COHO: KINGS OF ALL THINGS

ALASKA SILVERS PROVIDE PLENTY OF FISHING, LEARNING OPTIONS, AND ARE VERY TASTY

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

We’ve reached August, the peak of coho season throughout Alaska. In a lot of rivers and streams, coho can be caught from late July all the way through October, even into early November. Toss in ocean fishing, and the summer extension adds to the coho opportunities.

These are hard-fighting fish with an aggressive strike. I don’t know of any other salmon species that can be caught so many ways with such consistency in so many of Alaska’s rivers as coho. Chum salmon could fall into this category, but they don’t reach the numbers, nor approach the table fare, of coho.

Whether it’s surface poppers, streamers, twitching jigs, jigs suspended beneath a float, spinners, spoons, plugs, beads, or bait (where legal), coho will hit a lot of gear that can be fished many ways, making them the ideal fish for so many anglers. If you’re new to fishing, there’s no better species to target than

If you have leftover pieces of fish after your meal, create versatile potato fish cakes that will satisfy a hunger, whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner.