2013 Lucky Peak Fishing Thread

[kodiak1]

Fish and Game has planted mackinaw in Lucky Peak years ago, and has planted fall chinook on 6 occasions, as late as 2000. Have any of you ever caught either? I can't understand why it could be good for kokes and not chinook. I did try for lakers years ago, and after a day of dragging the bottom, gave up on that idea. Any info? Mike

[kok-head]

i was taking out at LP one day in spring 2011 and i talked to a guy who swears he caught a laker in LP before (i remember him saying at least a few years before 2011), he showed me a cooler full of big bows and koks so i know he knows how to fish but it could be a fish story he was telling...

[Rafting4fun]

Hey Mike, good to see a familiar post. I have not ck'd in ..in a while.. I have caught many Fall Chinook in LP. I caught a nice 23.5 Fall Chinook in AR. We have postulated endless times about big sonar readings from 60-90 feet. For the most part we have ruled out that they might be Mac's.. If they are, they are hard to catch.. I think we would have seen more post's from the masses dispelling this myth... however; is it a myth? Something is down there and maybe not Pike's Minnow's.... Again, either folks are really tight lipped, or these fish are not easy to come by. That in itself beg's the question. Mac's are easily caught on many bodies of water... why would it be so difficult to catch them at LP????? On a side note... Fall Chinook, are a hand full. They fight like crazy, however; the meat deteriorates at a much faster pace than the trout I was catching at same time. ......

[kodiak1]

You are exactly right about the macs. I have probably put in more time fishing for macs than any other species (McCall, mainly) and I was using the right techniques. I don't think they caught on, and that is probably why they are not being currently planted. With all the kokes in there, they would have no problem puttin on the pounds. Interesting that you have zeroed in on the chinook. They have planted them in Deadwood, and they were good sized this fall, with fish in the 9 and 10 # category, according to reports. Did any of your L.P. chinook have any size to them? Maybe people are simply confusing them with rainbows. Thanks for the info. Since the F & G continues to plant them, I am assuming they are surviving. I might just have to call them and get some info. Thanks, Rafting. Good to hear from you. Mike

[kodiak1]

Congrats, and welcome to the site. Yeah, heard you yellin' all the way down here in the North End!!! Mike

[kodiak1]

Maybe in the spring. My wife and I are getting tired of the cold and snow, and thinking about heading south for a while. Anywhere that temps. in the 50's and above!! Thanks for the offer. Mike

[Rafting4fun]

Hey MIke, I'm with you.. heading down to Zihuatenajo for a couple of weeks starting wed. It will be a nice break from this friggin cold/;snow... :) Maybe I should start ice fishing..... it's 88deg in Zihua, with a sunny forecast the entire trip... I love the humidity for a time. Not to mention I landed a nice sailfish last year.. I'm hoping to go Tuna, and maybe roosters this trip. We will see what's biting when we arrive..
The Fall Chinook for me were all in a two year period. I was hanging them on pop gear dragging a large crawler. Then the 17" kokes started slamming the crawler up in the no tellum hole. (mid lake). I would say my fish were in the 15" to 17" range except for the real beauty up on Arrow rock. I will say that most of the ones I caught , maybe 13 or so, were mostly on the silver super-duper with nothing on it except for scent. That's what i caught the big one on up at AR. They respond well to motor mooching, or just rap the throttle occasionally and hold on. The bite is vicious, but again, they have to bonked bled immediately as they are very delicate flesh compared to trout and even Koke's hold up better. I know what the Kam's did up on Pend oreille and would deduce they would be well into decimating the kokes on LP/AR. Still don't know. I think about targeting them but it's a tough call when the Koke's are swinging hard. Not to mention I get bored and I'll take a nice 17-20" koke any day on light tackle.. I love to watch that SST curl over and listen to my reel letting go many yards of line, "fish on".... I'm not sure it's healthy talking about this right now. I'm getting ramped up wayyyyy tooooo eeaarrrllyyyyyyyyyy..... Take care Mike, and go South :) 101chillpill101

[kodiak1]

Hope you hammer 'em down there. There is much to be said for lots of action, but, like you, when I see my rod bend over when king fishing on the Olympic Peninsula (Sekiu), I get an adrenaline rush like no other. Some things are just worth waitin' for!! Now go hook into a big tuna. Mike

[Rafting4fun]

Tried to PM you, however; your box is full... That's always a good thing :)

[kodiak1]

Drove up to LP yesterday, if for nothing else than to get out of the inversion! Surprised to see the res. is completely frozen over; both ends. Thought the slightly warmer weather might loosen it up a bit but no go. Kokes are probably missing the sound of trolling motors above them! Mike

[mowrus]

true that...Been a long inversion.. Can't wait, they will be hungry signfishin

[kodiak1]

Went up to Idaho City yesterday, and LP is still frozen solid. Both ends. Not even any water on the edges.

[MackayGuy]

Yeah.....a buddy of mine is pacing to have a dealer take him up to LP for a test ride in a new boat he's drooling over. These 50 degree days will soften it up a bit.

[kodiak1]

Still frozen, but a few small patches of open water......and I do mean small.

[fishslayer13]

Hope you hammer 'em down there. There is much to be said for lots of action, but, like you, when I see my rod bend over when king fishing on the Olympic Peninsula (Sekiu), I get an adrenaline rush like no other. Some things are just worth waitin' for!! Now go hook into a big tuna. Mike


Lets here more about that salmon fishing at Sekiu , I thought about going there or Neah Bay but never have, with my boat. I take the boat clear up to Port Hardy BC. Great fishing but getting to be expensive trip with the ferry ride being $ 260.00 each way and almost 800 miles over there.

[kodiak1]

Exactly. We used to head up to Port McNeil, but as with you, it just got too expensive, and we were doing better at Sekiu. Neah Bay can be great, but we have a Hewescraft 16 Sportsman, and it just isn't enough boat for the open ocean. But it is perfect for Sekiu, which is more protected. King fishing has been great lately, and it stays open until Aug. 15. Coho start moving in in Aug., and the biggies arrive in Sept. The pinks are running this year (every odd numbered year) and they are just thick out there. We typically head out early, fish for kings until about 9-10, and then head out a few miles to fish for coho and pinks. Van Ripers is the best place to stay, and Olson's is the worst, in my opinion. Any questions, just ask. Mike

[fishslayer13]

Hey thanks for the info. I have reservations this year in port hardy again. But would like to go somewhere like sekiu next year. Can you keep many bottom fish there?
Thats one of the reasons I thought of Neah bay. I have a 22 foot off shore thunder jet so The bigger water isnt that bad other than Im a big chicken when it gets real rough. LOL.
When do you guys start fishing Lucky peak for kokes ? Might make a trip that way this year as dworshak dosent get good until june.
Van

[kodiak1]

Sekiu just isn't that good for bottom fish, other than an increasingly better halibut season. Neah Bay is definitely the place to go for bottom fish, and ling cod. Also good for tuna, if you want to go that far out. The Seattle Times gives great fishing reports, as does Salmon University, if you want to start checking out the fishing in the Olympic Pen. area. Mike

[Predator 2]

We also have reservations for Port Hardy again this year but are interested in going somewhere closer. We were thinking of somewhere on the Oregon coast - any ideas?

[Kokafish]

I have been reading this forum for a few years, but never posted anything. I didn't know there are so many people that go to Port Hardy and Port McNeil from this area. We have been there several times and I agree it is getting to expensive. I've been by Sekiu and Neah Bay but never fished there. Can you tell me where you stay or camp. We have a small RV and a 18'boat. Also, what is a good time to go? We fish Lucky Peak and Arrowrock and are wating for the ice to melt. Right now I'm having motor problems with a 115 4 stroke Merc. gas and water in the oil, but once we get it running again we will be on the water.

[kodiak1]

The mouth of the Columbia would be your best bet, possibly. Ilwaco usually produces good fishing. Depoe Bay can also be good, but it seems lately that the farther north the better.

[spoons]

Has anyone checked out the ice at LP this week?

[JTM]

Looked at it yesterday, still very, very little open water.

[bayhorse]

5948

Obviously the ice is off near the dam. Was on the water fishing by 10:30 the wind was blowing and the pup fell out of the boat so I really didnt get started until 11:30. After we dried off on the bank we found a school on the screen,worked them with standard colors at various depths and speeds. tried until 5:00 to make it a limit. Fell a little short but all considered, a great first day out!

[kok-head]

nice going bayhorse, thanks for posting your info and for pioneering the first run of the year

[sawtooth]

What were the size of the fish you caught Bayhorse? I guess I better get this downrigger rod wrapped and finished for next weekend.signfishin

[bayhorse]

The biggest was 15" the other 4 were all 14". I attached photo, obviously it didn't open. I am still learning how to post pics from my wife's phone. I will try again.

[tonus26]

just learned about this sight. I went up on the 1st of March to LP still ice. but got the boat in had to break through the ice to get back in. there were two smaller boats that would have been stranded after the ice shifted. The ice should all be gone by now. We fished for about 4 hrs and boated two little kokes and one 14 in rainbow. at about 20 ft. We usually do better this early. but they were catching more from the shore then the boats. The other two boats did about the same. I'm going back up on the 12th. Oh We had about 6 on all on a green hoochie.

[kodiak1]

Welcome to the site, tonus!!! The fact that we all share combined with the fact that LP is always changing in terms of location and depth makes this a valuable site for all! Hope to hear many more reports from you, and hopefully we can all recipricate. Mike

[spoons]

Thanks for the report!

[riverrunner16]

Today's report...WINDY...water temp 39.....hooked a couple on green wedding ring with red shoepeg before I became tired of fighting the wind....anyone use a driftsock or trolling sock when it's windy ?

[jimbojump]

I usually don't go when its windy...boat control is difficult and I usually have a heck of a time maintaining the proper speed....no motor is too slow and kicker at idle is too fast...but I think a sock would give you trouble interfering with lines coming in...possibly a trolling plate on the kicker would help...good luck with that!

[kok-head]

thanks for the report riverrunner16

have any of you or anyone you know been fishing at or around spring shores at all? I know many of the kokanee will be down by lucky peak dam right now but I also know there are schools scattered throughout the lake and I prefer to avoid the unpredictable wind of the dam area, and in the early and late part of the boating season I try to be patient but when using the turner gulch ramp that center dock drives me crazy if others are at the ramp trying to load/launch

[kodiak1]

Turner also drives me crazy. Went up there two days ago just for a ride, and to see if all the ice had disappeared, and watched a guy putting in a ski-style boat. He backed it up all the way into the water, and then he and his wife began putting gear in. tying up bumpers, cleaning the windshield, and organizing the boat. Two fishermen were waiting to pull out, and it didn't bother him in the least. He spent 25 minutes in the dock area. Do they just not get it? Do they just not think about prepping the boat up the ramp a ways? Turner seems to be by far the worst. P.S.: talked to the two fishermen and one had two kokes, and the other didn't have a bite the entire day. Mike

[jimbojump]

Its so typical for LP I don't even fish there often...I prefer the semi seclusion of Arrowrock...Ive spent way too many hours dealing with the clowns on the ramps of LP...one guy last year was trying to put in a sailboat and he pounded the skeg into the ramp and ground it off to a screeching halt....another guy did it when forgetting his outdrive was down and got it wedged...then trying to free it ground it up and I watched shaking my head as the motor bounced hard as he backed it down more...mostly Ive been stuck waiting forever because of peoples boats broke down and they sit there right in the launch spot trying to work on it...another couple guys came in once and rammed the dock...and as one guy was climbing out fell backwards into the boat and was surrounded by empty beer cans...climbs out laughing and staggered to his truck...this crap is infuriating to say the least...

[1clnek]

Went to Luck Peak yesterday we were the first ones in the water. I have never fished for kokanee before and was using a new rod/reel along with 1st time taking my boat out. I do not have a downrigger so I was using 1/2oz-1oz weights with a line counting reel. I tried various depths ranging from 40'-100' on my linecounter, I hooked 1 kokanee estimated about 15" but it slipped away before i could boat it, that was using a 1oz weight 4/0 silver dodger and pink hoochie with shoepeg corn soaked in tuna oil. I probably would have done better but there was a learning curve using the new reel and I kept leaving the spool lock on. Excited to go again and slay some kokes to throw on the smoker.

