Silver salmon, or cohos, offer the fly rodder the complete package. They are large, fast, highly acrobatic, and they can be complete gluttons for flies.
Story last updated at 9/8/2010 - 7:10 pm
With the exception of steelhead and rainbow trout, no other fresh water game fish in Alaska attracts more fly fisher attention than do silver salmon. Silvers, or cohos, offer the fly rodder the complete package. They are large - silvers run 10 to 20 pounds with 12-pound fish more the average. And they are fast - build for speed, silver salmon are known for their blistering runs that many times take anglers deep into their backing. And they are highly acrobatic - silvers are notorious for their acrobatic top water displays when hooked. And finally, silver salmon can be complete gluttons for flies and in the right conditions, will readily chase any fly offering that drifts, swings or swims through their sight. Personally speaking, I adore chasing silvers, and I jump with enthusiasm at any opportunity to fish for them. Here are eight tips geared towards improving your success in catching silver salmon on a fly.
TIDES
Like most salmon, silvers tend to migrate into their natal waters during flooding tides (or at night). Understanding this cyclical relationship, in addition to local knowledge of the particular watershed or estuary, will aid you in selecting when and where you choose to fish during the course of their seasonal run. For example, estuary channels and braids are the primary thoroughfares that silvers use as they mill and migrate so you should target these locations. However, not all of these locations can be safely accessible during all periods of the day due to our prodigious tides. The key is learning when silvers will be concentrated in an area where they will be within easy casting distance.
LIES
Once silvers enter their natal waters, I classify them into one of the following three categories: resting, migrating or spawning. As recreational sport fishers, we need to concentrate our efforts and target them while they are resting to be most effective. Cohos prefer calm, slow flowing lies and will routinely seek out these areas. Because our silver season occurs in the fall when we experience heavy rains our local watersheds are often high and off-colored. Because of this innate characteristic we need to pay particular attention to calm water pockets, seams and edges in order to locate resting, "fly vulnerable," silvers during the fall months.
PRESENTATION
Although silvers are known to aggressively chase flies that are offered to them, what triggers them to do so is what is of significance to the fly fisher in order to be successful. Generally speaking, silvers prefer their offerings to be presented to them along a horizontal plane. Whether this is a swinging fly or one that is dead drifted makes no difference. The key here is horizontal. This concept becomes clearly evident if one simply envisions how stream objects and debris continually flow past holding silvers.
SHARP BARBLESS HOOKS
A solid hook set gives the angler an added advantage when targeting aggressive game fish and fishing for acrobatic silvers is no exception. Fortunately, today's fly rodders have a wide assortment of chemically sharpened hooks available to them on the commercial market. These quality made hooks retain their sharpness much better than those that cost half the price. And when properly de-barbed, these chemically sharpened hooks will not only penetrate the hardest mandible regions with ease, but they will also do so even during very subtle takes or grabs.
MATCH YOUR LINES TO THE CONDITIONS
It's an understood (and accepted) axiom of fly-fishing that fly lines catch fish. Given this, it is crucial to match your fly line to the specific water conditions and particular location that you plan to fish. However, because most watersheds are dynamic, no single fly line will be "the right line" all of the time. As a result, it is imperative to carry several fly lines with you during any outing in order to have the versatility needed to successfully (and quickly) fish a variety of water types and conditions.
FLIES
We've already discussed the fact that silver salmon have an affinity to chasing flies. But we have yet to address which types of flies turn silvers "on" and get them strike. Silvers depend on their keen sensory receptors to detect changes in their environment. This might be a visual change for example when noting a swimming or drifting fly in clear water, or a fluid dynamic change recognized via their highly evolved lateral lines when water visibility becomes reduced during high water conditions. Big bulky flies tend to be more effective in high off-colored conditions or when silvers are fresh from the brine. In contrast, smaller flies tend to prove more successful in low clear water or when silvers have been repeatedly fished over.
POLAROID SUNGLASSES
The ability to see fish and recognize subsurface features and structure significantly enhances any angler's ability to make the proper presentation needed to entice a strike. Polaroid sunglasses make this possible. Polaroid sunglasses come in a variety of tints (amber, yellow, brown, grey etc.) that are designed to enhance objects depending on available lighting conditions and whether or not anglers prefer to observe true coloration. Sunglasses also serve as invaluable eye shields and offer important eye protection while casting.
CONSERVATION
Fly-fishing has become the fastest growing segment of recreational sport fishing. Even in Alaska, the "Last Frontier," once vacant gravel bars are now experiencing line-up fishing conditions during coho runs and this is particularly true along watersheds within close proximity to cities and towns. Because of this, the future and health of our silver salmon wild populations are ultimately dependent upon us, the sport angler. It is our personal responsibility to ban together and become active participants in local watershed conservations chapters and organizations or to aggressively write letters to management biologists demanding that they recognize and manage our precious fisheries in order to ensure the sustainability of these magnificent fish for future generations.
Over the next several weeks, Southeast Alaska will begin its transition into fall. Meadow stands of fireweed will no longer glow like hot embers, but instead will soon resemble naked twigs garnished with cotton. Crisp mornings nipped with frost will be another indicator as we retrieve the local paper in our driveways. And majestic silver salmon will once again complete an ancient cycle as old as the land as they begin their upstream migration to crystalline riffles where they were born. I hope the tips that I have provided will not only help you catch more silvers, but will also allow you to further appreciate this wonderful wild resource we are so fortunate to have here in Southeast Alaska. Good luck, and tight lines!
Rich Culver is a fly-fishing freelance writer and photographer living in Juneau. His column runs every other week. He can be reached at flywater@alaska.net.
