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Headed for Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo on Saturday morning... had planned to spend some time with my wife, Boni, but she awoke not feeling well, so it was just me. Arrived at about 6:45 AM, on the beach and fishing by 7:00. Tide was out-going until 10:00, with a high low of about 3'... so conditions were not optimum, but not dismal either. Strong breeze blowing from the south, spitting sprinkles of rain off and on. I was casting the chartreuse Rotator with a pink hoochie. One fisherman already on the beach when I arrived. Third cast and had a Coho explode out of the water, 20' out and just behind the Rotator... missed. I immediately recast to the same spot, and Bam... FISH ON... several leaps out of the water, a couple of powerful runs toward Clinton and then I beached a beautiful hatchery hen that weighed 4# 11oz on my digital scale, dressed. A fellow named Mike was just arriving at the beach and watched me land the fish... he was excited at the prospects of good fishing this morning. The next hour produced nothing, not even a hit... saw two other fishermen arrive, so a total of four fishermen on the beach. The wind was beginning to pick up, and the Sound was beginning to look wild. Had seen several fish jump a ways off shore, so I knew they were in the area. About 8:15, about half way through my retrieve, my Rotator was slammed... another fish on... leaping out of the water three, four times... strong run northward toward Everett... then able to put him on the beach. A wild Coho buck of 4# 3oz. My morning was over just that fast.
As I was landing the second fish, Mike appeared again, walking up from further down the beach... I noticed that he was fishing a chartreuse Rotator, but with no hoochie. I set him up with a pink hoochie, a flash skirt and a couple of beads and told him how to put the rig together. Lit my pipe and sat down on the driftwood to watch the weather and see if Mike could connect. Within fifteen minutes Mike was hooked up... fought a nice Coho all the way onto the beach where the hook popped off... laughed outloud as I watched Mike run down the beach trying to corral the flopping fish as it finally made it's way back to the water... Mike almost fell into the Sound trying to grab the fish on its way to freedom. Went down to the water's edge to congratulate Mike on his first Coho, told him to keep after it, he would get his fish... He said that he would be there all day if he had to... was literally shaking from his near miss... Another confirmed Coho addict!
Mine were the only fish I saw landed in the short time I was on the beach. Amazing to me how few fishermen seem to take advantage of this incredible fishery. As I watch numerous $120,000 boats being pulled from the Sound at Mukilteo, I wonder what the price of Coho salmon per pound would be, considering the investment in equipment... I believe mine are much more reasonable! PTL!

Mike Carey

10/11/2015 3:37:00 PM

I can imagine how fun it was to see that guy hook up after you helped him, too cool! Another inspiring report, thanks!

Sheltered

10/11/2015 6:01:00 PM

Thanks for the post. I've been curious about beach fishing for cohos, what gear to use etc. You gave me a good place to start.

3footvis

10/11/2015 7:39:00 PM

Nice fish & report! Are you jigging the rotator, or just a straight retrieve? I've been catchin mine on herring. Might have to bust out a rotator next trip :)

haverman83

10/11/2015 8:51:00 PM

Do u have a pic of ur setup

JoshH

10/11/2015 10:41:00 PM

I can't answer for Stansjoy, but typically for coho it's a straight retrieve. Want to get a good swim action, specially with a hoochie. Sometimes if nothing is biting or if you can actually see a fish following the lure, either a pause or a subtle tug. It's different than fishing for pinks with a rotator or buzz bomb. Watch your lure as it gets close to shore and look for a good side to side swim. Adjust your speed as necessary. And another great report Stansjoy! Cool thing you did.

Stansjoy

10/14/2015 1:15:00 PM

Sorry to get back so late, haven't had the computer operational for a couple of days. 3footvis & haverman83... Josh nailed it. The Rotator is much more like a spoon than a jig... As Josh said, the side to side action is what you are looking for... the Rotator actually darts back and forth. I retrieve very fast... in fact, if the Rotator is not touching the surface a couple of times, I'm not retrieving fast enough. I like to use a Matzuo siwash hook. On top of the hook I put a 5mm or 6mm bead, then a tinsel/mylar skirt, then a pink/blue/purple hoochie (sometimes color matters, sometimes not) , then another bead (5mm or 6mm) then the Rotator. I have different colored Rotators, but invariably the chartreuse out-fishes all the others. I often add a bit of Smelly Jelly to the hoochie (Salmon Hammer or Salmon Feast is best for me). I fish herring too, but over the years the Rotator wins out, 2 to 1 catching fish... perhaps because I use herring generally when a strong current develops in front of me so I get a very fast spin on the bait which the Coho like. Years ago my dad and I would fish for Coho out of Neah Bay, off Tatoosh Island... the limit was 6 Coho and we would limit trolling bucktail flies with dad's old Evinrude 18hp motor at almost wide open... the Coho love FAST moving baits! PTL!

hookset'n

10/21/2015 10:51:00 AM

Thanks for all the great info Stansjoy! What length hoochie are you using and is there a particular brand or style you like? I've been using the 2.5" because the 3.5" seems too fat but the longer ones seem to have a lot better action. Also which inserts to you prefer?

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