Cut through Pinks: A Fish Alaska How-to
Story and photo by Scott Haugen
Tolerating pink salmon while targeting prized silvers can be a frustrating experience. Here’s how to beat the pinks and land more coho.
From the elevated vantage point of the boat’s bow, I could clearly see silver salmon lying beneath the dark cloud of pinks. The pink salmon occupied a stretch of water maybe 30 yards wide and 75 yards long. They were dispersed on the upper end, more concentrated in the middle, deeper section of water, where the silvers lay.
Trying to work various fly patterns through the pinks, I grew frustrated at my lack of success. Don’t get me wrong, I love catching pink salmon, but when there’s a wad of fresh, foil-bright coho so close, it’s no contest as to which I’d rather be battling. Not even my weighted patterns had a chance of reaching the silvers before a pink would gobble it up.
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