Coho Salmon

Onchorhynchus Kisutch

By Timothy Kusherets

Coho, in the open ocean, have silvery sides and a metallic blue back with irregular black spots. Spawning males, in fresh water, exhibit bright red on their sides, which may also include bright green on their back and head, with darker coloration on their belly. They develop a severely hooked kype, giving credence to the slang term “hooknose”. Females change color and develop a less pronounced kype but are also easily recognized as Coho. Throughout the day, strata to which they gravitate varies somewhat and it is often left to conjecture as to the depth in which they prefer, but in an estuary the strata where they are most commonly found is very near the surface.

The inside of the mouth of a Coho (Silver Salmon) is black with the exception of a white gum-line. Since thier jaws are considerably softer than that of chum salmon, hooks and line to catch them can be significantly smaller; this does two things. First, since offerings tend to be smaller they keep this fish on the bite by exerting less pressure from fishing. Second, soft mouths means that hooks sink deep and solid on the very first hook-set.

There are three definitive ways in which to identify your catch as a Coho. All Coho will have a white gum line, spots on the tail can be seen going halfway down it, and the males have a hooknose and exaggerated kype. The anal rays will be greater than twelve, which also identifies it as a salmon.
As they migrate to the streams and rivers, they travel water that tends to be deep, but not as deep as Chinook or chum. While Coho are acclimating to fresh water they jump often.
Coho are tenacious fighters. They will hit a plethora of offerings that range from spinners, candlefish, darts, buzz bombs, zingers, cut plugs, and fillet strips of herring or smelt. The type of strikes are slack, slam, and mouthed, much like what you would expect from steelhead. The hooknose salmon will tail-walk, or make long runs that threaten to spool a reel. On occasion they will run right at you at a velocity that is great enough to beach themselves.
The formula that is accepted by state hatcheries as an accurate means to determine the weight of an anadromous fish without using a scale is length times girth squared divided by eight hundred, or L x G x G/800= weight. To use this with accuracy and credibility I recommend that you take both a camera and tape measure with you when you go fishing.

Spots are on the tail starting at the top and ending near the fork, or halway. Coho salmon can often be found migrating inland with either Chinook salmon or Chum salmon since their runs tend to be timed in between the two, so it’s possible to hook into multiple species of salmon in the same area. Consult local regulations to find locations where these fish can be found at the same time to increase hookups. Take along several types of gear, just in case, for those areas known to produce more than one run of fish to generate even more hits.