New to Coho fly fishing need basic tips.

cab

cab

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A bit more info, please. Which Sage 8wt? A quick look at Cabela's website showed a 6ips line that was 1/2 size heavy. This, plus a sink tip (weight) and a weighted fly could be simply overwhelming your rod. How far are you trying to cast this? Mind you, I'm no expert, just guessing.

And, I'll be the first jerk to tell you to get a Spey setup. :icon_twis

HTH,
CAB
 
Ard

Ard

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CAB has this right, a 2 hand rod will be a better tool unless you are sight fishing at close range. I'm not familiar with your river and can't really troubleshoot a cast via internet but can tell you this.................

Pacific Silver Salmon aka Coho are an energetic fish that generally jump - porpoise and roll on the surface a lot. You don't cast at the roll, you position yourself well above fish that are showing themselves and swing so that you pass just above them. Sometimes it's tough finding the correct depth but if you line them or they see you they may shut down just like a trout would.

If you do it just right you get the hero shots.



If you're sight fishing with weights it'll seem easy but you may end up snagging fish. If you're trying to bring them to a salmon fly on the swing it may take a while to get the hang of this. By a while I mean a season or 2. If you can find a genuine fly fishing guide who swings salmon flies or tubes for silvers it may be worth the price of admission to learn how to fish for them successfully. I came from a life of swinging streamers & salmon flies for brown trout and salmon in the Mid Atlantic and Northeast / Maritime states & provinces so the transition to Pacific Salmon was fairly simple for me.

Look in our Spey sub forums for a thread called fishing and Controlling the Submerged Fly, that's pretty much about swinging for salmon and steelhead trout.

Ard
 
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kurlybiddles

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Ok awesome thank you for the advice, I am sight fishing and my river has small spots to it but also has some outstanding holes that are in wide spots. I'll have to look into spey rods for sure.
 
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cpowell

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You are just a tad north of a great shop. Avid Anglers.

They have been fishing for and catching the Coho's of late and have very current reliable info on your area and the Coho's.

Jake and Dave have sent me some great pics lately, stop by or give them a call.
 
Ard

Ard

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kurlybiddles said:
Ok awesome thank you for the advice, I am sight fishing and my river has small spots to it but also has some outstanding holes that are in wide spots. I'll have to look into spey rods for sure.
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Sight fishing is an OK thing if you are looking to keep the salmon caught. However if you are C&R fishing just to see how many you may catch on a given day it can rob you of some good experiences.

When a person new to salmon fishing can look into the water and see those big fish that person usually gets stuck right there in that spot for a long time. If the fish see you they probably won't grab a fly but because you can see them you may be reluctant to leave this place. If you want to learn to be a better salmon fisher then you will need to learn to read out the waters to determine where the fish you can't see will probably be located. Being able to see salmon is helpful because you can study the conditions that seem to be influencing them to hold in the water where you can see them. Generally they will use the same type places to hang out all over a river. That is, if there are enough fish in a return to fill up a river with even disbursement over several miles of the river.

What I'm getting at is that once you understand where to expect them then fishing for them can become an interesting challenge. This is when you get into figuring out the various depths - current speeds - and therefor how you need to rig your leader & fly as well as where you need to be fishing / casting from. I've seen guys get hooked on sight fishing and they are pretty much like a fence post flogging away at the water & fish until they either hook one or give it up. After you hook a few and take my word you will snag some the whole thing may lose its attraction. If you really need one for food then that's different, you get the fish anyway you have to. But if you are looking to get better at salmon fishing in general it'll take time on the water and a lot of learning. You might get the idea I'm down on sight fishing but that would be inaccurate. I'm just saying that you need to become well rounded in experiences so that your days out salmon fishing might be more productive.

Likewise you don't want to find yourself posted on a really good looking run for more than a few dozen casts because they generally will either grab the fly or not. I believe that repeated casts and swings through holding salmon that are not intending to bite only helps to condition them to the presence of something that may present a danger. These fish have been living at sea for 3 years by the time they return to fresh water and so they don't know much about humans on rivers. The longer they are in the more they become conditioned to their new environment. For instance if you are fishing 50 miles above the salt water and there is heavy fishing pressure downstream your fish may already be pretty stressed by their interactions with humans. This is often why when you find a bunch of silvers where you can see them they will have lockjaw. If your water levels are low and the water clear they can also see you very well. They don't always go scooting off when they see an angler, they just get glued to the bottom and wait to 'see' what you are doing and whether you're a threat. Many times they are going to be the most vulnerable right at the crack of dawn. At this time they have usually had close to 10 or 12 hours of undisturbed residency during which they tend to forget the happenings of the proceeding day.

Ard
 
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