If you are fishing a nice rip it won’t last forever. I know this sounds stupid simple, but you’d be surprised how many anglers I’ve watched fishing who notice a fish jump within range and don’t immediately cast to it. In our opinion this is the most effective way to fish cutthroat in Puget Sound. Often times the fish will see your fly hit the water, and instantly attack. Most days I haven't seen any jumpers. Smaller micro rips can be fairly subtle, just looking like someone drew a line on the surface of the water, with one side of the line often being noticeably flatter than the other side. Coho return in good numbers but are not always aggressive biters. Just keep stripping! The rods used for downrigger fishing are usually 8' 6" & of a special design simply called "Downrigger Rods". Techniques for fly fishing for coho from a boat are pretty simple. With Marine Area 10 opening for coho salmon this last weekend, I thought I would write a little bit about fly fishing for coho in Puget Sound. Chinook salmon fishing to close in some coastal, Puget Sound areas following successful season Puget Sound. Absolutely one of the best game fish in the world! IMO the worst things you can do when it comes to retrieves is to retrieve slowly (We aren’t crawling a leach pattern across the bottom of a lake here), and what I refer to as “robo stripping”. Large concentrations of feeding birds is a great sign when searching for coho, but even individual birds can tell a story. The preseason forecast for upper Columbia summer Chinook is 38,000 fish to the Columbia River mouth. There are however times when retaining Salmon is not allowed in most areas. Don’t be afraid to head out into deep water in search of these fish. Lets face it… As fly fishers we love gear. I’ve caught a lot of coho on the fly in Puget Sound and I strongly believe these fish are much more likely to respond aggressively to a fast moving fly than one that is casually swimming through the water. We are part of a larger organization made up of 16 clubs located all around Puget Sound. Coho that you can see are generally coho that you can catch. There are lots of theories, many of which make a lot of sense, but ultimately who knows why they do it. Knowing this a boat angler can have an idea where to look for these rips that hold bait, so always keep that in your head. What baitfish, when being chased, moves slowly in a straight line? King Salmon and Coho Salmon are the most often targeted sport fish in Puget Sound. Coho return in good numbers but are not always aggressive biters. Kelp/eel grass beds can be a bit more difficult to fish due to flies snagging in the grass and picking up lots of debris, but they can also be extremely productive so don’t forget about them. No matter what I’m doing on the water I am always paying attention to the birds. Below is a video demonstrating how I tie a typical coho clouser with a stinger hook: A typical early season coho caught on a fast, erratic retrieve. In conjunction to this, check your tide charts and look for days when the tide change is right after dawn. Before Thomas, my coho-fishing mentor for the day, could complete the sentence, the coho shook the barbless hook, spit out the herring and disappeared. There are a few different ways to locate bait, or water that is likely holding some. They don’t migrate out to the ocean and back, like their bigger cousins that come back at the end of the summer. Often times these balls of bait are near the surface because they have made their way to the surface in an attempt to escape feeding salmon below them. Please refer to our Puget Sound blackmouth fishing how-to for more information on tackle to use and why. Chum Salmon. But if you look off and see big swarms of birds actively banging and splashing down on the water, then I highly recommend getting yourself over there immediately! Coho are a very popular sport fish in Puget Sound. If you’re fishing a piece of water, and happen to see a coho jump a few hundred feet away, it’s a good idea to move to that area and continue fishing. Pink Salmon fishing in Puget Sound is fun and easy. Many who ask this question seem to grasp the concept and then are shocked when they see it in action. 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. Personally I like to keep things very simple when it comes to flies. Salmon know this, and at times will come into these areas to feed. The Coho that decide to stay local end up … Anglers find good fishing one day and then get stood up the next. Luckily for the saltwater fly fisher they do! Often times Coho will duck in there for a snack. Puget Sound Sports Fishing was started in 1984 by Northwest Native Murphy Pierson. I am a big believer in fishing what you have confidence in, and fishing hard. These fish are very curious, and will often follow a fly for long distances, only attacking when they sense that their prey is about to escape. If I’m not seeing obvious signs of fish, then I try to focus on fishing water that is either obviously holding bait, or likely to be. Not much in Puget Sound swims in a straight line at a constant