Salmon are one of the most prized fish of the great Pacific Northwest. Oregon has even named the Chinook, or King Salmon as our state fish. We fish for Coho and Chinook at different times and locations throughout the year.

Both Chinook and Coho salmon are born in a river. They spend a year or two in fresh water before they head to the ocean for its abundance of food, and grow into adults that return to spawn in that same river 1-5 years later. Spring Chinook begin showing up at the river mouth as early as February where they spend several months before spawning in the fall. Fall Chinook and Coho return from august through November and spawn after a much shorter time.

While the average size of a Coho Salmon is 6-8 pounds, they can reach 20 or more pounds. Similarly, the common Chinook Salmon size is between 10-25 pounds, although they can be upwards of 50 pounds.

We occasionally target Coho in the ocean and river but most of our time will be spent chasing Chinook. I prefer a hands-on method when appropriate and do a lot of bobber fishing in the tidewater and back bouncing and bobber fishing in the river. These techniques are fun and it’s incredibly satisfying when you do your part to get hooked up with some coastal chrome!