Fishing Information


Fishing Home Page | Butchoutdoors.com Home Page

Vital information and articles related to fishing.


Fly Fishing for Saltwater Salmon with Surface Flies


One of the greatest thrills in Pacific Northwest fly fishing is bringing large anadramous fish to a surface fly. While surface fishing in the saltwater is not as popular as subsurface fly fishing, feeding saltwater coho salmon will take a popper quite aggressively. Neah Bay is the best place to cast flies for coho salmon in Washington State, and I believe it's also the best place to catch coho / silver salmon on a cast popper.

Of course, there's a long tradition of trolling flies on the surface in the Pacific Northwest. But there's a move away from trolling (which I do not believe is fly fishing) to casting and retrieving surface poppers in the Pacific Northwest.

First things first, fishing a popper for saltwater salmon is going to lower the number of fish you hook most of the time. If numbers of fish are your goal, I still recommend fishing a sinking line and a baitfish pattern, such as a clouser minnow. Surface fishing in the Pacific Ocean for feeding salmon is not about numbers of salmon hooked. You will have lots of follows, slashes, and boils at your fly. But out of all the interest, most of the salmon will not grab the fly. This is what makes this type of fishing so much fun. You watch the fish follow, and attempt to entice the salmon by slowing down or speeding up the retrieve (some days faster works, other days slower works). It is truly one of the greatest fishing thrills in the Pacific Northwest.

For this fishing, I prefer fishing 30' shooting head fly lines. Fishing surface flies for saltwater salmon offshore of Neah Bay demands long casts. Basically, the more line you can throw, the more fish you will bring to the surface. I believe that shooting head fly lines give you the most distance with the least effort, especially considering a rolling deck and persistent winds. I like a .30 diameter floating running line. It gives you distance but without the tangling drawbacks of amnesia or other running lines. Remember, fly lines in a boat seem to seek out tangles. I use buckets with weighted bases to hold the fly line when casting and stripping the fly back along the surface.

An important part of popper fishing for salmon is the retrieve. I like a steady retrieve that makes the fly slowly wake along the surface, slowly covering productive fish holding water. The slow retrieve also gives following fish more time to make a decision to strike. It seems that fish will stop following once the fly gets within 10-20 feet of the boat (another reason to practice casting). To get this retrieve, I will tuck the fly rod under my arm and do a two-handed retrieve. This retrieve gives the angler more control and allows you to have that steady retrieve the coho salmon seem to love. Of course, like all fishing there are exceptions to every rule, so don't be afraid to pop the surface fly instead of the steady retrieve. It may be just the ticket when the salmon won't go for the typical retrieve. Coho fishing success is all about fishing hard and a willingness to experiment.

Like many forms of fishing that are less effective, popper fishing does require some dedication. Stick with it, even if you know for certain you are going to catch more fish by grabbing your other rod rigged with a sinking line and a baitfish pattern. You will rise coho salmon when you least expect it, and you will gain the most important thing when it comes to popper fishing for coho salmon?. Confidence! Confidence is the key to true success in fishing poppers in the saltwater.

I hope you learned a few things about popper fishing for coho salmon at Neah Bay. It is the most challenging way of hooking feeding salmon in the saltwater.

Chris Bellows, owner of Topwater Charters, Inc, which runs fly fishing charters off the Washington Coast. His websites offer more information about Saltwater Fly Fishing and Neah Bay Halibut Fishing


MORE RESOURCES:

Season dawns for fall hunting and fishing
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - 10 hours ago
That means hunting and fishing in the backcountry are ready to change just like the season. Bird hunting and trout fishing opportunities are set to kick in ...
Lobster poacher caught with 'bugs' in his pants San Diego Union Tribune
all 2 news articles


Fisheries Agency encouraging Taiwanese fishermen to work on ...
eTaiwan News, Taiwan - 2 hours ago
Those willing to work on board Taiwanese fishing vessels would receive NT$240000 (US$7300) in subsidies in the first and second years of their employment, ...
PRC fishing workers will not replace Taiwan laborers, says MAC eTaiwan News
Chinese fishermen remain banned in Taiwan: MAC chief eTaiwan News
all 4 news articles


Panel recommends fishing license expenditures
WRAL.com, NC - 6 hours ago
NAGS HEAD, NC — A committee has recommended that revenue from saltwater fishing licenses go toward projects that include a data collection system and youth ...


Lessons learned from innocent fishing tourney
The Coloradoan, CO - 10 hours ago
How else do you explain a group of die-hard trout fly fishermen getting excited about a carp fishing tournament? Despite years of trying to persuade other ...


Coalition hosts fishing, boating forum
GoErie.com, PA - 13 hours ago
Nonetheless, it will be a difficult concept to accept during these times, when getting more youth involved in fishing and hunting are perhaps the most ...
TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
OUTDOOR SHORTS The Patriot-News - PennLive.com
Outdoors notes Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
all 8 news articles


AL'S REPORT Fall changes fishing scene
SunHerald.com, MS - 16 hours ago
By AL JONES - afjones@sunherald.com OCEAN SPRINGS -- Despite stiff winds and a mixture of sunshine and rain, fishing in South Mississippi has been solid ...
Cool temps, more action SunHerald.com
all 5 news articles


Fishing at the bottom
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com, NJ - 17 hours ago
"There is a difference between bottom fishing and bottom gluttony," he said. Now, that's a bottom fisher -- an investor who buys stocks on the cheap when ...


Fishing: Fishing is fine in fall, and DEP stocks state waters
Stamford Advocate, CT - 15 hours ago
It is the perfect time for trout fishing! And to make it better the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is almost finished with its annual autumn ...


NEWS.com.au

Nasdaq Manages An Up Day; Bottom Fishing In Evidence
Barron's Blogs - Oct 10, 2008
One interesting development in today’s whipsaw session was the emergence of what appears to be some selective bottom-fishing. Apple (AAPL) was the most ...
Daily Rundown, October 10 Inside Futures
all 293 news articles


Anglo-Icelandic relations last hit low over cod fishing
Financial Times, UK - 21 hours ago
The most dramatic events occurred in the early 1970s, when trawlermen from the two countries fought over a disputed 50-mile fishing zone around Iceland. ...

Fishing - Google News



Fishing Articles Home Page | Fishing Articles Site Map | ButchOutdoors Home Page
Leisure | Hunting | Camping | Entertainment | Travel | Ken J Wagner

ButchOutdoors.com - all Vital information and articles related to fishing.

© 2006 GEtsonic.com