[Grampa Spey]

In about a week, I will be fishing on the lower Rogue. Besides the half pounders, various seasonal steel head and the kings, there can be a lot of Coho's in. Every Coho, that I have hooked has been an accident .

If the silvers are in, what do you do different with a Spey Rod/two handed rod to get the silvers to strike.

What lines/leaders do you recommend and what types of flies?

Thanks

 

[flytyer]

Something with both flash and movement. I use various "Flash Flies" on #4 or #6 salt water hooks with hot pink or blue hackled ones with silver holographic Estaz body and silver Flashabou wing and tail. The other fly I use at lot for silvers is a "fuschia bunny leech" tied on Alec Jackson Spey Hook #5 with blue Krystal Flash flowing from the head back to almost the end of the tail on each side of the fly. The "Flash Fly" tied with a wing composed of 1/2 silver and 1/2 hot pink of fuschia Flashabou, silver body, and hot pink hackle is also worth a try.

I fish them on floating, type 2, type 3, or maybe a type 6 sink tip, depending on water depth and speed. This is fishing where I also will almost always forgo the long belly lines I like and use a Windcutter simply because silvers like to chase a fly and the short belly lines let you retrieve the fly accross current for a greater distance.

If the silvers are sort of dour, I will use what I call a "Blue & Purple Pheasant" it has an oval silver tip, purple braided mylar body ribbing with oval silver, light powder blue calftail wing (you might have to dye the calftail to get the color because it is hard to find), and a blue phase ringneck pheasant rump feather hackle. I tie it exclusively on a #6 salmon iron.

 

[Grampa Spey]

fly tyer re Cohos

Thanks for your reply. I have a lot of flies like the ones you posted. They came from Fly Shop USA and the Fly Shop in Redding California and some proven ones from a younger relative who fishes for silvers in Alaska.

This paragraph is what I was looking for: "I fish them on floating, type 2, type 3, or maybe a type 6 sink tip, depending on water depth and speed. This is fishing where I also will almost always forgo the long belly lines I like and use a Windcutter simply because silvers like to chase a fly and the short belly lines let you retrieve the fly accross current for a greater distance. "

I have been told to take off tip 1 and 2 from my MS and Accelerator lines to retrieve the fly across current as you noted.

Are you supposed to twitch the flies on the retrieve or do something with the line while retrieving your cast to encourage a strike from the cohos?

Last year I cast the classic cast and the coho just looked at the flies as they came down. Eventually one would get poed and attack it.

 

[fredaevans]

GS, keep us posted on how those flys work.

The coho's will hit the upper river some time in October. 'Here-bouts' we use C-4 and a long fuze. Fly's that might/wil get these guys attention is an ongoing topic.

 

[Grampa Spey]

FredEvans re C4

So which one of your special leaders do you recommend for the C4 and Coho fishing in your area, what size tippet and do you use the double spey or the snake roll?

Last year, if I had any C4 on the lower Rogue, I might have considered trying some.

 

[flytyer]

Grandpa Spey,

I cast across stream at nearly 90 degrees and let the fly sink/swing until in start to move across stream. As soon as it starts to move across stream, I begin retrieving it. The speed of the retrieve varies; but I will almost always start with a slow retrieve utilizing 4 to 6 inch very slow pulls of line. The speed of the pulls is increased if I get no takes after about 6 casts. And the speed may increase to the point where you are stripping line just as fast as you can before silvers start to hit.

Sometimes, bouncing the rod tip and then immediately taking in the slack (sort of like a darting streamer retrieve with a single-hand rod for trout or bass) will work; but I only use it as a last resort.

Silvers tend to like a fly that is moving. One of the reasons I use the flies I mentioned is because they have flashy, mobile parts that give the illusion of more movement than is actually being imparted. The Flash Flies in particular are really nothing more than an imitation of a spinner and should be fished just like a spin fisherman would fish a spinner.

 

[Grampa Spey]

Fly Tyer re techniques for Cohos

Thanks for this reply.

I had remember you or someone posting these how to's last year after my frustrating trip to the lower Rogue re Coho's.

This is now printed out and will make the trip with me.

I cast across stream at nearly 90 degrees and let the fly sink/swing until in start to move across stream. As soon as it starts to move across stream, I begin retrieving it. The speed of the retrieve varies; but I will almost always start with a slow retrieve utilizing 4 to 6 inch very slow pulls of line. The speed of the pulls is increased if I get no takes after about 6 casts. And the speed may increase to the point where you are stripping line just as fast as you can before silvers start to hit.

