Oncorhynchus kisutch
Coho (silver) salmon are the acrobats of the Pacific salmon family — smaller than chinook but spectacular fighters that jump repeatedly when hooked. They're abundant in BC coastal rivers and the Great...
📷 Photo: Wikimedia Commons / NOAA
Coho (silver) salmon are the acrobats of the Pacific salmon family — smaller than chinook but spectacular fighters that jump repeatedly when hooked. They're abundant in BC coastal rivers and the Great Lakes, and a favourite for both gear and fly anglers.
Silver body with a blue-green back. Black spots on the back and the upper lobe of the tail only (unlike chinook, which spot both lobes). White gums at the base of the teeth (chinook have black gums). Spawning males develop a hooked jaw (kype) and turn deep red with a dark back.
Coho are anadromous in BC, returning to coastal rivers and streams. In the Great Lakes, they run tributaries similarly. They prefer cold water (7–14°C) and hold in pools, runs, and riffles. Smaller streams than chinook — coho can spawn in quite small creeks.
Coho Salmon can be found across these provinces and territories:
Regulations vary by province and zone — always check the local rules before fishing. Browse detailed guides: British Columbia · Ontario.
Matching your bait to the conditions is one of the biggest factors in catching Coho Salmon. Here's what works when:
| Weather / Condition | Best Bait & Lures | Technique |
|---|---|---|
| 🌊 River (fresh run) | Spinners (Blue Fox Vibrax #4-5), spoons (Little Cleo, Crocodile), roe bags | Fresh-run coho are aggressive — cast spinners and spoons across current and retrieve through holding water. |
| 🪰 Fly fishing rivers | Egg-sucking leech, woolly bugger, glo-bugs, pink streamers | Coho take flies aggressively. Swing streamers through runs or dead-drift egg patterns through deep pools. |
| 🚤 Lake trolling | Dipsy divers with spoons, downrigger trolling with small spoons (Wonderbread, Monkey Puke) | Coho tend to run higher in the water column than chinook — fish the top 40 ft with spoons. |
| ☁️ Overcast | Pink and fluorescent spoons and spinners | Coho love pink. Overcast days with pink lures can be non-stop action. |
| 🌧️ After rain | Roe bags under a float, pink jigs, small spinners | Rain brings fresh coho into rivers — fish the lower stretches as new fish push in. |
BC: Ocean and river fishing July–October; peak September. Great Lakes: Lake trolling July–September; river runs September–November. Coho runs tend to be slightly later than chinook in most systems.
Get a 7-day Coho Salmon bite forecast, offline regulations for every province, and AI-powered fishing advice — all in one app. Free for the 2026 season.