[kok-head]

thanks for posting 1clnek,

the kokanee will be very shallow for quite some time, with 1oz sinkers and letting out up to 100' of line i'm sure there were times your lure was deeper than the kokanee on turns and low speeds, do you know what speed you were running? and if you have sonar how deep were you marking the fish?

you're using the right gear, what length of leader are you running between your dodger and squid? try experimenting with no weight and 1/4oz sinkers too, in sept and oct and in april and may i've hooked lots of kokanee long-lining with 50' of line out and no weight, i run between .5mph and 2.0mph and i slowly work my way up and down between those speeds until i find one that works, and some days the only way i can catch them is by always slowly accelerating or decelerating between those 2 speeds, also they may have just not wanted squids particularly at that moment so keep a variety of tackle on the boat and make changes when needed when fishing is slow

good luck and keep us posted

[1clnek]

thanks for posting 1clnek,

the kokanee will be very shallow for quite some time, with 1oz sinkers and letting out up to 100' of line i'm sure there were times your lure was deeper than the kokanee on turns and low speeds, do you know what speed you were running? and if you have sonar how deep were you marking the fish?

you're using the right gear, what length of leader are you running between your dodger and squid? try experimenting with no weight and 1/4oz sinkers too, in sept and oct and in april and may i've hooked lots of kokanee long-lining with 50' of line out and no weight, i run between .5mph and 2.0mph and i slowly work my way up and down between those speeds until i find one that works, and some days the only way i can catch them is by always slowly accelerating or decelerating between those 2 speeds, also they may have just not wanted squids particularly at that moment so keep a variety of tackle on the boat and make changes when needed when fishing is slow

good luck and keep us posted

I do not know what speed I was running, i was idling my outboard motor and then would put it in neutral to slow it down every 45 seconds or so (12ft aluminum w/15hp 2 stroke). I would assume around 1-1.5 at the most i was trolling next to other boats at times and was going about the same speed. I do not have have the funds for a fishfinder so I was just going off luck. My leader length was 2.5 times the dodger length so about 14". I need to pick up more tackle so I can have a bigger selection.

[SuperD]

14" is too long for squid in my opinion. Just not enough kick to provide good action to an actionless lure. I run them 8" - 10".

[kok-head]

I do not know what speed I was running, i was idling my outboard motor and then would put it in neutral to slow it down every 45 seconds or so (12ft aluminum w/15hp 2 stroke). I would assume around 1-1.5 at the most i was trolling next to other boats at times and was going about the same speed. I do not have have the funds for a fishfinder so I was just going off luck. My leader length was 2.5 times the dodger length so about 14". I need to pick up more tackle so I can have a bigger selection.

a few years ago when i started fishing for kokanee i always ran the "2.5x dodger length strategy" for my squid leaders but many times that formula is a bit long for kokanee, for my 4.25" shasta sling blade dodgers i have my best results when i run my 2.5" squids about 8 inches behind the dodger, by running the lure along side your boat you'll find that a squid of any size on a 14" leader behind say a luhr-jensen size No. 040 (which is under 4" long) will have very little action if your trolling under 1mph and above 1mph lure action won't be much more

on your motor you will be hitting fish catching speeds if you slowly work your way up to full speed idle on your motor and then back to almost no speed when you're motor is in neutral so keep experimenting with it, and there are rainbow and kokanee all over lucky peak and if you're seeing other fishing boats on the water nearby most of them will have finders and they will fish in areas where they are marking them

my first time ever kokanee fishing ended up with 0 kokanee hooked so nice job hooking 1 up

[1clnek]

Thanks for all the replies, I will use less weight and shorter leaders and see where that gets me. Hopefully it is nice this weekend so I can go out again.

[dirty bird]

Thanks for all the replies, I will use less weight and shorter leaders and see where that gets me. Hopefully it is nice this weekend so I can go out again.
When I fish weight I use a sinker slide and attach my weight to it. Seems like my hookup ratio got better than with inline weights. The fish can't work against the weight as much. Use enough leader length above your dodger to allow it to work, I use around 30" from weight to dodger. Good luck sounds like you are off to a good start.

[D_Luck]

Went out and only caught one, it was about 16". Caught about 20' down. No other bites the rest of the day

[Physion]

Is the launch at Spring Shores available? Even a ramp without a dock would beat the mess at Turner.

[kok-head]

D_Luck, thanks for reporting, were you fishing by the dam?


Physion, the U.S. dept. of the interior website shows the end of the spring shores low water ramp is under water:

http://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/ramps/lucky/lucky.html

[Physion]

Hi, kok-head,

Thank you for the info. I use the ramp website you posted, especially in the spring and fall. Unfortunately, sometimes a ramp isn't very usable even if it has water. I was hoping someone had used the ramp this year and could give an update.

[D_Luck]

I was over by the dam, I almost launched off the sand it was such a mess at the launch, don't know about spring shores...

[kok-head]

Hi, kok-head,

Thank you for the info. I use the ramp website you posted, especially in the spring and fall. Unfortunately, sometimes a ramp isn't very usable even if it has water. I was hoping someone had used the ramp this year and could give an update.

I've definitely launched at turner before and needed 4wd to get out because of all of the sand/mud on the ramp even though the end of the ramp was far below the water surface

my buddy went out with friends within the last few days and fished all day by the dam, they only boated 4 kokanee, most went about 15" though, all caught using normal methods regarding gear/speed, for some reason the fish being marked at 10' and 15' weren't biting so they dropped down to 40' and averaged one hit about every 2 hrs and they talked to another boat who had similar results/methods

the boat he talked to boated a small perch, I've read on reports from bull trout studies that perch have been captured at lucky peak but this if the first I've ever heard of one being landed on a fishing rod

anyone know why the 40' deep fish were biting when the shallow ones weren't? I was thinking maybe there was a temperature difference/water clarity issue with the snow melt coming into the lake

[Kokanee Troller]

I was over by the dam, I almost launched off the sand it was such a mess at the launch, don't know about spring shores...

Spring Shores is open and in good shape. The lake is still low so you can park your rig alongside the ramp. The fishing has
been very spotty. We fished Spring Shores 1/2 way up to LP Dam. Caught one nice size Koke 16in, 3 colors and a pink
hoochie. I really think the water temp needs to get a little warmer for the fish to get active, maybe in a few more weeks.

[JTM]

Spring Shores is open and in good shape. The lake is still low so you can park your rig alongside the ramp. The fishing has
been very spotty. We fished Spring Shores 1/2 way up to LP Dam. Caught one nice size Koke 16in, 3 colors and a pink
hoochie. I really think the water temp needs to get a little warmer for the fish to get active, maybe in a few more weeks.

I'm going to hit it Friday Morning for the first time this year, I'll put up a report on how I do.....

[JTM]

I'm going to hit it Friday Morning for the first time this year, I'll put up a report on how I do.....

Fishing was great, catching not so much. Caught 1 seen allot on the graph but they had lock jaw, seen a guy launch his boat before he got to the water.

[fishslayer13]

Well to bad the catching wasn't better ! I watched a guy bounce his Hewes craft down the boat ramp in the Clearwater this year. It was sad the dent in the stern and the bottom of his boat. He totally un-hooked the boat from the trailer and the carpeted bunks where ice from his last launch. Slid right off 40 feet before he got to the water.

[kodiak1]

Interesting. I was just sharing JTM's post with my wife, and saying he had to have had a roller style trailer. Don't know if I would have ever thought about ice on the bunks. I have always said that if i just filmed one of the Lucky Peak ramps for a day or so, I would have more than enough material for a hilarious short film. Not that the Hewescraft incident was funny. That was just sad, but much that goes on at the ramp is funny for sure.

[JTM]

It was a bunk type trailer, I think it was a Smokercraft. Nice boat (well it was) I think he hit the brakes as he was coming down the ramp, any how it hit the concrete. I was on my way to help but they winched it back on the trailer. There are still propeller parts on the ramp. I have also seen a very nice brand new Bayliner hit the deck off a roller trailer, it was not good for that boat.

[jimbojump]

When I bought my boat, I hadn't given much thought to the roller style although that's what I had just purchased...the very first time to the lake I went to Lowell since it was nearby...all the boats I've ever had were bunk style and I could just unhook them and roll on back...so as I did the same method and was heading down the ramp the boat started to fly back about 20 feet from the water...luckily I had the quick thinking response to hammer on the gas and not the brake...LOL it was an ugly launch to say the least but after the water settled from the huge splash, I had managed to keep her off the ramp...hehehe...I have never made that mistake since...lucky for me it wasn't a costly lesson...

[salmonster]

Every time I see a roller trailer I think about that. Boats on roller trailers also seem, in my experience, to take much longer to load and unload than bunk style trailers, but that may have to do who is involved as well. The circus at Turner was in full display yesterday. We did catch a few, one nice one that we actually measured at just over 17"- nicest kok I have caught for a while. Most were 12-14 and few "next year's fish". We had four rods out - pink, orange, white. Hooked all on pink.

[salmonster]

Fished from 8 until 1 today. Hooked 9, landed 3. I need to work on multiple hookup and netting technique. All fish approx 15 inches. The rain kept the circus at Turner to a minimum.

[kok-head]

anyone catching anything lately? I'm probably gonna head up Sunday and I'm wondering where I should try, is that silly center dock still in at turner or are the side docks in yet? and anyone know if there is a dock in at spring shores?

[conservationist]

Got the same question... "anyone catching anything lately?" We fished for trout from the bank about 10 days ago (before the winds) and caught a few rainbows, but didn't see anyone that was trolling for Kokes "knocking them dead". This was down at the dam. It was fun watching the Turner ramp from a distance though. Man some folks are really into themselves and have no respect for others.

[JTM]

For me
the fishing for Kokes is slow at LP for now, Last Friday 4 on landed 1 16" nice fish landed 2 bows both went back. All at 20 - 30 ft marking big pods of fish but there not hitting.

[Physion]

I fished yesterday for about an hour and a half before the wind got too bad. I saw only two fish on the locator between the dam and pipeline gulch. Turner still has the short center dock. The other docks are not in the water yet.

[JTM]

Here is some insperation, I just pulled these 2012 LP Kokes out of the smoker. Note this is 3 fillets those were some big fish last year...

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww179/JTM_62/photo.jpg

[conservationist]

Not too many things better than Smoked Koke! Looking forward to this year's catch.

[conservationist]

Headed to LP on Friday. Any suggestions of where to start? Spring Shores or Turner at dam? Read a bit of info from Arrow Rock and suggestion was to fish shallow... 10 feet or less as water is warmest up top and Koke's like approx. 53 degrees. Any suggestions welcome. I need to get the inside info cause every trip last year my wife kicked my A$$ fishing for Koke's! I'm prepared to tell her the fish are DEEP! 101ok101

[JTM]

I would love to help but the last 2 times I have been there I got my butt handed to me. All I can offer is I marked most of the big schools closer to Spring Shores and nothing nor any hit's by the dam. I am heading out Friday to but I am going to brave the crappy road and hit Arrowrock.

[conservationist]

Thanks JTM .... I hate that road.... always have to pick up parts of my boat trailer!

[DRM]

Launched about 130 a Spring shores, idle out and drop the gear, hooked first fish about 10 minutes later. not a bad start.
dr's at 29 and 19, running 4 inch dodgers with orange hoochies on one side of the boat, and Sling blades with orange/white hoochies on other side of the boat.
Had fun today, hooked, fought and seen over 20 fish---- only landed 10. 101duh101. hooked fish on every rod. Fish disappeared at about 5. left the rest of the fish to fight another day. Probably seen alot of you guys up there today, holy smokes does anyone work on Friday's anymore. LOL.
It was a fun day.

[conservationist]

Made it up to LP today. Launched around 10 am and wife hooked 2 and landed one and I hooked and landed one in the first 45 minutes. Then things slowed down a bit for us until around 2 pm. Hooked 4 more and landed two, decided it was time to head home. Fished right off the main ramp and every fish was hooked directly in line with the ramp????? Started at 10 am fishing 10-15 down. A 6 inch dodger with a small hoochie with it's own blade in green with white spots and a 3 inch green worked best. Later fish down at 30 ft. Again, green was the color.

