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.

-As always, thank you for reading 
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