Light tackle ocean coho?

[Tinman]

Is there a way to troll for ocean coho with 6 or 8 pound line and a simple lure or bait? Last year they were easy to catch, but the dodger and lead hampered the fight. I'm itching to catch some on ligher line without the rattletrap hardware. Any suggestions for lures or bait that can be trolled on light line? Also, has anyone taken coho on a flyrod, perhaps with a sink-tip line and a streamer. Any ideas?

I plan to launch at Depoe Bay on Saturday.

[Phish_on]

All I can say is ... that sounds great! Sinking line and the anchovie streamer, yeah hey go for it ! ! !

[MikeT]

Tinman,
I fish the west side of Vancouver Island a lot and have changed tactics on coho as a result of learning the very effective techniques the locals use.
Several suggestions come to mind:
1. Troll a bucktail fly on the surface, just at the back of your prop wash. This technique requires a fast trolling speed.
2. If you've got downriggers on your boat, try a black/white or green/white Apex lure. I have had excellent results with the 3 inch size. Again, fast trolling works best in my opinion.
3. Try using a four inch Buzz-Bomb, or a Zzinger in the 1 1/2 oz. or 2 1/2 oz size. This is my favorite method if there are good numbers of fish around. Very effective and you can use this with light gear. I like them in chartruese.

The Canadians use single action mooching reels a lot and I'm a convert. The Shimano GT 1000 on a light steelhead rod is a blast!

good luck.....Mike

[swampy]

Tinman , I have been thinking the same thing ...this early these coho are going to be , what , 5-6 pounds ??? I have tied a buzz-bomb onto my light steelhead rod and plan to jig / cast it to the swarming silvers ...put a fish in the box and then experiment a bit !!!!! Have a good one out there Tinman and let us know how you do .....Swampy

[Stz ll]

I'm not sure who makes it but there is a small downgigger which mounts in a fish on rod holder. With a downrigger you an use light gear like a 7 1/2 foot light Loomis plug rod or something similar. I only fish this way for Coho in the ocean. Try it you will never go back to divers again.

[Killertraylor]

Whenever I've fished for silvers off of Vancouver Island I've used light tackle and a 4-6 oz. lead candlefish jig. It just has a treble hook on the tail - shaped much like a buzz bomb except the body of it doesn't separate from the hook like a buzz bomb. Just fling it out there and jig it - catch feeder nookies this way too. I think the best way is the downrigger - no weight at all.

[KarenLee]

useful info images/icons/grin.gif

[Richter]

Years ago we went to Neah Bay for the "Fly Fish Only" season. No bait, No weight, No Downriggers allowed. You just trolled a fly on top of the water fairly fast. Three of us caught & released over 70 coho the first day. The second day was a little slower, only caught 45. I think I'll try it in the ocean this year.

[BUGLEMAN]

As for catching 'ho's on bait we just use 3-6 oz of lead and fresh anchovies on a slider moching rig. No need for all that flasher diver trash. Put one hook in the head and one on the other side back a near the tail and cinch till you get a kink. Now shut off the motor and put your bait in the water 5-13 pulls will limit your boat in about one hour. Also the guy who puts his rod it the holder sticking out the side of the boat will get more hits as the boat jiggs the bait as it is pulled through the water. You don't need to troll 'cause the wind will do it for you.

I want to try jigging this year could you be a little more discriptive in technique? I assume the boat does a wind drift and you cast out then retrieve in a jigging motion or is it more like just dropping it down (buzzbomb, zzinger, candle fish) and pulling it up and down?

Has any one ever tried to fly fish out in the ocean. I realize it would be tough to get them to take a dry fly so, I think a sinking flashabou fly would be the ticket. I am excited about some of the other ways to get a coho.