[kok-head]

thanks for posting reports DRM and conservationist, any size to the fish you landed?

[DRM]

kok-head
all the fish were in the 15 to 17 inch range. not a bad size for LP this early, in my opinion.

Conservationist,
You were using green, Bright green, Light green, ??? I do not seem to have any luck using green. No confidence in the color i guess.

[kok-head]

kok-head
all the fish were in the 15 to 17 inch range. not a bad size for LP this early, in my opinion.

Conservationist,
You were using green, Bright green, Light green, ??? I do not seem to have any luck using green. No confidence in the color i guess.

That’s awesome, those are great sized fish for LP for April, spring shores is always a popular spot, sounds like it’ll be a “bumper boats” course up there pretty soon

my boat has a blue bimini top and a big ugly faded-grey mariner 150hp on the back, I’ll be up there tonight and tomorrow night fishing for a few hrs, if anyone sees me feel free to motor over and I’ll let you know if I’m catching or just fishing

[conservationist]

DRM -- Wife's green lure was a "Wiggle Hoochie". Darned expensive little lure at $4.99 for a piece of rubber. It is sort of a light green with dark blue "splotches" on it as best I can describe. They have a little plastic lip up front and have tons of action. My one fish was on a bright green hoochie about 2.5inches long. It was not the right green or size apparently as she hooked many more fish. But BRIGHT orange and pick didn't do it either. Did see others using pick and catching though. Sometimes you just have bad luck.

AS TO SIZE, we hooked a dink of 10 inches who I'm afraid came home with us as he decided to engulf the hook and despite all efforts, kept doing a belly float. Others were right around 14-15 inches.

6171

Bob

[Physion]

I started at about 8:30 this morning. Boats were so thick around Spring Shores you could have almost walked between them (at least it seemed that way). I trolled towards the dam and got to the Bowl Recreation Area with a grand total of one trout. I decided to try Spring Shores again hoping some had left. By about 2 many of the boats had either given up or were trying elsewhere. I ended up with five nice kokanee all about 15 inches fishing a troll at 20 to 25 feet. I gave up about 4:30 and had to wait in line to get off the water. A busy place, but most of the boaters were reasonably courteous. A good day on the water for April.

[kok-head]

Thanks for posting conservationist and Physion, I was up at spring shores for about 2 hrs on the evening of 4/27/13, I put in as most boats were taking out, my father in law and I both voted for fishing and the three other female family members in the boat voted boat ride, I've never fished for kokanee in lucky peak after 4pm before and I've also never fished up by arrow rock dam, in 30 min of fishing I hooked one fish and lost it, I only had 2 rods in the water and I left my corn at home and on the way home my trailer decided to throw a bearing buddy wheel bearing cover101thumbsdown101, it was a fun time on the water but pretty much the opposite of usual and ideal fishing for me

[kok-head]

Put in on the evening of 4/28/13 at spring shores and fished for about 60min, hooked 4 and lost 2, the ones that made it to the boat were small and not worth keeping, hooked the fish on a pink 2.5" squid, a small rainbow trout pattern spoon and a green 1.5" crappie tube all running behind small sling blades, fished were hooked right across from the ramp, watched someone in a red four winns boat land what looked to be like 2 good size fish

[DRM]

bummer about the small fish Kok-head, but at least it was a very nice day to be out on the water. always tomorrow. :)

[Physion]

I understand about not wanting to catch or keep the small fish. However, finding some small fish is a good indication for future years. The big ones we catch now were smaller just a year or two ago. I'd be concerned if no one were catching any smaller fish.

[id_birdhntr]

My son and I went out on Saturday first thing and fought the wind for a couple hours at the dam. We managed a double after about an hour with two nice fish. One was 16 and the other 17. Caught them on sling blades with orange and pink hoochies. His was with no weight long lining and mine was set down to 8 ft on the downrigger. I didn't realize I had one until we landed his and I popped the rod off of the release and it was on there. I guess I need to figure out my tension on the release a little better. 101facepalm101

[kok-head]

bummer about the small fish Kok-head, but at least it was a very nice day to be out on the water. always tomorrow. :)

it was a nice evening and not too windy, took some family and friends out for another dinner cruise, a few people in the boat had never seen a live kokanee before, and the limber rods bouncing in the rod holders with the bait clickers sounding off was exciting and made us think we had 17 inchers on the lures until we got em to the boat and realized they were first year fish, pretty funny

[kok-head]

I understand about not wanting to catch or keep the small fish. However, finding some small fish is a good indication for future years. The big ones we catch now were smaller just a year or two ago. I'd be concerned if no one were catching any smaller fish.

no doubt Physion, in another 2 or 3wks the fishing will pick up dramatically, you and some other forum members did well recently for quite early in the year in my opinion seeing as how all weekend I was measuring 50 degree surface temps, I knew the bigger ones were behind the lures but I could only entice the little ones, it won't be long before 15" and up limits are being caught in 1-2hr timeframes and I can't wait

[conservationist]

Fished from 9:30 to about 2:30 off of Spring shores down towards Moore's Cr arm. Hooked about 6, got three fair sized (14-15") fish in the boat. A bit slow. A bunch of county sheriff boats on water from all over the State practicing stuff. Spoke with a boat load of gentlemen who fished up towards Mack's Cr. They said they had their 3 limits of Kokes. Didn't see em so have no idea of size. Water has cooled down a bit. Started at 46 and was 47.5 when we got off water. Fished 6 inch dodger with pink hoochie on one rig, long flasher set (can't remember name) with a pink hoochie .... some shoe peg corn a fine gentleman gave us for the asking as we'd left ours back home. Fished 20 - 30 feet. Best luck at 30 feet.

[spoons]

Fished LP on 4/27 accross from spring shores and then by the dam.
Fished at various depths for about 30 minutes at each depth in the same area with 4 lines. Finally got 3 nice Koke at 30ft on the downriggers, several more on but gone before getting in the boat and several more hit and runs stealing my corn. Ended with 4 koke and 2 trout.

[JTM]

Hit LP today at about 10:am things started off slow then about 2:00 pm it got hot, Both me and my son pulled a limit all nice sized fish we threw back one big rainbow and had one shaker. The wake boats were out in the evening and there were some jet skis. ( Really??? the water temp was only 48)

[lnnnsxt]

May 2 Kokes6200

[JTM]

May 2 Kokes6200

Nice!!!! :)

[DRM]

Hit LP today at about 10:am things started off slow then about 2:00 pm it got hot, Both me and my son pulled a limit all nice sized fish we threw back one big rainbow and had one shaker. The wake boats were out in the evening and there were some jet skis. ( Really??? the water temp was only 48)

had a few guys waking behind a jetski at AR on Friday night.. brrrrrrrr

[lnnnsxt]

One was long lined 120 ft, no weight or leaded line with dodger and hootchie. Other was on downrigger, no fish was caught deeper than 16 ft.
Early in the season I always fish the surface, I know people claim they need to find the theromcline of the fish in order to catch them, but when a lake is going up or down in elevation of more than a foot a day like Lucky Peak or Arrowrock, it's hard for the water to be stable, therefore no thermocline. Also, people assume there are few to no fish at the surface because their fish finder doesn't pick them up, well in 10 ft or less from the surface the fish scatter when your boat goes over the top of them.

[lnnnsxt]

At least 50% were caught by long line.

[conservationist]

Fished LP today 5/6/13. Started at base of Arrowrock above Mack's creek. Others were catching fish but we could not get a hook up. Headed back towards Spring Shores. Hooked one at 30 feet at point just upstream of second boat ramp but lost at side of boat. Another hit just past the west boat ramp but failed to hook up. Finally brought one to the net under power lines in Moores Creek. Slow day for us. Just didn't have the right combo I guess. Fished 20-30 feet with DR's, 6 inch dodgers in pink/green and pink bone pattern. End tackle was pink hoochie on the dual tone dodger and a bright green wedding ring behind the pink bone dodger. Tried others combos but no hits.

[ghunt]

Is that o6 Lowe for sale

[jimbojump]

Fished LP today 5/6/13. Started at base of Arrowrock above Mack's creek. Others were catching fish but we could not get a hook up. Headed back towards Spring Shores. Hooked one at 30 feet at point just upstream of second boat ramp but lost at side of boat. Another hit just past the west boat ramp but failed to hook up. Finally brought one to the net under power lines in Moores Creek. Slow day for us. Just didn't have the right combo I guess. Fished 20-30 feet with DR's, 6 inch dodgers in pink/green and pink bone pattern. End tackle was pink hoochie on the dual tone dodger and a bright green wedding ring behind the pink bone dodger. Tried others combos but no hits.

Fishing too deep big boy....right now less than 15 is the key....

[Cricket]

I hooked a 14" Koke last Saturday 5/4/13. Using leaded line, only out two colors. I agree that the fish are on top. We were fishing too deep most of the day. Sunday we caught small Kokes that we tossed back for next year . We ended up with 6 trout. All were caught near the surface.

[salmonster]

You guys are killing me with this shallow talk. I have not caught a kok shallower than 28 for over two weeks, and fishing is GOOD. If you have been waiting, it's on.

[MackayGuy]

Interesting....the best size kokes yesterday were at 10' or less for me. The only fish I picked up at 30' were the annoying little planter trout.

[JTM]

You guys are killing me with this shallow talk. I have not caught a kok shallower than 28 for over two weeks, and fishing is GOOD. If you have been waiting, it's on.

Agree, If a fisherman tells me shallow and green. I'm going to go 180..... 101ok101

[Cricket]

I am headed back out to LP on Saturday. First light I will be on the water.

[jimbojump]

Agree, If a fisherman tells me shallow and green. I'm going to go 180..... 101ok101

Hey! Suit yourself man....LOL Sooo what? You don't like catching fish?

[kodiak1]

Fished LP this morning, and picked up two limits by noonish. Wedding rings and pink hoochies seemed to work equally well. Caught an equal amount at 30 and 17 feet, with a few on top. All caught in a small area. The one memory of today's outing was when an osprey dove and grabbed our Shasta Sling Blade and hoochie, and then flew off ripping off 650 feet of line. Thank goodness we finally got him unhooked no worse for the wear. Mike

[JTM]

Hey! Suit yourself man....LOL Sooo what? You don't like catching fish?

It was a joke, But I really don't have any problem catching fish. golucky

[kokopuffs]

I caughts some kokers and rainbows yesterday doing my s patterns. Jacktard wasn't there but the fish were.

[tuff7474]

Got on the water Saturday at 1:00 picked up two in 30 minutes with pink hoochies and pink dodgers probably 20 feet deep. After that things got real slow and the black lab got real hot.

[kok-head]

fished for a few hrs during the morning of 5/13/13, it was nonstop rainbow trout fishing and only one decent size kokanee

people around us didn't seem to be catching a ton of fish, we launched at first light at spring shores and stayed in sight of the marina almost the entire time, lots of boats up there

tried all different types of lures, speeds, colors, depths, the lures in the photo had non-stop small and extra small rainbow trout action, we hooked and lost at least 10 other fish so it was still a blast but for every 2 trout we boat we usually boat 3 kokanee, the kokanee took the 1.5" tube bait at about 10ft deep and moving about 1.5mph

62366237

[kokopuffs]

that's great bro. I hooked a kok or two also with an old navy model.

[kodiak1]

Unlike the other day, we struggled today. Fished 3 hours, and picked up 4 kokes, released a few dink trout, and lost 4 kokes. Didn't seem to matter what depth; they all caught fish. There was a check station when we left, and a boat from Arrowrock was checking out with some beauties. Maybe should have beat up the boat and trailer and headed up there. Mike

[Rafting4fun]

Mike, I posted on AR, however; it did not come through. I was was at the ck station with my limit around, 1:30PM i think roughly... F/G told me I had a nice limit compared to what had come through. I was in a Gold Ford F-350 pulling the old Basstracker.... after 26 years, it's still going... :) Jt

[gdub]

Fished LP yesterday from 330 to 7, used pink hoochies, silver and pink dodgers, after about 2 hours on the water we started catchng a few small trout between the two boat ramps. Fished anywhere from 10 to 20 feet. I honestly dont think I even had a koke bite. Kept 5 small trout that will work on the smoker. Any tips to get some Kokes or was it just my luck for the day.

