The huge King Salmon always get all the attention on the covers of fishing magazines, Coho Salmon are the bread and butter fish that most fishermen are chasing during the Fall months in Puget Sound. Smaller but generally more plentiful, the Coho Salmon offer anglers the chance to fill their coolers before Winter really hits. Essential to catching good numbers of Fall run Coho Salmon is knowing where to fish, when they will be there and at what depth. Right now we will cover the where, when and at what depth to fish for Fall Coho, so you can improve your odds of filling your catch card.
When fishing for Fall Coho you must fish when they are feeding. Until they hit the rivers they are storing up energy to spawn and are on the hunt. In the mornings Coho are up on top and are feeding the most aggressively. Yes, this means leaving port when it is still pretty dark out! Plan your fishing trip out, have everything in order and hit the water early! In conjunction to this, check your tide charts and look for days when the tide change is right after dawn. This way you can fish the high percentage zones.
The high percentage zones are those spots that Coho congregate to feed. These spots change depending on the time of day and which way the tide is running. During a tide change, look to find Coho on the hunt along the tide rips and at the edges of swirls. They are there picking up food that has been stirred up. Them being on the hunt means you have a greater chance of them chomping down on your lure. During slack tides or when the tide change is very minimal, check around the edge of weed beds and Kelp fields. Often times Coho will duck in there for a snack. Whatever the tide situation is, you must keep thinking like a Coho and be fishing where they are going be looking for food and at what depth.
Coho are open water feeders and can almost always be found near the top of the water in the morning hours. This is the time to drag your lures shallow, from 0 to 60 feet. As the day moves along and the light gets brighter, they will drop down. Remember that the Fall run Coho have been out in the open ocean and are used to being able to go way down deep to hide from predators. By the time the sun is in the sky you should be watching your fish finder and be dropping your lures by 10-20 feet an hour. Coho will go as deep as 100-120 feet. Watch for where the fish are and be right above them. Salmon, like most fish, hunt looking up, so lures presented below them do no good. Pay attention to the thermocline and if in doubt, target the area right above it.
There you have it, the three essentials that will put you in the position to catch more Fall run Coho Salmon. They are on the hunt for food to get them ready to spawn, you just need to be in the right spot at the right time. So use these tactics to be at the right spot when the Coho are feeding and you will have significantly more success this Fall!
Would you like to know more about fishing for Coho Salmon or fishing in the the Pacific Northwest in general? Visit Fishing with Cliff where I and my crew pass along tips, post article and fishing news items that might just give you the edge you need to fill your cooler, or put that one trophy fish on the wall!
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