NorthWest Kayak Anglers
Regional Discussions => Washington Kayak Fishing => Topic started by: AndyFishes on November 17, 2017, 08:21:02 PM
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Not much kayak fishing opportunity for me locally so I've been taking advantage of fishing rivers for coho on the OP lately (occasionally). I got the two in the picture today but had an experience that I thought I'd ask for some advice about. I hooked into a fish today that I absolutely could not control. I'm pretty sure it was a coho because of how far upriver I was fishing and the only other thing running would be chum and they don't tend to go as far. This fish just pulled line like it was nothing until we finally reached a tug of war until the line broke (20 lb braid). I was using a Pflueger President 6940 on an UglyStick steelhead/salmon rod. The Pflueger apparently has a drag rating of only 12lbs. I've determined that I'm going to need to replace my spinning rod/reel with something that will give me a better chance if this ever happens again. Probably most of you fish conventional reels but do any of you guys have any recommendations for a HD spinning reel that might give me a better chance if I am ever fortunate enough to meet one of this fish's kids? Looking a PENN slammer III but they're kinda pricey.
Also, that dark one wasn't nearly that dark when I pulled her from the water! Do they darken up further after they are dispatched/bled? That ones going to need a flavorful brine I think :'(
Thanks.
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Plueger reels are great quality and when complimented with a longer parabolic rod with a stout back bone you shouldn't need more than 12lbs of drag to get a large coho in. I eventually chose to invest in one spinning reel that could handle anything from a large steelhead to a Chinook, but was still light weight enough to comfortably fish a hundred casts throughout a full day. With 20lbs of drag & weighing around 8oz the Shimano Stradic is an awesome reel but a bit pricey. In steps the Shimano Nasci 3000, with almost identical specs but half the price.
Great day of fishing & congrats on your catches Andy. From your description of the phantom fish fight it sounds like a big chum or late Chinook to me. If you just can't turn a fish or get them back up river try burying the rod tip in the water holding the rod perpendicular to the river.
Hugh
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I'm pretty impressed with the Tsunami 4000 spinning reel I have. It's fully sealed and goes for about $100 bucks. It has a surprisingly smooth and strong drag for that price range too. I've hauled up a few chinook with it. I usually have to keep the drag light, because of the combination of braid and the reel's strong drag, you can rip hooks out of salmon mouths pretty easy if you aren't lucky enough to get the hookto pop through the top of their mouth / head.
MurseStrong's suggestion about getting a longer whippier rod makes a lot of sense to me. The thing I find that makes pulling in larger fish with my casting setup easier than my spinning setup is that I have a about a foot more rod, and a heavier backbone on it. It does give me a lot of control.
You might want to get 8 carrier braid if you're not using that too. It seems to hold up better to abrasion for me, not to mention it handles spinning reel twist better and goes through the guides smoother.
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Nice fish!
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Thanks much for the insight and tips.
I've been quite happy with the Pflueger pres. paired with the Ugly stick 9'6" rod. I've brought in a few nice coho this year with this combo. I'm thinking of going with a 10'6" for my next rod since I seem to do a lot of shore casting/river fishing.
I may just splurge on the Stradic, that way I'll have a backup setup with the Pflueger. Not sure if I'll go with the Ugly stick again. I feel like the rod could be a bit "more stout" than the one I have. Plus, they only make up to a 9'6" in their salmon/steelhead line. Hmmm...Black Friday approaches.
I'm still kinda sore about losing that fish (though I lost/missed/released several others that day). Someone on the bank suggested that it might have been foul hooked, but I've had that before and this thing was running like it was hooked in the mouth. Learned a lot though, I think I kinda made a breakthrough in detecting really subtle bites from coho in freshwater...and, hey, sometimes the fish win, right?
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I would stay away from the current crop of Shimano spinning reels. They've removed the anti-reverse lever.
People's opinions may vary, but for bank fishing a river I find being able to turn anti-reverse off is not just desirable but darned near essential. You can't just pull line against the drag to adjust the line for a cast because that's what causes line twist on spinning reels.
If it was a one-of-a-kind fish that spooled you, you may not need a different reel. The rotor doesn't (shouldn't) turn when a fish peels line against the drag and you can press a finger against the skirt of the spool to add drag.
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The rotor doesn't (shouldn't) turn when a fish peels line against the drag and you can press a finger against the skirt of the spool to add drag.
+1 That's the first thing I thought of too.
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Thanks again.
Still have a lot to learn. Most of my fishing experience, prior to the last couple of years has been river smallmouth on the east coast and lake fishing for largemouth. Though there are definitely similarities in technique (presenting or drifting bait/lures in rivers), river fishing for salmon is quite a bit different, if for no other reason than the fish are so much larger. In retrospect, the drag on my reel was probably adequate. After all, the line (or knot) gave out while we were at a bit of a stand-off. Oh yeah, I was wrong about my rod. It's an 8'6" ugly stick elite (medium light, I think). It was bent into pretty much a U-shape and the top handle was making cracking noises when that leviathan and I were tied together.
