Lake Billy Chinook Bull Trout

I fished Lake Billy Chinook last Saturday for bull trout. We hooked 5 and landed 4. The one below is the largest one. It was a cool but nice day on the water.

Very nice! I've wanted to go to LBC, just haven't made it there yet. What did you catch these fish on?thumbsup

Nice bull trout Brian! Is it too early for the kokes up there?

TFK, I caught them on red label herring.

SB, it is not too early for kokanee. I ran a second rod part of the day for kokanee and caught one 10 inch fish. The kokanee were all at 90-100 feet deep and I did not feel like working too hard for them. Mostly I was playing around using two rods on one downrigger.

Great report.... taking advantage of the new two rod situation I assume? This will make you Oregon guys go crazy switching up gear now!

Fallriverguy said:

TFK, I caught them on red label herring.

SB, it is not too early for kokanee. I ran a second rod part of the day for kokanee and caught one 10 inch fish. The kokanee were all at 90-100 feet deep and I did not feel like working too hard for them. Mostly I was playing around using two rods on one downrigger.

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I've read a few other reports from LBC lately that mentioned that same depth. You wouldn't happen to know what temperature it s down there would you? It seems to contradict everything I've read about kokes being up high early in the season, then heading down as the water warms throughout the summer.

HTK, I already don't sit much and it might get so bad switching out two rods that my fishing will become an aerobic workout.

SB, the kokanee at LBC are some times scattered and near the surface. When they are you always see jumpers. Sometimes they are deep and schooled up in big ball like they were last weekend. The schools look like bait balls on the FF so I have to think they are getting worked over by the bull trout.

Yep... my family keeps asking me to sit down and relax when we go fishing but that rarely happens as I'm running around like a caged cat. I'll bet you are spot on that those Kokes are schooling for good reason.... to avoid being eaten and they get pushed around and seek quieter waters where the bull trout are not lurking.

Heard some recent reports on deep water Macks in Tahoe spitting up Kokanee. The question was how deep were those Kokanee when they were eaten as the Macks were caught up at 300 to 400 feet. They probably came up to ambush Kokes and then go back to their depths.

Kevin

Fallriverguy said:

HTK, I already don't sit much and it might get so bad switching out two rods that my fishing will become an aerobic workout.

SB, the kokanee at LBC are some times scattered and near the surface. When they are you always see jumpers. Sometimes they are deep and schooled up in big ball like they were last weekend. The schools look like bait balls on the FF so I have to think they are getting worked over by the bull trout.

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Like siver Bullets, I have read that as you go later in the season the kokes go deeper to find cooler water.I guess that is good rule of thumb,but...
Around the 1st of August last year I was in the Metolious Arm(not to far below the cable), and we saw 100's fish jumping all over and the air temp was near 100.
We were stopped by the Tribal Cops and they said the fish were kokes. I guess because the water temp on the surface was in the mid to upper 50's, the kokes didn't need to go deep.
I didn't get a chance to fish as I had women with me, but I will definetly spend sometime on LBC this coming year.