Each spring, millions and millions of Coho alevin emerge from spawning gravel in thousands of natal streams.  Naturalists who wander our wooded watersheds have an opportunity to witness this phenomenon.  Some as I, offer a prayer:

“Go Go Coho, find your way through the maze of complex challenges nature and man have created----find clean waters, shelter from predators, abundant feed, and your way back to this natal stream and the spawning gravels of your ancestors to continue the life cycle.”

Each year hatchery workers release millions and millions of hatchery Coho from their rearing pens, and students who have raised their fingerlings from eggs in classroom aquariums release thousands more from small plastic bags into streams near schools.

Go Go Coho call the hatchery workers and students alike as they see the shining silver flickers pass from their view as the fingerlings begin their journeys.

All these opportunities are blended with the conditions nature and man have created. 

Fishing in Sekiu, Washington has provided an opportunity to feel the pulse of these runs for decades.  Recent regulations attempt to support the survival of weakened runs.  Barbless hooks, shortened seasons, release of unmarked fish, and most recently the 'LEAVE THE FISH IN THE WATER to release them' rule, all combine to support the survival of this exciting sports fish.  I have fished the waters near Sekiu for decades, and have witnessed the decline in stocks.  I support all the measures to preserve this resource for future generations to experience.

Fly fishing is one of the gentler methods to fish for these home bound Coho. The harvest allocations are scientifically set and provide for a measure of hook and release mortality.  The mortality is less when the fish is hooked and released according to the regulations currently assigned to protect these stocks.  So, as you have opportunity to enjoy this fishery, please be gentle and regard each fish as one to protect by careful release or to harvest and enjoy as a Northwest dinner delight.  I am smoking and canning Coho as I write this article.  

I ate a dinner on the water last night of freshly steamed Coho and corn as my wife and I watched leapers running in on the flood tide.  We cast and stripped Leland Miyawaki’s poppers seeking the excitement of the surface strikes!
Other times, we cast flies developed by George McLeod, a pioneer in Northwest fly fishing.  We prefer to stand and strip, but do sit and drag as well.

The Coho have arrived at Sekiu again this year!  GO GO COHO fly through the air in acrobatic flips, turns, twists, undulations, gyrations, dips, dives and more, as you will witness with these spectacular fly- attacking performers extraordinaire.

A few perspectives for those of you who enjoy fly fishing for these GO GO COHO.

Early is always best!  However, at Sekiu, you find Coho at anytime of the tide.  I like high slack the best as newly arrived runs are charging into the Straits and the slack tends to cause the Coho to fin on the surface and provide for sight casting.  As well, I like the end of the ebb and the front end of the flood.  At the end of the ebb, the fish are active searching for feed and they strike aggressively.  At the front of the flood, you can often spot leapers and stay with a school for hours.  This time of year, it is good to be out there as much as possible because ‘bites’ come on and off frequently in the blend of tidal conditions and newly arriving fish.

Flies, rods, reels, lines, leaders have all been written much about and the suggestions are mostly accurate at given times.  I fish with a rod and reel I enjoy casting, and a fly in which I have confidence.  This increases my staying power and effort. 

Common as the Clousers are, I still use them very seldom.
I don’t like the loading of my rod with lead eyes, not to mention the impact of that or any leaded fly to my body or fellow fisher’s body or equipment.  The “hook up” Clousers work well for Coho hook ups, but are sometimes stuck in the roof of the mouth and that can harm the fish in ways that a turn and hook to the corner of the mouth will not.  Krill patterns are a joy to tie and are just the ticket sometimes, and sometimes are the only thing that will work.  Variations with the multitude of materials available now stimulate creativity and your own originality.  That increases your sticking power and pride when you are dialed in with your own variation.

Numerous baitfish patterns work.  I like the Deceiver series in all colors.  The Trey Combs’ Sea Habit Deceivers and Sea Habit Bucktails are some of our favorites. You will be surprised at what works some days, so don’t hesitate to be bold!  Dave Steinbaugh at Waters West in Port Angeles can be helpful in selecting patterns and materials that work, although I always say, “The fly in the water has the best chance.”

Most of the 6-10 weight rods and balanced reels will work.  Longer rods keep you from dipping the fly on the back cast, which is good, unless you are using a water load technique.  My preference is 8 and 9 foot rods, due to just handling them in the boat and landing fish.   Rod actions that can cast in the wind are a must, and the ability to pick up sinking lines and gingerly load them are a consideration.

Yes, shooting heads work great in the wind and for distance.  I use them, but I enjoy the seamlessness of a full fly line.  Sink tips work great for Coho, but I enjoy the pick up off the water of floating lines so much that I’ll wait the few seconds it takes to let my unweighted fly sink a few feet before stripping (yes, very, very fast), and I use a stripping bucket to manage line.

I go back and forth on leaders.  Trey Combs once cut my winter steelhead leader in half, saying ‘If you want it down there, less than 20 inches of leader with a sinking line is the best way to be there quickest.’  Also, when stripping fast with longer leaders, you’ll see the fish in pursuit and find yourself backing up in the boat and raising your arms to keep the fly in the water as the Coho chases your fly to the rod tip!  Less than six feet is my usual length. Most of my leaders are made up of a butt section of 1-2 feet of 20-30-lb. test line, followed by 2-3 feet of 15-lb. test leader/tippet. When lots of large wild Coho are around, I use a short lighter tippet to pop off if I have a large fish that is tired and filling with lactic acid and would do better with a gentler, quick release leaving the small bronze hook to rot away.  I often use a less expensive fast-decaying bronze hook for this purpose. This release technique may offend some fishers.  I am open to dialogue on it and advisement.  Quicker and less handling seems the best to me for the large wild fish that take a longer time to bring to hand. If I am not having the strikes I think I should, I will go to a tapered leader of 8-10 feet, with a 10-12 lb. Tippet, and cast smaller flies (hook size 8-10).  Barry Thornton’s Silver Thorn is one of my favorites.

I had better get to my punch line for this article:    “GO GO COHO”, but sometime I say, “Don’t go, Coho”. The “Don’t go, Coho” impulse comes when I am having such a blast out here at Sekiu casting to thousands and thousands of Coho that are returning from their long journey and I do not want it to stop.  It does though each year with a measure of predictability and still some unpredictability as well.

The rain we are having after several days of heavy fog is dropping the water temperature in the Straits of Juan De Fuca, and that signals these long distance runners that it will soon be fall and it is time to stop feeding in the ocean and return to their natal streams or for many their hatchery home waters or a stream near a school.  Some years the weather and temperatures provide long stays for these Coho in the gentle waters off Sekiu.  Other years they are here and gone within a couple weeks. 

They are just showing up in some numbers and are increasing daily.  It is what might be called good Coho fishing and will soon be HOT!  The rains will surely fill the Straits off Sekiu with those thousands of Coho that have been feeding off shore for the last couple of months.   It will be exciting times here, for how long depends upon the weather and water temperature.  Now is the time to enjoy some of the greatest fishing the world has to offer and it is right here at “easy to get to” and “easy to fish” Sekiu.