Coho salmon at Depoe...go get em!

If you're looking for coho right now, Depoe Bay is a good bet.  I landed three coho out of eight hooked within a 2-hour span this morning.  Ten pulls, whole green label herring behind a small chartreuse/prism Cone Zone flasher...but they're coho so they'll probably hit anything  .  I had the most action just north of the 1/2 mile buoy in 60-70 FOW.

The petrale sole are also up shallow, I'm assuming on their spawning migration.  I picked up three petrales drifting bait in the 70-80 foot zone, along with a couple sand sole and a butter sole.  Get on it while it's hot!

Nice haul Chris! keep 'em coming bud & thanks for sharing 

Im really interested in this.... I love bottom fish. Fishing the sound for flatfish is one of my favorite fisheries. I currently getting set up for open ocean fishing (have the drysuit, still picking up the paddling PFD and a vhf.). My question is, if you have salmon aboard, do you have to then fish for flat fish with barbless, like you would for rf and lings and such?  if so, thats lame, cause i hate fishing bait without a bait holder hook....

That's my understanding.  Yes.  Once you have salmon onboard you must from then on use only barbless hooks.

That's my understanding.  Yes.  Once you have salmon onboard you must from then on use only barbless hooks.

you are correct, it is in the front of the regs book, under "Hook and Weight Regulations", page 17 of the 2017 printed book.

"Ocean salmon — no more than two single point barbless hooks when angling for salmon in the ocean, or when angling for other ocean species with salmon or steelhead onboard."

It is also under the Marine Zone Regulations, page 80, "Gear: Barbed hooks are allowed when angling for marine fish except as noted for salmon, steelhead and sturgeon.", then on page 81 under "Salmon and Steelhead", "No more than 2 single point barbless hooks allowed at all times when fishing for salmon in the ocean or when fishing for other species if a salmon has already been retained."

Im really interested in this.... I love bottom fish. Fishing the sound for flatfish is one of my favorite fisheries. I currently getting set up for open ocean fishing (have the drysuit, still picking up the paddling PFD and a vhf.). My question is, if you have salmon aboard, do you have to then fish for flat fish with barbless, like you would for rf and lings and such?  if so, thats lame, cause i hate fishing bait without a bait holder hook....

I didn't start targeting the flatfish until a little over a year ago, back when I lived in CA.  Down there I'd get everything from starry flounder to CA halibut to Chinook salmon while slow-rolling a herring or anchovy along a sandy bottom.  It's been interesting to see the change in species doing that up here: sand sole, petrale sole, and butter sole have been the main players so far.  Chinook seem to be a long shot, and CA halibut even more so.  But I imagine the odds of hooking a Pac halibut are greater here.  I love seeing the variety, and honestly I'd take petrale sole and sand sole over halibut on the table any day.

Yeah, I had to use barbless after I kept the salmon, but it wasn't a big deal at all.  I only lost one flatfish yesterday.  The rest of them had no problem inhaling a green-label herring.  My rig was basically a 'straight bait' salmon trolling rig, just with a heavier weight so I could stay in contact with the bottom as I cruised along at 1-1.5mph.

Im really interested in this.... I love bottom fish. Fishing the sound for flatfish is one of my favorite fisheries. I currently getting set up for open ocean fishing (have the drysuit, still picking up the paddling PFD and a vhf.). My question is, if you have salmon aboard, do you have to then fish for flat fish with barbless, like you would for rf and lings and such?  if so, thats lame, cause i hate fishing bait without a bait holder hook....

I didn't start targeting the flatfish until a little over a year ago, back when I lived in CA.  Down there I'd get everything from starry flounder to CA halibut to Chinook salmon while slow-rolling a herring or anchovy along a sandy bottom.  It's been interesting to see the change in species doing that up here: sand sole, petrale sole, and butter sole have been the main players so far.  Chinook seem to be a long shot, and CA halibut even more so.  But I imagine the odds of hooking a Pac halibut are greater here.  I love seeing the variety, and honestly I'd take petrale sole and sand sole over halibut on the table any day.

