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[VAGAbond]

It seems a matter of accepted wisdom in the Fraser Valley that if you want Coho, use bait.  Sure they can sometimes be caught with spinners and spoons but if you really want fish, use bait.  I have seen this demonstrated when bait fishers outdid the hardware fisher by a large margin.

I have just returned from an almost annual trip to fish the Stamp and Somass and the guides there are quite definite, if you want Coho, spinners and spoons.  Use bait to catch Chinook.  We fished three days, about half of each day with spinners and spoons and half with bait.  We caught plenty of Chinook and a few Coho on hardware but never had a Coho on bait whereas it worked best for Chinook. This repeats a pattern from previous years.

I can’t get my head around this apparent discrepancy.  Is it real?

[psd1179]

Because there are more chinook than coho in the river

[DanTfisherman]

I would agree with their wisdom.
I have given up using bait for Coho for some time now.
Once I moved away from bait, my hook up and catch ratio seemed to go up.

I have found that in the right water, I will always choose flies and they will often out-fish gear.
I do use blades and do very well.
You have not mentioned it, but as I use flies, the closest gear item to the fly is a jig.  I am not a jig fisher, but see the guys using jigs do quite well.

Sometimes it helps to think outside the box and not go with the status quo.
My buddy still talks about the day when we were fishing the Easter Seal run over 20 years ago.
Fishing seemed to be hot for a number of people, then slowed down.  Nobody was catching anything.
On a whim, I picked out a rubber work from my Steelhead pips leader dispenser.  I believe the guy beside me chuckled and thought I did not know what I was doing.  In a sense, I guess he was kinda right, as I had never heard of using a rubber worm for Coho.
In the next 30 minutes or so, I proceeded to connect with a number of Coho, and landed 3.  Rest of the pool was still slow.

Some items I grew up on using for Coho, but have not tried in quite a while were corkies and wool, Spin-n-glows, and the original BC orange Gooey bob.  Still have some of these.

Have some other tips based on observations, but will let others provide their thoughts.  One really clear and concise observation I have made, but do not want to give everything away.

Dano

[DanTfisherman]

Should also mention the Stamp/Somass system is a tough one to judge with coho.  I have fished it and have family who still continue to fish.  The Coho there are pretty finicky, and it can be a difficult system to get Coho action.  Have family who swear by and are currently looking for the old school Ironheads in the 24 k gold and sterling silver for Island systems.  They work here too.

Dano

[colin6101]

I hook more coho on fly than anything else, definitely catch more springs on bait. I think a large part of it has to do with where these fish hold and travel in a river though.

[RalphH]

In the Fraser valley I've caught all 5 species of salmon on flies but I'll leave sockeye out of it beyond that mention. I've also caught the other 4 on lures and bait. I enjoy throwing spoons and spinners for coho and springs will take those as well at times. Chucking spinners was really important in my learning to find coho in larger streams and distinguish them from other species. Flies can be really effective for coho but fly fishing is limited as to the distance it can cover and the sort of water it can fish effectively. The same is true for traditional spinning approaches in some sorts of water. One thing very different on the popular coho rivers in the FV is the number of anglers. I can't help but think that the behavior of the fish is affected when every piece of holding and resting water on a river like the Vedder/Chilliwack is lined by picket fences of anglers. On top of that when 90% of anglers are fishing with roe, it's hard not to observe that roe catches the most fish. It's also very hard for fly anglers to even fit in the typical conga line of anglers one finds on the more popular runs.

[Every Day]

This year on the somass was the first year I ever did somewhat OK for coho on bait. Most years we only get one or two on bait over multiple days, but this year we got multiple almost every day. The one day I actually managed almost as many coho as I did chinook. Overall I find those somass coho incredibly picky, and I'd agree with the sentiment that they will mostly bite metal. I find that they bite much better in the river above the falls as well one they've slowed down and started holding. Spoons almost always out fish everything else in the upper regions.

In all honesty though, I prefer almost anything else over bait when coho fishing in every single system I fish. What I use is totally dependant on the river. Some places they love flies. Some places they only want a big, others they only want a spoon. Change it up lots, and figure out what they want!

The Vedder most years does absolutely best with spoons (either crocs, or larger oval spoons - like R&B). I find that most of the time, a brass/ silver works best, but other times they really like brass/ orange or brass/chartreuse. Last year was totally different, I think I only managed maybe 7 or 8 spoon fish the entire season, whereas spinners landed well over 100 fish. Jigs and flies also got into a good number of fish (more so in low Water periods), but spinners were the best performing by far.

