Northwest Fishing Reports

So i have been fishing for coho every weekend now for 5 weeks and i still cannot even get a bite. Only saturday and sunday because i work M-F 6:30-6 and by the time i am off its dark.

But I have been fished Tulaco loop spot, Lewis Street, Thomas Eddy but mostly across from the sultan boat launch.

As for gear, ive been throwing dick nites (50/50, chartruese, frog color, silver), eggs on a float, jigs(chartuese) plugs, and spinners.

Im not completely clueless, ive been gathering as much info as possible. but still nothing.

Im just wondering if anyone has any tips as far as areas of river, gear, time of day, type of water to fish.

Im not asking for you to tell me your favorite holes. I would just like to maybe know if there good stretch of river that is better or certian type of water i should try. I dont mind doing a little exploring/ hiking.

But really any tips and hints would be apprtiecated. Thank you all in advance.

Hike away from the crowds, or be the first one there. first time a clueless snaggers or Flosser gets in the hole, the coho will be spooked and won't hit anything.. I find it's people that are the biggest contributors to the lockjaw. Find a nice quiet little hole,all to yourself, change lures often and fish near bottom. That's my tips.. But I'm noob, so if others say otherwise by all means listen to them lol.

Most ideal coho location is in frog water with lots of wood/snags. My favorite for fish on the move is in the riffles and runs. Need rain for them to start moving more though. Lures that you're using are the right ones. The only question would be are you in the right location and presenting the lures properly and the right sizes? Probably one if not all of these are hindering you if you haven't even gotten a take down in that long.

First off thank you guys for all the info. I will surely use all of this info for my next fishing trip.

As for sizes, i am using size 3 blue fox spinner in various colors, 3/8oz jigs, as for dick nites im not sure on the size.

Im thinking that my locations are keeping me from hooking into a coho. Or maybe the fact that my spots are always pretty crowded, on one side or the other. and the fish get spooked.

Hopefully ill get off a little early one day this week and i can do a little scouting for some new spots.

Anyone have any ideas of a general area? Like i said before im not looking in crowd your own spots. but just a general area would be nice. i.e. between lewis street and sultan. nothing too specific, id hate to intrude.

have you tried the reformatory hole in Monroe? prison hole...caught my first of the season there on a jig

Where is reformatory and prison hole? If I can get a name of a road I can figure out how to get there with google maps. Thanks

Its on Penitentary Road. Thats the name.

Cast slightly upstream & make sure your dick nite is getting all the way near the bottom and reel as slow as possible. You need it to flutter in their face. Try a wee size if the water is super clear & 6-8lb test leader.

ragibby wrote:Where is reformatory and prison hole? If I can get a name of a road I can figure out how to get there with google maps. Thanks

177th ave aka hansen rd

Bmastro777 wrote:have you tried the reformatory hole in Monroe? prison hole...caught my first of the season there on a jig

Went there Friday, no fish except a few stinkies. The beach was full and I mean full of dead humpies, it was nasssssty

Do either of these spot require waders or would it be safe to leave them in the car?

I hear blue jigs are slammin em this year! I got my first 3 of the season so far on the wallace, but ill be at the cracker bar/ ranch hole sometime this weekend, then the wallace!

ragibby wrote:Do either of these spot require waders or would it be safe to leave them in the car?

From what I've seen you do not need waders at the prison/reformatory hole. It's boulder/rocky bank that drops into deeper water.

Ok. Thanks guys. I'll try the reformatory hole this weekend. And then if there's no luck there I'm going back to te spot across from the sultan boat launch which I found out is called cracker bar. Then maybe try Wallace on Reese road. I'm determended to catch my first ever coho, even if it is a fire truck. Thanks for the info and good luck out there.

I'll probably get crap for mentioning this, but you didn't list drifting a corky as one of your tried methods? Ever thought of drifting a size 12 orange cork or bead? I've never fished that river so I don't know the layout or discharge rate, but a size 12 orange cork works wonders on the rivers I normally fish. I don't notice a problem with the fish being spooked by anglers drifting corks. But then again I move up and down the river looking for pools with a slack tide. I target those areas so that probably helps in finding fish. They love the slow moving water by wood and snags as already mentioned.

Good luck! You'll get one.

Stay away from a corkie or beads. What you are using and doing us just fine. My advice to you is to look for fish that are rolling, and to keep hiking until you find em.

Don't listen to the elitists who think they are above drifting a cork...it catches fish just as well as any other method depending on the river conditions/layout. Some people just think they are above it and better than anyone else who doesn't fish the same way they do. And don't ever let anyone tell you they don't foul hook fish with a jig, spinner or spoon, because it happens to all of us. I see guys/gals foul hook fish all the time using every method discussed on these forums. So the fishing elite can hate on corkies all they want...if it helps them sleep at night...so be it.

I brought in a hog silver the other day on the Green and he absolutely slammed my cork while I was retrieving. You will never be able to tell me that was flossing or snagging. He slammed that thing like a freight train and took off to the races. I simply run a single bead or cork, very small, maybe size 12 to 14. No yarn. And orange works best for me...so who's to say they don't strike it like they strike eggs that are drifting past their face?

My plan for saturday and sunday (sense seahawks arent playing) is to start at reformatory hole and work my way up to reese road, stopping at any river access i can find. And throw my whole tackle box out there. Everything i got in there and moving should give me a good chance at finding some fish. if i see some rollers/jumpers ill start throw everthing i got. And i will be fishing with my dad so we got 2 people fishing with different gear. I feel good about my chances this weekend.

I cant say thank you enough to you guys. you have really helped extend my knowledge about coho, i almost feel like a pro. haha

Thanks you all so much one more time. Good luck out there guys.

I'm in the same boat, been trying silvers all month and getting skunked. One of my customers at work who's been limiting daily on the sky and wallace uses just a little bit of yarn, he said so short it doesn't even touch the point of the hook. I'm going to go where he told me tomorrow morning up on the sky and see if I can nab my first (and hopefully second!) silver tomorrow.

When heading from reformatory up to the Wallace take Ben Howard rd to Sultan rather than hwy 2. Way more spots to pull off and access the river.