Aug 1-9 Kokes

Back in California now after 10 days of chasing Kokes at the Gorge.
Fishing was up and down, but very good for the most part. We started
at the cliffs across from Squaw at the beginning of the trip and finished
down at Middle Marsh the last 4 days. Table fare for Kokes was as usual
for us...RMT Bahama Mama's followed by Pearl White, UV Pink, and Cotton Candy squids, early AM Kokes preferred Double Glow Pink, and the Green Glow
Squids following Crushed Ice Glow Dodgers.
Aside from my truck breaking down, and my remote trolling control quitting
one day, we had a great trip.
One thing we did differently was to rig the squids on a single #2 Gami hook,
with 4 or 5 4mm beads in line ahead of it to let it swing behind the squid.
Makes for easy release of the fish without having to net them, which I believe ensures survival of tired Kokes. We used 16.5 lb Seagar Flourocarbon leaders as well so as to not have to fight the fish for too long as this also can be hard on them when releasing them in 70 degree water on the surface.
We even pinched the barbs the last few days. One thing I have learned is that Kokanee are very fragile this time of year. If you fight a fish for more than 2-3 minutes, then net it, wrestle the double hooks out, pick it up, take a picture, then try to release it, well it will probably be a floater and end up seagull food. Get em to the boat fast, use a single hook, heavy leaders, release them in the water at the boats side, and point them down headfirst and give a a little shove when you let em go. If they are not exhausted from a prolonged battle they will shoot back down without an issue.....just my observation.......Note....I saw more than a few fish floating behind a few boats one day when the fishing was very good....makes you wonder if maybe
a 4 or 5 fish limit and 8 or 10 in possession would actually be better for the fishery???....I wonder what the survival rate is on released fish?.....I have never seen a fish I have hooked and kept with any visible evidence of ever being hooked before........Anyways...tight lines..........M Pics to follow

Great report and Kudos on the tips of streamlining the C & R. This was how we did it last year with Jared as it was single hooks setups during the trip. The first afternoon we happened on a fish that somebody had caught that wasn't going back down that was struggling on the surface and since we had enough and it was hot Jared jumped in, swam 50 yards and escorted it to the boat for revival... it was like an episode of Waterworld and and the wife captured it on video too. I'd say that was going beyond the call of duty to help a fish in need and memorable moment for sure.

Fish survival

That is a great story!.....I revived a couple myself, but I did not have to jump in. I just eased up to them in the boat, tried to net them, but apparently they had rested enough because I just touched them and they shot back down to their comfort zone.....A friend of ours saw one boat with 4 floaters behind them!!....Of course he said something to the guys....Like I said, heavy leaders,
single hooks, get em in fast, release them boatside, and they have enough energy to get back down to the 50 degree H2O and rest up!.....What a great fishery.........Mike

The Game and Fish always advises that during this time of year you should just get your limit and not do any catch & release as Kokanee are very easily stessed from the warm temperatures.

ya but you allways got your (koke pro's)laugh hyst that have to catch 40 a day just to prove thay can catch them.or thay just cant catch any thing else so thay stick to the koke's. great fishing with you boy's cant wait to get you on some ice and get you put in for some wyo muley's next yrthumbsup it's to bad that we couldnt get a brake on the ling and go put the hurts on them.oh well next time.and next time i see that north river i want to see KOKE SUCKER on the end lolthumbsup it's great to fish with stand up guy's thank's. ash just another fisherman not a pro yetlaugh hystmaybe when i grow up.

ash just another fisherman not a pro yetlaugh hystmaybe when i grow up.[/QUOTE]

Ya you, that will not happen laugh hyst

I believe that there is a lot higher mortality on the kokes than simply the floaters, and that they should consider increasing the limit but stipulating that all must be kept. Sort of like they did with perch at Yuba. Some then say people will not obey that reg, but that is always the case. I am of the opinion that most true sportsmen will follow the regs. Also, spotting a floater (especially several) would be a clear indication that the reg is not being followed.

