09-23 REELLIFE digital - Flipbook - Page 28
Most fish are caught in shallows
compared to the chinook where
downrigger balls often drag in the
sand and bounce off the gravel.
Instead, coho travel up high, but
will go deeper as the sun hits the
water. Start around 30 to 50 feet
down on the cable, but do not
think the fish travel in shallow
water. Unlike the pink salmon that
have been flooding in since July
and travel along the shoreline,
coho prefer deep water. Back to
Sekiu, most anglers do not put
a hook into the water until they
hit water 500 feet deep near the
shipping lanes. In Puget Sound,
target the middle of the water,
where it runs deep, but as you
near the rivers where fish will be
returning, then start to make your
way to the shoreline. Exceptions
to the deep-water locals are when
28 | NWFISHING.net
targeting resident fish or feeding
coho that cruise along kelp beds.
Anglers often find coho by seeing
them on the surface where the
fish will jump and leap out of the
water while chasing baitfish.
If you find jumping fish, then stop
the boat and start to troll. Make
a note on the sonar unit and fish
around until you find the schools
again. Coho travel in large schools
and it is common to hook doubles
or even all rods once when you
find the fish.
Mooching can produce coho,
but trolling often lends to more
fish in Puget Sound. This is often
because the fish this time of year
are getting closer to the spawning
grounds and are migrating. The
time to lounge around and feed
is over, and it is all about getting
back to the rivers to spawn. The
fish can become highly active on
hot and sunny days, but on cold
and rainy days the bite can turn
off, as the fish are in “go mode”
and traveling with the fresh
pumping water into the sound.
For trolling, anglers need to
remember that speed is crucial.
Coho fishing is a fast game, and
the fish are moving fast, which
means trolling at speeds from 3 to
4 miles per hour is common.
It is also a good idea to downsize
gear, as the fish are not as big as
chinook, but also because the
smaller gear trolls better at faster
speeds. The typical rigging is a
flasher trailing a lure. Put it back
20 feet from the boat on the
downrigger clip, as this will keep
tangles at a minimum when