The Outdoor Line Forum

I'm looking for some pointers for catching coho in the river. I've usually just targeted pinks. I have a boat and downriggers. I'm hoping to expand my skill set and give me something to do in the river during the even years. I do ok with silvers in area 10 but have zero experience in the river. Any tips would be appreciated. I'm also open to bank fishing. For any bank anglers that are dialed in, maybe we could trade for a boat trip some time.

Whassup Who,
Welcome aboard! River coho can be one frustrating drill.

To have them jumping all around you and not bite can be an exasperating experience.

I have three tips for you:
Fish early, fish deep and fish small... Let's break these down a bit

EARLY With river coho, first light is the best bite. As light levels increase, the mature coho becomes dour and often will not bite. In this case, the early bird gets the big hooknose!

DEEP Don't be distracted by all that surface activity. The coho that are going to bite are the ones that are holding in the drift and become territorial. Sure, you'll snag a couple jumpers accidentally but day in and day out, keeping your gear on the bottom -in the strike zone- is the smart and productive play!

Small Big bait, big fish...uh, yeah.. when they're feeding maybe... When the urge to merge (as in reproduce or spawn) overcomes the need to feed you've got to make a stealthy, interesting presentation to be successful. In the Green River, Dick Nite spoons, small spinners, small Hot Shot plugs or little clusters of eggs are the go-to gear.
Down in the Duwamish, trolling plugs, small red-label herring or, using a Hot -n- Tot as a diver with a six-foot leader to the aforementioned Dick Nite can be very effective!

Nelly,
Thank you for the tips. Should I worry about tide at all? And what would be the ideal method for fishing deep. 3way with dropper, Downrigger, etc.? And when you say deep, do you mean right off of the bottom? Any color recommendations? I really enjoy your show.

The Duwamish coho bite really well on flat lined Wiggle Warts in a variety of colors. Most of the fishing takes place up the channel a little ways and it's been quite crowded. The fishing has been good though

Duck dog ,
Thank you. What type of speed should I be using. I troll pretty fast in the salt but not sure about the river

No need to troll all that fast really. Idle works fine and you might speed up every so often for a little bit to make the plugs dive deep. Then go back to idle again.