OK, I'm gonna try it. Couple of questions. Does this work for steelhead? Do you ever use a leader? Would a jig with a weed guard keep from snagging up as often or keep you from hooking fish? I always figured all those bass fishing methods would work for other species, like a spinnerbait, tube jigs, buzz baits, & top water. heh heh

KNOPHISH

Yes it will work for "steelhead", especially summer runs. Remember, you will not find the steelhead holding in the Froggy type of waters so use your jigs in the same waters that you would fish plugs or bait in.

I never use leaders when I am jigging this way, but if you are one of those guys that like using the spider type lines, you would probably need to use a short leader.

I hope that you catch as many coho as I have with this method.

Good luck!

Cowlitzfisherman

Right on!
Thank you!

herm


( this one goes in the book)

Thanks for the tips! You should be writing for STS. That is one of the best descriptions of a novel technique I have ever read. Well written.

Great article CFM.Definitely a proven method.I've seen probably thousands(no exageration) of fish cought this way.
Yes its a lot of work,yes you will pay for it.Physically and financially.But you will most definitely catch fish,even when nobody else is.
I love to jig fish.But I always miss feeling the bite you get when drifting eggs.
That feeling like you just hung on a rock and you try to jerk away from it when it takes off.Or having a 14 or 15 lb silver darn near jerk the pole out of your hand when they hit just as you start your jig or least expect it can really get the blood going though.
One thing you might have let them know is to bring spare spools or line.You can go through it in a hurry.
This is a great contribution to the board,and is really worth a try.Just like anyother type of fishing don't get discouraged,it takes a little getting used to.It can be really frustrating.But once you get the hang of it you'll be hooked.
Oh ya,Doesnt hurt to wear glasses of some sort or other for a little extra protection from the occasional flying jig.

CF, you are da man! Very well written and informative. I know that jigs can be deadly on coho, but you are right on the money when you talk about the "rhythm" since it's definately eaiser said than done. Once you get the feel for jigging it's not only deadly, but very addicting.....right Parker?

Thank you for sharing this tip as I appreciate people that share the "how to's" instead of the "where to's". None of us would be the fishermen that we are today without help from the pros. Take care and good fishing to you.

Good stuff, cowfish. Very descriptive.....and complete with pictures.

I'm glad you warned people that guys are going to accuse them of being snaggers. You'll get lots of looks when jigging for silvers from dudes who have no clue what you're doing ( or what they're doing, for that matter) Let em' think what they want......they'd spend less time gawking at you and more time catching fish if they bothered to try something new once in a while.

Thanks for taking the time to type this all out, cowfish. Folks are going to be thanking you next fall when the silvers come rolling in again.

Good article CF! The technique of fishing a jig without a float was a well kept secret until recently, and can be extremely deadly. I've used it alot on stacked summer Steelhead in slow deep pools that are in a nuetral or negative mood with excellent results, but in that case we used dark colored jigs in smaller sizes and just swam them slowly through the hole. The bullet head jigs are a good way to go for swimming baits as they cut the current better than the round head. If anyone needs any bullet heads with 630 style hooks I have a mold here, I use them alot for fishing grubs for Smallmouth Bass.

Good one cowfish,

Also one of my favorite ways two fish for silvers besides eggs. I also have caught springers on jigs especially in the columbia below bonneville while shad fishing at the end of may. tried them in the cow for springers and did good too. My favorite place to throw jigs for silvers is in the puget sound lead casting schools and working the jig eraticlly sometimes jerking it away from the fish makes em hit it even harder. Guaranteed limit every day. Put down the buzz bombs and throw jigs They dont spook the fish! and they dont cost as much!

I'd like to add my thanx as well. One quick Q; I've fished in very low water years when the silvers seem to have "lockjaw". I always see a very few people cathin fish but usually they are on a particular plug and/or plug color. Is this technique very effective when there hasn't been any rain for a considrable period of time and the fish seem to have "lockjaw"?

Thanx again, can't wait to try it out. Take care and tight lines

Sincerely,
Roger

Nice post Cow! I love to see information flow on this board, regardless how much of a "secret" we think it is.

Yeah, Kid, gettin' jiggy on the Cojos is pretty darn fun and addicting! Not as addicting as 'bouncin' for tide water nooks on The Ditch up in AK, but pretty close.

