The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Cohos! Alaskan Salmon Fishing - Juneau, Alaska! JULY 2021

[@waikarimoana]

Good day Captain Zac, great day fishing and good fishing too, thumbs up, tight lines and greetings from New Zealand.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Tony many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho footage! I appreciate the kind words! All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@midnightsun7166]

Nice job on the Coho. Lots of action, good signs for the derby.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Midnight Sun many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! As I rounded Point Retreat towards Barlow Cove on Sunday I saw you heading out. I hope you had some luck! Mary and I ended up connecting with a group of bubble-netting humpbacks that put on a show for us! All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@ThePiscatorian360]

That king was camera shy! You had a lot of salmon action. I have yet to catch a pink in my neck of the woods this year, still a little early. Great video, tight lines! The Piscatorian

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Piscatorian many thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! Yes indeed that king wanted nothing to do with me or the boat! The pinks are thick around here this season so hopefully that means you'll have a strong run down in your neck of the woods as well. All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@gibbyutah]

I always think it's funny how the fish always know when to hit when you are having a drink or having food. It happens to me all the time.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Dave many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! Haha you are exactly right - it always seems like the rod goes off at snack time! Last year during the salmon derby, I launched a meat stick clear across the boat when I tried to take a bite and my rod started racing! I'm not sure if you are a hunter as well but when I am archery hunting, anytime I go to get a snack or a drink I'm almost guaranteed to scare away a deer in the process. All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@bones8057]

Haha yeah if it is slow I usually start to make lunch and just as my burrito gets hot something happens....

[@gibbyutah]

@@bones8057 Ditto!

[@allweatheranglerz4152]

HELLLLLL YEAH, CAP!!!!! "NEVER BE AFRAID TO SWITCH IT UP!!" GOLDEN ADVICE, GOLDEN VIDEO!!! HAVE A GREAT SEASON, CAP!!⚡

[@CaptainZac]

Hi All Weather Anglerz many thanks for tuning in and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! That's awesome that you can relate this advice of "never be afraid to switch it up" - small changes can make all the difference when trolling for salmon! How's the fishing in your neck of the woods these days? Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@carlossales8710]

Another awesome video captain Zac lots of hook ups awesome the pink salmon liked like about 10# I would say the coho is another awesome salmon great bbq dinner hope you in joyed that dinned great job on the netting all by yourself best of luck this salmon season up there in Alaska we are having A rough season here in Washington state till next time my friend tight lines

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Carlos many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! Yes indeed you are right that coho was great on the BBQ grill (in fact I'll have a recipe video on that in the future!). Sorry to hear the salmon fishing is so rough in Washington these days - do you think it will improve over the next month or two? Thanks again and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@carlossales8710]

@@CaptainZac they are predicting a low run of kings and so so run of coho but the pinks are to be high run of them again thanks for sharing your videos I will be waiting on the recipe till next time tight lines my friend

[@CaptainZac]

@@carlossales8710 Hopefully the cohos have a strong year to help make up for the weak king run in your area! Yes indeed - these cohos will certainly show up in a future seafood recipe :)

[@mikeandeddy5680]

Great tips! I like the vids! After a few charters out of Sitka in the past 5 years, I'm bringing my little kids up for a DIY trip. I'm stoked to be the boss of the boat up there.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Mikeand Eddy many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action and the salmon trolling tips! That's awesome you'll be heading up with your kids for a DIY trip! Are you fishing out of Sitka for your DIY trip? Are you renting a boat locally? All the best my friend! Captain Zac

[@mikeandeddy5680]

@@CaptainZac I'm fishing out of POW. All I found to rent is a 16' skiff with downriggers. I run a tiller boat at home so I should be able to troll fine and I'll see what I can do for halibut and lings between slack tides and back trolling. Are you fishing halibut at less than 100'? I don't see any rockfish barotrauma in your Juneau vids.

[@meltonbeck9635]

Hey Captain Zac I think the fish you put back at the 10:30 mark was a silver. Washington state gives some ID handouts that say Coho have no spots on lower tail but pretty sure some do. I paused at 10:31 mark to see mouth of fish and looks like coho to me. Love your show.

[@haps4me858]

100% a Coho.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Melton many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this trolling action! I appreciate the call out on this fish - as you know it can be tricky sometimes in the moment to differentiate between a small king and a small coho. I was probably "playing it safe" this day and saw those dots on the lower lobe and didn't want to take a chance since keeping an illegal king is a HUGE no-no around here. Thanks again for tuning in and tight lines as you are fishing down in Washington! Captain Zac

[@davidsolberg9464]

Looks like a good day. Thanks for sharing. Have fun, be safe, and good luck out there my friend.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi David many thanks for tuning in and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! I appreciate the kind words. All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@kentgoodman4016]

Thanks for sharing your day on the water!

