Don’t be afraid to cast near or at wood. Coho love wood whether it be in Alaska or anywhere else. Taking those chances when casting will pay off in extra fish when your buddies aren’t hooking up. Using braided line helps with this because it will generally straighten the hook if you hang up. Make sure your pliers are handy.
Terry Wiest and Ron Camp are all smiles with a double of coho salmon.
If I had no other tackle option to use for coho, I’d still be happy because I would be thrilled to twitch for coho all day, every day. Not as popular in Alaska as in Washington and Oregon, it’s quickly becoming a mainstay technique. The locals and guides have been utilizing this method more and more after seeing its deadly effectiveness.
In shallow, clear water I’ll use a 3/8-ounce jig, in deeper or off colored water I’ll bump it up to a ½-ounce jig. Two great twitchin' rods are the Douglas LRS S7104F-D or Lamiglas Infinity ISS79MTS. A 2500 spinning reel loaded with 30-pound braided line. Use a six to seven foot leader of mono or fluorocarbon line tied on with an albright or double uni-knot to round out this amazingly simple but deadly setup.
Look for slowly moving or frog water—if there is some structure is even better—and cast directly where you think the fish are holding. If there is a high bank, it doesn’t hurt to hit the bank and let it drop in. As the jig drops down towards the bottom use your wrist to twitch the rod tip up from 10 o’clock to 12 o’clock. Drop quickly back to 10 o’clock and reel approximately one crank to take in the slack. Continue this until you are out of the fish.
Most often coho will hit as the jig is falling so let it fall. You’ll hook the fish on the next twitch. My favorite jigs for fishing coho are made by BnR Tackle. I really like the rubber legs.
Don’t be afraid to cast near or at wood. Coho love wood whether it be in Alaska or anywhere else. Taking those chances when casting will pay off in extra fish when your buddies aren’t hooking up. The Power Pro helps with this because it will generally straighten the hook if you hang up. Make sure your pliers are handy. I also use barbless hooks since I’ll be releasing 95% of the fish I catch.
Double and triples come quite easily if you’re fishing with friends. Multiple casts in a row get hookups. The thought of hooking another coho never gets old, but your arms will feel it the next day, that is until you’re up and fishing again.
You need to fish for coho in Alaska. It’s a must for the bucket list. For those having not experienced this incredible phenomenon, it will remain only a dream.
Until then, practice your twitchin' technique in the waters of Oregon and Washington, if the fish are there, they’ll hit!
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