Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Kokanee tips for the challenged?

Gave up ocean fishing, sold the big boat. Going to try Kokanee as the next best thing. Got any tips for a greenhorn?

I used Needlfish lures in pearl and rainbow patterns tied directly to a 40 foot light mono leader which is then tied to your main line or leadcore. Snap weights of 1 oz or more clipped to the main line just ahead of the leader will get your rig down at slow (1-1.5 mph) speeds. Lot of guys use downriggers, but I have more strikes with the snap weights. Leadcore won't get you as deep as people say it will. You can pass over a sandy bank to see exactly how deep your trolling; wind and current having major influence on actual speed thru water. Schools of Kokes will get near the surface in low light conditions, then go deeper as the sun hits. They feed on zooplankton and hit lures as a reactionary instinct. Also, guys will locate schools and jig right under the boat.
I forgot! Use the single hook lures, and put one kernel of shoepeg corn on the hook. Thank me later!

I use those light almost paper like spinners with beads and hook.
Mix up some whole kernel corn with a garlic paste and put a few kernels on the hook. Then troll easy, reel in fish.
Keep your eyes out back and often you’ll see the fish come out of the water when they hit.

Osky

Cool, this is sounding more fun by the minute...I was discouraged by online info which showed full on downriggers and heavy salmon gear...looked like some of those guys were after 60# King salmon. It seems there are guys who make videos...then there are guys that actually do it, love the Campfire knowledge base.

When I’m on some of the western reservoirs, Flaming gorge in the south for instance I’m running deep for lakers but I always have a couple rods pulling hi lines at least. The spinners I described. No need to go terribly deep for koks.

Osky

Go on YouTube and look up Spilt Milt. He is from WA, used to work at a Sportsmans Warehouse and he’s annoying, but he knows his stuff in regards to kokanee.

I use 7’0” to 8’0” fiberglass trolling rods made by Okuma and Lamiglas. I prefer downriggers but they aren’t necessary. Since trolling speed is generally 1 to 1.5 mph, you can use the trolling depth grids found online to find out how much weight you need to get down to a desired depth at those speeds.

I use a small flasher or dodger, about 12-14 inches of leader, and a small hoochie/wedding ring/spin’n’glo with a double hook setup with #6 or #4 hooks. It’s like salmon fishing, but smaller. I tip the hooks with cured white shoepeg corn or Berkely Gulp! Maggots.

Good electronics really make finding fish easier. Kokes give a pretty good mark on the finder. I tend to chase marks on the graph to speed up the process.

I loved catching large kokanee at Flaming Gorge and Hauser Lake near Helena. It has been years since I did it. Can't imagine the method would have changed.

I used downriggers with #2 bright orange/white needlefish. Open face spinning reel and lightweight rod with 8 lb test mono. Didn't have a way to monitor boat speed, just watched the lure to get the right flip flop and adjusted the engine speed that way. Many fish were caught including some that were 16-20". Most other lakes I fished for kokanee has tiny fish. Lake Koocanusa comes to mind. Sometimes had to go down as deep as 50 ft. When the fish were hooked many came to the surface and jumped. This action is most likely due to the light line not holding them back.

I got similar results when trolling Keuka lake in NY for landlocked salmon.

IMO kokanee are the best eating fresh water fish in the west. (ok walleye guys you can argue but it won't change my mind )

Thanks Gooch, I found him yesterday, right up my alley, didn't want to get involved with downriggers, because to get started, I'm going to use a Zodiac inflatable.
Thinking about splurging on a small sidescan sonar, I had one on my offshore boat for kings and Silvers, next best thing to lucky.

I just picked up a Lund tin boat. Real basic. I’m debating whether I’ll get a manual downrigger or just use divers or cannon balls. Only problem is I hate having a lead or some other object between me and the fish.

Downriggers are great! You can use light lures, line, rods and reels and feel the fish fighting when it is released from the downrigger. You can precisely place that light lure exactly where you want it. Also you can make tighter turns with the shorter line that is behind the release.

You can also add additional lure to each rod's line, if it is legal in your area. It is called a slider. The line makes a belly between the downrigger ball's release and the tip of the rod. You can make a 6-10 ft leader with a clip that will allow you to place it on the line. After downrigger is all setup a throw out the slider lure and clip the leader on to the rod's line. It will go down approximately half way. When a fish strikes the slider lure the fish will go downwards tripping the release. Sometimes you may see the rod bouncing and you will have to grab the rod and give it a snap to release the slider caught fish.

Then there is the stacker setup. It requires specially made weak rubberbands. As you lower the downrigger perhaps every 10 feet you loop the rubber band around the downrigger cable. A leader with a clip just like the slider system is used. Let the leader and lure out and clip it to the line and the rubber band. When a fish hits, the rubber band breaks and the fish slides down the line to the release. Multiple setups can be attached to cable and line this way. This can be a mess but it covers a wide range of depths and under certain circumstances when it is slow can catch you fish.

Flint',

Generally, I pop the top & then guzzle !



YMMV !

Hah, I got hooked on that stuff when I was up there as an illegal immigrant logger out on the Island...Canada's worst beer is better than the US's best beer. Somebody besides me must like it, they been in biz forever and you can buy it in Costco in Washington state.

Flint, I have caught a few here and there not knowing what I was doing. I know a couple guys in town that are FANATICS when it comes to chasin Kokes.... I know there is always a strong drive to figure it out on our own but damn it if a day with a guide wouldn't be money well spent. Those silver bullets can be so damn temperamental that I would have ZERO shame dropping the 250-500 for a day trip to get a head start. They can be so picky on temp, speed, colors and not to mention getting away from the trout and the bass.

My father in law was going after them last summer at a lake close to here and he spent ALL day reeling in and unhooking small spotted bass lol. Catching the damn things 60 foot deep..... anyways....good luck man....they are damn good eating if you can put a limit together.

Another thing is to not horse them at all. Very soft mouth and hooks pull out easy.

Yea I got a tip. Go back to fishing in the ocean! Tried them for years after taking a class onit and have never caught one in Oregon! Used to get them fishing from the bank on Flathead Lake in Montana casting orange floresent spoons! have since given up on them. For me they are as hard to catch as steelhead. Lived on the Slitez River several years and have never caught a steelhead!