Well here it is, nearing the last 10 days of October or so and it has been the worse coho season for me in a long time.
I was starting to think was the unclipped coho I got in the Vedder and another coho bar fishing with 'The Master' days ago going to be the only ones for me this season.
I thought the Vedder would be still too muddy today but I heard later today it had started to come around late yesterday.
Sorry if I reported on this forum that I thought it would be unfishable today but I imagine the visibility was not the greatest but maybe tomorrow it could be excellent.
So I decided to head to the North side of the Fraser River to see what I could find there. Of course the first stop was Cookies for an enjoyable breakfast and then wheeled the Leaf Mobile in an Easterly direction.
As I drive over Mount Woodside I marvel at Nature's beauty as the trees are proudly displaying their Fall colours. As I reach the summit I look down and notice the Fraser is still quite coloured, from the recent rains up North I persume. Today there will be no rain as the sun is peaking out from the slight overcast and it is a mild day as well. Certainly a lovely Fall day to try and get my first hatchery coho of the year.
As I reach the River around 9:45 numerous cars are parked everywhere, a good sign I thought as there should be some fish around, but will I find a spot to fish.
As I drive looking for a parking spot I spot Gary just arriving, he says he is going down the Bible Camp side. I say" jump in and I will run you down part way to save some walking time for you"
After I drop Gary off I drive back to park where I though I would fish. Also I wanted to tie up some roe bags. As I complete tying up 8 or so bags 'The Master" is just coming back from the river. "Nothing doing today Gadsey, only a few dogs" is his report. "Saw a few caught on the other side from where I was fishing" he adds as puts his gear in his truck, calling it a day. While I was tying up the roe bags I saw Gary had left his lunch in the back of the Leaf Mobile, too much of a hurry to get fishing I quess.
I decide I will try and find him and take his bag with his lunch to him. One cannot fish well on a empty stomack, thats why a trip to Cookies to start the day is a good idea.
Just as Nick leaves Gary appears out of the bush looking for his lunch, will I ever get fishing.
Finally I am geared up and it is close to 10:30 now as Gary and I head down towards the E.S. run, We are about 3 minutes from the Leaf Mobile and I ask Gary "got your lunch this time". You guessed it, he forgot it again.
"You go ahead, I will catch up" Gary says.
As I finally reach the river I find a little spot that has yielded me some fish in the past and no one there.
Just as I make my first cast friend Dave arrives and he tells me he has one so far, from further down river.
He slips in above me and we chat as we fish, about bar fishing, the state of how people fish these days and general fishing shop talk.
I connect first but only barb what ever it was, 20 minutes or so later I have one on for a few seconds more and I see the flash of a coho. I am 0 for 2, "I will get the next one" I tell Dave. The next chance comes a few minutes later right at the end of the drift and I have this one on for a little longer than the second fish. The fish clears the water and I see it is a coho of about 4 or 5 pounds, a bright fresh fish but as it lands on its side after the jump it too falls off.
Now 0 for 3.
Dave says he is heading back down river to check to see if the crowds have thinned out there. I stick to my spot and I am finally rewarded, be it a small coho of a bit over 3 pounds but it is a hatchery and a very silver fish as well, fresh fish at last.
I then decide to head down to see where were Gary got to and how Dave was doing. I spot Dave in among the line and he has quickly picked up 2 nice fish, bigger than mine and equally as silver.
I see Gary has found his lunch as he is eating it
on a log brought down by the high water.
I slip to the bottom of the line and in 15 minutes of fishing miss something.
Seeing Gary eating his lunch make me hungry so I decide to take a break and go for a late lunch at The Rivers Edge Restuarant. What a beautiful view of the Harrision River from there and an equally good lunch.
With lunch completed I have had a call from Buckeye who was chasing some cutthroats in the area and he says he will come over for the evening bite.
As I await Buckeye's arrival I tie up a few more roe bags.
We have a couple of hours to fish so we first head down and try where I had hit the 4 fish earlier but we find nothing in 30 mintes of fishing. I suggest we head to the E.S. as sometimes the bite will come on near dark when some fresh fish slip in and the crowds thin out.
On our arrival we see there is some room so we stake out a spot. Buckeye is the first to hit a fish but it is on for a few seconds. "It was a coho" a fly chucker above Buckeye tells him.
Just below me another fly fisher with a Spey rod is into a coho but I can see the way it is fighting I can tell it is foul hooked. Sure enough as he brings it ashore it is caught in the pectoral fin. He is into another quite quickly after that but it a chum which is caught somehere other than inside the mouth.
I then have a chance but whatever it was falls off right away.
A fellow with a spinning outfit has a nice coho on and on landing it he drags it way up onto the beach, in the sand. Must be a hatchery fish, well done I think, maybe the bite is coming on as well.
I am shocked then to see him finally get the hook out and then take it back to the water covered in sand for a release.
I will have a word with him later I tell Buckeye.
As darkness nears I have a fish on briefly on at the end of the drift but it too falls off as I did not even set the hook.
The fellow that has abused the fish starts to leave so I pay him a visit to inform him that you should not treat our beautiful fish like that when you are not retaining them. He tells me he was not sure if it was a hatchery or wild as he brought it ashore was his weak explaination. I tried to be as polite as I could and I said "leave them in the water until you can determine what they are." I donot know if I got through to him but I thought it was my duty to try to do so.
As I was talking to the chap Buckeye had barbed another but as darkness brings our day to an end we have no fish to pack out other than mine already in the Leaf Mobile.
A good day all in all as I had a nice fish to take home and more important being able to fish with some good friends on the Chehalis if you were wondering were we had been fishing but I guess I gave enough hints for most to guess. Like solving a mystery at the end of the book.
O more good news the Leafs won their 4th in a row tonight.
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Topic: A Lovely Fall Day To Hunt For A Coho, Oct.20 (Read 3146 times)