Siltcoos/Tahk Coho Thread

lots of tail wagging today on my kayak. I got out early and the fish 'woke up' and got active about 9am, nice 28" buck on a Brad's at 9:13am (he splashed Pepper good during the netting chaos). I had a good feeling for others based on seeing lots of active fish.  These coho have been eating well.

Million boats out on Siltcoos today. Started to see fish rolling around 10 and a little bit of a bite happening just east of the outlet.  Got slammed on a plug and got this coho after looking into its mouth to make sure it wasn’t a wayward chinook.  Gladly it was still there after one unsuccessful net attempt.  Too much fun!

that's a beauty. these are the best runs here since 2017 and, wink wink nudge nudge, I tagged two in late November 2017 that were chunky 32" fish. I think there are some bigger fish coming.

How long does this coho run usually last? My long overdue peddle kayak is supposed to finally show up mid-next week. Unless I just jinxed it. 

people catch some coho in the lakes well into late-December.

Thanksgiving week is a big one for lots of locals that make it a tradition to try and get one that week.  How quickly most of the coho move into the spawning creeks is going to depend on the weather but there should be several more weeks of good fishing this year.

Very cool. Thanks for the intel—this thread has been great.

Yesterday, I didn't launch til like 11am. Fished for 15 minutes before landing a brute 32 incher. I kinda wanted to fish longer, but she inhaled my spinner into the gills, so I took her home. Spent the next few hours exploring the south end of Tahkenitch.

Couldn't have asked for nicer weather! Mid-60s and light winds.

Managed one more today.  On the water at 9:30 off by 10:30. Not many boats in the Mallard arm but looked like everyone got theirs. Long drive back to PDX after a great four days in Florence.

Nice guys!

I'll be fishing Tahk for the first time ever Tue, looking forward to it, Hoping I have as much luck as you two!

Can I ask what color spinners or plugs you caught on?

This is what I was using but only cuz I started with it and it just kept working. Not sure it mattered all that much. I talked with a bunch of other boats that were swearing by lots of other colors. Orange, Chartreuse, etc. Tried spinners a bit with not success. I trolled the plug back 30-40' @ 1.6-1.8mph.

My first trip and my success was largely RogerDoger and Clayman advice as usual.

Nice guys!

I'll be fishing Tahk for the first time ever Tue, looking forward to it, Hoping I have as much luck as you two!

Can I ask what color spinners or plugs you caught on?

For Saturday's fish, I used a size 5 Blue Fox spinner in the "rainbow trout" pattern. I don't think the color matters much, but when it comes to coho, I have confidence in lures with pink on them, so that's what I use. I like casting the spinner along the shoreline like I'm bass fishing, targeting sunken logs and the edges of weed beds. This fish was hanging alongside a sunken log.

+1 on sunken logs. Both fish at Tahk were sitting right next to logs sticking out from the bank.

Awesome, thanks for that guys!

Will let ya know how we do tomorrow!

How did you do SD2OR? Looking for pics.

Thought I would pass along a great way to use really fresh salmon. This is a quick cure that makes for awesome salmon to put on a bagel in the morning. I had not done this for a while but did up a big chunk of one of the fish from Siltcoos. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/237473/quick-cured-salmon/

Definitely a great use.

How did you do SD2OR? Looking for pics.

Thought I would pass along a great way to use really fresh salmon. This is a quick cure that makes for awesome salmon to put on a bagel in the morning. I had not done this for a while but did up a big chunk of one of the fish from Siltcoos. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/237473/quick-cured-salmon/

Definitely a great use.

That recipe reminded me of Lox salmon, which I love! However I would be hesitant to use fresh salmon as the curing method alone will not kill parasites (anisakiasis, etc). If it were me I would use deep frozen salmon or salmon frozen for a long period in the freezer.