Targeting Chinook off a beach

[speedbird]

Fools errand I know, but with how robust our resident coho fishing is the worst case scenario is any coho I catch on accident will be less fun to bring in with my 8 weight than my six weight. Hooking a mature Chinook or a larger Blackmouth on a fly is something I really want to experience, and I have been doing quite a bit of reading. From gear fishing them I know that you want to get deep, and you want to imitate larger herring or sandlance. I also know fishing around dawn is your best bet for finding Kings in shallower water, as past that point they like to get down deep. Definitely focus on beaches with steep drop offs, (I have three beaches in mind, one area 9 and two in Area 10 I imagine I will have less success at but still want to fish when the conditions line up for a dawn high tide). Moochers will usually want a slower roll on their herring, and trollers will troll slower for Kings than for silvers. Should I employ a slower stripping pattern than I would for coho? If anyone who has had success in this fishery has any tips, they will be greatly appreciated, even though I bet Steelheading will have a higher catch rate. (I was genuinely planning to target Skykomish Summer Steelhead everyday before work this year to illustrate the extent of my folly)

I've heard motor mooching in around 30 ft of water at dawn is still a good bet in Puget Sound even with our smaller runs, making me consider employing a type 5 sink line and fishing that sort of water from a boat

 

[Wanative]

@Kashf we use to catch blackmouth off the east side of Whidbey Island in an area exactly like you described motor mooching early in the morning during winter.
Too bad it's not open any more.

 

[Stonedfish]

Used to catch a lot more then now due to the blackmouth program going full steam. A lot more liberal seasons back then as well versus today.
Still possible and some beaches do provide better opportunities then others.
SF

 

[speedbird]

@Kashf we use to catch blackmouth off the east side of Whidbey Island in an area exactly like you described motor mooching early in the morning during winter.
Too bad it's not open any more.

I heard running a wiggle wart on a shotgun rod would also give you an honest shot at a Steelhead. It's crazy to think it was within my lifetime that one could hypothetically fish Area 9 and come home with a Blackmouth, chum, coho and steelhead all in the same month

 

[NRC]

@jasmillo posted a good thread about this (blackmouth specifically). I think it may have been on the old forum though. IIRC, he had some success on fish about the same size as your typical decent August resident coho. I’d post a link but I don’t go to the old forum anymore.

 

[speedbird]

@jasmillo posted a good thread about this (blackmouth specifically). I think it may have been on the old forum though. IIRC, he had some success on fish about the same size as your typical decent August resident coho. I’d post a link but I don’t go to the old forum anymore.

Blackmouth Beach Success!

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

I remember that thread! Curious to see how a primarily spring opener will change the fishery. Also curious to see if any fellow fly fishermen get out and see how the coho are acting around that time too. If hell freezes over and it's open till April, I wonder how many White river Springers will get caught.

I'll definitely be hitting the beaches, but I've also got some 7" plugs that need some bite marks

 

[G_Smolt]

One of the key pieces of success in targeting saltwater flyrod chinook from the beach is "fish where the fish are".

Do yourself a favor and book a mid-june weekend ticket (<$300 r/t!) to one of the many SE Alaska towns with local king runs, bring a bivy sack or sleeping bag for the 3hrs of sleep you'll end up needing - there is fishable light 24hrs a day - and camp out on the beach yer gonna fish.
Above the high tide line, preferably.

Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Wrangell, Juneau - all provide saltwater opportunity for the shore-bound road system king angler.

While I'm sure there are eternal optimists here who will say "stay local!", yer gonna burn a shitpile of time and money and not learn a damn thing because there aren't enough PS kings to target on the fly, OR the area will be closed when they are present.

If you book a ticket to Juneau, ping me and I'll show you a good place to target. It's pretty hard to find on yer own, because it's within walking distance of the airport...

 

[Stonedfish]

Blackmouth Beach Success!

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

I remember that thread! Curious to see how a primarily spring opener will change the fishery. Also curious to see if any fellow fly fishermen get out and see how the coho are acting around that time too. If hell freezes over and it's open till April, I wonder how many White river Springers will get caught.

