Spring Kings coming up soon.

[TheHunt]

I have never fished for Spring Coho's.  I am a bank fisherman

What colors?

What techniques? 

What rivers?   ( I will guess let me know if Iam close Cowlitz, Toutle, Green off the Toutle, Kalama, and the Lewis.)

 

[PolarBear]

You mean spring chinook?  eggs, tuna balls and jigs.

[TheHunt]

I don't know much about it.  I think people get excited and call them springers.  As I said I know nothing about them.  But I would like to give them a try as the steelhead will be pretty much over by then.

eggs make sense
What is a tuna ball? 
What color jigs do they like? 

[Salmo]

They are beautiful fish!  And Awesome table fare!   Pretty stoked as we just went to 4 ten's and I getta fish'em 3 days a week!!

I'm not sure what fisheries like the Cow, Lewis expect.   Oregon side of the mainstem CO is usually the best.  Pretty sure the Toutle and Green don't have fishable runs either by regulations or population.  Might be wrong?


Here's an excellent source of info for ya.

http://www.ifish.net/board/index.php

[Huntbear]

TheHunt,

Lets get together, and do some fishing.  I will show you all I know. 

I hear on Ifish that they are beginning to catch a couple in the last week or so, and the first Springers have gone over Bonneville already.   

[Dhoey07]

TheHunt,

Lets get together, and do some fishing.  I will show you all I know. 

I hear on Ifish that they are beginning to catch a couple in the last week or so, and the first Springers have gone over Bonneville already.   

You mean the first springer, as in 1 lol. 

Here is a site to keep up on it http://www.fpc.org/currentdaily/HistFishTwo_7day-ytd_Adults.htm

[Huntbear]

There has to be a first and a last... and if we get enough lines in the water, maybe we can make it the same fish.. rotflmao

[TheHunt]

@ Huntbear...

Where do you fish?  I am up for it. 

What line weight, lure weight do I need for the rod? 

Is it a bobber and bait or is it drift fishing, or other?

[Huntbear]

I cast and retrieve plugs.  Flouroscent Orange Magnum Wiggle Warts.  Or Tiger Striped ones.  I fish the lower cowlitz, the follow the fish up.. would like to hit Drano during the week this year for some all day fishing .... when the damn count gets right... maybe hook up with someone with a boat.

[BigGoonTuna]

more or less the same tactics and gear as you'd use for fall kings, maybe a bit lighter.  i don't even bother fishing eggs for steelhead any more, all my eggs get saved up for springers and fall coho/kings.  they're a lot of fun to freedrift a big glob of eggs or tuna balls for with light spinning tackle.

cowlitz is the most obvious choice if you're bank bound on the west side, but i heard the run prediction is supposed to be pretty mediocre this year.  i've just about written off the kalama and lewis any more, for example around 1000 were caught in april '07 in the kalama, the run sizes the past 4 or 5 years have only been for about 500-800 fish total, and the season usually closes around may so the hatchery can get enough eggs for the next brood.  pretty sad what's happened on those rivers.

[Plunker1]

Last year I fished the the middle to upper cowlitz just plunking from the bank with a spin glo and sand shrimp or prawn and then cut plugged a herring and slid it down and did really well. I ended up with 14 springers. Water was pretty high and fast so I had to use pretty heavy gear 30 pound test and sometime up to 12 ounces of lead. Hope this helps. Good luck!

[TheHunt]

I have only banked one king in my life.  That was an act of the Lord Almighty as I was fishing for pinks on the Puyallup.   

[Plunker1]

I had to put in alot of time on the river to get those fish sometimes from daylight to dark and before and after work it wasn't easy but the fishin was pretty good I saw fish caught almost every day or atleast every other day. U just gotta be willing to put in the time but when that poll starts bangin it's worth every minute of it

[blacktailhunter]

There's a few around.  Got this one on Sunday morning in the Columbia trolling a cut-plug herring.

[carpsniperg2]

  No better eatting salmon then springer