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Kent many thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed this coho action! I'm sure the cohos are showing up in some numbers over at Coffman right about now. They'll be even thicker next week when you and Brandon will be filling up your limits! All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@pnwsportsman4036]

Man, great fishing day! I just put a deposit down on a Searunner 210 HT ET expected delivery for March 2022. Went with the Yamaha 200. Hope to have some days like this on the Sound. Keep up the great vids!

[@CaptainZac]

Hi PNW Sportsman thanks for tuning in and CONGRATS on getting your new Searunner ordered! As you know I'm a BIG fan of this exact fishing platform (210 Searunner HT ET) - just a total fishing machine! I'm certain there will be many fish-filled days in your future! Congrats and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@timeless_realm]

Nice boat set-up!

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Exigent Incursion many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! I appreciate the kind words about my boat - this is the third full season of Alaskan adventure on this vessel and I can still confidently say I'd recommend this boat to a friend interested in a serious fishing boat. All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@ScotWalt858]

Nicely done!

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Scorch many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho footage! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@benwoodhouse1966]

Love the videos! The first two fish you caught were pinks. And one of the "kings" you caught was a coho. Kings have spots throught the entire tail. Some coho will have spots on the tail. The one you through over the side of the boat and hit it was a coho.

[@benwoodhouse1966]

Not trying to be rude or anything just hate seeing you throw back a perfectly legal coho!

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Ben many thanks for watching and I'm glad you are enjoying these videos! I'll have to take a closer look at this one in particular. In addition to Kings having spots throughout the entire tail and the black tongue/gums, I've found that Kings also have more fierce teeth than cohos. So using a combination of "tells" is key, especially for the smaller ones. Thanks again for watching and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@simonsu6573]

Nice catch and congratulations on a good start. No large commercial salmon fishing boat show up in these waters? Or this area is just for anglers like you?

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Simon many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! We have a lot of commercial fishing boats in the area but they are heavily regulated in terms of exactly where and when they can drop their nets. This exact areas is off limits for commercial boat - so only sport fishing boats are fishing at this spot (although the salmon do travel so eventually they could end up in a commercial fishing zone). Thanks again and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@bones8057]

Great vid as usual. Thanks. Do you have any vids of your boat?

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Bones 805 many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! Yes I do - check out my boat review here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mn23i3-Frq-CoKc Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@fishinhank942]

You run your riggers exactly like I do. Had to explain it to a buddy that the downrigger ball will mess your boat up if its swinging around out of the water. I always use stacker releases

[@CaptainZac]

Hi FishinHank many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! That's true a 12lb downrigger ball can do quite a number on the side of a boat if it is swinging around! I can set my units to a "water zero" level so that when I hit "auto up" the ball returns to the water surface instead of all the way out of the water. Yes indeed I'm a big fan of this type of downrigger clip rigged above weight - also has a side-benefit of saving your gear if you happen to snag off your downrigger ball in shallow depths. Thanks again and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@Joshuaduong]

I am a really big fan to your fishing captain zac, i love watching your videos, your a awesome fisherman, i’m from valdez alaska, i always wanted to visit juneu but still too young 🥲

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Josh many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! That's awesome it sounds like you enjoy fishing up in Valdez - have you been catching anything lately? Looks like your profile picture is a HUGE salmon - congrats! Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@Joshuaduong]

@@CaptainZac it’s a 7lbs coho i went out with some friends and got 22 silvers and 1 king, that was the first silver i caught this year and it was 130 ft deep while trolling, other than that trip i haven’t been fishing lately, i like to snag silvers when they come in the harbor but that’s not till mid august or early september. keep up the great content, i love your videos

[@maltby_pass5632]

Hey Captain Zac. I really enjoy your videos. When you hook up, do you maintain your trolling speed or back the speed off a bit? Thanks

[@CaptainZac]

Hi maltby_pass thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you are enjoying my videos! Short answer is that it depends. I'll often back the engine off a little bit to help me make up ground on the fish but I do like to keep moderate forward speed which helps with keeping constant tension (thus fewer thrown hooks). For instance, if I'm trolling for kings and already going relatively slow, I'm less likely to need to back off the engine. If I'm trolling for cohos relatively fast and get a ferocious bite, I'm almost certainly backing the engine off as quick as I can to avoid hundreds of feet of line getting spooled off in no time. Does this make sense? Thanks again and tight lines! Captain Zac

[@maltby_pass5632]

Yes, thanks for explaining. I usually back off the speed to just shy of idle but last season backed off the much less and lost fewer cohos. Looking forward to more of your videos.