I'll definitely be hitting the beaches, but I've also got some 7" plugs that need some bite marks

If you really get the itch, just head south of the bridge and fish all winter, since MA 13 is open year round. If no blackmouth, there should be some coho around though that hasn’t been nearly as good as it used to be the past few years. If you fish it enough though winter thru spring, it is fun to see the coho get progressively larger.
SF

 

[speedbird]

One of the key pieces of success in targeting saltwater flyrod chinook from the beach is "fish where the fish are".

Do yourself a favor and book a mid-june weekend ticket (<$300 r/t!) to one of the many SE Alaska towns with local king runs, bring a bivy sack or sleeping bag for the 3hrs of sleep you'll end up needing - there is fishable light 24hrs a day - and camp out on the beach yer gonna fish.
Above the high tide line, preferably.

Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Wrangell, Juneau - all provide saltwater opportunity for the shore-bound road system king angler.

While I'm sure there are eternal optimists here who will say "stay local!", yer gonna burn a shitpile of time and money and not learn a damn thing because there aren't enough PS kings to target on the fly, OR the area will be closed when they are present.

If you book a ticket to Juneau, ping me and I'll show you a good place to target. It's pretty hard to find on yer own, because is within walking distance of the airport...
View attachment 87978

Southeast Alaska is on my list, but I think I'll need to invest in a stiffer rod too!

If you really get the itch, just head south of the bridge and fish all winter, since MA 13 is open year round. If no blackmouth, there should be some coho around though that hasn’t been nearly as good as it used to be the past few years. If you fish it enough though winter thru spring though, it is fun to see the coho get progressively larger.
SF

I'm out there for cutthroat in winter quite a bit, I'll check out some potential Blackmouth spots too. Definitely noticed the coho fishery changing, spots I'd been assured would be decent bets for rezzys were dead, but then again I really doubt anyone is sharing the best beaches in a region where prime beach fishing real estate is limited

 

[NRC]

Southeast Alaska is on my list, but I think I'll need to invest in a stiffer rod too!


I'm out there for cutthroat in winter quite a bit, I'll check out some potential Blackmouth spots too. Definitely noticed the coho fishery changing, spots I'd been assured would be decent bets for rezzys were dead, but then again I really doubt anyone is sharing the best beaches in a region where prime beach fishing real estate is limited

I’m way less cagey about rezzie spots since a) not that many people are fishing in the winter and b) you get a new cohort every year. I think they’ve just generally been way less available in Area 13 the past two years. Too bad because three years ago it was a source of automatic fish in the bleak midwinter.

 

[ffb]

Southeast Alaska is on my list, but I think I'll need to invest in a stiffer rod too!


I'm out there for cutthroat in winter quite a bit, I'll check out some potential Blackmouth spots too. Definitely noticed the coho fishery changing, spots I'd been assured would be decent bets for rezzys were dead, but then again I really doubt anyone is sharing the best beaches in a region where prime beach fishing real estate is limited

It's not just the beach game, we haven't been finding consistent numbers of rezzies in the usual spots we used to find them from the boat either the last 2-3 years.

 

[Stonedfish]

It's not just the beach game, we haven't been finding consistent numbers of rezzies in the usual spots we used to find them from the boat either the last 2-3 years.

Jon,
Have you fished MA 11 much for cutts out of your boat and encountered coho while doing so?
Just curious if they might be north of where they normally hang out the past few years.
SF

 

[ffb]

Jon,
Have you fished MA 11 much for cutts out of your boat and encountered coho while doing so?
Just curious if they might be north of where they normally hang out the past few years.
SF

The last couple years I've been mostly fishing MA13 from the boat in the winter. I haven't fished MA11 in the winter recently but have in the past and run into rezzies but nothing like you would usually find south of the bridge and elsewhere. I'll have to run around Colvos this year and see what I can find.

 

[Divad]

Couple beaches at high tide that had them consistently last year and the year before down here. Look forward to seeing if it holds true again this year as I’m becoming more of an avid winter beach goer.

Then again I don’t have a baseline like y’all from years past.

@G_Smolt that SE AK trip sounds like my type of adventure. Backpacking gear and rods, wear my [dry] waders onto the plane, quick stop for food on arrival and off to a beach for 3 days. One day of PTO. Seriously thinking about that come spring now.