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They are still coming

21 (25%)

Bad year....it's over

36 (42.9%)

They are there, just fish harder

27 (32.1%)

Total Members Voted: 84

Voting closed: October 18, 2015, 08:27:07 PM

[fishmonk]

Just want to gauge what you guys are thinking....

[fishmonk]

Bump

[mikeyman]

They r still on the way...to many springs bullying the coho...

[Rodney]

If you are looking for the coho salmon fishing to pick up for the rest of the season, most likely you will be disappointed. Poor marine condition has resulted in higher mortality and less feed for coho, chum and pinks. A good indication is the average size of the fish returning so far this season, and the lack of fish at the hatchery to date. While the presence of chinook salmon definitely has influenced the coho bites, there has been enough water for them to move into the hatchery for a few weeks now.

[Stratocaster]

I'm with Rod on this one.  It seems something might have happened to them out in the ocean.  I suspect lack of feed since the ones we have been catching have been really small, almost Cap coho small.  Based on what I've experienced so far, the coho run is only a fraction of what it was two years ago.  The run that I generally fish this time of year usually produces limit catches in an hour but this year only a handful of fish were caught most of the time.  Pretty poor odds when you are competing against 20 other rods fishing with bait.  Also, the bite has only lasted less than a half our from first light.  I have seen more coho jacks hooked than in other years though so maybe it bodes well for next year.

[fishmonk]

Another thing is that every coho that I have caught this season has been wild. My fishing buddy also.

[Stratocaster]

Another thing is that every coho that I have caught this season has been wild. My fishing buddy also.

It could be because due to budget cuts, they've only been clipping 50% of the fish that they are producing at the hatchery these past few years.  I got that from one of the Creel guys I talked to on the weekend.

[Rodney]

Prior to the start of the season I was communicating with the resource manager who already said the runs will not look too good this year compared to what we experienced in the past two seasons. Yesterday I had a chat with Buck about this before we started fishing and his contact suggested that because of the warmer marine environment this year, the main food items for coho are further north this year, and replaced by a different source of food from further south. Fish are still eating them, but the conversion is just a lot lower, therefore less and smaller fish.

Another thing is that every coho that I have caught this season has been wild. My fishing buddy also.

It's always difficult to conclude what the hatch vs wild ratio is based on the small sample size (a few fish caught out of thousands of fish). What you catch can be influenced by more than the amount of hatchery fish being produced. Take my results for example, most of them have been hatchery fish so far this season and that's only possible by fishing low down (I won't say how low though ). In the past week I've focused my effort further upstream in mid river and all the fish have been wild, most likely due to the fact that fishing pressure is high further down and most of the hatchery fish have all been picked off down there. The ratio of hatchery vs wild changes as you move up the river, especially when water level remains consistently low like this year.

[Fish or cut bait.]

 :excellent reasoning Rod.
However I have caught more Wilds in the lower this season and they are, for the most part, on the small side.
Though I have seen a number of hatchery fish (unfortunately not mine) it is definitely not a stellar season so far but; one of the busiest, when it comes to anglers.

[Rodney]

You gotta use the secret bait that only catches hatchery fish like me...

[Dave]

It could be because due to budget cuts, they've only been clipping 50% of the fish that they are producing at the hatchery these past few years.  I got that from one of the Creel guys I talked to on the weekend.

Pretty sure the creel guy was wrong about that ... afaik all Chilliwack Hatchery coho are clipped.  Can't wait for the crying if hatchery steelhead return in poor numbers as poor ocean conditions and undersized released juveniles will certainly impact returns

[Floater]

The oceanic life of these fish is so shrouded, i fished exclusively on the north coast this summer for over a month and their i saw some of their largest returns they have had in years. All the species came back in record numbers this year especially the springs, i did not stick around for coho but my family tells me its also one of the biggest runs in decades.

[chris gadsden]

If you are looking for the coho salmon fishing to pick up for the rest of the season, most likely you will be disappointed. Poor marine condition has resulted in higher mortality and less feed for coho, chum and pinks. A good indication is the average size of the fish returning so far this season, and the lack of fish at the hatchery to date. While the presence of chinook salmon definitely has influenced the coho bites, there has been enough water for them to move into the hatchery for a few weeks now.

Hey I am always the one that says the run is over for the year.  Made my first trip out today for coho salmon and had one bite, a hen chum that got off after 5 minutes, most likley flossed.

[Rodney]

I didn't say the run is over, I said don't expect it to be better than now.

[buck]

Your right Dave, all coho are clipped.