Whether you’re a resident looking to put meat in the freezer, or a traveling angler from out of state, there’s a new king of salmon in the making, and it’s the coho, or silver salmon. And whether or not you plan on fishing with us at Becharof Lodge on Alaska’s Egegik River–touted by many as one of the best silver salmon fishing streams in all of Alaska–or elsewhere, we want to share this with you.
In an effort to alleviate the pressure on Alaska’s precious king salmon, consider targeting coho salmon, instead. One of the biggest hurdles for many anglers to overcome is breaking traditional thought. Everyone who fishes in Alaska wants a mighty king salmon, just as every hunter wants a moose. The starting point to preserving our king salmon starts with a change in thinking, so forget about kings, at least for a few years, and focus on catching silver salmon in Alaska.
Silver salmon runs in Alaska are later in the summer than king salmon runs, so you don’t have the mass hoards of anglers congregating in small sections of rivers, as you do with king and sockeye salmon. Coho salmon runs are also much longer, lasting months instead of a few weeks. August through October are prime times to catch coho. Limits are also generous when it comes to coho, meaning you can put a lot of great eating meat in the freezer.
As for the fight, if a 70 pound king battled as hard as a silver salmon, you’d be hard pressed to land it. Not only do silvers jump, they dive, twist, turn and make long runs. Coho can be caught in very remote waters, where battling 30 fish a day is common, and you’ll never see another angler; it’s the ultimate Alaskan fishing experience and what attracts so many anglers to fish with us at Becharof Lodge.
At Becharof Lodge, we specialize in catching silver salmon during the entire month of August. Cohos can be fished for multiple ways, adding even more to the adventure and fun of catching these are fighting salmon. Tired of dragging bait or backtrolling heavy gear all day for king salmon? Not a problem with coho! Coho salmon can be caught on jigs–both twitching and beneath a float–as well as on a variety of spinners, even by casting shallow diving plugs. They can be caught on topwater plugs–something bass and pike anglers love–and on poppers by fly fishing fans. Once you experience the thrill of a coho topwater take, you’ll be hooked on this approach. On our home river, the Egegik River, we are allowed to fish with cured eggs, considered by many to be the best salmon bait there is. What this means is high salmon catch rates. We’ve had experienced anglers land and release over 75 silver salmon a day, multiple times.
Coho are easily accessed from the banks of big rivers, small streams, even some lakes, throughout much of their range in Alaska. They can be targeted in tidewater, too. Stripping and swinging streamers through an incoming tide is a rush, as these fresh coho battle to the very end.
Once you’ve secured a limit of coho, you can keep fishing in most waters in Alaska. If releasing coho salmon, go with barbless hooks. Catch and handle the fish with care, meaning land them quickly and touch them as little as possible. Just because there are millions of these bright, gorgeous, great eating fish out there, doesn’t mean they should be mishandled; we do not want a repeat performance of the dwindling Alaska king salmon numbers. If releasing coho, get them in fast, keep them in the water, revive them and set them free. Don’t net them, don’t pull them up on the bank, and do not hold them by the gills for a photo, then toss them back into the river–something we see all too often. When releasing tidewater coho, handle them with care, as they are much more frail than they will be once they acclimate to the river. Do anything in your power to avoid mortality, period.
With king salmon numbers declining in many Alaskan streams, now is the time to change our train of thought and focus on a more abundant salmonid to catch, before it’s too late. At Becharof Lodge on Alaska’s remote Egegik River, we’re dedicated to preserving all salmon species in Alaska, and that’s one reason we advocate silver salmon fishing. We’re here to help make your salmon fishing dreams come true, whether fishing on our home river, or taking you to a remote stream by float plane.
