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Last Saturday I fished for resident coho for the first time this winter. The weather(overcast/light wind) and moderate tidal exchanges were perfect. The fishing was excellent using a Delia's squid or olive/white clouser minnow pattern with the resident coho in 12 to 15 inch range. I kept 1 fish for dinner and it's stomach contained
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amphipods(reddish/brown) and 3 to 4 inch baitfish which were probably small herring rather than sand lance. The amphipods were about half the size( less than 1/8 inch) in comparison to previous years for this time of year.
The day started off great as 9 bald eagles were seen soaring and above a high cliff. Sometimes they would do snap rolls which was awesome to watch before I got anxious to start fishing.
When resident coho are feeding on amphipods, their flesh is a bright red. IMHO these fish are as good or better eating than adult sockeye salmon. They have a mild, sweet taste and great texture. My wife sure liked the resident coho which was kept for dinner. Since I mostly fish for sea-run cutthroat, she normally give me a bad time for not bring home any fish for dinner
.
I was surprised that the resident coho were aggressively striking the clouser minnow pattern even though the fish were schooled up and slowing moving as they dimpled the water surface while feeding on the amphipods. In past years it is often difficult to hook resident coho under these conditions since they are so spooky. The schools of resident coho were also feeding on small bait and is probably the reason why they clobbered the clouser minnow pattern. Since the schools of resident coho were moving up and down a couple of beaches, the best strategy was to anchor the boat and wait for them come back. Chasing after them will put down a school of resident coho.
A location which over the last 25 years has always had a lot of resident coho was almost devoid of fish on Saturday. However, resident coho were found at numerous locations where they have not been seen for the last 8 to 9 years. In the 1990's and and early 2000's these areas had large numbers of fish so it is good to see resident coho back at their past haunts. It means that I will have to check out a lot more areas where they use to hang out.
It was a very encouraging day of fishing for resident coho and hopefully it will be good for a few more months.
Roger
amphipods(reddish/brown) and 3 to 4 inch baitfish which were probably small herring rather than sand lance. The amphipods were about half the size( less than 1/8 inch) in comparison to previous years for this time of year.
The day started off great as 9 bald eagles were seen soaring and above a high cliff. Sometimes they would do snap rolls which was awesome to watch before I got anxious to start fishing.
When resident coho are feeding on amphipods, their flesh is a bright red. IMHO these fish are as good or better eating than adult sockeye salmon. They have a mild, sweet taste and great texture. My wife sure liked the resident coho which was kept for dinner. Since I mostly fish for sea-run cutthroat, she normally give me a bad time for not bring home any fish for dinner
.I was surprised that the resident coho were aggressively striking the clouser minnow pattern even though the fish were schooled up and slowing moving as they dimpled the water surface while feeding on the amphipods. In past years it is often difficult to hook resident coho under these conditions since they are so spooky. The schools of resident coho were also feeding on small bait and is probably the reason why they clobbered the clouser minnow pattern. Since the schools of resident coho were moving up and down a couple of beaches, the best strategy was to anchor the boat and wait for them come back. Chasing after them will put down a school of resident coho.
A location which over the last 25 years has always had a lot of resident coho was almost devoid of fish on Saturday. However, resident coho were found at numerous locations where they have not been seen for the last 8 to 9 years. In the 1990's and and early 2000's these areas had large numbers of fish so it is good to see resident coho back at their past haunts. It means that I will have to check out a lot more areas where they use to hang out
.It was a very encouraging day of fishing for resident coho and hopefully it will be good for a few more months.
Roger
