hooked while I was using a 6#, 8lb test on an intermediate sink line and a streamer.  That same set-up 4 minutes earlier caught a cuttie in the same area.  I also hooked what I think was a larger cutt but lost it.  I used the same for all of them.

A buddy then went back to the same spot next day and pulled out 2 coho on the same streamer again.

[Drewhill]

Got nothing nice to say, don't say it.

OP is looking for tips to can help her in her future trips, not a short cut like those so-called experienced anglers always choose to believe. You can go out and keep doing the same thing, and not catch any without knowing why. To say that one should just keep going out there, that's probably the most useless advice which can be given. What if OP ends up watching someone long lining fish and successfully bringing in fish?

Rod, this type of post has come up how many times so far this season? You put out a great article at the beginning of every season and there's already been numerous posts on this. OP even says they want a coho before the end of the season so they are looking for a shortcut. Even just using the search function will bring up hundreds of past posts on catching coho the right way. If they take that info and head to the river then it's just a matter of time.

Gotta remember this is fishing, not catching.

[halcyonguitars]

What is frogwater please? Google no help...

[Johnny Canuck]

What is frogwater please? Google no help...

Think of a ditch or pond, water that has very little flow or movement.

[Krisandluna]

No offense but this thread is a great example of what's wrong with anglers these days. Too many people looking for the quick answer to catch fish. Best advise is to just keep going out there. Even if you're not catching look for people who are and take notes.

Also if you're this frustrated finding coho I highly suggest you don't try going for steelhead lol

I agree with you, however I'm not looking for an easy way to catch, I simply asked for advice/tips, not asking for exactly where or how to do something. I generally feel that my set up is correct (IMO), but I have no feedback to confirm this, I have been searching new spots, hiking for hours, buying different gear, chatting with a few fishermen but all to no luck on coho.

I thought this site was for asking questions and getting help which is what I'm asking, not for spots where I can just dip and snag them as I please. I am genuinely wanting to learn what I'm doing wrong, or perhaps get more tips that work for others that I can apply to my fishing trips. I was always taught there is no harm in asking 

I'm hoping for a coho before the run is gone, but if it doesn't happen, that's fine, I'll have another chance next year.

And, no, I have no interest in Steelhead, yet, I know that they are difficult and probably WAY out of my league. I'm happy with what I've caught so far, I just think it's good to have goals.

I went out trying to catch a Spring this past month and was fishing in the pool with all these guys, everyone was getting them but me. There were 3 men that were the nicest individuals I've ever met, I was doing everything correct except I didn't know when I had a bite, that is what was preventing me from catching any. They took 5 minutes out of their day and showed me what to look for and when to set the hook, I caught over 6 springs that day - kept 1. I was 90% there but just needed help to be successful.

[Krisandluna]

One thing I forgot to mention is the coho "bite" or strike.  I can count on one hand the number of times my float dived on a coho.  Often, the float will just bobble or slow down.  Any unnatural movement of the float (esp. if short floating) will likely mean a fish has just taken the bait.  So don't expect the float to dive when a fish bites.  I suspect that many novice anglers miss the strike because they do not recognize when a fish has taken the bait.  This is particularly true when fishing bait such as roe.  Hardware, on the other hand, will tend to illicit an aggressive strike resulting an a "float down!".  It took me a long time to be able to detect the slightest take.  Also, resist the urge to go "bass-masters" on the strike.  Just gently, but deliberately, lift the rod tip and that should be good enough to set the hook.  People who violently raise their rod tip resulting in missed fish and a "ripping" effect on the water's surface may only result in spooking the fish.

Anyway, good luck and have fun!!!

Great tip! Thank you! I just learnt how to do this for Spring, so perhaps it is different with Coho, perhaps my set up is too heavy?

Cheers!

[Krisandluna]

Rod, this type of post has come up how many times so far this season? You put out a great article at the beginning of every season and there's already been numerous posts on this. OP even says they want a coho before the end of the season so they are looking for a shortcut. Even just using the search function will bring up hundreds of past posts on catching coho the right way. If they take that info and head to the river then it's just a matter of time.

Gotta remember this is fishing, not catching.