Pro

LOL !!........Thanks Ash.....Had a great time with you and your little partner.
I'll send for the Hunting Reg's and will talk to you when I get them.
Hopefully we will be hunting together next Fall.....I know we will be fishing together this Spring for sure.....A far as Winter.....don't know yet!!......
Can't wait to hear the Book Cliffs report
Mike

FISH said:

ya but you allways got your (koke pro's)l that have to catch 40 a day just to prove thay can catch them.or thay just cant catch any thing else so thay stick to the koke's. great fishing with you boy's cant wait to get you on some ice and get you put in for some wyo muley's next yrthumbsup it's to bad that we couldnt get a brake on the ling and go put the hurts on them.oh well next time.and next time i see that north river i want to see KOKE SUCKER on the ass end lolthumbsup it's great to fish with stand up guy's thank's. ash just another fisherman not a pro yetlaugh hystmaybe when i grow up.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixQzvmOgFsg

Yea!!!

That is the best Petty!!.......Go Braden!.....What a little stud......Mike

binthere50 said:

That is the best Petty!!.......Go Braden!.....What a little stud......Mike

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i wish i was better at operating the video camera that could hae been really awesome.

binthere50 said:

LOL !!........Thanks Ash.....Had a great time with you and your little partner.
I'll send for the Hunting Reg's and will talk to you when I get them.
Hopefully we will be hunting together next Fall.....I know we will be fishing together this Spring for sure.....A far as Winter.....don't know yet!!......
Can't wait to hear the Book Cliffs report
Mike

Click to expand...

it was great cant wait to do it again. i didnt make it to the book's my truck wont be ready till monday so i will head down to the book's on wed just go to wyoming game and fish and you will find what you need to apply .you got to come in the winter and do the ice that will seperate you from them cali @%@%##$.laugh hyst fishing was tuff this morning doid get a few but nothing red hot storm and wind =crymeariver Ken and i hammered'em yesterday morn was home by 8:15 with 6 over 4lbs had to let a couple red's swim.

I will be puttting in with you all for Mulies too. I have 2 deer prefrence points. See what happens with My Utah elk. I have 14 points here.

Mike,
Sorry I didn't call my phone wouldn't work up at the Gorge we had a great trip with 6 of us for the week 8/2~8/9 we had 293 Koknee 47 lake trout and only one floater in the whole group (that we didn't pick up a bird beat up to it) and it was a little guy...Has anyone ever looked in to using a release tool? and not touching the fish at all... Thats what I use and it works well...There are a bunch of types on the market but the one that I have found that works the best for Koknee is just a long piece of 3/32 SS rod a hook at one end and a handle on the other.You grab the leader and slide the hook end down to the hook in the fish and pull the leader down and the fish hook falls out of the fish do it over the side of the boat and the fish falls back in the water and being that you don't have to touch them they swim away...Just a thought if someone needs a picture of one let me know...they use them for making bait in the ocean taking mackrel off the hook over the bait tank... With good release practises you should have very few floaters if any at all...Also I did notice on the bigger Koknee that they did have swim bladders has anyone else noticed this and thought that that may be a problem with releasing the bigger Koknee when catching them at deeper levels?... All of the bigger fish we got throught out the week were at 65 to 70 feet and we only kept 4 fish a day for the BBQ and after the first day seeing the problem with the swim bladders we targeted only fish in the 35 to 40 range after trying to release a few the first day and then turning around to pick them up for the BBQ...happy we had a freezer on the house boat...Great trip we will be back next year
Dave B

Release tool

Hi Dave....yea the phone service is crappy there. No worries. I'd like to get a couple of those tools for releasing Kokes?....Can a guy by them somewhere?
I almost went swimming a couple of times releasing fish, my boat has rather high sides, and longnose pliers do not work well unless I'm leaning almost upside down and half ass falling in.....If that is something you make, you might think
about marketing that tool.....would be good for you and good for the fishery.
Sounds like you had a great week....It was good fishing for us most of the time,
we did not make it down to the pipeline though, we stayed mostly up north.
Less boat traffic, less fish, but plenty of hogs!...Heard the pipeline area was on fire!!.......Mike