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Learning how to fish coho killer spoons should be easy for you to learn. Coho Killer spoons are manufactured by many companies with widely different characteristics. Their basic design is fairly consistent, however, and consists of a heavy metal spoon body mounted on a molded plastic handle. A treble hook on one end of the metal body hooks into the fish’s mouth when it swallows the bait. The other end of the body is pointed, allowing the angler to jig it on the bottom. The point of the hook should be turned away from the handle for safety purposes.
The body colors are usually bright red or silver but other colors are also available.
Judging from their inshore success–silver being most effective in clear water, red effective in dirty water-Coastal Trollers have found that Coho Killer Spoons are effective for Copper, Quillback, and Redband Steelhead. The Spoon’s shape allows the angler to fish it successfully both under afloat as well as trolled at speeds comparable to those of bait-fishing spoons.
How to fish a coho killer spoon bait:
A Coho killer spoon is cast out into open water then allowed to sink deep into the feeding zone of the fish before it is retrieved through that same zone on a series of short sharp jigging motions–jigging to imitate herring or smelt. By doing so, the fisherman mimics this prey fish by causing vibrations in the water column making them easier for predators to detect followed by short pauses between each twitch.
Sizes range from 3/8 oz up to l/2 oz all colors are available. The brighter the color the better, metal colors are chrome, gold, silver, and copper.
Coho killer spoons can be cast or trolled with a downrigger to depths of 25 feet below inline weights or deep diving planers. Plunge them into deeper water by trolling at high speeds with the cooler more stable lures often reaching depths below 75 feet on most tides. This is important because Coho Killer Spoons catch both summer steelhead along beaches as well as salmon in rivers throughout Puget Sound, so having various lures for various applications allows one fisherman multiple opportunities on the same day.
How many coho killer spoons should you carry with you?
Always have extra coho killer spoons ready they are very durable but not indestructible, get snagged on limbs or underwater rocks, lost to big fish. When this happens you want to replace them right away with the same lure if possible for best results.
Sometimes it is better to carry a selection of different spoons in various sizes and colors because you never know what depth the fish are holding at certain times of the day.
Where can coho killer spoons be used?
Coastal Trollers has fished and caught Summer and Winter steelhead, coho, and chinook salmon on Coho Killer spoons all over the Puget Sound. The spoon’s shape makes it an ideal choice for both under afloat as well as trolled at speeds comparable to those of bait-fishing spoons. Many manufacturers produce them in various sizes and colors with differing actions, so it is important that you get the right size and color for your fishing conditions. When trolling deep water, use larger lures such as 1/2 oz copper or 1 oz silver to reach depths down below 50 feet. Some fishermen even like to troll with NoDoz in order to work their lures deeper although this technique is generally reserved for coho fishing only.
When fishing Coho Killer spoons, they can be cast out from a boat or used while trolling. Charlie Morris, the owner of Coastal Trollers, recommends using them under a bobber when casting from shore or boat or while trolling either downrigger or planer boards on a teaser head. In cases where you are bouncing them on the bottom over very rocky areas, some fishermen use a three-way swivel with mainline going to teaser head and then to spoon while others prefer just running all lines directly back to the rod tip. The key is that you do not want too much resistance pulling against your rod tip in choppy water conditions because it will give the fish more resistance to overcome making it harder for them to hook themselves.