Northwest Reel Life October 2024 Volume 4 Issue 2 - Flipbook - Page 11
These fish are resting but
that also means they will
get their energy back
and will bite. If you have
ever thrown a spinner or
twitched a jig in this water
when it is clear enough to
see the fish, then you will
notice a fish or two out of
the school will start to give
chase. These are fish that
are done resting and have
energy and are just waiting
for the right conditions.
The right conditions can
be anything from enough
time to recover to a shot of
rain bringing up the river
just enough to make it
easier for them to migrate.
Anglers often head to the
river early to get the “early
morning bite” but what
is really happening is the
water has cooled off from
a brisk fall night and the
fish are more active. As the
day heats up the water also
warms, and this means
less dissolved oxygen and
therefore tired salmon. One
way to beat the lockjaw is
to fish on cool days, after it
rains, or early in the day.
Sometimes, our schedules
do not line up with the
perfect conditions and
anglers can only hit a river
when the conditions are all
wrong for active fish. You
can still beat the lockjawed
effect by looking for parts
of the river where the fish
are active. For coho this
can be a deep hole where
the water is cooler, and
boulders churn the flowing
water creating dissolved
oxygen. Same with riffles
and holding areas in the
shade. One hot fall day
we were floating a coastal
river and working on our
sunburns when we came
across a long stretch of
water. The current was
moderate, and the bank
had overhanging trees.
Peering into the shadows
we saw coho stacked up
in the shade, swaying their
tails in the current and we
thought they were just
resting. Tossing a jig and a
few quick twitches later a
fish slammed it hard and
erupted out of the water.
These were not lockjawed
fish but ones that were just
staying out of the bright
sun and being protected by
the overhanging branches.
They were also not in “frog
water” but instead in a
moderate current where
they could sit and let the
water run through their
gills.
Log jams are notorious
places for coho and for
eating gear. It is the hardest
place of all to catch salmon.
Look for deep holes often
created by the log jams and
watch the fish, or when
you see the splashing and
rolling as this often means
fish are active. A tired fish
will sit and rest, but an
active fish will be splashing
and rolling as it uses energy
to do this. Why salmon do
this is still unknown with
several theories but one
thing that is known is that
fish that are active are
not lockjawed. Be careful
parking the boat over a log
jam in current but if you
find one that is in a soft
part of the river then you
can oftentimes move the
boat over and tie up to the
log jam. The key here is to
let the hole rest because
it is likely the fish moved
out once you put the boat