[Backlash2]

I have a lot of experience coho fishing at Neah Bay. These are not the hardest fish in the world to catch. I would rank them easier than springers, and where I fish, that's pretty easy.
2-6 ounces of lead, with a hoochie, no flasher. Usually no need to go farther than 20 pulls. Often times, the rod off the back, out about 10-12ft., IN the propwash, is the hottest rod.
Apex's in the blue/silver, or green/silver, on a bright sunshine day will usually out produce bait.
Vertically jigging darts, buzzbombs, etc.. Find fish, catch fish. We CnR'd 40 some fish in less than 2 hrs. right outside of Wadah a few years ago doing this. I was jigging less than 8 ft. below the boat, and repeatedly watched the fish smack the dart. Dropped down to 30-40 ft. and picked up a mid-twenties king.
FAVORITE: Trolling flies on the surface. What a blast!! You can run them anywhere from 20ft. to 100ft.+ behind the boat, kick the speed up to 4-5 knots, and watch the fun. Make sure you are trolling fast enough to get a V shaped wake coming off of the flies. Fish will often porpoise(like a North River images/icons/rolleyes.gif j/k) several times directly behind the fly, trying to catch up to it. I'm sure you could cast these flies, and strip them as fast as you can back at you and induce strikes. The key is to find fish first, since you won't be covering a lot of ground like you do trolling. Same ol' advice; Watch for birds feeding on surfaced herring balls, watch for the balls themselves, and look for rips in the current. They're easy to spot from a long way off. Go get 'em........

BTW-- I just re-read the original post. Go with the banana weights(2-6 oz.) straight lined from the boat. Don't use a flasher, it's unnecessary, and would probably add too much stress to line during the fight, lowering your margin of error. September coho's on 8 lb. test......I think I will, too!!
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[ 06-22-2001: Message edited by: Backlash2 ]

[BUGLEMAN]

Sounds like fun mike and backlash. Is there one jig and color you preferr over another? I am definatly going to give jigging a try sometime when we get in the fish.

[Pilar]

There's nothing like a freight train on 8 lb test! Today I tried a Lamiglass Medium steelhead rod, 5000c w/ 8lb and a down rigger. Terminal tackle was a 8" long chartruese les davis dodger and 25# mooching leader.

Hang on if you hit a native fish! I did and it was a freight train. Long tearing runs across the top water and cartwheels and jumps. I think my heart stopped a couple of times when the fish ran from one side of the boat under and jumped on the other side.

Whoo hoo!

[ 06-22-2001: Message edited by: Feesh spotter Pro Staff images/icons/grin.gif ]

[ 06-22-2001: Message edited by: Pilar ]

[MikeT]

BUGLEMAN2U,
Here's a link to an article on jig fishing for salmon. http://www.sportfishingbc.com/jigging_open_water.htm

My own experience is that jigs in the 1 1/2 oz. to 2 1/2 oz. range are most useful. Go with the heavier jigs if the wind is blowing the boat around or you're in a strong current.
I generally just free spool the lure to 10ft.-15ft. and start working it. I prefer to work the jig slowly, lifting it only a foot or two then letting it drop. Allowing it to hang for a few seconds after the fall, with maybe a couple small jiggles, seems to work well.
Cohos will hit it very aggressively; there will be no doubt if you get a bite.

good luck with it.....Mike

[Tinman]

Thanks for the great advice. I tried trolling the salmon flies right on the surface on 8# out of Depoe Bay on Saturday. No luck after an hour, so we switched to flasher/lead/hoochies at 15 feet and did a bit better. I think a downrigger is the ticket for light line as Pilar suggested

[swampy]

Tinman , you might try that fly again at first light sometime when they may be nearer the surface ...if it works for you I'm taking flies next time ...I jigged with a buzz-bomb with no luck at the pile and changed back to plug-cut herring ...

[BUGLEMAN]

Well, nice try guys. Let's work together and figure this alternate fishing tech out. We will be trailering the Sea Ray to Illwaco soon and then it will be hard and continuous. I am first going to try jigging when we hook one. I have seen them swarm around the hooked coho. That will tell me we are in them and will report.