[kodiak1]

Rafting,
Might have been you. But we checked out about 11:30. The Fish and Game took a picture of one of the officers holding up the largest fish. The fish were in white Costco kitchen bags. Was that you? There were two fishermen, and had around 9 fish, I believe. Darn, should have driven right past Spring Shores. Saw a lot of boats heading up. Mike

[Rafting4fun]

I don't think so, as I am sure it closer to 1:30PM... it was a nice day on the water :)

[Smokingkokes]

Might of been my father and law and I. We left Arrowrock at about11:30 and got to the check station at about 11:50. We had two Costco garbage bags of fish. 3 trout and 12 Kokes. The one F & G officer was new and came from Utah and never seen a Koke so big so the other officer took a picture of the largest one while the biologist measured them all. I told him he could have his picture taken because I knew the other officer and the biologist. My brother and I both worked for fish and game and my father was the sr. Fisheries research biologist for 36 years for fish and game and retired in 2010. We were in a white dodge pickup with a 14 ft tan smoker craft deep v boat. I have been fishing every Wednesday for 9 weeks and we have limited every week by 10:00 with the exception of two days. We were done by 9:15 on Wednesday and then came back and had lunch and cleaned the boat before leaving. It's been great fishing and the fish we have kept have been between 16" and 20.5 inches and weighing on average 1.5 lbs butterfly fillet out.

[Rafting4fun]

Good Job, Smokingkokes.... yes there are some pigs to be caught... The exciting thing????, the fish by August are going to get big up there. Woohoooo.... I just wish the road would get better.. on the other hand, and with said, maybe the bumpy road will reduce the pressure....
When it's all said and done.. the avid fisherman will make the trek, he will be vigilant, and he will negotiate the labyrinth, be it curves, ruts, dust, to reduce a limit of nice kokes to the smoker and table fare... Jt

[tuff7474]

Classic fish and BRAT. All bragging no helping. Not even a water temp update...thanks for letting us all know you had fun.

[jimbojump]

LOL....that's funny...

[kodiak1]

Smokingkokes,
Yep, that was you. Beautiful fish. Welcome to the site. I am bagging LP for a while and going to give Arrowrock a try. Next time I'll know and will introduce myself. Mike

[sawtooth]

Welcome to the site Smokingkokes. It sounds like you got Arrowrock figured out.

[JTM]

Might of been my father and law and I. We left Arrowrock at about11:30 and got to the check station at about 11:50. We had two Costco garbage bags of fish. 3 trout and 12 Kokes. The one F & G officer was new and came from Utah and never seen a Koke so big so the other officer took a picture of the largest one while the biologist measured them all. I told him he could have his picture taken because I knew the other officer and the biologist. My brother and I both worked for fish and game and my father was the sr. Fisheries research biologist for 36 years for fish and game and retired in 2010. We were in a white dodge pickup with a 14 ft tan smoker craft deep v boat. I have been fishing every Wednesday for 9 weeks and we have limited every week by 10:00 with the exception of two days. We were done by 9:15 on Wednesday and then came back and had lunch and cleaned the boat before leaving. It's been great fishing and the fish we have kept have been between 16" and 20.5 inches and weighing on average 1.5 lbs butterfly fillet out.

I was under the impression that you could only have 6 total fish be it Trout or Salmon? You had 15 total between 2 people and that was ok? I need to re-read the regs I think.

[Rafting4fun]

Hey JTM.. last year they changed the reg's.. you can now have 6 kokes and 6 trout in our bag limit.. yeehaww... after eating kokes. trout have become less important to retain except for Sturgeon food... YEP, it's true..... :) Jt

[Rafting4fun]

Gdub, welcome to the forums.. At least you were catching trout. :) Tell us more about what your method is.. lures/bait/scent/ depth and perhaps we can dial you in to some kokes... just ask, and maybe we can help.. When you learn please share your success which is why this forum is sooooooo successful.... Take care, Jt

[Rafting4fun]

I agree, that is really funny..... REALLY??????

[Rafting4fun]

Classic fish and BRAT. All bragging no helping. Not even a water temp update...thanks for letting us all know you had fun.

oops, forgot the quote... lol....

[Smokingkokes]

Kokanee are separate from your trout limit in the southwest region. All other salmonide or fish in the onchorynchis family are included in the trout limt and possession limit. Coho salmon, atlantic salmon, and landlocked chinook salmon count in your trout limit. So for example if you went to deadwood reservoir you could keep 25 kokanee per day and 50 in possession. and then you could keep 6 trout per day but only 6 in possession not 12 because unlike kokanee the daily limit is equal to the posession limit. The trout limit would include all Atlantic salmon, fall chinook, rainbow trout, and cutthroat trout that you caught combined to equal 6 fish. You would have to consume those six fish before catching another daily limit. Anadromous salmon or steelhead have separate limits and possession and different regulations and seasons and require a tag.

[JTM]

Kokanee are separate from your trout limit in the southwest region. All other salmonide or fish in the onchorynchis family are included in the trout limt and possession limit. Coho salmon, atlantic salmon, and landlocked chinook salmon count in your trout limit. So for example if you went to deadwood reservoir you could keep 25 kokanee per day and 50 in possession. and then you could keep 6 trout per day but only 6 in possession not 12 because unlike kokanee the daily limit is equal to the posession limit. The trout limit would include all Atlantic salmon, fall chinook, rainbow trout, and cutthroat trout that you caught combined to equal 6 fish. You would have to consume those six fish before catching another daily limit. Anadromous salmon or steelhead have separate limits and possession and different regulations and seasons and require a tag.

Thanks for thr education, it seems now it is even more confusing. I am heading to Cascade soon and I always thought the Kokes and Coho counted in the same limit sounds like that has changed. I need to read up.

[JTM]

Hey JTM.. last year they changed the reg's.. you can now have 6 kokes and 6 trout in our bag limit.. yeehaww... after eating kokes. trout have become less important to retain except for Sturgeon food... YEP, it's true..... :) Jt

Thanks Rafting I'm going to update my self, But I agree after eating Kokes Trout don't work for me!!!!!!

[JTM]

Hit LP today, Between me and my son we both pulled a limit. thumbsup We had to work for them but pretty much had the lake to ourselves, caught several Rainbows as well all went back. Some big fat pigs, also some shakers but all in all a great day!!!!! Oh BTW the water was 54, it was warming up till they filled it in like 2 days.

[id_birdhntr]

Went out yesterday for a couple of hours and managed to land one really nice fish on green at 15 feet. Had a few others on earlier that we couldn't get to the boat which were on pink at 10 feet. Highest water temp we saw was 57.5. Saw one other boat land a fish and that was it.

[Physion]

I boated a lot of fish on Friday, May 31, and kept 6. I caught most of them between the ramp and the opposite side. Five were about 15 inches and the others were 11 to 12 inches. All were caught about 25 feet down. Fish and Game people at the check station said others had not done so well. I suspect the fish have probably moved away from weekend boat traffic, but Friday was a great day on the water.

[JTM]

I boated a lot of fish on Friday, May 31, and kept 6. I caught most of them between the ramp and the opposite side. Five were about 15 inches and the others were 11 to 12 inches. All were caught about 25 feet down. Fish and Game people at the check station said others had not done so well. I suspect the fish have probably moved away from weekend boat traffic, but Friday was a great day on the water.

I agree the pressure is hurting the fishing for sure, I had the same result from F & G at the check site. He said most people were complaining saying the fishing was horrible. I have got AR out of my head now, Back to LP.

[Sluggo]

Just curious...has anyone tried vertical jigging for Koks at LP or AR with any success? I know this is a popular method in other lakes and states but have not heard of it here. Just wondering.

[sturgeon8r]

Fished from 7 am to about 11. hooked 12 fish. most were around 13 inches. kept 3 at about 15. water temp 61-62. orange worked OK. had the best luck with multi colored orange. Fished 15-25 feet. do not have speed on my finder but we were doing something right :)

[Sluggo]

Fished yesterday and boated 12 Kokes and 3 trout. One nice sized Koke (15-16 inches) and the rest were around 12 inches. Did not get a tap using Dodger/Hoochie combo. Caught all fish using silver flashers and Kokabow lure between 10-20 feet. Did not mark many fish on the fish finder. Are all the larger Kokes deeper????

[Cricket]

Fished yesterday and boated 12 Kokes and 3 trout. One nice sized Koke (15-16 inches) and the rest were around 12 inches. Did not get a tap using Dodger/Hoochie combo. Caught all fish using silver flashers and Kokabow lure between 10-20 feet. Did not mark many fish on the fish finder. Are all the larger Kokes deeper????

What color Kokabow were you using? I have lots of those lures.

[Sluggo]

Cricket...we caught most of them on a Kokabow Falcon (red & orange glass beads with a gold blade). We also had luck with the Blue Fury (blue & orange glass beads with a blue blade with orange reflective tape). Gook luck.

[riverrunner16]

Fished Sunday.....boated 4 Kokes about 13", lost about 6 at the boat (rookie net guy) and probably another 6 between hook-up and boat....and a few small trout.
LOTS of boats fishing !!!
Green wedding ring with corn seemed to be working best, but they were hitting about everything. Do you guys use rubber snubbers ?..I used to, then kinda quit for some reason.

Thanks,

[JTM]

Fished Sunday.....boated 4 Kokes about 13", lost about 6 at the boat (rookie net guy) and probably another 6 between hook-up and boat....and a few small trout.
LOTS of boats fishing !!!
Green wedding ring with corn seemed to be working best, but they were hitting about everything. Do you guys use rubber snubbers ?..I used to, then kinda quit for some reason.

Thanks,

Used to then quit, I find that with a single hook and a stinger = 2 single hooks is far more fun and less lost fish, they will twist and most likely get the second hook in them. :)

[sturgeon8r]

fished from 7 am to 11 am boated 9 koke, 1 trout. lost 3 more. and had 3 drive bys. Also attached flashers to my DR balls. Pink corn, Pink hoochies. fished 20-30 foot of water. (started at around 15) Caught fish at all depths. caught most of the fish at 20 and deeper. Fish were about 13 inches. Water temp started at 64 and by the time we left was 65.8. the fish we found were along the banks and as the sun got higher they moved away from the banks and deeper.

[sturgeon8r]

my daughter and I limited out this morning. 12 OK fish. all ran about 13 inches with 2 at 15. Great day on the lake. took us about 3 hours. we lost around 10 other fish to.

[TonyP]

I've been fishing AR, haven't tried LP yet this year, where are you catching the kokes on LP

[Cricket]

I've been fishing AR, haven't tried LP yet this year, where are you catching the kokes on LP

We went to LP on Sat June 15th using leaded line and a DR. We both caught our limit. Leaded line was out 2 colors with a Kokabow lure and pop gear. We also had a Kokabow lure and pop gear on the DR. DR was 25 feet down entire day. Same size fish were caught at different depth with the leaded line and DR. Most fish were about 13 inches long. We were fishing across from the boat launch

[JTM]

Well hit LP today, fishing was hot!!! But not big fish, but plenty of them. Got a limit in an hour but culled allot, and ended up with some nice fish but had to work for them. Biggest was 14".

[Sluggo]

We fished LP on Thursday and limited out on both Kokanee and Trout. I have never caught a tagged fish before until Thursday...caught 3 trout which were tagged. Used silver flashers and gold/red Kokabow. Interesting that 90% of the fish were caught on leaded line (3 colors) and only 10% on downriggers.

[Cricket]

Sluggo,

Were you using the Kestrel or the Falcon Kokabow? Both are gold/red but different colored beads. Nice to know about the leaded line. Not sure what is up with the fish being so small this yr. LP had some hogs in there last yr. What part of LP were you fishing at?

[JTM]

We fished LP on Thursday and limited out on both Kokanee and Trout. I have never caught a tagged fish before until Thursday...caught 3 trout which were tagged. Used silver flashers and gold/red Kokabow. Interesting that 90% of the fish were caught on leaded line (3 colors) and only 10% on downriggers.

