Coho jigs

Chucker said:
Hot pink as a change up for when you know the fish are still there, but they are not hitting the other colors any more.

Anyone got a source for reasonably priced jig heads?
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I lead off and fish pink as a rule. Purple, black, blue, are changeups.
 
Just rigged up my twitching rods yesterday. Agree 100% with Shad's post above^^.

I can twitch jigs and catch coho in my back yard (literally, although my next door neighbors' yards on either side are better) so I tend to do it a lot in the fall to fill the freezer.

My best producer is a 'nightmare' pattern. White jig head, black bunny strip tied with a shank length tail then palmered forward, a couple wraps of red schlappen on marabou and tie off. Takes a couple minutes to tie.

I'm sure the above is my best producer as I fish it the most. Black/blue, back purple, black/black all seem to work fine. I haven't done well with bright colors but I'm up river a ways.

Rubber worm probably works just as well and allows for quick color changes but I like tying in the evenings.
 
Dustin Chromers said:
I lead off and fish pink as a rule. Purple, black, blue, are changeups.
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Pink is a solid lead for anything anadromous. The guys in the ocean say, "If it ain't chartreuse, it ain't no use," and in-river, we say, "If you don't have lots of pink, your day may stink." Okay, nobody says the second one, but I witnessed the quoted poster nailing a nice chromer (of course) on a pink jig near the end of what had been a mysteriously slow day (fish in the river, but biting like shit), and I think most agree pink is a "hot" color for salmon and steelhead. Sometimes, the fish prefer pale (bubble gum) pink, but some shade of pink is always a good start. Don't show up without some pink, lest ye risk fornicating about....
 
The Coho King said:
So tell me where to buy 3/4 jig heads painted or not. Yakima twitcher heads are perfect but don't believe anyone sells just their
heads.
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Bullet head jig heads allow hoochie skirts to be used. I get mine at cabelas/bass pro in the crankbait, plastic bait section, not the jig or salmon area..
 
Wetswinger said:
Bullet head jig heads allow hoochie skirts to be used. I get mine at cabelas/bass pro in the crankbait, plastic bait section, not the jig or salmon area..
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Yes! Cabelas/Bass Pro is rarely the cheapest, but they do have a solid selection of jig heads that are cheaper than the ones on premium hooks.

Cheap hooks can be a good thing in this game... I know a guy who uses cheap jig hooks (that bend fairly easily) and heavy mainline (coho are not leader shy), so when he hooks wood, he can usually pull on the mainline until the hook bends to the point where the jig comes free without breaking off. A quick bend with pliers makes the hook "good enough" to fish again (with limits, of course).
 
Did you mean jigs for under floats, or the jigs that slay them, that you actually jig with?
 
Twitching jigs for coho on the lower Humptulips.....my arm was sore from so many fish.
 
Gent out here slays em with a black leech or egg sucking leech with a dropper weight and longish leader... fancy flossin' rig.

I know... sacrilege for some...
 
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I just copy the hawken twitching jig patterns, but like others have said, one rabbit strip lashed to a hook is probably fine. I use purple or black with a chartreuse head, that's what I've twitched up my coho's on. I've got a couple dozen in those colors, and a few in nightmare pattern to change it up. Some gear people really think color matters. I dunno, I think any type of fishing 99% of it is finding the fish and showing them whatever you've got. I guess if a spot has been pounded, showing something different might be good.

I've read a little bit about using a bobber with a big jig for coho, but nobody seems to do it in the US.
 
Wetswinger said:
Bullet head jig heads allow hoochie skirts to be used. I get mine at cabelas/bass pro in the crankbait, plastic bait section, not the jig or salmon area..
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I use, and prefer round 1/2 oz jig hooks under my hoochies!
 
Go to STS online and to the section “Articles. Page 6 has one twitching for salmon. All the advise says to keep the lift of your rod tip short with a sorta quick lift. Have done this more with pinks than coho. Pinks are not as fussy as coho in the little amount of experience i have had. The river up here fishes best when the water temperature starts to cool off from the summer warmth. If we get a good shot of rain that will really get them awake and biting.
 
DerekWhipple said:
I just copy the hawken twitching jig patterns, but like others have said, one rabbit strip lashed to a hook is probably fine. I use purple or black with a chartreuse head, that's what I've twitched up my coho's on. I've got a couple dozen in those colors, and a few in nightmare pattern to change it up. Some gear people really think color matters. I dunno, I think any type of fishing 99% of it is finding the fish and showing them whatever you've got. I guess if a spot has been pounded, showing something different might be good.

I've read a little bit about using a bobber with a big jig for coho, but nobody seems to do it in the US.
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I have only caught one silver using the float and jig technique. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work more often. That one time was in rolling faster water with up and down jig movement from the river. Maybe tip the jig with prawn or egg ?
 
I was talking to a guy at fishermans about canadian coho methods that really never caught on down here, and he thought it was becuase they just had a lot more fish, so there would likely be fish in areas that are good for a certain technique. Seems like non-bait methods here involve movement, like twitching jigs and spinners/spoons, which work in slow water, where fish are most of the time.
 
Paige said:
Hit me and Jeffery up this fall, we'll show you the light!
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Got out with these two yesterday and managed to rack up some serious jig debt to Brian. These two guys are pros at what they're doing. Jigged so much my left hand ring finger is still numb! LOL! Hope I recover...
Thanks guys for such an incredible day! We gotta fish some more...
 
Thank's for coming out Wayne it was a blast. Today has been waaaaaaay slower, only 2 so far, but still 2 miles to go!
 
I go 1/4 & 3/8. I retrieve pretty quick and above the fish. I don't let it go deep when they are stacked as you will run the risk of foul hooking fish. I like pink, purple, and black and blue in that order. I twitch it up and fish them in a pretty animated way. As water cools I'll slow it down. Best fished on braided line with a shortish spinning rod.
 
I was jigging for coho a few weeks ago on the lower Cowlitz using a spinning rod with braid. I'm doing something wrong. Reeling in while the jig drops, the slack braided line goes on the spinning reels too loose, resulting in tangled loops coming off on the subsequent cast. I need to try this again and learn how to do it right.
 
Dustin Chromers said:
I go 1/4 & 3/8. I retrieve pretty quick and above the fish. I don't let it go deep when they are stacked as you will run the risk of foul hooking fish. I like pink, purple, and black and blue in that order. I twitch it up and fish them in a pretty animated way. As water cools I'll slow it down. Best fished on braided line with a shortish spinning rod.
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I completely agree on keeping the jig above them, but PS fish are completely different than coastal fish. 1/4 & 3/8 jigs will excel in small coastal creeks and rivers but will be insufficient on heavily pressured large PS rivers!
 
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