Non-Fly Coho 2026

[speedbird]

First keeper in the boat, second of the year. Gave it to my buddy! Was super slow though.

 

[Chucker]

Thoughts on where the big boys bleeding was coming from? A lot of people are saying the gills but I did not see any blood coming from the gill openings while I got him back in the water. I hate to think he’s dead and seal food instead of on a spawning bed.

The area 9 selective fishery for coho is a shame in my opinion given their higher rates of mortality than chinook, and the disproportionate amount of coho that need to be released in order to find a clipped one

The data is really clear that poor handling leads to higher mortality - but still, the way that people handle fish here mostly sucks. it is illegal to bring a unclipped fish inside the gunwale of your boat, but you see people doing it all the time, like you did. Whether or not that fish was injured by being hooked, or by thrashing around in your net, it was most likely doomed to die by being brought on to your deck and kept out of the water for however long it took you to get it out of the net and take your picture.

Also, probably not a great idea to post a picture of yourself doing something illegal on the internet…