That is interesting, Were the fish caught on leaded line smaller? What depth were your DR'S?

[Cricket]

JIM,

Last weekend I fished with both a DR and leaded line. DR was down 25 ft, leaded line was out two colors with a Kokabow lure and pop gear. The fish were the same size with both. This year has been
so odd at LP compared to last year. I can't make sense of it. I am also interested in what Sluggo says

[Cricket]

Cricket...we caught most of them on a Kokabow Falcon (red & orange glass beads with a gold blade). We also had luck with the Blue Fury (blue & orange glass beads with a blue blade with orange reflective tape). Gook luck.

The Blue Fury....the lure made in honor of the BSU fans :)

[Sluggo]

Overall, the fish on the leaded line and DR were all about the same size. However...I had one very large Kokanee on with the DR and right when we were starting to net it, it shook off. I tried all different depths on the DR...everything from 10-45 feet. For some reason, the leaded line has always out produced the DR at Lucky Peak. Now at Anderson Ranch, it is the opposite with the DR out producing the leaded line. I have not figured out why this is.

[Sluggo]

That is interesting, Were the fish caught on leaded line smaller? What depth were your DR'S?





Overall, the fish on the leaded line and DR were all about the same size. However...I had one very large Kokanee on with the DR and right when we were starting to net it, it shook off. I tried all different depths on the DR...everything from 10-45 feet. For some reason, the leaded line has always out produced the DR at Lucky Peak. Now at Anderson Ranch, it is the opposite with the DR out producing the leaded line. I have not figured out why this is.

[Sluggo]

Sluggo,

Were you using the Kestrel or the Falcon Kokabow? Both are gold/red but different colored beads. Nice to know about the leaded line. Not sure what is up with the fish being so small this yr. LP had some hogs in there last yr. What part of LP were you fishing at?

Cricket,

The majority of the fish were caught with a Falcon Kokabow. One was caught with the Blue Fury Kokabow and two with a Wedding Ring. We caught most of the Kokanee out from Spring Shores boat launch and all of the trout near Mack's Creek launch.

[Cricket]

My hubs and I limited out today on Kokes and also caught 4 trout. We were on the water this morning at 6:45 am and with a Kokabow Falcon and pop gear , three colors out I landed a 17 " Koke within the first 10 min. Hubby stayed at 2 colors all day and did better than I did at three colors. Most the Kokes were small. About 11-12 " with the exception of the big one . I decided not to use the DR today . The Koke's were caught across from the boat ramp about 50 ft from the shoreline. All were caught on either the Kokabow Falcon, Merlin, or the Kestrel.

[JTM]

My hubs and I limited out today on Kokes and also caught 4 trout. We were on the water this morning at 6:45 am and with a Kokabow Falcon and pop gear , three colors out I landed a 17 " Koke within the first 10 min. Hubby stayed at 2 colors all day and did better than I did at three colors. Most the Kokes were small. About 11-12 " with the exception of the big one . I decided not to use the DR today . The Koke's were caught across from the boat ramp about 50 ft from the shoreline. All were caught on either the Kokabow Falcon, Merlin, or the Kestrel.

I'm with you, Not sure what is up with the LP Kokes last year my average was 16" this year you can't find a 16? There are plenty of smaller fish, I guess we need to hit them hard and use em for canners. I was tossing them back thinking they were next years fish.

[Cricket]

I'm with you, Not sure what is up with the LP Kokes last year my average was 16" this year you can't find a 16? There are plenty of smaller fish, I guess we need to hit them hard and use em for canners. I was tossing them back thinking they were next years fish.

The big Koke I caught was about 100 yds out from the boat ramp. We have been keeping the runts . The first few times I went to LP, I also thought the smaller ones were next years fish . Guess I was wrong.

[sturgeon8r]

It was HOT!!!!!!!...... The wind laid down and the weather and fishing got hot. all depths. pink green yellow colors.

[nepetbutler]

Couldn't get away from marina. Soo many hits on pink kokabow . Used 2 pink slingblades hooked together ,2oz sinker, corn , maggots, a little bit of dick nite. 25-75' long line. Landed 4. Soo much fun in my little Jon boat. If you smell bacon wave

[Cricket]

Hey nepetbutler,

What time were you out fishing yesterday? I am sure I have seen you out there lol. Headed out to LP either Sat or Sun early morning. I am not liking the ski boats...

[nepetbutler]

Last time I went was last Tuesday from 11- 2. Camping next Monday at arrowrock. I usually launch my jonboat right off the bank.

[Cricket]

I was on the water this morning at 5:30 am. Leaded line was out 2.5 colors with pop gear and an Osprey Kokabow lure on one pole and a Kestrel Kokabow lure on the other pole. We were off the water at 11 am with 12 Kokes and 1 trout. It was hot hot hot and no wind. Ski boats galore by 10 am. So tired of the inconsiderate boaters but the fishing was good. The Kokes we caught this week are larger than the ones last week. Seems like they are finally growing. Largest one was 14-15 ".

[sturgeon8r]

got on the water by 6 am. boated 11 fish lost 10-12 others. off water by 11 am. Actually the fishing was SLOW! Fish were deeper then Friday. Trolled faster. same colors as last week. fish were bigger. (not by much). seeing less fish on the FF. smaller schools.

[tomn1603]

I'm real new to Koke fishing, so this may be a dumb question, but has anyone trolled for kokes at night? I'd like to fish Lucky Peak, but I understand what you're saying about the ski boats. It seems that night fishing might be the answer.

[JTM]

You need flash!!!! and that takes daylight. They like there bling!!!!

[tomn1603]

Went out to Lucky Peak this am. First time koke fishing ever. Almost limited. I would have limited but 3 got away. Not bad.

Was on the water (Turner Gulch) about 6am. Cool and windy. Cruised to the channel straight out from Spring Shores. Trolled 20 -30 feet (downrigger) with a flasher and spinner bait (I don't know the names of the tackle). I probably dragged my first fish for an hour before I discovered it on the end of my line. My gear is way too heavy for these fish. I expected the line release to tell me when I had a fish on, but that didn't happen. I can barely tell when a fish is on.

These fish are really fragile! They die almost instantly after you take the hook out. I'll be cooking them up for guests at a BBQ we're having tomorrow. I've heard they have excellent table quality.

[conservationist]

tomn1603 -- Welcome to the habit of chasin Koke. Lucky Peak Kokes hit fairly hard .... at least it appears that way on my 8 foot trolling rods .... very sensitive tips. As to releasing from your down riggers, that's an art at getting them set just light enough to stand lowering the ball and not popping the line out on the way down. I don't worry to much about the release ... I watch my pole tips and respond to hits. Once in awhile you'll get a hit and run, but most times you'll see the rod tip dip fairly well 2-3 times ... time to start reeling in a fish.

They do have soft mouths ... I probably average 60-70% fish in the boat to fish reeled up to the boat. They get pretty wild when brought up next to the boat and see a net.

As to being fragile, mine do fine in the live well until the trip home ... as long as I don't drop them prior to getting to the well. A friend just puts them on ice immediately.

As to taste, nothing better. I smoke the majority of mine as to me, there is no better fish for slow smoking over some hickory or mesquite. Good grilled on the BBQ too.

Cabelas has some great trolling poles and reels. But these don't offer much "fight" when bringing in a fish, but you will see the strike. For sport, go light to ultra light ... but your hooking to boating percentage will probably go down.

[conservationist]

Fished from 7 to 11 AM today. Hooked 5 Kokes, boated 4, and 2 10-11 inch rainbows. Overall the fishing was pretty slow. Two Kokes in the 14-15 inch range and two dinks. Fished from 15 to 40 feet with down riggers.. the 2 larger Kokes were caught around 15 feet upstream of the second boat ramp at Spring Shores. Fishing with a string of flashers and a Kokabow imitation in whites and blues and one green with a copper blade. Pleasant morning until the clouds disappeared and it got hot quickly so the ski boats showed up.

[sawtooth]

Picked up a limit of kokes this morning. Fished from 6:30 to 8:30. Released quite a few 10-12 inchers trying to get some of the larger ones. Biggest was 16.5 inches, three in the 14-15 inch range, and two around 11 inches that caught the trailing hook in the eye or gills making a successful release impossible. All were between 35 to 45 feet down on the downriggers. Fishing was fast and furious, never having to wait more than 5 minutes between hits.

[nepetbutler]

Landed 3small,an18" koke on front of marina Soo Much action wth my double pink slingblades ,pink kokabow, Firecorn ,dik nite, long line. 50'.

[kodiak1]

Picked up two easy limits this morning. Off the water by 10. The Jack Lloyds and w.r.'s worked best this time. Slow until about 8 when they really woke up. Mike

[conservationist]

The Jack Lloyds and w.r.'s worked best this time. Mike

Sorry, but what are W.R.s??

thanks

Bob

[MackayGuy]

Sorry, but what are W.R.s??

thanks

Bob

(Mack's) Wedding rings

[conservationist]

Thanks mackayGuy .... I was telling Kodiak that this popped into my head at about 5 AM this morning!

[conservationist]

My wife and I fished from 7:30 to 10:30am at Spring shores. Jack Lloyd's and Wedding Rings as recommended. Down about 30 feet with down riggers. Fish seemed to hit when I boosted speed from 1.5 to 2 mph and back down. Fished within site of Spring shores, but towards the dam a bit. Left when boat and jet ski traffic made water to rough to enjoy fishing ... caught the last fish to make our 12 on the way in.

A big THANK YOU to Kodiak for the info on where and how to fish. It was much appreciated. thumbsupthumbsup

6512

[Allyn S]

Been meaning to post a report for the last couple weeks but haven't gotten around to it. Been good fishing (the number of boats out last few weeks show that isn't a secret) with fast limits. The males beaks started to grow a little last week and this weekend caught the first ones starting to show a little hint of pink on the tail, dorsal, and anal fins. Usually not to many weeks left once that starts to happen. Tackle has been dodgers with hoochies. Average fish is 12-13" with about 1 in 4 being 15-16". Yesterday put in at 0630 and had 3 person limit at 1000. Today put in at 0630 and had 2 person limit by 0730.

Had a hell of a circus yesterday with the kids. Hooked a koke and was bring it in, my son was getting ready to net when I noticed another rod going off so he handed me the net and hooked that fish. I net my fish solo (many of you know how that is when you are also trying to steer the boat, have a bunch of lines in, and the wind is blowing, fun fun). As I am hurrying to get my fish out so I can net my son's fish (I try and avoid double netting if possible because it usually leads to long down time for the inevitable tangle cluster) I feel this big drag on the net. I look down and my rod is in the drink and sinking behind the boat! The only thing keeping the road from sinking to the bottom is the drag of the fish in the net.

I grab the line quick and drag the rod back into the boat. That accomplished, I turn my focus back to taking the fish out of the net only to feel the drag again. THE DAMN rod slid out the back again! I had reeled up kinda close to net solo and there wasn't much slack line; the back of my boat has a raised bench-style deck so there isn't much of a lip out the back, it just kept sliding off because I didn't have enough line to set the rod down below that deck. Luckily, I get the rod back in the boat just in time to land my son's fish. To do it I had to hold my rod (with the fish still on it) in one hand and net his with the other. I get both fish into the boat and let out some line setting the problem rod below the raised deck. Catching my breath for a split sec.I realize that the last rod in is going off. My son drops his rod (in the boat) and grabs that one and starts reeling that fish in. I wake my daughter who has been sleeping through all and ask her to drive the boat so can I manage the two rods still attached to the netted fish and get the third fish. This all is happening in less time than it took to read about it. There was another boat within rock throwing distance behind us watching the whole thing. I can only imagine what they were thinking watching me net three fish still attached to the rods while pulling 1 rod out of the drink twice, all in about 1-1.5 minutes.

I have my daughter drive us out of the trolling circuit where I untangle the mess and contemplate the crazyiness of koke fishing. Only kokanee can leave you drifting aimlessly while you are just shaking your head wondering what the hell just happened. Guess it is why we all spend the time and money chasing such a pain in the ass fish with a notoriously fickle attitude (that and they just taste so damn good). Makes up for the times when you go 2 hours without a sniff. Koke fishing, feast or famine.



