Coho feed near the surface, especially in the morning. You do not need to have your gear more than 15 feet deep for Coho (Silver) Salmon. Many Coho are caught in the top 7 feet of water. Chinook can be deeper, but in the morning, they will be feeding up high with the Coho.
What depth do you fish salmon?
They can be anywhere from in the top 20′ of water to down on the bottom at depths of 200′ or deeper. Usually they will move deeper during the day as the sun gets brighter. A good starting depth for open water is between 40′ and 80′.
What is the best bait for coho salmon?
Usually the best tactic is a simple bobber rig. Suspend a size-2 to size-6 hook about 4-6 feet under a bobber. Bait with small spawn sacs, salmon skein, tube jigs tipped with waxworms, small pieces of shrimp, nightcrawlers or minnows.
What depth do you troll for salmon?
Two mph is a good trolling speed for coho salmon, but a speed of 1.5 mph is a better speed for chinook salmon, and you will be fishing even deeper at the lower velocity. With 50 feet of line out, you would be 44 feet deep at a velocity of 1.5 mph – not the 37 feet deep at 2 mph.
What size hook should I use for salmon?
No particular type of hook is needed. However, the traditional salmon or steelhead hook, which is a strong, short shank, eye-up hook, is often used. The hook size depends on the river conditions and the type of bait used. A size 4 should be big enough under any circumstances.
What size hooks for coho salmon?
The best hook sizes for Alaskan coho flies are #1/0, #2 and #4. Coho like big flies and don’t shy away from a relatively big hook. If you are tying your own flies or are buying flies for coho, this range of sizes is ideal.
Is coho hard to catch?
As summer gives way to fall here in the Pacific Northwest, the dependable Coho that used to bite so well when they were out and in open water often get harder and harder to catch.Coho tend to get more and more paranoid about baits and lures as they run out of vertical space.
What color lures do salmon like?
Use a lure that has sight, sound and smell. Use any color, as long as it is green. The colors that show up in the deepest water are greens, blues and blacks. All glow lures glow green.
Is coho salmon good eating?
Coho salmon has rich, reddish-orange meat and has been called one of the best-tasting salmon. Although coho costs less than king and sockeye salmon, its quality is still quite high. Coho are a medium fatty salmon that have nearly two times the oil content of pink and chum salmon, but less than sockeyes or kings.
How do you troll for coho?
The most common technique for catching coho is to troll using downriggers. Coho can be found from the surface to 100 feet down, so using electronics to locate fish and bait is a good strategy. When searching, start shallow and progress deeper. Coho trollers typically run 2.0 to 2.5 mph and troll with the tide.
At what speed do you troll for salmon?
So, what is the best trolling speed? The best trolling speed depends on several factors including the type of fish, water conditions and lure choice. In general, trolling speeds between 1.5 and 2.5 mph, as measured by GPS, are a good starting place for most species like walleye, trout and salmon.
What time of day is best to catch salmon?
In general, the magic hours of early morning just before sunrise, and late evening just after sunset are the best for salmon fishing. The phases of the moon come into play, high and low tide, and even low-pressure systems moving in can enhance your opportunity.
Do you need barbless hooks for salmon?
Where this hook varies is the barbless design that satisfies the California Salmon fishing regulations. The regulations state that when using fishing methods other than trolling, “No more than 2 single-point, single-shank barbless circle hooks shall be used…”.
Can you use treble hooks for salmon?
Answer: No, you may not use treble hooks for salmon in the area you describe. Only single barbless hooks may be used, and whether trolling or drifting with bait (mooching), you may only use two single, barbless hooks per line.
What do fish hook sizes mean?
For hook sizes between 1 and 18, the higher the number, the smaller the hook. In other words, a size 1 hook is much larger than a size 18 hook. For sizes 1/0 and above (there is no such thing as a size 0 hook), higher numbers equate to larger hooks, meaning a 12/0 is much bigger than a 1/0.
How big is a size 8 hook?
Choosing the Right Fishing Hook Size for Different Catch Rates & Rigging Techniques
| Size | Length (mm) | Length (inches) |
|---|---|---|
| #9 | 12mm | 0.47″ |
| #8 | 13mm | 0.51″ |
| #7 | 14mm | 0.55″ |
| #6 | 15mm | 0.59″ |
How do you spot coho?
Coho salmon have a number of features that distinguish them from other salmon: they have white gums with black tongues, some spots along their backs, and a tail with a wide base and some spots. They remain silvery coloured right up until spawning, but the males develop a hooked nose towards the end of their life cycle.
Can you salmon fish from the shore?
Generally, salmon seek out temperatures averaging around 55°F, usually in deeper water away from shore. While this makes trolling a more likely method for fishing for salmon, they can still be caught from shore, particularly at certain times of the year.
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