HauntedByWaters
Life of the Party
There are some nice leatherbacks getting posted here! Those Little Chief smokers must be hurtin’, time to upgrade to the Big Chief?
Same! Had some this morning. Thanks for smoking them up for me!Still eating through my batch of pinks from this summer. View attachment 88845
I wonder what the average size between the trollers and the beach fishers was here on the sound. Every fish I saw caught was a 2-3lb rezzy save for one 5-6lber right before it closed, and most folks here mentioned really runty catches. The average and median size of the Everett Coho derby seemed comparable to previous years, but I am not sure if this is because the average size was similar or because there were a few unusually large fish caught (IIRC the winner was close to 17lbs). I have a stats midterm coming up so I might practice by running statistical analysis in R, I'll post it if anyone is interestedComing to the end of a really strange coho year here on Mid-Vancouver Island. From what was regarded by many as the best coho trolling season ever, to the worst beach casting lockjaw season ever....wasn't what we were anticipating.
Good practice but this was my first thought about using R for derby results.I wonder what the average size between the trollers and the beach fishers was here on the sound. Every fish I saw caught was a 2-3lb rezzy save for one 5-6lber right before it closed, and most folks here mentioned really runty catches. The average and median size of the Everett Coho derby seemed comparable to previous years, but I am not sure if this is because the average size was similar or because there were a few unusually large fish caught (IIRC the winner was close to 17lbs). I have a stats midterm coming up so I might practice by running statistical analysis in R, I'll post it if anyone is interested
For coho I try and be fairly quick on the trigger. If I'm fishing a run for 30-45 minutes without seeing a roll, I'm pretty sure coho are not present in fishable numbers.Quick session on a north sound river, started blown out at the start but slowed down quick. No fish rolling or anything like that. How long do you fish’ spots without signs of fish? I called it quits after a couple hours
I like a clear int line for most coho situations. The veddar is a weird river. A jiggy fly is great for "snappy" fish but once they go lockjaw I want something that suspends well so I can fish an ultra slow presentation. Sparse, flashy and small. Copper is a killer color. Check out some of Andre Stepanian and other BC style coho patterns. Stripped presentation somewhere between 10 and 100 times more effective than swung.If I am gonna pick up just one fly line for freshwater salmon, should I just stick to getting my full floater replaced? I see folks have a lot of luck with a lot of different things. I know folks on the Veddar using intermediate tip lines, folks here using anywhere from type 3-type 7 sink tip lines, and other folks who swear the trick is to use nothing but a full floater and a jiggy fly. I am pretty bad at finding salmon in freshwater. So far I’ve learned chum and pinks like minimum current and less depth. I’ve found coho in deep pools, tail outs, heads, and just hanging around frog water with cover. I thought I figured out Kings and that they’d always be stacked up in deep dark pools but last Spring I also saw a chrome bright Jack roll in like 3 feet of water, so there might be less science to this than I thought.
Sockeye are pretty easy to find in seams, but I doubt I am going to be one of the two people ever who legitimately hook one on a fly lol
If I wanted to have the least amount of flies and gear possible to hit the river for coho, what would you take to the river, and how/where would one fish it? I appreciate all the advice but freshwater salmon on the fly seems to get more daunting rather than less the more I read about it! I almost think I should stick to steelheadI like a clear int line for most coho situations. The veddar is a weird river. A jiggy fly is great for "snappy" fish but once they go lockjaw I want something that suspends well so I can fish an ultra slow presentation. Sparse, flashy and small. Copper is a killer color. Check out some of Andre Stepanian and other BC style coho patterns. Stripped presentation somewhere between 10 and 100 times more effective than swung.
An intermediate line works great for flash flies and jiggy flies. I wouldn't want a faster sinking line with a jiggy fly and I would want to fish anything else on a floater. Int is a good happy medium
+1 in the BC style coho flies. Fishing the lower mainland really changed how i targeted coho. Bumped into Andre a couple times here and there. Great tyer and my most productive coho pattern is based off of one of his.I like a clear int line for most coho situations. The veddar is a weird river. A jiggy fly is great for "snappy" fish but once they go lockjaw I want something that suspends well so I can fish an ultra slow presentation. Sparse, flashy and small. Copper is a killer color. Check out some of Andre Stepanian and other BC style coho patterns. Stripped presentation somewhere between 10 and 100 times more effective than swung.
An intermediate line works great for flash flies and jiggy flies. I wouldn't want a faster sinking line with a jiggy fly and I would want to fish anything else on a floater. Int is a good happy medium
It shouldn't be that daunting. I don't target pinks, chum or chinook much so I can't speak to that, but this is what I bring on a day of coho fishing:If I wanted to have the least amount of flies and gear possible to hit the river for coho, what would you take to the river, and how/where would one fish it? I appreciate all the advice but freshwater salmon on the fly seems to get more daunting rather than less the more I read about it! I almost think I should stick to steelhead
My current box consists of starlight leeches, comets, and funny enough those flash flies you mention!It shouldn't be that daunting. I don't target pinks, chum or chinook much so I can't speak to that, but this is what I bring on a day of coho fishing:
-TFO BVK 790
-Cortland 444 Clear Int line
-12lb Maxima
-A few zonker jiggy flies.
-A graboid or two with a heavy bead to strip in case they're nipping at the tail.
-BC style flash flies in a variety of colors, sizes, and weights.
I cover a lot of water until I find fish. If coho are present they will generally let you know. Some days you won't find them. Some days you'll find them too easy and they won't bite. If they're being difficult, downsize. If they stop biting after you catch one, try a contrasting color. If it becomes clear they aren't going to bite, move on before you snag one.
That is a #1 chartruse Dick Nite that has been seriously beat up on the back cast. A switch rod solves that issue. The #0 size cast better but I have more confidence in the #1. The larger ones make a cool whizzing sound in the air too! Bull trout like them also. The humpies not so much.
The drag on that old Lampson is less than worthless when wet.
Thank you for that info. It's one of two reels I own with a drag system. I hadn't fished it in years and forgot about how crappy it performs when wet.Send the Lamson to Bill Archuleta, he’ll rebuild the drag with different material very reasonably.