WILD BLOG: My assault on the Quinault - coho heaven on bent metal
POSTED Oct. 10, 2009 / 3:40 p.m.

Sometimes a great fishing trip gets dropped into your lap, like the top scoop of ice cream on the cone. You never see it coming, but now you have to deal with the mess.

Each Saturday after Northwest Wild Country, you may find me at the fishing counter of Sportco in Fife. Usually my mornings are spent dealing with a Puyallup, Skokomish or Nisqually River “liner” (those of the 6-foot-leader-and-Corkie brigade) who has broken his cheap rod for the eighth time.

Last Saturday, however, I was delivered a great treat, courtesy of Quinault tribal fishing guide Rich Underwood.

Rich was cleaning us out of Vibrax spinners. I had to ask why the hoarding of metal, he replied that a record number of coho were invading the lower Quinault and he was simply re-loading.

Hmm. Big, fresh-from-the-tides, ultra-chrome coho? Eating metal?

I wanna go. Tomorrow. 
     
And so it begins ...
Rich was kind enough to fit fellow Sportco lackey Corey Gundstrom and I in on his schedule, and a day later we were launching Rich’s sled 10 miles above the ocean on the lower Quinault River. Rich told the tales of 30 fish days earlier in the week, mostly flipping #4 and #5 silver blade/fluorescent red bodied Vibrax spinners. Corey and I brought a few spinners, but today we were going to throw “the other metal”, the ol’ brass shoehorn, the spoon.

One problem.

As it became light, it was obvious that there was a water problem: Too little of it. Low, ultra-clear flows coupled with a blue sky and blazing sunshine. Nice for spending a day on the river, but oh brother, does this condition make for unwilling salmon.

Rich assured us this would not be an issue, we will get coho. Well … after running through the memory banks of all the bygone trips under these same conditions, today would be casting practice. Your only shot under bright day/clear water is to hit riffles with light line and straight cured eggs or pick and choose deeper/shaded water with tiny lures like #1 Dick Nites … right?   

We were going to toss spoons anyway - if we were to get hosed, then at least I’ll get hosed my way. 

Corey and I started with 2/5-ounce oval style BC Steels (duh) in copper and dull brass. Silver, gold, electric brass or even nickel can be too much “pop” in the clear water and send fish over the attraction threshold. We want to excite them, but not so much it scares them, a fine line we metal-throwers must follow if we want to consistently get fish.

Copper is an excellent choice for coho (and steelhead) in clear water, its muted flash matches the dull rusty bottom of early fall rivers and provides just enough presence without going gaudy. With some luck, perhaps one or two salmon will look past the norm and eat our lures.

Off we went. Little did we know what was coming downstream.

Something old, something new, something copper, something blue
Rich said the upper portion of the drift was just “practice” water, the lower we went in the system the more and brighter fish we would encounter. Still, the bright sun and clear water gave us little hope. First hole, a 6-pound summer steelhead wheeled my copper 2/5ths. Okay. Cool. A summer run!

I asked Rich if this was an anomaly, he said there are lots of summer steelhead in the lower Quinault, both wild and hatchery and no one fishes for them. The next hole, another summer run. A hint of color, it looked similar to one from the Methow this time of year. Then another: this one smelled of ocean and leaped six times. Put this one away until next summer.

Still no coho. Until …

We dropped into a deep, quarter-mile tank. There went a fish, no wait, three … make that 30 … 50 … bang bang, doubleheader. Six more salmon from that run, right there under magnum candlepower and clear water, here were 10- to 15-pound white-bellied sea-liced coho salmon almost beaching themselves to get our spoons.

Man, was I confused. This behavior was not normal.

Right, dumbass, it’s not … for Washington State river fishing. But dig into that addled brain of yours, think to where this is common behavior for fall returning coho.

We’re all too familiar with the woeful tale of low, clear water and non-biting coho. Look at the sheer numbers of inbred hatchery Snohomish fish that cannot be reasoned with by any technique on a consistent basis. These fish, like many we angle for in Washington, are a day or two out of salt and many miles removed from the ocean. Even though they are very bright, they “shut down” their aggressive side when they breathe sweetwater for a few days.

These Quinault fish mirror those from Alaska. I’ve experienced this behavior on the lower Alagnak River in Katmai many times. Even though rivers are at their lowest - here and up north - a coho hours from the tide, even under a condition that normally spells lockjaw, is still very marine and will strike virtually any lure of the right size, color and presentation. This is what we experienced all day on the lower Quinault: super bright tidal fresh salmon that came screaming for vengeance to crush our spoons, despite the low, clear water and bright sun.

The type of water in which they were most aggressive was also a mirror of Alaska. When we found them in deep, slow-moving tanks, they bit poorly even though the greatest numbers were kegged up in the black water. When we found salmon in wide, bouldery runs, say 4 to 7 feet deep, they were off the chart pissed off at the flash. Since so many of them took in relatively shallow water, nearly each grab was a visual.

Heart stopping, adrenaline overdose bites ... ”here he comes, herehecomesherehecomeslookitthat (multiple dirty words of your choice here) herehecomesohmygod … AHHHHHHH there he is!!!!” 

