Coho salmon on the Columbia river

[bweb]

Columbia trolling

Columbia trolling

Do people troll around the I-205 bridge or is it all anchors? I've never fished the Columbia and hope to go out trolling a little next Monday. I have an anchor. Maybe I should bring it in case I can't find a spot to troll. Am I looking for 15-20 feet or so of water?

 

[osmosis]

take your anchor with as well. lots of people troll for coho and equally many anchor up.

some years they are in 10', last year I did well in 28'-35' 2 years ago I caught a bunch in 40'. change it up until you get bit.
you can always do the "drunken pirate" while you troll. have the guys running the rods maintain bottom contact (2 cranks off the bottom) while you weave back and forth down the river so that you cover more depths in each pass.

 

[dude young]

On tap...

On tap...

Four Horsemen Brewing presents a very special OFF-ering; Coho Chaos Nutty Brown Ale. Will certainly be ready to go for early-mid Sept.

A low ABV English style Brown session beer that will ensure that we all make it out alive. And, I have been meaning to dabble in the world of soft drinks, so I may just show up for the slaughter with my interpretation of the Orange Cream-cicle for those that do not imbibe.

 

[Kodiak]

Four Horsemen Brewing presents a very special OFF-ering; Coho Chaos Nutty Brown Ale. Will certainly be ready to go for early-mid Sept.

A low ABV English style Brown session beer that will ensure that we all make it out alive. And, I have been meaning to dabble in the world of soft drinks, so I may just show up for the slaughter with my interpretation of the Orange Cream-cicle for those that do not imbibe.

Sounds like it will go well with an early fall coho day. Well have to find a place where we won't get in trouble, maybe look into a permit or something. If not we be pirates!!

 

[bweb]

Thanks so much for the advice. As or right now you can keep anything fin-clipped and non-fin clipped chinook, right? (with only 1 being a chinook)

 

[bweb]

I guess I have a hard time understanding is after Aug 1st from the I-5 bridge to Bonneville right now it says

August 1 – December 31:

•Open for retention of adult and jack (≤24”) Chinook (fin-clipped or not), adipose fin-clipped steelhead, and adipose fin-clipped coho.
•The combined daily bag limit is two adults (only one of which may be a Chinook) and five jacks.

Does this mean only the jacks can be fin clipped or not or does this apply to the adults too? I always want to make sure I'm doing things legally. Maybe I should track down a phone number and call.

 

[osmosis]

They always write it in a way that is hard to understand.

It means you get one adult chinook per day, fin clipped or not. 5 jack per day. Chinook jack can be fin clipped or not.
steelhead and coho must be fin clipped.
A coho jack is from 16" to 24" and fin clipped coho jack may be retained towards your 5 jack limit.

 

[FishFinger]

<All jacks regardless of clippage need to be removed from the gene pool although the limit is 5 daily.>

Only fin clipped jacks can actually be retained.. my error..

There after only clipped adult steelhead, coho are retainable. Of the adult bag limit only one can be a chinook, clipped or not.

****Oops edited content above based on Osmo correction below

 

[osmosis]

you're right, they need to be - however it is illegal to retain jack coho or steelhead with an adipose fin. coho and steelhead must be adipose fin clipped. chinook can be with or without the fin clip.

 

[Fishtopher]

I dont get the kill the jack thing. care to school me?

 

[osmosis]

jack's have something that snap in their head so they come back after 1 year in the salt, sometimes 2 years. Bad genetics.

They come back sexually mature and if they successfully spawn they are passing on that inferior jack gene pool making more of our returns, jack'd up.
No one wants our fish to all be 4-5lbs, we want ADULTS!

 

[Fishtopher]

Gotcha. So do you know why its different with Silvers and Steelhead?

 

[osmosis]

The main reason that I know of, regarding the fin clipped/non clipped deal with the chinook is because the Indian/tribal hatcheries do not clip their fish. so many of the chinook with fins in the fall are indeed also hatchery fish.

We can't keep non fin clipped coho and steelhead to help protect some of the trib's actual wild runs.

I fish a particular river that only has wild coho every year (no hatchery) and they are all about 4lbs. tiny litle fish. if non clipped jack coho were open to retention people would be keeping those fish, and they are truly natural adults (naturally spawning, w/ no hatchery on the whole river).

 

[autofisher]

Ahem

Ahem

Jeez, I was looking forward to shooting the video of that event! LOL...We'll make sure you can make it in barb, I promise! You know Autofisher probably has afavor or two he owes you...maybe for i don't know, food shelter, birth. He's a fairly large lad, you just make him get on all fours and ride him like a pony. Besides, we are going to setup where the fish are, and they may not be at cedar creek, maybe they will hold some place way easier to get at them.ray:

Look, I know I'm big but you don't have to make me out to be a pack mule!!! And besides, I'd help her. I'll buy her some rollerblades and push her up to the edge and the rest is up to her. LOL JK. I'll be there assuming I don't fall off the roof again.(we'll just say it was just bad juju). And Kodiak, if I remember correctly, you are the one that most resembles a shetland pony. LOL JK
Also, Osmosis I would like to personally thank you for all of your abundant knowledge that you share. You, like so many others are an invaluable asset to this forum. I can't wait to meet you and hook some fish. Let's get this shindig planned and get it goin on!!
I'm anxious because the only coho I've ever caught was in Winchester Bay out in the ocean and it was 6 days before the season started, and I had to release it. I've been wantin to get back at em for a couple years now.

 

[Kodiak]

And Kodiak, if I remember correctly, you are the one that most resembles a shetland pony. LOL JK
.

Shetland pony? More like an old goat!:lol: Sounds like this is going to be a big Party..see if we can't get enough of us to just plug the river! HA! Would love to see someone show up with a treble hook and 10ft of leader! This going to depend on run timing, but should be able to get close..I'm thinking we should let Osmosis pick the dates and where..if he doesn't mindray:

 

[beaverfan]

I know I'll be there! I agree Osmosis should pick date and location. Woohoo this is gonna be fun!

 

[osmosis]

Thanks guys hahaha.
We should see coho up here in a matter of weeks. It will take waiting for the rain to make them really move. there will be more than a couple caught if we wait till mid september, or atleast until we know they're here for sure and stacking up..

So for the date I would pick 2 days after the first very hard rain
Eagle fern park or even bonnie luhr on EC has easier access than cedar creek, and there is plenty of good holes and slots for us to spread out over.

 

[FishSchooler]

I know I'll be there! I agree Osmosis should pick date and location. Woohoo this is gonna be fun!

Are you going to let him choose your gear and where to cast? I would... :lol:

 

[beaverfan]

Are you going to let him choose your gear and where to cast? I would... :lol:

Well duh! Hopefully I can scrounge up enough cash to get some decent spinner components. I've gotten fairly good at making them but dang that stuff's spendy when your on a very tight budget. We gotta get Eagle Creek full of OFF'ers! Get there bright and early and just take over the place for a day. Hopefully we'll all get at least a hook up!

 

[osmosis]

leave the spinners at home if we hit EC, It's a drift fishing game in there for the most part. Or lets put it this way, you can cast spinners all you want but dont be suprised to watch a whole bunch of fish ignore or run away from them

the shopping list should look like this: BB size split shot, #2 and #4 owner needle point hooks, 8lb or 10lb leader, yarn, egg imitations, or TINY baits of eggs (5 or so berries), small jigs, nymphs, custom trout beads, things along those lines if it ends up on EC.

You can run gear under a float if you prefer but I know what I'll be doin