Northwest Reel Life August 2023 Volume 2 Issue 10 - Flipbook - Page 13
Then run your lure back just a few
feet from the clip. This will keep
your lure from tangling with the
flasher or dodger, and yet when
the salmon sees the attractor,
it will look like the baitfish got
away and they will grab the lure.
This works really well with plug
cut herring or an anchovy with
a bait hood, as well as lures that
don’t need the imparted action
of a dodger or flasher. One other
great trick when using this way
of fishing is to use the Scent Flash
triangle flasher from Mack’s Lure,
as these flashers are designed to
hold scents inside of them. As the
triangle flasher spins, it creates
a very large scent cone out of it
as it disperses the scent. When
using these, you don’t need to
use a leader or cord, but instead
you can attach it directly to the
downrigger ball, which means
you can also keep your lure a lot
closer to it as well.
Run timing and knowing which
fish you are targeting will lead
to more fish. Ocean coho are
found all along the coastlines
from Oregon to Alaska, and the
feeding fish will often work along
the shoreline, feeding on herring,
candlefish, anchovies, and various
other prey in the kelp beds and
protected waters around islands.
Look to the rocky breaks often
found just offshore and find the
coho. Even when out in the open
ocean, where the fish will form
large schools to travel from their
feeding grounds to the rivers each
fall, the fish will still be “shallow”.
Not the depth of the water but
where they are in the water
column, meaning closer to the
top.
When it becomes prime time
for ocean coho but weather and
fishing seasons keep you away
from the open seas, resident coho
fishing can produce a fishery for
the avid angler. Puget Sound
and the various inlets around
Vancouver Island offer coho that
do not head out too far away
feeding grounds but instead live
“inside”. Starting in May and all
through the summer, resident
coho fishing is good. Using the
same techniques as fall fish, the
angler can perfect their coho
set-ups. Look for points along
the shoreline as silvers tend to
use them as tide breaks that will
harbor baitfish. Where you find
resident coho you will also find
ocean-bound fish once they
return. This is where you want to
be when the runs start to show up
in August and continue to flood
through October.
AUG 2023 | 13