Hi I'm new to this board and new to fishing for salmon. I figured I'd say hello to all the members. I'm on a mission, a quest to catch Coho Salmon, so far they've eluded me! I thought I'd start a thread and maybe some of the more experienced anglers here can help me out with my troubles by posting their reports for the next couple of months. I'm really curious to figure out what I've been doing wrong. A friend of mine bought a 27' 270 series coastal Wellcraft and so far we've been out 3 times with it with little success.

Here's what we've been doing and using: We've fished both Edmonds and Jefferson Point on the incoming and outgoing tides all within a couple hours either before or after high tide. We're fishing in the 20-60 ft range along the rips in the surface with hotspot flashers in the green/white glo followed by either a green squid with a cut plug herring or a green/white glo grand slam bucktail. So far we've only been able to catch Kings, 3 Kings to be exact and lost another in 3 outings. Our leader lengths reach from 26 inches with the bucktails to around 30 inches on the rig with the cutplug on it. We've varied our trolling speed between 2 mph to 4 mph, mainly keeping it around 2.5 mph on average.

What are we doing wrong??? Anyway there must be some magic setup that works great for coho. Do dodgers work better with bucktails and coho flys, I also hear people talking about 3.5 Coyote spoons and Coho Killers, how are they fished?

I'd really appreciate the help!

Thanks!

Oh yeah we released the kings because the regs said we couldn't keep them in the area we fished.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I just think the coho are starting to trickle in. I've also been getting kings to bite in that area the last couple of times out and only shaker resident coho. If there's one thing to try and do right above all else, I think its trolling with the tide.

I've noticed when we trolled with the tide, the downrigger cables seem to just dangle there, even though the gps shows the same speed we were going when we turned into the current, Should I be trolling faster with the downrigger cables at an angle with the tidal current?

The angle of the cables don't always tell the story. I usually look at land. If I'm standing still (while trolling), then I figure I'm going against the tide. If I'm clipping along and seeing trees houses go by, then I'm going with the tide. Yes, the GPS will tell you that too. I usually shutt the engines off and will check which way I'm being pulled before I even put my gear in the water.

Also, in Central Sound the outgo is generally going North and the incoming is generally south

Well I'm going to head out in the morning and fish Jefferson point and the Kingston area, hopefully We'll catch something tommorow, would you recommend fishing somewhere else?

I've never done worth a darn at Jeff Head, but its been a while since I've fished there. Having said that, the guy that came in just ahead of me at Shilshol got a coho there yesterday. I've done better at Apple Tree cove. Lately, I've been fishing Richmond Beach area.

We were in this same area Sat and Sun, and there still seems to be many more kings than coho yet. Seems your doing the right thing, give it another week or two and you should be slaying them. Also, do not hesitate to fish outside in the deep water...the guides from shilshole were out there yesterday and getting some coho.

I'd say pick up the speed if want to catch Coho. The gps is telling you your speed over land not the water you are in. I would watch the dr cables and try to get them to almost 45 with the tide. A lot of guys I know who slam the fish don't ever look at speed...just the cables.
I may have read it wrong but I thought you wrote you were using a flasher with a squid AND a cutplug? I may have misread that. I'd use the flasher/squid combo or flasher/coho killer or a straight spoon or a straight cut plug.
Just my two cents. Keep trying you will catch fish!
ps Port Madison,Apple Tree,W. Point,Meadow Pt. and Edmonds can all be great when the Silvers really start to come in. On some days they all produce well and others one or two of them are producing well while the others aren't.

As was said, a couple more weeks and you will be into them right out front of Edmonds.

