The next month or so, three of our local rivers receive a shot of "silver." That's silver or coho salmon to be exact. These runs consist mostly of hatchery fin-clipped fish, making it a great time for a cast and BBQ. Coho salmon approximate the size of steelhead so you probably already have the equipment you need to fish for them, a 7- to 9-weight rod with matching reel and line. One of the multi-tip lines will really zero you in. Cast down and across using a standard wet-fly swing in water slightly slower than you would fish for steelhead. Coho like to chase flies, so at the end of your swing start a retrieve back to your position.

The first rivers we'll talk about are the Clackamas and Eagle Creek. We'll treat these as one river. When the fish enter the river they tend to stack up in the first riffle above the Willamette. If you get some rain they shoot rather quickly up the river taking a left up Eagle Creek to the Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery. Any section of the river can be productive if you’re in the right place when the fish aremoving through. It pays to do a little basic scouting and information gathering so you know exactly where the fish are. The holes just below the hatchery can be very productive. When the water is a little high the fish tend to move quickly and are dependable biters. In slower and clearer water theyare tougher to catch. Patterns include egg patterns, purple egg-sucking leeches and bright steelhead-type flies.The Sandy River is also a productive coho fishery.It fishes very similar to the Clackamas except it usually has more water color. Typically it's flowing a gray color from  glacier milk that comes from melting ice. This gives the fish more security and at times makes them easier tocatch. Because of the water color you need to use a darker pattern, making it more visible to the fish. These fish ascend the river, stacking up below the Cedar Creek Fish Hatchery.

That southwest Washington gem, the Kalama, also receives a large run of coho. These fish usually enter a little earlier than fish heading for other streams. On this river it's usually a few fish showing and then almost overnight the river's full ofthem. September 1 the Kalama becomes fly fishing only from the first hatchery downstream to the gas pipeline behind Mahaffeys’ store. The first hole below the hatchery is called the "beginner’s hole” and the coho really stack up in here (are we seeing a pattern here, hatcheries and fish?). The local favorite pattern here is called the "Bumblebee" and is nothing more than a woolly worm tied with black and olive chenille in about a size 8. Other patterns and tactics mentioned for the other streams also work here.

About the only drawback to these fisheries, especially just below the hatcheries, is that they tend to be crowded. It really pays to get to your fishing spot early and on weekdays if possible. But looking  at the bright side, it's a fun fishery for good eating hatchery fish and a chance to hook some silver.