Probably fish one more weekend at LP then might head to Anderson the last week in July and see if I can get a cooler full for canning. If I do I think I am going to try catfish pliers for skinning and then just cube them and cook them down with the bones in on the little ones. If I do it and it works will post here for folks. Good luck the rest of the way to those out chasing these wonderfully stupid fish.

[conservationist]

I think I saw some of that. A bit like the Keystone Cops routine. Wife and I fishing out of a tan and green 16 foot Lowe, 50 HP Yamaha, down riggers and LONG poles.

[Allyn S]

Yeah it wasn't my finest hour for sure. Like I said it was one hell of a circus. Glad the kids are big enough now to be more of a help than the hindrance they were a couple years ago. Almost makes it worth feeding them.

I think I remember you guys, nice boat if it is the one I am thinking of. I think you were a little up-reservoir of us when that happened so you probably had a good view of it. I was thinking of the red inboard jet (I think it was a Hewes craft) with the 2 guys and the gal in it. They were the boat that was in rock-chucking range.

If you watched the chaos happening in a 18' alumacraft "jon boat" with a 90hp Yamaha main and a 15hp mercury kicker that was us. Hope you guys did good

[kodiak1]

Another good morning for us. After losing 7 straight, we began connecting. Had two triples to speed us along our way. Off the water by 9. The biggies are indeed beginning to turn a bit as Allyn reported. Mike

[Cricket]

I was out on water also last Saturday. It was so nice in the morning when due to some sort of swimming competition going on, the ski boats weren't out in force until later morning. I limited out in 4 hrs . Hubby took a bit longer. Once those dang ski boats and jet ski's get on the water it makes it too rough to fish in a smaller boat. We have a blue aluminum smoker craft. I'm sure we saw you . We ended up coming home with 11 fish. Hubby gave up trying to get the last one when the boats were out in force. The largest one I caught was 17 ". All were caught on leaded line , three colors out with a Kestrel Kokabow and pop gear. Didn't have to use the downrigger. Glad you and your wife had fun

[Cricket]

I think I saw some of that. A bit like the Keystone Cops routine. Wife and I fishing out of a tan and green 16 foot Lowe, 50 HP Yamaha, down riggers and LONG poles.

I saw you and your wife.
Sadly I missed the whole fiasco in Allyn S boat. That would of made me laugh. I had my own moment last Saturday. I was putting the fish in the cooler which sits behind my seat near the bow. I went to pry the lid off the cooler when the fish slipped out of my hand, landed on the bow of the boat and in the water he went. I actually found myself leaning over the boat trying to grab it before he made his quick and lucky getaway. What are ya doing to do but laugh about it all right?

[JTM]

I was on the water at 8:00 am today and limited out and off by 11:00. 30-40 feet hot pink and orange worked for me.

[Sluggo]

Fished LP yesterday morning and caught 10 and had 7 shake off. For us, I am a little bit perplexed...we use a downrigger on one side of the boat and leaded line on the other. The leaded line has always outproduced the downrigger (15 to 2 yesterday) on every trip we take to LP. It seems that the DR should do better because we can be more precise in the depth. We basically used the same setup for both but the leaded line has ALWAYS produced much better at LP. I am just happy to catch fish but I am wondering why the downrigger does not get much action. Any thoughts or reasons this might be the case?

[clearwaterb]

Sluggo how many colors on the leaded line? My dad wants to go up this week and he is still old school with the leaded line. How deep were you fishing with the down rigger? My theory (not scientific just what I have noticed) is that 1 color of leaded line equals about 6 feet in depth. When I have 3 colors out, my downrigger is getting hit at 18 feet deep if that helps.

[kodiak1]

Sluggo,
Yes, that it weird. We almost always do better on the DR's. What is your dropback? I go about 30 feet when I am 20' or deeper. I drop back a lot more when I get closer to the surface (except when I am fishing for coho in the ocean; they seem to be attracted to the outboard). I seem to be at 15' with 3 colors. Have you tried switching terminal gear on the two, to see if that makes a difference? One other thought....if you are picking up the fish on turns it might be either that the lead is dropping deeper or because with more line out on the lead, it will be going slower for a much longer period of time on the turn. So, it could be either depth or speed. Hope you get it figured out. Mike

[Allyn S]

Sluggo your results are the exact opposite of mine in LP. I run two DR, one off each side, and a lead line out the back. We do a little better on the lead line in Arrowrock but at LP it gets a hit about 1/5 the rate the DR's do. On the flip side, the fish it does get tend to be a high % of bigger fish (both for Arrowrock and LP).

That is what I have never been able to figure out. Why the lead line is getting a high % of big fish while getting fewer fish overall? I thought it might be the further setback which might cause it to run across less fish that had been spooked by the boat passing over. However if spooked fish was an issue I would think it would be catching an equal # of big and average fish which it is not. I haven't been able to figure out why the lead line is catching less overall fish but a higher % of bigger fish. I have pretty much given up and am just going with it and enjoying the opportunities it provides me.

As an update, last weekend the fish had definetly gone deeper than previous weeks. I had been fishing 22' on one rod, 27' on the other, and 5 colors on the lead line (@25'). This weekend I dropped both DR's to around 32' to get consistent action (especially as the day wore on and the sun got higher in the sky). I can only fit 6 colors of leadline on my reel so I generally run 5 (the last color is my reserve on the reel) and as such it only gets to 25' or so. 4 of the 24 caught on Sat. and 0 of the 12 caught Sun. were on the lead line, well below average, figure it wasn't fishing deep enough.

[Mojo]

Fished LP yesterday morning and caught 10 and had 7 shake off. For us, I am a little bit perplexed...we use a downrigger on one side of the boat and leaded line on the other. The leaded line has always outproduced the downrigger (15 to 2 yesterday) on every trip we take to LP. It seems that the DR should do better because we can be more precise in the depth. We basically used the same setup for both but the leaded line has ALWAYS produced much better at LP. I am just happy to catch fish but I am wondering why the downrigger does not get much action. Any thoughts or reasons this might be the case?

How far back from the downrigger are you setting your baits? You misght let more line out to distance your rigs from the boat...just a thought. That way you can mark the fish, and adjust your rigger ball to the right depth by the time your gear get to the fish.

[JTM]

It has to be your setup, you need to go fishing with a good downrigger fisherman. I always out fish leaded line with my down riggers in fact I don't have any leaded line on my boat anymore. The fun of reeling in a fish without all the trolls to drag in is awesome, If not for riggers I would not be Kokanee fishing.

[Sluggo]

Clearwaterb...we were between 3-4 colors out with the leaded line and were using silver flashers with gold/red Kokabow lure. If each color equals 6 feet maybe we were fishing too deep with the down rigger. I had the down rigger set at 30-45 feet because that is the depth we were marking fish at.
Sluggo how many colors on the leaded line? My dad wants to go up this week and he is still old school with the leaded line. How deep were you fishing with the down rigger? My theory (not scientific just what I have noticed) is that 1 color of leaded line equals about 6 feet in depth. When I have 3 colors out, my downrigger is getting hit at 18 feet deep if that helps.

[Sluggo]

Kodiak...I am guessing my dropback with the DR is around 20 feet or so. We did try different setups on the down rigger and caught 1 using a Sling Blade and Hoochie and 1 using flashers and Kokabow lure which is what we were catching the fish with on the leaded line. Most of the fish were caught just going parallel to the shore. Thanks for the insights...I, too, hope I get it figured out so we can get off the water earlier!
Sluggo,
Yes, that it weird. We almost always do better on the DR's. What is your dropback? I go about 30 feet when I am 20' or deeper. I drop back a lot more when I get closer to the surface (except when I am fishing for coho in the ocean; they seem to be attracted to the outboard). I seem to be at 15' with 3 colors. Have you tried switching terminal gear on the two, to see if that makes a difference? One other thought....if you are picking up the fish on turns it might be either that the lead is dropping deeper or because with more line out on the lead, it will be going slower for a much longer period of time on the turn. So, it could be either depth or speed. Hope you get it figured out. Mike

[Sluggo]

JTM...Yes, I would love to go fishing with a good downrigger fisherman. I can always learn more. It is strange though because I have tried different setups on the down rigger (sling blades/dodgers with hoochies/squids/pee wees, flashers with wedding rings/kokabows, etc.) with the same results. Now at Anderson Ranch, we catch more fish using the down rigger than leaded line. It is very weird!
It has to be your setup, you need to go fishing with a good downrigger fisherman. I always out fish leaded line with my down riggers in fact I don't have any leaded line on my boat anymore. The fun of reeling in a fish without all the trolls to drag in is awesome, If not for riggers I would not be Kokanee fishing.

[Sluggo]

Thanks Mojo. I will try letting more line out next time I go.
How far back from the downrigger are you setting your baits? You misght let more line out to distance your rigs from the boat...just a thought. That way you can mark the fish, and adjust your rigger ball to the right depth by the time your gear get to the fish.

[Sluggo]

So strange! On Monday we caught 15 of the 17 with leaded line between 3-4 colors. We had the down rigger set at different depths between 25-45 feet and only caught 2. Very weird. Thanks for the information.
Sluggo your results are the exact opposite of mine in LP. I run two DR, one off each side, and a lead line out the back. We do a little better on the lead line in Arrowrock but at LP it gets a hit about 1/5 the rate the DR's do. On the flip side, the fish it does get tend to be a high % of bigger fish (both for Arrowrock and LP).

That is what I have never been able to figure out. Why the lead line is getting a high % of big fish while getting fewer fish overall? I thought it might be the further setback which might cause it to run across less fish that had been spooked by the boat passing over. However if spooked fish was an issue I would think it would be catching an equal # of big and average fish which it is not. I haven't been able to figure out why the lead line is catching less overall fish but a higher % of bigger fish. I have pretty much given up and am just going with it and enjoying the opportunities it provides me.

As an update, last weekend the fish had definetly gone deeper than previous weeks. I had been fishing 22' on one rod, 27' on the other, and 5 colors on the lead line (@25'). This weekend I dropped both DR's to around 32' to get consistent action (especially as the day wore on and the sun got higher in the sky). I can only fit 6 colors of leadline on my reel so I generally run 5 (the last color is my reserve on the reel) and as such it only gets to 25' or so. 4 of the 24 caught on Sat. and 0 of the 12 caught Sun. were on the lead line, well below average, figure it wasn't fishing deep enough.

[kodiak1]

Grabbed two quick limits this AM. Fished it from 7-9:30. 20 and 27 on the cable. Dragged a lead core at three and four colors all morning w/o a single bite. Go figure. Jack Lloyds and wedding rings. The green and red beaded wr with the wings on it has outfished the other wr's all season for us. Still nice and bright. Mike

[Budreaux]

Got on the water at 8:00 AM (had meant to get there earlier) and caught one at 8:15 AM, a few hundred yards towards the nursery from the eastern ramp. Using a pinkish hootchie at 25 ft. Had a few strikes over the next hour but no hook-ups. Switched to a red/orange kokabow on one of the lines and dropped both lines down to 35 ft. Caught 3 over the next hour (with a couple more no hook-up strikes). This was while trolling off the eastern shoreline around the point and towards the LP dam. Thirty minutes (or so) later, I had a double...and lost both of them. Broke my spirit, I reckon, cause I gave up and headed in. All four fish in the boat were 13 to 13.5 inches. As far as I could tell, that was about the size everybody else was catching.
I was pretty lucky to get any in the boat...I haven't yet figured out the knack of getting the tension set correctly on my downrigger line release clamps. Only once did the fish actually strike hard enough to release the line; on another occasion, I was able to jerk the line free (without losing the fish). On a couple of occasions, I had to crank the ball up to the boat and manually pull the line free of the clamp. Uff Dah!
Of course I would have preferred all 17 - 18 inch fish, but at almost any size, Kokanees are pretty fish. These four added to what's in the freezer will make a smoker full. Can't beat it.
Bud

[JTM]

Got on the water at 8:00 AM (had meant to get there earlier) and caught one at 8:15 AM, a few hundred yards towards the nursery from the eastern ramp. Using a pinkish hootchie at 25 ft. Had a few strikes over the next hour but no hook-ups. Switched to a red/orange kokabow on one of the lines and dropped both lines down to 35 ft. Caught 3 over the next hour (with a couple more no hook-up strikes). This was while trolling off the eastern shoreline around the point and towards the LP dam. Thirty minutes (or so) later, I had a double...and lost both of them. Broke my spirit, I reckon, cause I gave up and headed in. All four fish in the boat were 13 to 13.5 inches. As far as I could tell, that was about the size everybody else was catching.
I was pretty lucky to get any in the boat...I haven't yet figured out the knack of getting the tension set correctly on my downrigger line release clamps. Only once did the fish actually strike hard enough to release the line; on another occasion, I was able to jerk the line free (without losing the fish). On a couple of occasions, I had to crank the ball up to the boat and manually pull the line free of the clamp. Uff Dah!
Of course I would have preferred all 17 - 18 inch fish, but at almost any size, Kokanees are pretty fish. These four added to what's in the freezer will make a smoker full. Can't beat it.
Bud

Try the chamberlain release.

