Freshwater coho flies

Matt B

Matt B

RAMONES
Forum Supporter
One guideline I heard recently which makes general sense to me is using bigger, more visible patterns when covering water, searching for players, and using the smaller jiggy stuff when you find a pod hanging out. What fly patterns do you like for freshwater coho? (not the stacks of grabby Alaska fish, but our moody sumbitches down here)
 
I mostly fish clouser minnows (chartreuse or pink) on the single hander and just my usual wiggly winter steelhead tube fly (in pink) on the two-hander. Where they overlap with summer steelhead in rivers, I’ve caught a bunch on top with big muddlers, waked and chugged.
 
With the heavily pressured north Sound rivers (especially those "S" rivers) during the lower flows and relatively clear water typical of the early fall season I have found it hard to beat the simple spider. I fish mostly size 4 hooks with a variety of body colors: including black, dark olive, yellow, chartreuse, pink and my all-time favorite burned orange with a hackle of long mallard flank feathers. As with most of my salmon fishing an actively fished fly with 6-to-12-inch stripes with some sort of streamer line or full sinker. I also try to fish above the fish hoping to trigger a reaction bite and minimize the foul hooking problem.

As the coho mature (colored) larger flashy flies will trigger an aggressive take (especially the males) though I lose interest in fishing such fish.

Curt
 
I've found it's highly dependent on the type of coho and the water conditions. Early run CR trib fish here in SWW and NW OR (Clack more so than the Sandy), tend to be super lock-jawed. Either tiny stuff, basically soft hackle type stuff in sizes 8 & 10 tied with some flash and whatever color (if any) they like that day/minute. Bigger piss-em-off stuff will work at first light, or if you can find them stopped in a resting spot when they're on the move during a freshet.

Late run fish down here are MUCH more receptive. They'll take swung flies in runs, dead-drifted in pocket water, and stripped/jigged stuff in pools. They can also be typical coho middle-fin flipping turds.

I would presume there's a similar early/late run disparity in bitey-ness up your way.

Some of standards in my coho box:

> Polar shrimps with flash ribbing have been good swung, and dead drifted (weighted).
> Weighted marabou patterns in combo's of black, pink, orange, chartreuese, and from what I've heard apparently I need to try blue.
> Anything bright and nymphy tied on #2 tuna live bait hooks for pocket water (Lifters are also a good choice).
> A pattern I call a "Mega Comet" which works well fished all three ways.

Basically it's an over sized comet tied with clear vinyl ribbing over a flash (lateral scale) base (ala Crazy Charlie). The tail and wing are a mix of FisHair and pearl flashabou and/or fine lateral scale. Tied extra-long, almost Spey style, with a sparse Schlappen collar and lead eyes. This has been a good pattern for me, particularly the top color combo. Works swung, stripped, and dead-drifted.:

1663256453561.png
1663255578812.png
 
Last edited:
For stripping, give me a purple egg-sucking leech with an orange or bubble gum pink tungsten bead for a head. Basically a jig on a fly hook. Easy to tie, and effective everywhere coho swim.

Here's another "jig on a fly hook" pattern Bjorn at the Fly Fisher turned me on to. I'm excited to try them, as I think these dogs will hunt.
20220915_091907.jpg

I also like unweighted marabou spiders, fished off a light-ish sink tip for the swing presentation. Again, easy to tie and effective. In Satsop colors...
20220913_154817.jpg

Clousers in tidewater or saltwater....

A #4 is a good hook size for most applications. Seems to cover noise and stealth situations pretty well.

Making the fish bite is another matter, and as has been said, not all coho are equal when it comes to "game-ness." Satsop coho, for example, are legendary fly quarry (if you can find a rock to stand on, let alone cast from, in the lower river, which is pretty much the only accessible water without a boat). As @SilverFly said, Cowlitz and Kalama early runs can be notoriously tough to trigger. As with all fish, if you find some fish that aren't being hammered (harder and harder these days), you're probably going to have good action just about anywhere.
 
Matt B said:
One guideline I heard recently which makes general sense to me is using bigger, more visible patterns when covering water, searching for players, and using the smaller jiggy stuff when you find a pod hanging out. What fly patterns do you like for freshwater coho? (not the stacks of grabby Alaska fish, but our moody sumbitches down here)
Click to expand...
I did my best on simple flash flies.. colorful marabou work too but the silver flash fly with the red throat was best..

If guys are getting them on spinners it's game on for flies.. if the only people getting them are corky fishing. Move on..
 
Whenever I have specifically tried for silvers in rivers I’ve almost caught nothing. Fishing for fishing for pinks or SRCs I’ve picked up a few ‘surprises’. I’d focus on the former and be ready for the latter. Basically swung smaller flies in pink/silver or rolled muddlers in sz 8 -12 2x

Dave
 
SilverFly said:
I've found it's highly dependent on the type of coho and the water conditions. Early run CR trib fish here in SWW and NW OR (Clack more so than the Sandy), tend to be super lock-jawed. Either tiny stuff, basically soft hackle type stuff in sizes 8 & 10 tied with some flash and whatever color (if any) they like that day/minute. Bigger piss-em-off stuff will work at first light, or if you can find them stopped in a resting spot when they're on the move during a freshet.