Sometimes, bouncing the rod tip and then immediately taking in the slack (sort of like a darting streamer retrieve with a single-hand rod for trout or bass) will work; but I only use it as a last resort.

Silvers tend to like a fly that is moving. One of the reasons I use the flies I mentioned is because they have flashy, mobile parts that give the illusion of more movement than is actually being imparted. The Flash Flies in particular are really nothing more than an imitation of a spinner and should be fished just like a spin fisherman would fish a spinner.

 

[flytyer]

Grandpa Spey,

I have posted pictures and patterns for Flash Flies and the Blue & Purple Pheasant on the Salmon and Steelhead Flies section. I realized that there are many members of the forum that do not know what they are. Now all will be able to see them and tie them.

 

[Grampa Spey]

flytyer thanks for posting the great fly pictures!

Awesome pictures! Thanks for posting them.

One other technique with Silvers.

Have you tried the technique that Scott Richmond recommends. You get up stream from the Cohos and cast your line out and let the fly go down stream from the cohos and strip out quite a bit of line.

Then, you strip the line back up through the Cohos and to your rod as fast as you can strip the line. A couple of local non speyers said that is how they entice the Cohos to strike. Apparently they will sometimes strike really close to the rod tip. So you are there with 80 to 90 feet of fly line and leader right off the tip of your rod with a very angry and upset Coho. They warned to make sure that the line did not get wrapped around the rod, the reel or you during this critical event.

 

[flytyer]

Grandpa Spey,

Yes, this is my tachnique of last resort when I can't get them to take the across stream stripped flies. I forgot to mention it in my other post, thanks for reminding me of the technique. It is not neccesary to let the fly go much sownstream of the fish, just about 10 to 15 feet is sufficient. All that is really needed is for the fly stripping to begin a few yards below the fish so that when it comes into the fish's sight it is at or only slightly above their level in the water column.

 

[BeBop]

Granpa, I prefer using a single hander for coho. The best flies in this area (Fraser Valley) are not brightly coloured. One is a simple bugger pattern with a black or dark olive rabbit tail and a black crystal chenille body with a brass bead head. The other is a natural or dark olive rolled muddler.

 

[fredaevans]

GS, our ''C-4" lures require a quick hand and ..

'special preparation.'

First, you need a beach with a good stout fallen tree ("the bunker"), .......:whoa:

 

[Grampa Spey]

Flytyer, thanks

Thanks for all of your help and advise.

This will make life a lot easier "Yes, this is my technique of last resort when I can't get them to take the across stream stripped flies. I forgot to mention it in my other post, thanks for reminding me of the technique. It is not neccesary to let the fly go much sownstream of the fish, just about 10 to 15 feet is sufficient. All that is really needed is for the fly stripping to begin a few yards below the fish so that when it comes into the fish's sight it is at or only slightly above their level in the water column."

I didn't understand why they stripped out so much line. 10 to 15 feet below them should be adequate.

 

[Grampa Spey]

BeBop

Thanks for the feed back. I have some of those flies if the bright ones don't work.

With my bad right shoulder, I have to use a two handed rod.

If the coho are in and reasonably close, I will use one of Bob Meiser's 10'6" switch rods. The shorter rods give you a better chance than the longer rods to control a fish.

 

[flytyer]

Fred,

C-4 scares the crap out of nubile things with hot pants.

I also seem to have heard somewhere that even in Southern Oregon fishing with C-4 is frowned upon. Unless of course you take the local warden out in the boat with you and hand him one of those "Dupont Spinners" for his own use and casually ask him, "Are you talking or fishing"?

 

[Grampa Spey]

Flytyer & Fred Evans re C4 and Oregon Game Wardens

Actually, with the huge and unpredicted runs of Cohos the past couple of seasons in spite of Oregon/Fish and game dire predictions of total disappearance of Coho's, Oregon Fish and Game might just join Fred in using C4 to thin the Coho herd.

A couple of years ago I was chided by one for not killing a hatchery hen coho and releasing her. That was the year that photos of fish and game using base ball bats to thin the Coho herd made the newspapers.

 

[fredaevans]

Blurb in the local paper this morning suggesting ..

the coho run could be so large this season, they're opening up a special 'season' and allowing you to catch/keep additional clipped coho's ... just to cut down on the numbers. (The limit is usually 2 salmon per day, now it's two plus coho's.

fae