[Budreaux]

Try the chamberlain release.

Hi, JTM. Thanks for the tip about the Chamberlain Release. I looked it up online and it seems to be pretty slick. Seems a bit spendy, but if it works as well as the ads say it will, very much worth it! Thanks again!
Bud

[Budreaux]

So does anyone know if there's a store in town (or nearby) that carry the Chamberlain Release Clip? I can't wait to give it a try!
Bud

[JTM]

So does anyone know if there's a store in town (or nearby) that carry the Chamberlain Release Clip? I can't wait to give it a try!
Bud

I bought mine online from Amazon, I got the stacker 101 that way you can run your flashers right on the weight and run your dodger and lure about a foot and 1/2 higher on the cable. The most adjustment you have to do is for your rod release, the fish release part is your preference. You will love these there is no dragging a fish after accidently setting the pinch pad to tight, I will never fish pinch pads again!!! Also when your rod pop's up there is no guessing it is a fish!!!!!!!

[Cricket]

Sluggo,

Like you we always do better on leaded line vs the downrigger. I actually like fishing with leaded line just as much as the downrigger. The depth your leaded line drops is in sync with the speed you are trolling. Typically it drops 5 ft if you are trolling around 1.2 mph. The faster you go the less deep it drops. We went out on Saturday the 27th and limited out. Overcast and the boats weren't too bad. Perfect fishing day. Most of the fish were caught on leaded line. Three colors out with the Kokabow Kingfisher, Falcon, and Kestrel.

[sawtooth]

So does anyone know if there's a store in town (or nearby) that carry the Chamberlain Release Clip? I can't wait to give it a try!
Bud

Go to Kokaneetackle.com and they will get one out to you in a hurry. Great people and they are a sponsor of this site.

[Budreaux]

Hi JTM, The Chamberlains sound great...I've ordered two of them, directly from downriggerrelease.com. I expect I'll get a couple of the stackers, as well, but primarily to allow me to fish two lines from the same downrigger. (When I have a second fisher in the boat.) Thanks again!
Bud

[kok-head]

fished right by arrowrock dam on 7/27/13 from about 7pm - 8pm, had 2 rods out long lining the surface with small sling blade dodgers, one rod had a small white flatfish and the other had a 1.5in pink crappie tube, lost one rainbow at the boat on the flatfish and boated and released 2 small rainbows and 2 kokanee on the crappie tube, one kokanee was 13" and the other was 15", with the 74 degree surface water temp I was pretty surprised about boating the kokanee, anyone else finding them so shallow right now?

[Allyn S]

Haven't tried on the surface at Lucky Peak but caught quite a few Sat. on the surface at Anderson. Water temp was 74.

Only fished on the surface because my son got a hit letting back the lead line while it was still on the mono leader. The osprey were hammering them on top so figured we would give it a try. Didn't get more bites than we did at 20' on the DR, but got enough that we left it there for awhile.

[Allyn S]

Fished Lucky Peak Sun. after going to Anderson Fri. evening and Sat. morning. See the Anderson thread for the self abuse report from there.

Fished for 3 1/2 hours Sun. at Lucky Peak to boat a 3 person limit. All the fish were still pretty bright and in the 12"-14" range.

That got me to thinking as we didn't get any of the "big" ones in the two size classes we seemed to have this year in Lucky Peak. Since I started fishing this year there has seemed to be two different sizes, the "big" ones that were 15-17" and the smaller bunch was in the 11-13" range. A couple weeks ago I noticed that the bigger ones had the first little hues of pink starting to show up and said so here. Didn't think much of it that the smaller ones were more silver as it was still early for all that. During the first part of July we were averaging about 25% were the "big" strain and 75% were the smaller ones. Last week that percentage started to drop to about 1 in 6 were the "big" fish, I also started to notice there were a few boats fishing (and staying) in the Mores Creek arm. This week we caught 0% of the "big" fish and more boats were fishing Mores Creek. This has all gotten me to thinking and I am wondering if there were not 2 races of Lucky Peak kokes showing up this year. The "big" fish were naturally reproduced fish from the ones that go up Mores/Grimes Creek and spawn and they smaller ones were the stocked hatchery fish that have different genetics and are probably gonna spawn in the reservoir. If this was the case that might explain why the bigger ones turned sooner and seemed to have left the main pool near spring shores and the smaller strain is still there and still pretty bright.

I drive up Mores Crk. everyday so I will be able to check, if they are 15-17" and show up in the creek in a week or two and we are still catching the "bright" 13" fish in the reservoir there might be something to it. Anyways, I thought I would throw it out there and see what you guys think. Might just be the result of my sun addled brain baking at Anderson the day before. Gotta think about something in between bites.

[avid_outdoorsman]

Allyn,

The logic seems to make sense. Certainly seems plausible. I think you need to go fish some more to test your hypothesis out.......in the name of science of course :)

~AO

[kodiak1]

I have noticed the very same thing. Also, every fish we caught the last two trips were males. Gotta wonder why? I haven't ever heard of the genders separating, like you see with warm water fish. Mike

[kok-head]

Fished Lucky Peak Sun. after going to Anderson Fri. evening and Sat. morning. See the Anderson thread for the self abuse report from there.

Fished for 3 1/2 hours Sun. at Lucky Peak to boat a 3 person limit. All the fish were still pretty bright and in the 12"-14" range.

That got me to thinking as we didn't get any of the "big" ones in the two size classes we seemed to have this year in Lucky Peak. Since I started fishing this year there has seemed to be two different sizes, the "big" ones that were 15-17" and the smaller bunch was in the 11-13" range. A couple weeks ago I noticed that the bigger ones had the first little hues of pink starting to show up and said so here. Didn't think much of it that the smaller ones were more silver as it was still early for all that. During the first part of July we were averaging about 25% were the "big" strain and 75% were the smaller ones. Last week that percentage started to drop to about 1 in 6 were the "big" fish, I also started to notice there were a few boats fishing (and staying) in the Mores Creek arm. This week we caught 0% of the "big" fish and more boats were fishing Mores Creek. This has all gotten me to thinking and I am wondering if there were not 2 races of Lucky Peak kokes showing up this year. The "big" fish were naturally reproduced fish from the ones that go up Mores/Grimes Creek and spawn and they smaller ones were the stocked hatchery fish that have different genetics and are probably gonna spawn in the reservoir. If this was the case that might explain why the bigger ones turned sooner and seemed to have left the main pool near spring shores and the smaller strain is still there and still pretty bright.

I drive up Mores Crk. everyday so I will be able to check, if they are 15-17" and show up in the creek in a week or two and we are still catching the "bright" 13" fish in the reservoir there might be something to it. Anyways, I thought I would throw it out there and see what you guys think. Might just be the result of my sun addled brain baking at Anderson the day before. Gotta think about something in between bites.


your explanation makes sense, the 2 that we boated were nice and bright and are either later spawners or are going to be next years spawners

[sawtooth]

My understanding is that the 11-13 inch fish are next years mature kokes. Earlier this year almost all of my catch were 15-18 inch fish from Lucky Peak. Now those fish are few and far between. In my experience, this immature class of fish does not become aggressive towards our lures until midsummer the year before they spawn. Kokanee are plankton feeders and hit our lures more out of aggression then as a food source. It could be that we have a large number of "jack" this year and they will try to spawn before they are mature. Not sure if kokanee have a tendency to try to spawn early, but several other salmon species are known to do so.

[Allyn S]

That is what I originally thought as well Sawtooth but looking at the eggs and milt they are pretty much at the same stage of development for the two different size classes. It has been my experience that next years spawners have only tiny milt and egg pockets that are not very developed. That isn't the case in the "small" race I have been getting so far this year. That is what made me start to wonder if there was something else going on because they were such different size but the eggs and milt showed them to be this years spawners.

I didn't start fishing this year till the 4th of July so didn't get to see the early bite you described. Like I said it is just an idea, might be nothing to it but gives us something to talk about besides the normal "went out fished 25' deep, caught kokanee" we have been kicking around here lately.

[sawtooth]

Allyn,
I will have to spend a little more time next time at the cleaning table and check out those little ones. I wonder if water depth or location spent in the lake during certain times of the year may have stunted this years fish (higher concentrations with less food), or the larger fish are a few that spawned one year later. Kind of like a B run steelhead. Lucky Peak doesn't usually have many successful wild spawners, but if I remember correctly we had a pretty late spring and cooler summer a few years back and that would help with wild fry making it back to the lake from Mores Creek. Early and warm summers makes Mores creek water often too hot for good fry retention according to a fish biologist I talked with last year.

[kok-head]

That is what I originally thought as well Sawtooth but looking at the eggs and milt they are pretty much at the same stage of development for the two different size classes. It has been my experience that next years spawners have only tiny milt and egg pockets that are not very developed. That isn't the case in the "small" race I have been getting so far this year. That is what made me start to wonder if there was something else going on because they were such different size but the eggs and milt showed them to be this years spawners.

I didn't start fishing this year till the 4th of July so didn't get to see the early bite you described. Like I said it is just an idea, might be nothing to it but gives us something to talk about besides the normal "went out fished 25' deep, caught kokanee" we have been kicking around here lately.

I boated lots of kokanee in november 2012 (11-13" range) and the egg sacs were well developed and no doubt they were next year's spawners, fish and game would settle the debate for sure about 2 different plants/categories of kokanee (or about a more natural populaiton mixed in with lots of planters) but I'm thinking sawtooth is correct and its a "this year vs. next year" fish situation and now we are all boating mostly next year's spawners, I've talked with fish and game before in 2010 and 2011 and they say its difficult to tell about LP being natuarally repopulated but they said it is very unlikely especially in the last 4 or 5 yrs

[Pzak]

I have seen the exact pattern Kok-head has. I can also second that Kokanee within LP has minimal natural reproduction. After speaking with F&G, I know that eggs from fish that have been trapped from the weir at Deadwood have been used to stock LP. This spring my son caught a kok over 19" from LP. That fish simply looked like a different species from the others. We had a good day and mixed in a couple of the 17" fish as well as a few 13-14" that we are all catching now. On the way out, we stopped at a check station and had the chance to get the fish measured and speak with a biologist. He asked if he could take the ear bones out of that fish and told me that he doubted it was a 3 year old "carry over" fish like I figured. He had no solid explanation I can remember as to the differences in the fish that he said were all two year old fish. I don't know what the answer is, but it does seem like there are two different strains of genes in the lake even after being told they all come from the same place.

[BorntoFish01]

Out on the water at 0730 Spring Shores area. Already about 5-6 boats working the deep water in front. In time boats pretty much switched to working the point and down towards the dam. Fishing was slow from what we saw and experienced. Off the water by noon with seven 13-inchers [4 male, 3 female]. All were this year's spawners with well developed skeens and milt sacs. Females nice bright silver, males with slight blush. All caught on DR's pretty much at 25ft depth. Used a variety of standard gear with nothing proving particularly hot except DR vs. lead core. Spoke to two other boats at ramp when we came in. One boat had 5, the other 7. Slow but nice morning to be on the water and no water maggots to deal with.