[Kinebra]

The best light tackle Coho rig is a metallic red size 20 diver (the same kind used for back trolling in rivers) with a small cut plug Hearing! Nailed them Fri. and today with no extra weight and a great fight! Straight line-em and let-em RIP!

[Osprey]

Ok my Turn images/icons/grin.gif

1#A Coho bucktail fly trolled fast ( don't worry ...if they want it they'll come get it)

2# 1-oz banna weight with at 4ft leader (minimum)tied to a Blue/crome Coyote spoon...fast troll again

3# The Hoochie mamma....My personal favorite images/icons/grin.gif
Start with a 2-1/2" Buzzbomb I prefer pearl or Blue)
instead of adding the Rubber bumber,add a small Hoochie below it,you can add some scent inside the Head of the hoochie,but I've caught them both ways.
Vertical jig this "Bad Boy"......hang on tight strikes are vicious!!!!!
don't give up on the retrieve I caught fish 4 ft from the boat...good luck........Os

BTW I know it's not a Jig ....but hey it's Jigging images/icons/rolleyes.gif

[HOGTIDE]

Most fun I've ever had Salmon Fishin' has been using a flyrod and reel for Coho. A 6 or 8 wt. rod and a fly reel spooled with 20# mono (lighter line is too tough to strip).

When the bait is on the surface in calm waters,, I use just a swivel, 6" of leader and a Bucktail (ghost) and troll at apx. 5 knts. Keep the fly hopping in the propwash. They'll follow it like a "Jaws"!

For buoy 10 type fishing (major tides and hydraulics)dead-drift mooching is THE ticket! There is so much turbulence under the surface, your baits will scream while they spin. Use a 2.5 oz. mooching sinker, 6' of leader and a herring in a halfmoon bend. 8 pulls seems to be effective. Its fun to watch 'em suck that flyrod down in half. DONOT set the hook til the rod looks like it is on the verge of breaking. Grandpa and I landed 44 salmon on 48 baits using this method, a few years back.

* For Maximum fun,reels must be 'single action'.Just make sure you have a rimmed spool to serve as a hand break. Multipliers are for British guys and flyshop owners with too much money.
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[ 06-25-2001: Message edited by: HOGTIDE ]

[Tinman]

Ok...it seems that Coyote spoons are worth a try, but I don't know what they are. Can somebody provide a manufacturer name, or a website or a description? Are they available at GI Joes or Fisherman's? Many thanks for all the contributions on this thread.

[boater]

downriggers in the ocean, well i guess if you realy have too... images/icons/rolleyes.gif i guess i`m getting old, to me the thrill of fishing is holding your fishing pole and feeling the bite, 12 pound line, 10 pound leader, 3 oz. sinker, cut plug herring.

[4Salt]

Here's a technique that I often employ for Puget Sound silvers. First, you'll need a downrigger. If you dont have any, Cannon makes a small clamp-on model called the mini-troll. It has a hundred feet of cable, and I use a 7lb. ball with mine. They run about $50, and have a depth counter on them also.

Use 10-15 feet of 80lb. braided line and attach a full sized Hotspot flasher to one end, and a large ball bearing swivel to the other. Clip the swivel to the ball. Next, use a stacker release clip attached about 8 feet above the ball. I use the 3 or 4" Coyote spoons with a bead chain tied inline about 4 feet above the spoon, on the main line. the bead chain helps prevent line twist, and is the only thing besides the lure, attached to your line. Let this back about 3 to 4 feet farther back than the length of line to the flasher. Lower the whole thing down 25 to 30 feet on the counter, and Hold on! Silvers really love the action of the Coyote spoons, and will hammer them. Now you don't have any diver or flasher interfering with the fight of the fish.

Cut plug, or whole herring also works great on this setup. I usually use 8 to 10 lb. line, and a light action rod, and let me tell you, it's REALLY fun. Also troll at 2 to 3 mph. The faster speed really attracts the silvers, and it doesn't hurt to zig-zag alot while trolling. images/icons/smile.gif

Good luck,

Mark