I'm starting to shop for next season but haven't committed to anything yet. I'm thinking of picking up a 10' shimano clarus MH spinning rod as that seems like a good bang for the buck and would be multi-purpose, casting herring from the beaches around here and working rivers and creeks. Probably OK using that on the yak too. I wouldn't mind trying a baitcaster but something about the ergonomics of the handle/butt end leaves me wondering how it works out fighting a fish. With a spinning (salmon/steelhead) rod, I can brace the butt of the rod against my forearm while fighting a fish, which lends a huge amount of leverage. I'm having a hard time imagining how a baitcaster setup can do that. Seems like there would just be a fulcrum point at your hand/reel. Maybe just tuck the butt under your arm? I guess I just need to try it sometime. I've been fishing spinning reels since I was a little kid and I'm an old dog now...
Again, thanks.
Experience counts for a lot!
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I became rather fond of Daiwa DXS rods for larger fish because they're stout in the bottom third, stiff in the mid-section, and limber - almost noodly - at the tip. It's personal preference, but that action worked for me. I still own a 9'0" Clarus L (6-10#) for side-drifting because the Daiwa's are too stiff for that technique.
I've never owned a casting rod, but I use them when driftboat fishing in a friend's boat. His rods all have a long butt section on the handle and work and feel exactly the same as a spinning rod with a long handle.
I don't know who else makes them, but Okuma's SST Steelhead casting rods all have a 13" long butt section on their handles (https://www.amazon.com/Okuma-Graphite-Casting-Steelhead-SST-C-862ML/dp/B002VYCXQC/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1511952801&sr=1-2&keywords=okuma+SST-C-862Ml) and are made for smaller fish than salmon if you don't want a heavy action rod, and I'm sure there are others with the same handle design.
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Oh yeah, I was wrong about my rod. It's an 8'6" ugly stick elite (medium light, I think). It was bent into pretty much a U-shape and the top handle was making cracking noises when that leviathan and I were tied together.
A Pfluger on a 8'6" MH Ugly Stick has been my go-to coho rod for years. I have 3 or 4 of them in case the family wants to fish, too. At least one of them is an ML and at times I put the ML tip on the MH handle. ;D
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I'm guessing you accidentally tail hooked a coho. >:D Basically, you can't turn their heads and they ends up having their way with you.
-Allen
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I'm guessing you accidentally tail hooked a coho. >:D Basically, you can't turn their heads and they ends up having their way with you.
I've had that experience with lake trout, pike, and other fish which I initially hooked in the mouth, but the hook popped loose from the fish's mouth and snagged the fish on the side or on a pectoral fin. Those fish pull like crazy and feel like a much bigger fish because you can't turn their head. Landing them is a bit odd because when they're pooped you drag them in tail first or somewhat sideways, rather than pulling them towards your net head-first.
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Amen to the tail hook issue. Not sure how I ever got this sturgeon to the surface. Fortunately there were a pile of amigos around to keep me company on the Willy.
I nearly went to the bottom with him when he sounded after I'd wound the braid around my bare hand trying to horse him up for a photo. Duh...
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Mmmm....I was on a drift boat last year when a buddy hooked a chum on steelhead gear - which was almost certainly a Pfleuger President reel as that is what the guide runs a lot of because they're reasonably priced and a great reel.
Anyway, this was a no-bull 30+ minute fight on what was probably 30# braid and a 10# mono leader that eventually broke off.
Chum can and will fight like hell. It is actually best if they do, then break off and leave you with that memory because depending on where you are you either can't keep them, or in any case don't want to.
I'm not sayin' it wasn't a coho, and I can't say it wasn't a nook. I'm just sayin' I've seen a chum do exactly what happened here.
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I was 11-12 miles from the mouth of the river and I didn't think chum usually went that far to spawn. Maybe they do though. I had tail hooked another one and dorsal fin hooked a couple that day (landed and released those). The tail hook one, I could actually feel the tail moving (sort of jerky--interrupted runs). This guy was just smooth running. Coulda been a chum though. I've seen some beasts where I do volunteer fish counts.
1st year of river fishing for coho and I think I'm hooked more than the fish were :laugh:
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Still wondering if they darken further after they are killed/bled. These two sure seemed to. I swear that smaller one was nowhere near that dark when caught. In the future I'll likely let those go spawn...
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1st year of river fishing for coho and I think I'm hooked more than the fish were :laugh:
I went stream fishing for coho on Prince of Wales island (SE Alaska) a couple of years ago, and it was a blast. I had fish bouncing off of stumps on shore and racing from one end of pool to the other end in seconds. Most fun I've had fishing...