speed, so IMO your fly shouldn’t move that way either. I come from a gear fishing background, and if you look at what most gear fisherman are using for coho it tends to be pretty large, bright, and flashy. Pink salmon is the smallest of the Puget Sound salmon species, spending only two years in … When: This fishery is divided into basically 3 different fisheries. Until they hit the rivers they are storing up energy to spawn and are on the hunt. Photo Credit: Courtesy of WDFW. EVER. Only on 3 days have there been a large number of jumpers around the points at tide changes. Charter Fishing Seattle offers year round charter fishing adventures in the beautiful Puget Sound.. When slowly cruising around and keeping your eyes open it’s not terribly difficult to spot bait, either popping out of the water, in thick schools in the water as you cruise by, or by using a sonar on your boat to locate balls of bait fairly near the surface. by WA Department of Fish & Wildlife Staff 7-30-2020 Website. While these fish generally aren’t going to make long runs deep into your backing, they put up a great fight on a fly rod, changing directions quickly when hooked, often going aerial multiple times, and doing everything they can to get that sharp hook out of their mouth! That scenario is one where heavier sinking lines are very helpful. Depart just minutes from downtown Seattle, you will experience guided charter boat fishing from Seattle to Everett Washington for Blackmouth salmon in winter, Chinook salmon in spring and summer and Coho salmon, Pink salmon, Chums and Sockeye in fall. Stay on the move until you find fish. The drag on these reels is more than enough to stop even the largest salmon, they hold up very well to constant exposure to the salt water, and they look great as well! We offer morning and afternoon trips that are in high demand. Don’t just keep an eye on the water in your immediate vicinity, scan the water as far as you can see. I like to look at the act of searching for coho in the most simple way possible. Coastal cutthroat in the Puget Sound are all native fish and are available to some degree year round making the main target of most fly anglers on the Sound. This is why salmon beach anglers often focus on points. A squall appeared out of nowhere, packing gusts up to 35 knots, and pounced from the north. As I said before, I believe that the best thing any hopeful coho fly fisher can do is to fish a fly they have confidence in, fish it hard, and keep it in the water as much as possible. Home Tips And Tricks Fishing for Coho Salmon in Puget Sound Fishing for Coho Salmon in Puget Sound. DRAFT 2020-2021 Puget Sound recreational Chinook and coho seasons by marine areas. Fishing reports for northwest lakes, rivers and saltwater areas. Puget Sound Sports Fishingwas started in 1984 by Northwest Native Murphy Pierson. With that in mind, the most surefire way to find concentrations of coho is to find the food. When you launch a boat on Puget Sound with the intent of targeting coho on the fly for the first time it is a daunting task to decide where to fish. Many times I’ve been fishing in shallower water near the beach, and been able to spot big swarms of feeding birds way out in deep water. Basics of pink salmon. Out Puget Sound Beaches fly selection contains the perfect fly patterns, most of which have been developed specifically for … Product Description Puget Sound in western Washington is home to sea-run cutthroat trout and silver salmon which roam close to shore and can be great fun for fly fishing anglers. The Puget Sound Habitat Status and Trend Monitoring Program (PSHSTMP) began in 2014 and 2015 as part of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) statutory responsibility to evaluate progress towards recovery of the Puget Sound Chinook, Hood Canal Summer Chum, and Puget Sound Steelhead. Puget Sound is a huge body of water, how on earth can a single fly fisher know where to be casting their fly in hopes of catching a coho? Sure, you can’t get a fly down 500′ feet, but if the fish are 10′ under the surface feeding on herring in that same 500′ of water, you can most definitely get a fly down to them! The type 7 lines I discussed earlier can fish down to 25′ pretty easily. I can’t say enough about these reels. All fishing within Elliott Bay is controlled by the seasons set by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and of course tribal netting. I like to visualize the fly while I’m retrieving… What is it doing? Chum, or dog salmon as they are often called are the most abundant wild salmon in Washington state. June starts the beginning of our summer Salmon. They need to be a stiff enough butt section, yet have a lighter tip section so that they can be cranked down to just before the release is tripped. In my opinion this is the most important aspect to fly fishing for coho, and is where many fly anglers lack confidence. Trout, Salmon, Steelhead and Bass Fishing The PNW. This species uses coastal streams and tributaries, and is often present in small neighborhood streams. 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