Read the article and other posts, but I think the "talk" that is discussed is gibberish to me. Like frogwater or "rolling water", I have no idea what that looks like, so I google it, still doesn't make sense. And then "flies", I had some fishermen say they tied flies, and it was cotton, but I thought flies were well, "tied flies, that look like bugs". I'm just trying to get clear information that I can make sense of. No shortcuts, just goals. Goals are healthy  a few weeks with the right techniques, I'm sure I'll at least have a bite, which I'm happy with.

[Krisandluna]

Think of a ditch or pond, water that has very little flow or movement.

Thank you! That makes total sense and I  have assumed that, but now it's good to know I was right about that

[TheLostSockeye]

hey ive sent a few emails not sure if you have received them?

[Drewhill]

I guess ending with "as I want to at least feel one on my line before the season is over!" wasn't the best use of words. It's not that people are mean, just that they've put in years on the river to get successful so they might be a bit tight lipped about giving tips to someone on the internet who's just starting. Might take a season or two before you get one. Stuff liking asking about frog water and line are fair questions.

The reason everyone is telling you to just get out there and keep fishing is that it's hard for us to know what you're doing wrong without seeing how you are fishing and what water you are fishing. If you've read the articles you're probably pretty close but even the smallest thing like how much roe is on your hook can be the difference between having a huge day and getting skunked.

[Krisandluna]

hey ive sent a few emails not sure if you have received them?

No, I got the one and nothing else...... I replied, did you get that one?

[halcyonguitars]

Thanks...

[Krisandluna]

Got nothing nice to say, don't say it.

OP is looking for tips to can help her in her future trips, not a short cut like those so-called experienced anglers always choose to believe. You can go out and keep doing the same thing, and not catch any without knowing why. To say that one should just keep going out there, that's probably the most useless advice which can be given. What if OP ends up watching someone long lining fish and successfully bringing in fish?

Here are some of my recommendations.

Personally, I find coho salmon in tailouts, stagnant pools, or waters where very little disturbance can be found. Coho salmon are easily spooked, especially when the river level is low, and more especially in rivers where fishing pressure is high. If you are fishing the Chilliwack/Vedder River system, you'll need to be familiar with the spots, which ones work best at what river level, which ones work best during which part of the season, etc. Over time, you develop a system and start reading the hydrograph, and pick your spots based on your past trips.

Fishing at the right times of the day is key. I like to be at the river before dawn so I can be at the spot where I want to fish before others get to it. Sometimes the bites occur at first light, but more often than not I find the bite suddenly starts an hour after first light for 30 minutes to 2 hours. If first light is not possible, then try the evening hours. Lots of time, during coho and steelhead season, the last couple hours before dark are the most quiet times on this river. Take last week for example, I had more success fishing in the evenings than early in the mornings because fishing pressure was almost absent in the evenings.

Using the right method. Float fishing with good roe is what most tends to stick to, but I've had way more success by casting and retrieving a spoon or spinner. Last Friday just before the river blew out, we fished a run where around ten other anglers were also working on. Most stuck to the tailout where it had been producing earlier in the week, by fishing roe. Only three fish were caught between the ten or so anglers. We chose to stay further upstream in the head of the run and flicked a spoon 20 ft out and retrieved as if we were bass fishing. That yielded four coho in about an hour.

You'll have another month to experiment, coho fishing should be good right until the end of November as long as the river comes back to shape. Lots of fish are still being intercepted in the Fraser so there should still be fresh fish coming into the system.

Good luck!

Wealth of information, thank you! As much of your video's and articles I appreciate you and everyone taking the extra moments to give any tips or at least confirm what my guess is correct.

[Steelhawk]

We are a free country and this is a web site set up to share info and educate those who need info. So feel free to ask questions. Those who are willing to share, will share. Those who won't, they can just ignore the request for info. I don't see the OP has done anything wrong here as a newbie of sort asking for some general info from experienced members.  He stated that he had tried hard to catch a coho. It is not he hasn't gone to the river at all. It is one thing to search the site for archives of threads on coho, it is another to ask question on the most current fishing condition on coho fishing this year and the specific challenges related to this year's coho run, and have some feed backs on questions asked. Those who won't want to share can just move on to other threads.