Amundson Outdoors TMX5-SE match to TMX mooching rod

We launched onto the water at 6:30, eager for another day of fishing. On our previous trips, we hauled up plenty of fish from depths beyond 150 feet, though hatchery coho salmon remained elusive. The latest local report promised better odds between 50 and 100 feet, so we shifted our strategy, hopeful for a change in luck. Fish after fish came to the boat, but the hatchery coho continued to evade us.

Wigglefin 12″ salmon dodger and the AP Tackleworks 5″ Herring

This trip became a friendly showdown between AP Tackleworks spoons and my friends’ favourite lures. My morning was slow, watching my friends reel in five salmon before I felt a single tug. I started with a 3-inch AP Tackleworks herring spoon, but by 10 a.m., I was ready for a new approach. I tied on a 5-inch version and dropped it to 175 feet. Not long after, my rod bent hard as a hefty spring salmon took the bait and battled fiercely. With a flat-mesh net, we scooped it up, freed the hook, snapped a quick photo, and sent it back into the depths.

I kept working the deep water, fishing between 175 and 200 feet, and soon added several coho and three more spring salmon to my tally. The AP Tackleworks spoons proved their worth, helping me match my friend’s count with their go-to lures. By day’s end, we had landed over thirty salmon, not to mention the many that slipped away with long-line releases.

We ended the day with 4 hatchery coho salmon.