10_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 24
Fall Coho Fishing in Rivers
By Brent Knight
If you ask me my favorite
fishery of the year, I will
always tell you that winter
steelhead fishing is
king! There is a romance
to steelhead fishing in
the winter that is unlike
anything else, and I can’t
get enough of it. A very
close second is fishing for
Coho salmon in our many
rivers around the Puget
Sound and along the
Washington Coast.
Coho salmon begin
entering our river systems
in the early fall, generally
from mid-late August,
depending on rain. The
migrations vary by river,
but in some cases continue
through January. The peak
time to target these fish is
from late September into
late November.
Since 2025 is a pink return
year, I expect that the
Coho will likely push in
just a bit later to avoid the
massive influx of pinks.
We have over 7,000,000
pinks forecasted to return
to the Puget Sound this
year. You can always find
both species in a system
at the same time, but I
don’t believe that they like
to compete for water, and
hence, the Coho tend to
avoid the pinks as best
they can. For this reason, I
have found that early run
Coho are often found in less
common water when the
pinks are in. Think center of
the river in the current and
on the soft edges.
The best thing about
fishing for Coho is that they
tend to be very predictable.
You are going to find them
holding up in softer water,
staging for their final push
to their spawning grounds.
As one group moves out
of a hole and upstream,
another will travel up and
fill in. This will continue as
fresh fish enter the river
system and continue to
migrate upstream. For
this reason, I have found
that Coho are much more
predictable and easier to
target than species such as
spring Chinook or winter
Steelhead. The advantage
of Coho fishing is that we
often experience greater
numbers of encounters,
get to fight many fish, and
often restock our freezers
for the winter.
It is important to note that
during the fall, you may
find Chinook, summer
Steelhead, Pinks, Coho, and
even Chums in the same
system. Depending on
the river, you may be able
to keep multiple species
and, in some cases, even
unmarked fish. Make
sure that you read the
regulations closely and
comply with all rules related
to gear restrictions and
retention.
Coho can be finicky and
may not bite at times, but
by nature, they are very
aggressive and territorial. It
might take a bit to get one
to bite, but once you do, it is
usually game on for a while.
