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How to catch Coho (silver) salmon
Coho (silver) salmon feed in 46–62°F water and bite best at 50–58°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 10 waters; in October they are at their peak in The Oregon Coast, Washington Coast & Puget Sound, Washington fresh water and 4 more.
About
The silver: an acrobat that hits fast-trolled lures near the surface all summer and floods the bays and river mouths in the fall from Oregon to Kodiak. White gums, spots on the top half of the tail only.
How to fish it
Troll fast and shallow on the color breaks offshore; in the fall, cast spinners and jigs off the points and river mouths on the incoming tide.
What it eats
Live bait for it
What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itThe rule
not confirmed hereRules differ by state — check ODFW, WDFW or ADF&G (wild coho are protected in many waters; California ocean coho is closed) before you keep one.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
Coho — silvers — keep a tight three-year schedule: a year or more in a creek, about a year and a half at sea, then home. They feed hard off Oregon, Washington and Alaska through the summer, putting on weight fast, and the ocean and estuary season peaks in August and September. From September into November they push into the rivers on the first fall rains, the Puget Sound and Columbia tributaries and the Alaska rivers full of bright fish chasing spinners and flies. Some runs are listed and closed — check the state.