Prime times to fish Coho in saltwater

Coho Salmon can be found from the beach to the shipping channels in the saltwater.  Silvers salmon run in schools in the saltwater so when you find one you  could be in for some hot action. Coho are one of the most aggressive biting salmon. (I rank humpies more aggressive since they jump out of the water to bite your bare hooks) When looking for coho watch for jumping fish, bait schools, tide rips (fish the soft side of the rip) or even a fleet of boats that have already located them for you.   Start by fishing the surface layer of water. If you can't locate fish near the surface try putting a larger sinker on and fish deeper.

Once you have found the fish, one of the most exciting ways to catch them is to use mooching setup with a 2 oz. sinker, cut plug herring and 20 pulls of line. Put the motor in gear and rod in the pole holder. The strikes will be aggressive and double headers are a strong possibility. If fish are hard to locate on the surface try a 6 oz sinker for the deeper holding fish.   

Other methods for coho are flashers and flies, jigging, and spoon casting. Down riggers can be very effective means of fishing the flashers using the trolling setup.

Cohoes can also be caught on a fly rod with buck tail  flies skipped along the surface behind the boat.  Let the fly out 20-40 feet behind the boat. The fly is working best when it is throwing off a rooster tail and going under occasionally.

 Hooked nose silvers arrive in mid September and continue until November. These highly prized males can go as big as 20 lbs. These fish are usually the native coho and should be released unharmed immediately. The hatchery fish will have missing adipose fins and are easily identifiable. Be sure and check your regulations before going fishing.