Just a short note on the coho, I have been cleanning up on them trolling a strieght cut plug 2.5 oz of lead and 6-8 ft leader. Run the kelp edges with the tides and you will find pockets of silvers to 10# roaming allong the edge. When you find a pocket of fish pull up and continue running through them with the tides , Good Luck

If you'd really like to catch some silvers run that boat up to Neah Bay or Seiku or take it down to Illwaco. You'll catch silvers till your arms are sore - no kidding - 20 - 50 fish days. That might be too obvious but the number 1 rule of catching salmon is to fish where the fish are. As more silvers start moving into the sound they'll show up first at Hein or Coyote Banks, Bush point, Point no Point/Skunk Bay, Skatchet Head, Possesion Bar and then on down into the areas you're already fishing. With as much boat as you have you've got a lot of options open to you where you can slam 'em instead of working so hard for a few local coho.

Seriously a trip to Neah or Seiku is really good for the fishing ego and will be a great way to break that boat in. Good Luck!

I've been fishing with a 1oz or 2oz weight with a cut plug hearing on about a 5 ft leader, been catching them everytime out. I usually fish up by Point no Point , in front of eglon or apple tree point. Try trolling a little faster. You don't need to go deep for coho, thier usually up towards the surface.

I went to Ted's in Lynnwood and the gentlemen there named Mike told me my leader length was wrong. 26 inches is way too short for a Grand Slam Bucktail behind a hotspot. He said it should be around 32". He also recommended trolling with the direction of the tide. He said everything else I was doing was fine.

He also mentioned yesterday, one of the guys that worked there took the boat out and got a full boat limit of silvers at Possesion Bar.

Thanks for all your input so far, I'll be putting it to work tomorrow.

I trolled JH, West Point, Meadow, and the middle of area 10 today since sunrise, and the area seemed nearly devoid of life compared to recent weeks. I think this rain coerced the fish into the estuaries and river systems. We had 1 coho to the boat but he spit and flipped us off. A guy at Shilshole said he saw schools of Kings and Coho in the Duwamish yesterday but they werent biting.

We hoped that the rain had called a few fresh fish in around the corner but not quite yet.

Blue Jay, seems like you are fishing the right way, just havent happened across any biters yet.

Soon.

I have had good success Fri/Sat/ and Sun. Trolling old standby gear (with a few adjustments) in the greater Edmonds area.


6 Kings 5-20 lbs,
9 Silvers 4-10lbs,
Combined fishing time 6.5 hours.

Stanby gear? whats that entail may I ask?

blue_jay

Welcome to the board. What they said, plus don't be afraid to go faster, and deeper. The nicest fish I caught Sat. was at 80'. I always try to add a herring strip to my hootchie.

Good luck. We'll look for you out there over the next couple of weeks.

The boats name I cruise on is called "The Tail Catcher" so don't be afraid to say "hi".

The "Mike" at Ted's in Lynwood referred to earlier in this thread is, of course, the renowned Mike Chamberlain. I still have twenty-year-old articles Mike wrote for the old Fishing Holes magazine. His article on how to fish Possession bar was my "gospel" in the old days. Now I am boatless but still take my share out in the salt.

I'd say getting salmon fishing advice from Mr. Chamberlain is as good a source as you could find.

8/24/04 report:

Got out of Edmonds at 5:30am this morning and hit the east side of possesion, first fish and all fish came on a grand slam bucktail green/white glo 32 inches behind a white/glo hotspot fished at 35 ft. First fish was at 7:30am, tide was on the way in. First fish weighed 4.5 lbs, I keeped it and had it for dinner. The other 9 Coho I caught were all resident coho between 2-3 lbs. Also hit a upper 20's King in the same area by the green buoy. Darn wish Kings were open to keeping, seems like they outnumber the Coho this time of year in some instances. Just before high tide we ran over to Point no Point/ Pilot point looking for some of those ocean going Coho and didn't have any luck finding them. Back over to Possesion we went where my partner hit about 10 more of those resident Coho. In the afternoon the wind waves set in and we went for cover south of Jeff Head where fishing was slow to non-existant. On the way back in we fished out infront of the docks at Edmonds and didn't hit anything there. Done at 5pm.

Not a bad day, thanks for all the advice I've been getting here. Looks like when the Ocean going Coho are finally in the sound I should have some good luck considering the residents like my setup.