PNW Salmon

[John H]

I spent some days in the PNW doing various things but the centerpiece was a couple of days pursuing salmon on the fly. One beautiful fall day casting for coho in the tidewater and one very rainy day trying to make something happen on the upper river. There are a lot of people out there trying to get the salmon right now. It can be a tough life when you are big and tasty and pull hard. I also went out on the charter boat for ling cod, etc. The fish were 400 feet below the boat so I fished the 20 ounce lead fly. Good times.


http://i.imgur.com/bPXwVJm.jpg (https://imgur.com/bPXwVJm)
A humpback whale. The biggest animal spotted on the trip. A lot of them out there. Seems like I see a whale every time I go to the coast. The captain got us pretty close to a pair that were playing around on the surface.

https://i.imgur.com/Kx8WaQc.jpg
A beautiful stream meandering across the beach. Probably a good coho run here back in the day.

http://i.imgur.com/dwU24Bm.jpg (https://imgur.com/dwU24Bm)
Big leaf maple.

https://i.imgur.com/i1CmhTu.jpg
Getting on the water at first light.

https://i.imgur.com/nKeqTB5.jpg
A bunch of dudes pounding the water.

https://i.imgur.com/aKqfdvN.jpg
We anchored in the tidewater and waited for pods of fish coming from the salt to pass within casting range.

https://i.imgur.com/OowA0IJ.jpg
That is what you like to see on your anadromous fish.

https://i.imgur.com/JduASFK.jpg
Coho in the 6 to 8 pound range. Not always released.

https://i.imgur.com/XzMWg6g.jpg
My top notch guide holding a Chinook caught in the rain.

https://i.imgur.com/4IjxfOA.jpg
Biking through the tree farm

[Mr T]

too cool- love the last shot!

[Dick]

John,
What great pix. Thanks so much for allowing us to go with you.
Dick

[Langenbeck]

John,
What great pix. Thanks so much for allowing us to go with you.
Dick

Very nice photos

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I have watched a lot of videos about catching Searun Cutthroat trout and small Silver salmon along the Washington coast.

Another 5 star post John........thanks.

[John H]

Coho do have a very narrow size range. I think one of the allures of steelhead and chinook is the size variation - you never know what you are going to get and the possibility of a very large one is there. Coho size is a little more predictable. I have caught them on floats in Alaska but those fish had been in the river a while and were not as hot as the fresh from the salt fish. I may try it a little later in the season next year. Some bigger fish come up then. They are growing so fast in the ocean an extra month or two puts a few more pounds on them. No cutthroat on this trip but a couple of small bull trout.