[@CaptainZac]

@@maltby_pass5632 Makes sense - that extra forward pressure really does improve the landing ratio. Tight lines!

[@maltby_pass5632]

Another question Captain Zac. Do use pro troll bait clips when trolling herring? If so do find them more or less effective or easier to rig than others? Thank you

[@gc0960]

Another great video Capt Zac. I'm with you on trying different variables to find the right presentation to spark some bites. Makes it harder when you're by yourself and can only run one line at a time. With two people and therefor two lines, you can run different depths, color patterns, etc. to find the magic presentation in quicker fashion. Once found, then you can start shifting the other line(s) to be more like the one that's catching. Keep at it! Tight Lines

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Geoff many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! Yes indeed - sometimes even the smallest change can trigger a strike while salmon trolling so it is always worth testing different tactics. All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@TheCoyoteTail]

Hey Zac! Love the footage as always 👌🏼 I postponed my fishing trip until mid-August per your great advice on the coho runs… looking to be up there soon! Maybe we can get together for some fishing if you’re in town and free 👏🏼

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Matt thanks for tuning in and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! Yes indeed the coho should be running hard by mid-Aug (they are just starting to show up now). It would be cool to meet up but heads up in advance that mid-August is the Salmon Derby (13-15) and I've got visitors in town during that time so my schedule may be a little hectic. What dates will you be in Juneau? Tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@fatherandsonsfishing]

Great trolling session, lots of action! How long does Coho season last for you?

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Randy many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! The coho season around Juneau is generally mid-July through mid-September, with fish being caught in the first half of that range trolling in the saltwater and the second part of that range transitioning into catching fish casting from the shore in creeks/rivers or near creek/river mouths in the saltwater. Cohos are fun because they have a great fight and will take a variety of baits, flies or lures. All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@stevencarlson1615]

Ice we caught around a dozen cohos when we were there a week ago so the should be coming your way soon! Good luck.

[@CaptainZac]

Hey Steven many thanks for tuning in and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! That makes perfect sense that you were catching them a few weeks ago out towards Excursion / Homeshore and they are finally working their way to the Juneau area. Have you eaten any of your fresh coho yet? I bet they'll be delicious! All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@mconard801]

Great fishing action! The scenery is magnificent, do you remember what the temperature was by chance? Thanks.

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Micky many thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! I agree the Alaskan mountain-scape never gets old! I don't recall the exact water temperature but will check next time I'm out on the salmon grounds and let you know. Calm seas and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@ianwagner4186]

Great footage just a friendly heads up your first fish and the one at 10:30 were coho some coho have small spots on tail

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Ian thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed this coho action! Just out of curiosity, what makes you say these were small cohos? Between the spots on the lower lobe of the tail and the black gums that's typically a signal that you've got a king. All the best and tight lines! Captain Zac

[@ianwagner4186]

@@CaptainZac hey captain zac I have commercial fished and sports fish for forty years and you just learn all the differences between them lots of coho have small spots on tail and it's the gums that you need to look at the other way is the wrist of the tail coho are bigger where I fish Springs we have a special run that has very few spots on their whole body not all are the same. I'm just trying to help you out lots of my experience friends make mistakes identifying different salmon. I learned from grading frozen salmon also that is a really difficult one for most to learn

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Why didn't you keep the big pink??

[@CaptainZac]

Hi Jimmie thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed this salmon trolling action! I generally will keep a few pink salmon each season for halibut bait but other than that I am fortunate enough to catch enough Kings and Cohos to fill my freezer and smoker. The meat on the Pinks tends to be a little softer (than both Kings and Cohos) and definitely less flavorful (less of the rich oils) than Kings. Tight lines! Captain Zac

[@jonathanproctor690]

That was a pink!?? That thing was huge!!

[@CaptainZac]

Hey Jonathan thanks for stopping by and I'm glad you enjoyed this salmon trolling action! Yes indeed last year was a larger than average run of pinks - quite disappointing if you get one on the line and think you have a nice coho or king! haha All the best and tight lines my friend! Captain Zac

[@fishinhank942]

We've sold almost 1500 summer coho for cost recovery :)

[@CaptainZac]

Wow - that's crazy!