The Coho Run!

Cowee Creek and The Coho Salmon Run

There have been a few reports of a large run of coho salmon in a remote part of Juneau.  I will be making a trip out and documenting the entire experience.  My goal is to catch at least a dozen of these delicious species by the end of the month.  I will not be revealing an exact location but this creek has about 2 miles of fish able shoreline.  There is only about a month of fishing left in the 2013 fishing season but we are going to make the most of it.  I have been keeping a running total and here are the numbers to date:

Chum Salmon:

 

: 40 salmon for a total of 250 pounds.

King Salmon:

: 4 salmon for a total of 90 pounds.

Pink Salmon:

: 20 salmon for a total of 120 pounds.

Coho Salmon:

: 4 salmon for a total of 67 pounds.






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Cowee Creek

Kowee Creek

First Coho of the year!

Location

My first coho of the year came from not open water fishing but stream fishing all the way out the road at a little place called Cowee Creek.  It's about 40 miles away from town but has the most amazing fishing from July to September.  This creek has a great pink salmon run from mid July through the next week or two(mid/late August.)  The only thing to watch out for are the Grizzly Bears.  You may find yourself fishing in the most pristine creek bed and suddenly be sharing your personal space with a large mother and maybe one or two cubs.  The width of this creek at its widest location is approximately 15-25 feet and runs at about 2-3 feet with some really good pockets for fish that run at about 5 feet.

 Setup

Krocadile Luhr Jensen

All of my fish were caught on a 1/2 oz krocadile DIE #3 Luhr Jensen which has that orange bobble that resembles an egg only its a flat piece of plastic so it's legal for pre-bait fishing. The reel I was using was the Shakespeare Crusader from 2012 which has done very well for the past year and is very low maintenance.  The rod I chose for this trip was the Daiwa D-Shock and the reason why I chose such a small lightweight pole was for its feeling.  Due to the fact that coho salmon bite very gingerly in streams you need something with a lot of feel and reaction.  You definitely need to be able to tell when to set the hook.  This entire setup probably ran me around 50 dollars and can be found at your local sporting goods store or at Western Auto here in Juneau.

Daiwa D-Shock

Shakespeare Crusader

Identification and catch method 

 This is the only fish I ended up keeping for the day as all of the other pink salmon were no longer edible.  This small male coho provided 2 14 oz steaks and was promptly put on ice.  As you can see from the lower picture the belly and sides were still very bright.  The back and top fins of the coho were a dark green color and the only real way to tell them apart from a female pink salmon is the coloration and spots on the caudal fin.  The mouth may be deceptive and be misshapen like that of a pink salmon but as long as there are spots on the rear fin and is bright on the belly and sides you should be able to tell the difference.  I would recommend a larger setup for fishing out in the open water or bank fishing on the beach as you can often times pick up silvers and kings that weigh a lot more than what my 12 pound test can handle.  Stream fishing is more of an art and takes more finesse.  You must be careful about setting the hook and not jerking the line back while you are fighting the fish due to the fact that the stream is also fighting against your line.  Often times the fish will run up stream so as long as you let the fish run towards the bank you are standing on you should be in a good position to reel in the fish quickly.

Cleaning and food preparation

In the photo to the right I am preparing the fish first by bleeding it from the gills.  (If you are not new to fishing you can disregard this last section as you already know how to clean and prepare a fish for food.)  After the fish has been properly bled out you can start by cutting the belly from underneath the pectoral fins to the anus.  Don't be afraid to cut too deep as you will only puncture internal organs that can be cleaned after you have gutted the fish.  After you have made your first cut you can begin scooping out the innards.  If it is a female there will be two rows of roe towards the bottom of the belly forward of the anus.  You may choose to keep these as they are good for bait and/or pickling.  Once all the innards have been removed you will want to scrape the blood line below the spine.  This will keep the meat fresh and tender.    Always use as little water as possible as it tends to firm up the meat. When cutting a filet from a fish I find it easiest to start from the head and work towards the tail.  Make your first cut just below the gills and cut straight down until you are almost at the spine.  Once you have done this make a turn in your cut and run the blade, which should be a very sharp filet knife, and run it straight along the spine.  Get the blade as close to the rib cage, which you can see by looking under the filet on the inside, and continue all the way down to the tail.  It is best to keep the meat cool after you have prepared it so having some Ziploc bags and ice will keep your fish fresh and cool.

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Silver Salmon Fishing: August-September

     It has been a long wait, but the coho run has finally started.  If you go out into the open with a boat or a guide, there are many big fish to be had.  This picture shows from left to right: 3 halibut, a small halibut, and 4 salmon what appear to be a few kings and possibly a silver on the far right.  Joan and her husband Doug, who is taking this picture, are the family who I go fishing with the most.  

     Silver salmon can be fished out of most of the southeast streams and rivers however if you want the freshest fish that have the best meat going out on a boat is your only option.  The greater Juneau area also has a fall king run which starts anywhere from August 1-15th.  The local fishery already has a small run that began last week.  The workers told me that the fall king run started very early this year, so if you missed your kings earlier this year, it's time to get out there and put in the rod hours to earn your king.  Fish Creek on Douglas Island is a great spot to either fly fish or pond fish for kings and cohos.

This is a picture of Doug trying to find a good spot to drop the lures and begin the day.  We have had a great summer so far and it looks to be a great late summer/early fall. This boat is seriously awesome and I can't wait to get back out there and slay some more fish.  On a side note, this vessel was designed and built in Clarkston, WA and you can find their website below.  I have been fishing the chum run quite regularly to provide Doug and Joan crab bait.  The chum salmon are a very good source of free bait to get king crab and dungeness crab.  Unfortunately the local shrimp fishing season was not opened this year and reports from the DFG there will not be a commercial or sport fishing season for the shrimp stock for the next few years due to over fishing.  Just remember August and September are the best times to catch your halibut, coho salmon, and deer (yes I said deer!)  Buck season officially opened August 1st and I will be going hunting within the next few weeks.

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Duckworth Boats