Salmon Coho
name: Salmon Coho
other names: Silver, Hooknose
Coho salmon are greenish blue back with silvery sides. They have small black spots on the back, dorsal fin, and usually on the upper part of the tail. When spawning, adults develop greenish black heads and dark brown to maroon bodies.
The Coho salmon is an anadromous species that lives in Northern Pacific waters. In enters both large and small coastal streams to spawn. They are known to be very strong swimmers and have been stocked in numerous inland lakes, including the Great Lakes.
Juvenile Coho in freshwater feed on plankton, then later eat insects. In the ocean they eat a variety of organisms, including herring, pilchard, squid, and crustaceans. Salmon grow rapidly in the ocean and often double their weight during a single summer season. Likewise, Coho that live entirely in freshwater feed on plankton and insects as juveniles, and pelagic freshwater bait fish in the lakes. Smelt are the primary food items, and, in fact, Coho and other salmonids were introduced to the Great Lakes and other inland waters especially to help control massive populations of bait fish, which they consume voraciously and thus quickly grow large, stocky bodies.
Coho salmon will usually spawn between the ages of 2 and 5 Normally at 3 years. They will die after spawning. Males will generally be much larger than females. The life cycle of the silver salmon is similar to that of the Alaska king salmon. Coho salmon will stay in the freshwater for a year or two before migrating to the saltwater where they will spend at least 2 years swimming in coastal waters. Even as young smelt in freshwater the silver salmon is a voracious and aggressive eater and are known to eat each other. These aggressive tendencies are their undoing as a sport fish. Beginning in late July, silver salmon will begin to congregate in bays and near mouths of their spawning streams and rivers as they wait for nature to optimize water temperature and stream flow before.
Coho are one of the largest Salmon species and therefore tackle required needs to match the size of fish. There are various methods to fish for these salmon to many to mention. Contact us and one of our guides will help with your tackle selection dependant on your fishing location.