Late run fish down here are MUCH more receptive. They'll take swung flies in runs, dead-drifted in pocket water, and stripped/jigged stuff in pools. They can also be typical coho middle-fin flipping turds.

I would presume there's a similar early/late run disparity in bitey-ness up your way.

Some of standards in my coho box:

> Polar shrimps with flash ribbing have been good swung, and dead drifted (weighted).
> Weighted marabou patterns in combo's of black, pink, orange, chartreuese, and from what I've heard apparently I need to try blue.
> Anything bright and nymphy tied on #2 tuna live bait hooks for pocket water (Lifters are also a good choice).
> A pattern I call a "Mega Comet" which works well fished all three ways.

Basically it's an over sized comet tied with clear vinyl ribbing over a flash (lateral scale) base (ala Crazy Charlie). The tail and wing are a mix of FisHair and pearl flashabou and/or fine lateral scale. Tied extra-long, almost Spey style, with a sparse Schlappen collar and lead eyes. This has been a good pattern for me, particularly the top color combo. Works swung, stripped, and dead-drifted.:

View attachment 32262
View attachment 32261
Click to expand...
Dirty. I love them
 
I've talked to canadians who swear by rolled muddlers and California Neals in freshwater, but I can't seem to make them work down here. I fish sparse and drab muddlers for cutthroat all fall, but have yet to pick up a coho on them. Maybe I'm fishing them in the wrong water.
 
Fishing 3 times in the last 10 days chasing cutthroat on the Skagit and Stillaguamish I lucked into a coho each day all on an orange spider. Many of the coho currently in the river are smallish (3 to 5#). Past years have proven that those small coho are relatively "more trouty" with my "incidental" coho catch higher than normal. Kind of fun to have a mix bag of coho and cutthroat; especially that rare case when the largest cutt is bigger than the adult coho.

Curt
 
Dave Boyle said:
Whenever I have specifically tried for silvers in rivers I’ve almost caught nothing. Fishing for fishing for pinks or SRCs I’ve picked up a few ‘surprises’. I’d focus on the former and be ready for the latter. Basically swung smaller flies in pink/silver or rolled muddlers in sz 8 -12 2x

Dave
Click to expand...
I’ve had some sporadic luck on flies and it’s one of those bites I feel is worth searching for. It helps to have open seasons and fish to fish for. I caught a real nice surprise coho basically at Ben Howard at the start of a short pink float last year. Of course that was on a Dick Nite, cast out of the raft into a little riffle pocket.
 
Shad said:
For stripping, give me a purple egg-sucking leech with an orange or bubble gum pink tungsten bead for a head. Basically a jig on a fly hook. Easy to tie, and effective everywhere coho swim.

Here's another "jig on a fly hook" pattern Bjorn at the Fly Fisher turned me on to. I'm excited to try them, as I think these dogs will hunt.
View attachment 32270

I also like unweighted marabou spiders, fished off a light-ish sink tip for the swing presentation. Again, easy to tie and effective. In Satsop colors...


A #4 is a good hook size for most applications. Seems to cover noise and stealth situations pretty well.
Click to expand...
Size 4 streamer hook, but is that a 3X long, 6X, etc.?
 
Matt B said:
Size 4 streamer hook, but is that a 3X long, 6X, etc.?
Click to expand...
I think I have those jig things tied on 4x long, heavy wire Tiemcos, but the 3x long with the down eye is a great platform...

The spiders I tied on a salmon-style Gamakatsu, because I had some, and they are classy hooks.

Of course, these details matter little to the fish. When they're biting, they're not picky. The eye you seek to please is your own, right?
 
Smalma said:
I have found it hard to beat the simple spider. I fish mostly size 4 hooks with a variety of body colors: including black, dark olive, yellow, chartreuse, pink and my all-time favorite burned orange with a hackle of long mallard flank feathers.
Click to expand...
Curt, how about you and your size 4 spiders? Are those on 3XL streamer hooks or something else like a slightly curved shank hook like a TMC 200R? Do you wrap the shanks with wire weight or leave them unweighted?
Thanks for everybody’s input!
 
Smalma said:
Fishing 3 times in the last 10 days chasing cutthroat on the Skagit and Stillaguamish I lucked into a coho each day all on an orange spider. Many of the coho currently in the river are smallish (3 to 5#). Past years have proven that those small coho are relatively "more trouty" with my "incidental" coho catch higher than normal. Kind of fun to have a mix bag of coho and cutthroat; especially that rare case when the largest cutt is bigger than the adult coho.

Curt
Click to expand...

I've had some luck in slow or still water down here in SWW, with small spider-style patterns tied with mylar legs. Not pretty but it has caught a few. Think this is on a #8, or maybe a #6 saltwater hook. Next time I'll do some in orange.

download (6).jpeg
 
Matt -
I'm definitely old school tying my spiders on Mustad wet nymph hook -# 3399A. Have been using them for at least 50 years and have been my go to hook for cutthroat because if I'm fishing best cutthroat holding water I'll lose significant numbers of flies. I tie my unweighted. Even though a "cheap" hook they have performed well for me for the cutthroat and coho and have landed more than my share of steelhead and tide water Chinook on them.

Curt
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top