[TNAngler]

Growing up fishing the Nooksack for Coho and Chinook, when we were young we were set there with some roe.  As we got older we moved to Dick Nights which I believe my dad still uses for Coho to this day.  There were always people fishing with roe, some fly fishing or spinning.  I agree with Ralph though that often it is the unique item that may set you apart.  If a fish is going to hit bait, your chance of being the first one to put that bait in front of them is greatly reduced if everyone else is using it.  However, if everyone else is using bait and you are the only one using a spinner, maybe only 1 out of the 10 fish in the hole may take a spinner but that is 1 fish you are likely to catch and the other 40 guys in the hole (assuming normal overcrowding conditions) have 9 fish to split between them.

Right time and place, being in the right position in the river, number of fishers on the river, number of fish in the river and many other things affect your hook ups.  And choosing something they aren't going to hit no matter what doesn't help.  However, if you can set yourself apart from everyone else there in some way, you can often increase your catches.

I found the same thing fishing for steelhead.  It was common on the Nooksack when bar fishing (plunking) to have a splitter with two spin n glos and two hooks, both with roe with the bottom one longer than the top.  I switched it up, did the two set up, but made the bottom shorter than the top and didn't put roe on the top figuring if a fish came up based on the smell it would have a spin n glo right above its head annoying it.  Of the three years I did that, I vastly outfished every one of the other guys on the bar and I think all but one of my hook ups was on the hook without the roe.

I guess you just have to think how the fish think.  What have they seen repeatedly, what is going to be different or unique.  Something that entices them that they haven't seen before or haven't seen in a couple days is likely going to have a better hook up rate than something that entices them but they have seen 10 times already today and maybe already hit and either just got off or was even fought for a little while before getting off.

[Roderick]

If both spring and coho are holding together, the springs will literally muscle the coho out of the way to get to your piece of roe.  I think the springs are attracted more to scent, while coho are more visual.

[jim]

Currently fishing the Vedder. I ask and look to see and find out what the Coho are biting on. I'm told pale pink beads, UV beads, orange beads with white frosting, cerise beads.  Rod suggests lures like 1/4 oz Crocs, gibbs Koho 35, others say Ultra lures, gold Ironheads, so trying to get and use those where I can. Peeps been catching on plain colorado blades, and I caught 2 on a French blade with yellow backside. A lot of roe being used and they bite that, but the springs like it too. Seeing as it is a good year for jack springs I may as well keeps using roe for a while, then switch to blades, jigs, beads, and wool.
I hear they like small dabs of roe, so maybe I should try more small roe bags, have lots...

[Lunk Louie]

When we talk about Coho and bait the assumption is usually always roe in some cured form...BUT has anyone tried using dew worms/night crawlers? In ancient times, as a newb, I was caught by surprise with my first freshwater coho on dew worms, under the old spherical style red and white bobber, in a small LML stream wilst fishing for cutthroat. As I came to learn, dew worms worked on virtually any species of fish and a lot less messy than roe...if I was fishing gear today I wouldn't hesitate to try it.

[redside1]

When we talk about Coho and bait the assumption is usually always roe in some cured form...BUT has anyone tried using dew worms/night crawlers? In ancient times, as a newb, I was caught by surprise with my first freshwater coho on dew worms, under the old spherical style red and white bobber, in a small LML stream wilst fishing for cutthroat. As I came to learn, dew worms worked on virtually any species of fish and a lot less messy than roe...if I was fishing gear today I wouldn't hesitate to try it.

Used to fish dew worms all the time in the cheakamus river for coho in the early to mid 1970’s. They also worked good for steelhead up there

[TNAngler]

Growing up we would use nightcrawlers for coho or chinook, whichever may take it.  Can't say we had significant hook ups so can't say that would be a preferred method but who knows.  Once I was old enough to cast myself, I switched to using lures.  When you are five and can hardly handle the rod and don't have the patience to sit and wait, plunking allowed us to play in the dirt/rocks and just look up every so often.  So, as a five year old, over 40 years ago, I don't remember catching that many but I know we caught some.  Take that for what you will given the distance and the age of the memory.

[sumasriver]

Caught a. 20 lb spring using willow leaf troll with a big dewie on the end......  trolling in the Sumas back in my youth.
Upriver from McDonald Park.......   I wish now i would have released it.... but it went on the BBQ instead...Good memories.

[Silex-user]

Used to fished the Little Campbell River in White Rock and south Surrey back in in 70' and early 80's for coho, summer chinook and winter steelheads. I used nothing but dew worms and caught lots of coho and some springs. The salmons would stacked up on Indian reserve side pool of river during low tide. Another famous pool was called the mud hole by highway 99.  I used go to dairy farms and lifted over cow pies for fresh slimely dew worms and that was hot ticket.


Silex-user