Weird, but amazing.

And to the spoons they came. So swiftly they often over-ran the lure, two and three at a time spooking each other. Copper, to no surprise of mine, was the best finish 10 to 1. Dull brass was next, and due to the sheer numbers of fish we cast to, nickel/metallic blue was working well enough until someone hooked so many on copper you had to change or get schooled.

Speaking of schools, as Rich said, this year is the best for numbers on the lower Quinault he has ever seen. Every deep hole, pockets behind boulders, wide riffle runs, there they were, from 10 to 100, blue silver and white ghosts whizzing by the boat.  Each piece of water held more than the last.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, fellow anglers.

After each blur of bent rods, ripping strikes and chrome leaping salmon, Rich would deadpan “We’re gonna get to the good water soon.”  Did I mention the only other sign of life on the river all day was eagles, bear and elk?

One quick note: most of the coho we caught were adipose clipped, returning to the Cook Creek hatchery. Rich also said these were the “little” fish, the natives are due in the next few weeks and they average 20 pounds!

The metal edge
Let me explain, if I can, why tossing metal appeals so much.

Unlike so many who must preface every story fresh from the river with ”I hooked x amount in the mouth”, well, pal, where do you expect to hook them with a 7-foot leader and black yarn?

To any out there who harass salmon in low water with these glorified snagging rigs, here is the definition of real fishing: when the fish comes to the lure, not when you bring the lure to the fish. When a salmon swims 20 feet for your flashing blade, now that is real angling and may I add one hell of a lot more rewarding than flossing unwilling biters.

I digress …

The swing to slack to SHAZAM!
When you encounter as many bright, uber-aggressive salmon as we did on the lower Quinault, yes you may simply pitch out the spoon and reel it in and catch fish. Eventually, this monotonous presentation will overlap with the right water and enough willing fish to get bit. 

However, if you want to really do it right, it takes practice and here is one tip to give those who want to try spoon fishing for fall river coho.

Common presentation for spoon fishing is a down and across swing, a one speed swing or steady retrieve keeping the lure wobbling immediately above the cobble. Works fine for steelhead, and coho, but one slight change in the retrieve will more than double your hookups. 

When beginning your presentation, after the lure touches down and sinks to fish eye level, start your retrieve as normal, “reel till you feel” the thump of the blade which tells you your lure is now imparting action. Keeping the rod tip at 11 o’clock, feeling the thump and watching your line jump, now completely stop reeling and swiftly drop the rod tip two feet (9 o’clock) toward the other bank, away from you creating instant slack to the spoon. Doing this allows the lure to slide backwards, drop fast and dart side to side, much like a Buzz Bomb. Coho salmon will trigger on this sudden change in direction and more often than not immediately strike. Coho are notorious followers, in the clear Quinault water we watched nearly every retrieve being followed by a salmon, then turn away. 

The “reel-reel-reel- drop/pause -reel-reel” presentation is the number one key to getting bit while spoon fishing for river run coho. More than half the time followers change to strikers after this drop. Do the drop every few seconds during the retrieve. Strikes are violent, almost frightening. Giggity.

Gearing up ...
Tackle? Ten foot, 8 to 12 parabolic action Lamiglas Certified Pro X10 MC or mag taper X10 MTC 8 to 17 (yeah, those would be my signature series I designed for spoon and spinner fishing), 15-pound mainline worked more than well.

Any rod rated from 8 to 17, 8 to 12 or 8 to 15, spinning or level wind style, would match lure fishing for Quinault coho.

If you think for a second I would leave my baby - my 8-½ foot 8 to 15, 35-year-old honey glass old school Lamiglas home … the bounce and feel of S-Glass is the cosmic funk and it was responsible for my two largest coho of the trip, 17 and 18 pounds.

Get some 2/5- and 2/3- ounce copper BC Steel spoons (Pen Tac Inc., 530-841-0904, ask for Sarah, tell her Bill sent you), fit them with two #5 split rings, a #7 swivel and a 2/0 Gamakatsu siwash single hook.

Rich had never seen anyone use spoons for coho before. Landing 54 salmon - yes, no typo, 54 salmon - on this “new” technique really blew his mind. Absolutely nothing wrong with the standard issue Vibrax spinners (the homemade blades from Pen Tac and Rvrfshr are great also), they are lethal for fresh coho.

Spoons are fished differently, take a bit more skill and under many situations are not that effective for river coho. But when the planets align and those 10- to 18-pound Peninsula silvers want heavy metal, I’m more than willing to drop the needle on some classic techniques to play for them. It really helps your cause when your guide positions the boat perfectly in each piece of water, well off to the side as Rich did.

All said, it was one of - if not THE best - day I’ve ever experienced river fishing for fall coho.

Quinault Tribal guide Rich Underwood has a few days left for this exclusive fishery. Call him at (360) 359-2983 or (360) 990-0157. You don’t need a license and Rich can provide all your tackle and terminal gear.

Bring a neoprene wrist support and Advil.

Tomorrow is Saturday. Maybe I’ll have another ice cream cone.

Metal To The End,
-Spoonman