Puget Sound

SteelHeadDave said:
That was an exceptional fish @KFCDAVE!
I couldn’t get any love from the coho today. Had me questioning my fly selection, flash material, leader length, etc. At one point, and after he had landed multiple fish right next to me, @KFCDAVE took pity on me and offered up one of his flies to me. I just couldn’t take him up on it. I have too much pride or something. I will be tying up a few copycats though. All I gotta do next is learn how to effortlessly launch my casts as far as he does and then I’ll be in business. 😁
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My guy you did him so right on the pics tho. Sometimes you're the cameraman, sometimes you're the subject.
 
Chucker said:
Yes.

wdfw.wa.gov

Coded Wire Tag Program

Image
wdfw.wa.gov wdfw.wa.gov

At that link there is a lookup tool where you can put in the bag tag number and it will tell you where the fish came from. Just make sure you ask the fish checker to show you the tag and take a picture of it (or note down the number some other way..). They take a few weeks to process the tags, but the data shows up eventually.
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i caught a spring chinook that was tagged just below the barrier damn on the cowlitz a fish checker entered into the monthly drawing for a cash prize. one day i got a check from the dept of Fisheries for $75, second place.
 
SteelHeadDave said:
That was an exceptional fish @KFCDAVE!
I couldn’t get any love from the coho today. Had me questioning my fly selection, flash material, leader length, etc. At one point, and after he had landed multiple fish right next to me, @KFCDAVE took pity on me and offered up one of his flies to me. I just couldn’t take him up on it. I have too much pride or something. I will be tying up a few copycats though. All I gotta do next is learn how to effortlessly launch my casts as far as he does and then I’ll be in business. 😁
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I remember about 3-4 years ago me and my dad were fishing down the beach from you and you were just nailing coho after coho while nobody else was catching anything. At that point I had only caught a handful of Salmon on the fly rod. Watching you hook fish after fish inbetween gear guys gave me a lot of confidence that fly fishers can be successful catching Coho off the beach and that I too could have days like that. I think today was one of those days. Also I copied your jerky retrieve that day and It still is my go to retrieve😁
 
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SteelHeadDave said:
That was an exceptional fish @KFCDAVE!
I couldn’t get any love from the coho today. Had me questioning my fly selection, flash material, leader length, etc. At one point, and after he had landed multiple fish right next to me, @KFCDAVE took pity on me and offered up one of his flies to me. I just couldn’t take him up on it. I have too much pride or something. I will be tying up a few copycats though. All I gotta do next is learn how to effortlessly launch my casts as far as he does and then I’ll be in business. 😁
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I’ve been on the receiving end of those types of situations more than I’d like to admit.
It’s amazing how someone 20-30’ to the right or left of you is absolutely drilling them and you can’t get a sniff. I guess that why I enjoy beach fishing so much. The opportunity for redemption and glory is only the next trip away! 😂
SF
 
Scudley Do Right said:
Caught one today after school drop off. I'm not sure the $55 for the ferry is worth it though for about two hours of fishing time.
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You now have WSDOT Ferry Equity.
That run has gotten crazy expensive.
Still $50 with the old as dirt senior discount.
SF
 
Hell, best just stay on that side, after all the time and money it costs.
If I lived over there, I'd never take the ferry for a one tide change shot at some Silvers...now maybe some native Coho...but not Silvers.
 
Scudley Do Right said:
Caught one today after school drop off. I'm not sure the $55 for the ferry is worth it though for about two hours of fishing time.
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I'd never do that again...

Plus, next year it'll be even more.

😉
 
Not many fish around today, but had a chance at a couple. Couldn’t get em to stick.

There was some weird coho behavior where the fish didn’t want anything to do with eating after the sun burned through the clouds. Never seen them go completely lockjaw a ways away from freshwater like that. I also bumped into some guys that I think are on this forum on my way out. I don’t remember how they did.
 
Stonedfish said:
Stomach contents of a hatchery coho I harvested today. This is about half of them. The fish was stuffed.
SF

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They look like Euphausiids (Pacific krill) to me. Fishing from my boat yesterday I found a long line of bird activity foraging on both redish zooplankton and about 2-3 inch size herring, all on a weed line in just about 20-30 feet of water. Every so often a salmon would come from below and smash on the herring, staying maybe 5-10 seconds close to the surface and disapearing down again. All happening on mid-morning broad sun and clear water. It was windier than expected, the wind was pushing this line of activity towards shore, my boat was kind of drifting on an angle through it so had to reposition often. I started working with a small jig and was soon rejected by a salmon. Changed to a pink and chartreuse cone fly and rejected again. Put a simmilar all white cone fly with UV blue flash and bang, fish on. Landed a couple cookie cutter 4-5lbs coho that went back, lost some at the net and finally kept a 26 inch, 7 lb hatchery buck. Empty stomach. In Central Puget Sound we typically see lots of pacific krill, crab larvae, copepods, amphipods and other zooplankton in stomachs earlier in the season (some pictures from samples from June/early July below), often times completely stuffed with them, by now they are often empty or have moved into baitfish. Interesting to see such a stuffed coho on krill this time of the year.

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VMP said:
They look like Euphausiids (Pacific krill) to me. Fishing from my boat yesterday I found a long line of bird activity foraging on both redish zooplankton and about 2-3 inch size herring, all on a weed line in just about 20-30 feet of water. Every so often a salmon would come from below and smash on the herring, staying maybe 5-10 seconds close to the surface and disapearing down again. All happening on mid-morning broad sun and clear water. It was windier than expected, the wind was pushing this line of activity towards shore, my boat was kind of drifting on an angle through it so had to reposition often. I started working with a small jig and was soon rejected by a salmon. Changed to a pink and chartreuse cone fly and rejected again. Put a simmilar all white cone fly with UV blue flash and bang, fish on. Landed a couple cookie cutter 4-5lbs coho that went back, lost some at the net and finally kept a 26 inch, 7 lb hatchery buck. Empty stomach. In Central Puget Sound we typically see lots of pacific krill, crab larvae, copepods, amphipods and other zooplankton in stomachs earlier in the season (some pictures from samples from June/early July below), often times completely stuffed with them, by now they are often empty or have moved into baitfish. Interesting to see such a stuffed coho on krill this time of the year.

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Great info. As mentioned, I’ve used Amphipod and Euphausiid patterns in the winter and spring, but never at this time of year.
Has anyone ever tried them in the summer and had success with them?
SF
 
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