Yeah, I had to use barbless after I kept the salmon, but it wasn't a big deal at all.  I only lost one flatfish yesterday.  The rest of them had no problem inhaling a green-label herring.  My rig was basically a 'straight bait' salmon trolling rig, just with a heavier weight so I could stay in contact with the bottom as I cruised along at 1-1.5mph.

excellent, it's amazing that those relatively small sole are chomping down on a 'green' sized herring....

one more thing, ocean coho sounds like it is going so well that the quota could be caught quickly...I suggest getting out this week for ocean coho if you are intending to.

Those are some Nice Coho!  Thanks for the heads-up!

-Mark-

Up in the sound, I mainly use night crawlers or shrimp. Some days one works better than the other. Up there too its all barbless. trying to use a night crawler without a bait holder hook really sucks.  Generally 1 oz is all i need, and just a hunk of bait big enough to cover a #4 hook is enough. It would have never occured to me to soak something as big as a whole herring for flat fish (other than Pacific halibut). I generally can catch 100+ flatties in a day on $3 of earthworms or a 2$ of shrimp. If you fish light, say a 7' med action rod and 20# braid, could you get away with fishing lighter weights?  Like 2 oz or less?  I generally bank it and take a break up in the sound when the current starts ripping, then fish it hard a couple hours around each of the slack tidal periods.

one more thing, ocean coho sounds like it is going so well that the quota could be caught quickly...I suggest getting out this week for ocean coho if you are intending to.

Word.  The ODFW website says about half of the quota was met this last weekend.  If the trend holds, this next weekend might fill the rest of it.

Up in the sound, I mainly use night crawlers or shrimp. Some days one works better than the other. Up there too its all barbless. trying to use a night crawler without a bait holder hook really sucks.  Generally 1 oz is all i need, and just a hunk of bait big enough to cover a #4 hook is enough. It would have never occured to me to soak something as big as a whole herring for flat fish (other than Pacific halibut). I generally can catch 100+ flatties in a day on $3 of earthworms or a 2$ of shrimp. If you fish light, say a 7' med action rod and 20# braid, could you get away with fishing lighter weights?  Like 2 oz or less?  I generally bank it and take a break up in the sound when the current starts ripping, then fish it hard a couple hours around each of the slack tidal periods.

Nice.  I've had great success on squid too, which is more durable and cheaper than herring.  Honestly I think they'll eat just about anything.  You could totally get away with light tackle on the ocean, just as long as the drift isn't too strong.  I always bring a variety of weights with me to ensure I have a weight to keep my presentation near the bottom at all times.  Yesterday at Depoe, the drift was strong enough to warrant at least 6 ounces.  The flatties don't put up too much of a fight with heavy gear, but I'm mostly meat-hunting for them.  The feisty coho gave me my thrills for the morning  .

excellent, it's amazing that those relatively small sole are chomping down on a 'green' sized herring....

I caught a load of sole yesterday using purple label herring while targeting pacific halibut.  I don't think they are very discriminating.

excellent, it's amazing that those relatively small sole are chomping down on a 'green' sized herring....

I caught a load of sole yesterday using purple label herring while targeting pacific halibut.  I don't think they are very discriminating.

those are some expensive herring getting chomped on by sole...

excellent, it's amazing that those relatively small sole are chomping down on a 'green' sized herring....

I caught a load of sole yesterday using purple label herring while targeting pacific halibut.  I don't think they are very discriminating.

those are some expensive herring getting chomped on by sole...

All cast net caught during winter spawn in California where there is no limit on herring. Saves a butt load of money for sure.

excellent, it's amazing that those relatively small sole are chomping down on a 'green' sized herring....

I caught a load of sole yesterday using purple label herring while targeting pacific halibut.  I don't think they are very discriminating.

those are some expensive herring getting chomped on by sole...

All cast net caught during winter spawn in California where there is no limit on herring. Saves a butt load of money for sure.

"oh, that's different, never mind"...also, that is excellent.

Awesome day on the water! Congrats.

How much lead were you pulling around for the coho?