Fishing for Spring Coho
By Chuck Merrill
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As the months of February and March steadily approach, the Coho should begin showing up in the southern end of Lake Michigan soon. I’ll share a few of the techniques I’ve had success with over the years, and hope that they work well for you.
I usually I start the season out using bait under a float about four feet down. I use night crawlers, squid strips or spawn. You never know what they are going to be hitting on any given day, so it’s best to have a variety to choose from. I always use a slip float because I have caught them as far down as twenty feet.
As the water warms, I get out the lures. Just about any spoon will work as long as it has orange in it. I also like spinners, white twister tail jigs, orange crank baits, and my secret lure . . . weight forward spinners tipped with a night crawler. "What?" You exclaim? "That’s what I use on Lake Erie for walleye." That’s right! One day on Erie we started catching steel head while we were fishing for walleye, so I said to myself, "self, this ought to work on Lake Michigan." Well, somehow I forgot about this, until one day the publisher of this web site tied on an Erie Dearie and caught a really nice brown . Again we all forgot about this, or so my fishing partners thought. The next time we went out, I secretly tied one on and had my limit before my partners had one or two apiece.
We found that we were really onto something, because for the past five years or so, we have out fished anyone around us no matter where we were fishing. I found that when the Coho are near the surface, it’s best to use the lighter ones. When they are a little deeper, go to a ½ or 5/8 ounce lure. I wish I could say one color is better than others, but it always seems to vary from day to day, so play it safe and bring an assortment of sizes and colors.
Our best day was forty-eight Cohos between the two of us. On every cast we would at least have a hit or follow-up. My favorite brand to use is the Parrish Pea, but as far as I know they are only available in Ohio. Locally, I purchase Pygmy Hot-n-Tots.
Well, I hope all that read this article appreciates the content, because I just lost about five friends for giving out this secret...Sorry Joe, Boomer and Gerber! Well tight lines to all, and we’ll see you on the lake. - Chuck