RRR

I have found that when waters conditions get really clear, and really low, coho will tend to honker down in the deep faster moving waters. But they still like the areas with boulders or log, etc.

That's probably why you are seeing the plug guys get fish when you are not. If they (the coho) can see you, the game is pretty much over. Look for coho to hold in deeper and faster moving waters when you have low and clear conditions.

Cowlitzfisherman

CFM - Great contribution to the BB. It provides additional detail to the article in STS a couple months ago on jigging for coho.

I tried this method for coho this past fall with no luck. Not even a strike. But I'm sure my technique needs improving before it will be successful.

A couple questions - Is it better to cast upstream to the holding water and retrieve downstream or to cast downstream and retrive upstream? Also, the holding water you describe is not always where the coho are holding. Is it best to fish where the fish are holding (i.e., where they are rolling/jumping) or in the areas that you have described? They are often two different parts of the river. Thanks.

Nice article cowlitzfisherman,
Well written and I've had success using the same method. Even springers, a fish that needs to get excited to bite, often hit this same set up. I've slammed coho on this same technique. I usually use a jerk-jerk-jerk then reel the slack out, kind of like plastic worms for bass or something. Just out of curiousity, what was the name of your guide service in the early 90s?? Fished on the cowlitz since I was young, wondering if I ever saw your boat?

chromelsayer

Great article!

I've been using a similar technique on the Green and Skykomish rivers for coho and chum. Deadly! For chums, I had a lot more luck using heavier jigs and a chunk of prawn on the hook. I was fair hooking fish 10 to 1 compared to the traditional drift fisher around me. I was always bank bound, so it took a little more work for me to find the perfect water for the version of the technique I use. I like to stand right at the top of the pool so I can cast down stream, let my jig sink to the bottom with the fast water entering the pool pulling the jig and keeping tension on it. Then I start working it to the current seam until I get just the right amount of tension on the line (the hard part to figure out at first). By finding this sweet spot, you can basically vertical jig (but the jig is down stream from you - you're not right on top of it like true vertical jigging...). I just let the jig tick the bottom, then lift the rod tip up a little, and let the jig settle back to where it was. The tension in the line directly down from you keeps the jig in place and you can hop it up and down until you get a strike. If you don't get any action, try lifting the rod tip higher or lower, faster or slower. If still nothing, you can pull out some line and do some 'back bouncing' until you get a few feet farther down stream. Keep this up until you find the fish. Usually they'll find you!! And an added bonus - since you aren't retreiving the jig through sticks and boulders, you get much fewer bottom snags (and fish snags). If you find that you have trouble holding the jig in the sweet spot and it keeps getting pushed too quickly into the slack water, then you may need to employ CowFish's jig\retreive technique to work it back to you.

Good luck!

Since this is a pink year.
Change the jig color to cherise or cherise/purple and you will have a hard time keeping them off your line. You can sight fish pinks with that method. That's the fun, watching 5-6 break off from the school and chase down your jig is a kick. Even if they don't fight worth a darn. Your kids will love it.

cohoangler

Since I don't take or read the STS publication more then once or twice a year, I did not know that they had written anything like I have just done for coho. You say that you had tried it this year, but you didn't have any luck. Well, don't give up! There may not have been any coho in area when you were there, or you may not have been using the "right colors"! It can, and does make a huge difference when you have the "right" color.

You asked me; "Is it better to cast upstream to the holding water and retrieve downstream or to cast downstream and retrieve upstream?

Depending on the hole that I am fishing in, most of the time, I will be casting up stream. The jigs usually work best in the "middle" of the hole, when fishing in those types of waters for me.


When I fish in heavy currents, I always cast up stream (the jig must be allowed to sink down to get to where the fish are laying). Very few coho seem to want to come after your jig when you are bringing it upstream in faster currents (for me).


Cowlitzfisherman

Hey cowfisherman,
I was wondering if it would be helpful with the jig's action if you attached your jig to the line with a duncan loop (leaving some slack in the knot so it could pivot freely of course). This would allow your jig to move freely compared to a clinch knot. I would think it would help especially if using #12 line????

Good jig lesson. Nice looking jigs! Hope to put the info to work next September. Thanks for the tips.