Coho sure seem small. Hopefully bigger ones are to come. At least crabbing was good yesterday. Hopefully back at 'er again on Sunday.
Sooke2015
- Thread starter barrie
- Start date
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Its not just us read down south washington state reports everywhere are saying same:
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20150924/SPORTS/150929535
http://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-seattle-times/20150917/282218009580345/TextView
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I suspect the bigger ones are coming with this rain... None of the little guys are even starting to hook nose yet.
On Wednesday we opted to go bucktailing for coho. Didn't expect too much but we were pleasantly surprised. We hit our first fish off Aldridge which promptly broke off a prized fly which my partner had owned for a number of years. Headed out towards the 500 foot mark and hit two more fish including 6-7 pound hatchery which we bonked. After 2 more hours of fruitless searching with bucktails we put out two downrigger rods at 25 and 40 feet to see if we could locate a few fish that might chase the surface flies. We hit a total of 8 fish on the downrigger rods and kept 3 more hatcheries. To cap it off we had one more hard smash on the bucktail but
it would not stay connected. I am hopeful that the flies will work a little better offshore when a few more fish arrive.
it would not stay connected. I am hopeful that the flies will work a little better offshore when a few more fish arrive.
That is an awesome news.
I want to know what colour did you use for the bucktail? I have a couple of buck tails. I would like to give them a try for coho fishing.
Thanks
Discus
Suke Skywalker
Member
An educated guess as to why the average coho (all species) are getting smaller
Alaska, Japan and Russia use a practice called "ocean ranching" in which they have ramped up hatchery production,
particularly of pink and chum salmon.
Since there is a fairly large overlap in the feeding areas in the open ocean where these fish feed(the Bering Sea and other closer areas), there has been increased competition for food resulting in smaller average sizes of all types of salmon in Canada (we are seeing it in the coho now.)
800 hatcheries in the Pacific are churning out about 5 billion hatchery fish.
Canada is producing a fraction (317 million) of these. Japan produces 2 billion, Alaska 1.5 billion, and Russia 1 billion.
http://www.stateofthesalmon.org/images/maps/NP_Hatchery_release_2012.jpg
The coho that origionate from Georgia Straight rivers (like the Fraser) also have lower survivorship and the average fish are smaller
in the odd years when the pink smolts coming out of the Fraser are competing with coho. Key traits of pink salmon that influenced competition with other salmon included great abundance, high consumption rates and rapid growth, degree of diet overlap and early migration timing into the ocean. The consistent pattern of findings from multiple regions of the ocean provides evidence thatpink salmon may be the dominant competitor among salmon in marine waters.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-004-6927-0
Alaska, Japan and Russia use a practice called "ocean ranching" in which they have ramped up hatchery production,
particularly of pink and chum salmon.
Since there is a fairly large overlap in the feeding areas in the open ocean where these fish feed(the Bering Sea and other closer areas), there has been increased competition for food resulting in smaller average sizes of all types of salmon in Canada (we are seeing it in the coho now.)
800 hatcheries in the Pacific are churning out about 5 billion hatchery fish.
Canada is producing a fraction (317 million) of these. Japan produces 2 billion, Alaska 1.5 billion, and Russia 1 billion.
http://www.stateofthesalmon.org/images/maps/NP_Hatchery_release_2012.jpg
The coho that origionate from Georgia Straight rivers (like the Fraser) also have lower survivorship and the average fish are smaller
in the odd years when the pink smolts coming out of the Fraser are competing with coho. Key traits of pink salmon that influenced competition with other salmon included great abundance, high consumption rates and rapid growth, degree of diet overlap and early migration timing into the ocean. The consistent pattern of findings from multiple regions of the ocean provides evidence thatpink salmon may be the dominant competitor among salmon in marine waters.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-004-6927-0
Suke Skywalker
Member
So...
If you want someone to blame for the smaller coho...
Looks like American hatchery pink salmon would be a good place to start..
If you want someone to blame for the smaller coho...
Looks like American hatchery pink salmon would be a good place to start..
bucktails
Hey Discus we tried ten different flies and noticed a clear preference of the fish for the classic grey and white and the purple and white polar bear flies that were quite bushy and 5+ inches in size when wet. I tied a number of needlefish patterns tied with modern materials and colors but those flies were ignored. The prop wash rod had the fewest hits while the outside rod (one ounce weight and classic flies) had the most hits. We used small brass spinners on both rods
Hey Discus we tried ten different flies and noticed a clear preference of the fish for the classic grey and white and the purple and white polar bear flies that were quite bushy and 5+ inches in size when wet. I tied a number of needlefish patterns tied with modern materials and colors but those flies were ignored. The prop wash rod had the fewest hits while the outside rod (one ounce weight and classic flies) had the most hits. We used small brass spinners on both rods
zfish
Active Member
I think the smaller fish this year is completely due to poor ocean conditions for food chain food production. The last two years have seen the warm blob off shore in the north east pacific with an el-nino. This summer even saw a toxic bloom in a wide part of the north eastern pacific which is suspected to have killed several baleen whales and affected the food chain supporting marine species like sea lions.
I love that the yanks practice free rang fish production, Canada should do much more of this type of stock support, IMHO.
I love that the yanks practice free rang fish production, Canada should do much more of this type of stock support, IMHO.
Cohos were big in previous years and ocean ranching has been going on for many years. So this can't be the culprit. Zfish is probably close to the truth.
I'm not sure I buy the "too many fish" in the Pacific Ocean.. The ocean holds probably %10 of what it did 100+ years ago. Warmer water decreases available food, which goes with what I saw on Swiftsure this summer, and that was, gin clear water with no plankton/krill, and hence, nothing for batfish to eat.
Fins -n- Skins
Well-Known Member
It was around 11:00 to 1;30 for us.. Couple Hatch 6# and 8# with 8 wilds released. 450 ft of water was the ticket also but 30 ft down. Dummy flashers and metal.. One fish on a grey ghost bucktail..
Fins -n- Skins
Well-Known Member
Back out today and it a little slower.. Managed 5-6 and a couple of small hatch.. Biggest today was a 6# wild released.. On a side note there were 2 aluminum skiffs working a big net from Possesion point out.. Just holding there for about an hour ?? Black zodiac was chasing other boats out of there.. One boat i guess had some words for them and the zodiac chased him for a bit..
Lazy Bones
Member
I saw the 2 alum work boats and realized they were pulling something together.
the black zodiac came over and told me what they were doing ...
they are installing a hydrophone to listen to the whale calls. the were installing a hollow pipe that sunk to the bottom.
no words other than my "that's cool" reply after he told me what they were up to.
4 wilds for us, up to 8lb. all released.
one was injured, but released nonetheless.
all in 250-450ft of water @ 25-65ft on the rigger