[salmonster]

This has been the story of 2013 for us. We have put been releasing the 13" and keeping the 15-18" all year. One day the week after the 4th of July we released over 100 of the 13s trying to get to 2 limits of the bigger fish, We gave up after 10 nice ones and went home with 2 of the smaller to complete our limit. I was also thinking that the smaller fish were next year's fish, but based on the information posted here, it does not sound like it. We do seem to be more likely to catch the bigger fish deeper- often over 40 feet. Several of the largest koks we have ever caught in LP have been this year, but there a higher percntage of the smaller fish than any year since I learned how to do this (thank you Tut).

[mrgene]

Went to LP friday ,got on water at 7:30 along with 5-6 other boats. Nothing doing till 10:15, then picked up 2 in 5 minutes.Double header at 11:30, 3 of them 15", 1 slightly smaller. Lost 3 in between. Not going to be good fishing weekend as a LARGE" boogie board" group setting up for a few weekend event. Lake like an ocean at 12:30. Saw the 12 other boats pick up a few around 10:00. Fish still at 20-30'.

[kok-head]

fished 8/4/13 from 7 - 8pm, worked hard for several hits and then finally landed and released 2 males that will spawn this year, 13" and 14", about 15ft deep with a small dodger and the same 1.5" pink crappie tube which is the only thing I can get to consistently produce this yr, talked to another boat that worked hard all day for 2 limits and they did get into some 16" fish

I'm getting excited for the lake drawn down and for all those fat bright 14" next year's spawners to fill the smoker with, the kokanee sure are easy to locate with less water in lucky peak

[AlumaChris]

Nobody has posted in over a month. Is the kokanee fishing over for the year? I was thinking about giving it a try in the next few weeks. This is my first year with a boat and I am still getting things set up. Should have my downriggers attached in the next week. Hope I am not too late!!

[Physion]

I got 6 on Wednesday and 4 yesterday. It was slow both days for me. I'm wondering if most of them have moved towards the lower end.

[bayhorse]

I went out sat with my son to try a new to us boat, spent most of the day playing and swimming. Although we did troll for about 2 hrs, hooked 3 landed 2without the net that dad forgot! They where at 15-20 ft. We used copper pink splash 4/0 Vance dodger with a glow orange crappie tube double hooks and shoe peg corn. One was caught on our top producer of the year a chrome 4/0 lure Jensen dodger with a silver wedding ring cherry bomb red double hooks and shoe peg corn.
Thanks to all who have posted it has helped us have a great year!
Buy the way the fish were twin 13 inches bright and fat. They will be great Sunday dinner on the grill.

[kok-head]

fished 9/20/13, started at first light up mores creek with floating rapalas and super dupers on long lines and found a lot of cooperative rainbows, also got into some perch which I've heard of being in LP but have never landed any

landed quite a few pikeminnows up mores creek, the gulls that followed us all morning ate well

fished spring shores for a few hrs and caught kokanee and rainbows similar to the ones in the photos, most of the fish we caught were between 11"-15", we landed a bunch and lost a bunch, didn't hook anything deeper than 25' and most of the kokanee were caught in less than 10' of water, any 1.5"-2.5" crappie tube or squid behind dodgers caught fish

spring shores still has a dock in the water, we only saw a few other boats and they didn't appear to be catching

we had non-stop action all day, if any of you were up there today I hope you brought home full limits

6688

[Physion]

Most of the kokanee were in shallow, 10' of water? Interesting, and a bit unusual. How was the wind? The forecast kept me home yesterday. Thanks for the report. Maybe next week for me.

[mrgene]

Most of the kokanee were in shallow, 10' of water? Interesting, and a bit unusual. How was the wind? The forecast kept me home yesterday. Thanks for the report. Maybe next week for me.

I have seen this before when kokanee fishing in Canada. I think they are feeding because they seem to hit anything.

[kok-head]

Most of the kokanee were in shallow, 10' of water? Interesting, and a bit unusual. How was the wind? The forecast kept me home yesterday. Thanks for the report. Maybe next week for me.

surprisingly the wind wasn't bad, the 15 - 20mph winds that I expected never hit LP when we were on the water

this year I've been dragging buckets from my front cleats to both slow me down in a tail wind and make the cross winds more manageable and it helps quite a bit

it was quite strange regarding the depth of the cooperative salmon, only landed a few below the 10' depth and they were 10-11" fish, the surface water temps we were finding varied

we found a few pockets of water at spring shores with water temps as low as 60 degrees and others were as high as 68 degrees, it took us about 2 hrs to figure out the kokanee and the rainbows kept us busy during that time, as soon as our lures would get near those cooler water areas the rods would start bouncing so we just kept following the cooler water as it drifted and that kept us in the kokanee

[conservationist]

So what's happening at LP? Now that all the jet ski's and ski boats are probably gone, has the Koke fishing picked up?

[kok-head]

So what's happening at LP? Now that all the jet ski's and ski boats are probably gone, has the Koke fishing picked up?

fishing was great when i went on 9/20/13 and it should keep getting better with the water cooling, i'd get up there as soon as you can, i'm really surprised no one on KFF is posting right now, everyone is probably busy hunting

if you decide to go try starting at first light trolling the surface with some spoons or floating rapalas tipped with a maggott or a piece of worm, i always start that way and get some good rainbows doing it, some people can get the kokanee to bite at first light but not me so for the first hr or two i always chase the rainbows before switching to kokanee tactics

[conservationist]

Thanks Kok-head. Not a fan of rainbows (spoiled on smoked Kokes!) so maybe I'll just sleep in an extra hour!

[mrgene]

kok-head,
where do you find maggots at in the boise-nampa area?
gene

[BorntoFish01]

Gulp or Powerbait maggots - can't remember the brand off hand. I find the "natural" color productive but they also have them in chartreuse and a shade of red. Put a couple on each hook.

[kok-head]

kok-head,
where do you find maggots at in the boise-nampa area?
gene

i do use the Berkley brand gulp maggots in natural color

i think people would be fine putting almost any traditional fishing scent/color of bait on the hook though, I’ve experimented with just about everything you could put on a hook for kokanee and rainbows and i find that plain left over table corn works great for kokanee (and that way I don’t need to fuss with trying to find shoe peg corn and all of the different scents that now exist) and anything with the scent of a mealworm-night crawler-maggot works well for rainbows

when I go fishing I can usually have a fish netted every 20min or so which is slow production for a lot of the folks on KFF but I’m pleased with it, and who has time for catching all of those fish when you have delicious beverages to grab and open, changing songs on the ipod, watching other boats get really close to see what you’re using and trying to stay clear of them, looking for mule deer bucks on the hillside, etc…

[AlumaChris]

Heading up to LP in the morning. The internet says Spring Shores Main ramp is still in the water. Anybody have any thoughts? Is Spring Shores ok to launch or should we head to Turner Gulch? Thanks for the info.

[sawtooth]

AlumaChris,
I drove by the ramp last week and it was still good to go. According to the Department of Interior website you should have 35 feet of ramp to work with. If I didn't have take my son out to site in his rifle for elk season tomorrow I would be out there as well. Should be a nice day and next years spawners should be active. Let us know how you do and welcome to the site.

[kodiak1]

Was up there yesterday. Spring Shores is the only option. Great for launching. The dam is closed due to our friends in Congress! Mike P.S. The bank fishermen were doing much better than the boaters! (for trout)

[kok-head]

fished for a few hrs on 10/5/13, launched at spring shores around 2:30pm, there's still a dock in the water and plenty of good ramp to launch a big boat

saw about 7 other boats fishing, talked to a few guys on the water that got skunked, they were using a variety of rapalas and spinners and i told them to grab some dodgers and squids for their next outing

talked to 2 boats heading back down from arrowrock, 1 boat had 1 kokanee and the other boat was skunked

fished the first big pool towards lucky peak dam but marked schools everywhere

we stayed pretty busy with near nonstop bites, less than half of the bites resulted in hooked fish and we lost many of them, used the same lures / tactics I always do, fish were all 0 to 15' and speeds were between 1.5 - 2mph

these were some of the fish I reeled in, we had 3 people in the boat fishing and ended up with a few limits of kokanee and rainbows, they were all between 12 - 14"

water temps averaged 62 degrees, in a few weeks all those nice 14" next year fish will be right on top and up for grabs tooexcited


http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/kokaneekiller1/media/DSCN2696_zps8f89bbec.jpg.html

[bayhorse]

Thanks for the report! Did you use your downrigger

[kok-head]

Thanks for the report! Did you use your downrigger

nope, 100' long lines on all rods and the majority of the hooked fish were on 1oz of lead or less, any color squid / crappie tube 8 or 9" behind small small dodgers

[kodiak1]

When we felt the cold this A.M., we opted out of our Cascade trip and chose LP instead. It was beautiful today with calm water and abundant sunshine, and....best of all.....eager kokes and trout. Steady bites all day; we rarely went more than ten minutes w/o action. Boating them was a bit more difficult, but eventually limited out. 3 on the lead, and 11 and 15 on the cable. Kok-head, thanks for the locale info. We owe you!! Mike

[kok-head]

When we felt the cold this A.M., we opted out of our Cascade trip and chose LP instead. It was beautiful today with calm water and abundant sunshine, and....best of all.....eager kokes and trout. Steady bites all day; we rarely went more than ten minutes w/o action. Boating them was a bit more difficult, but eventually limited out. 3 on the lead, and 11 and 15 on the cable. Kok-head, thanks for the locale info. We owe you!! Mike

glad you found them, the last few times out that's where big schools have been feeding, i have buddies that swear by fishing right in front of the spring shores and turner gulch launches and they stunk up the place the whole weekend, i marked small schools down by the dam but huge schools in the channels above and below and right in that big pool but no one was fishing it for some reason

any size to the trout? i can usually get some decent trout (15-20" range) to cooperate in the early morning but i haven't hooked into any rainbows bigger than 15" this year and i'm wondering if it's just me or if other people are also only getting the smaller rainbows

[kodiak1]

Caught a lot of trout today, esp. compared to earlier in th season. They were all larger than planter size, but nothing bigger than 13". I have been trying the spot we are talking about lately, because my theory is that they slowly migrate towards the dam in the fall, and reverse it in the spring. And I don't exactly know what triggers the move to under Arrowrock at times? Go figure. One thing about koke fishing.....you have to figure it out each and every time!!

[kok-head]

Caught a lot of trout today, esp. compared to earlier in th season. They were all larger than planter size, but nothing bigger than 13". I have been trying the spot we are talking about lately, because my theory is that they slowly migrate towards the dam in the fall, and reverse it in the spring. And I don't exactly know what triggers the move to under Arrowrock at times? Go figure. One thing about koke fishing.....you have to figure it out each and every time!!

i agree, there have been times as early as April and as late as October where i have caught kokanee at: lucky peak dam, the marina and arrowrock dam all within a few days of fishing

they are tough to figure out sometimes, luckily the lake is full of younger fish and odds are good one will usually stumble across a school or 2 each fishing trip, and in between kokanee schools the trout will keep the lines tight

[kodiak1]

Fished LP yesterday, and we had to work for them compared to a few days ago. Managed 6, and lost so many it is too embarrassing to get into the details!! Mike

[kok-head]

last time i went out i know i lost at least 20 fish, even with slow action ultralight rods and razor sharp hooks its still not enough many times and those kokanee find a way to pull the hooks out, they fight so hard i swear i have an 18" fish on until i get it to the boat and it only measures 11-13"

how'd the launch at spring shores look? is the center dock still in the water?

[kodiak1]

Launch is great. Res. continues to drop. Found most fish in the area you mentioned, north of island now out of water. Mike

[kok-head]

thanks for the info, i will head up Saturday if i can clear my schedule and if i go i will post the results

[mrgene]

Launch is great. Res. continues to drop. Found most fish in the area you mentioned, north of island now out of water. Mike

Mike,
How far from the marina launch is this island? I have never been on the lake this low before. Hope to go Saturday too.

[kodiak1]

Just head down the narrows towards the dam, and you will come to a wide area with many short docks and shelters. Where it begins to narrow again, you will see a large sandstone "finger" with buoys on top. This is what I was referring to. Mike

[kok-head]

fished on 10/19/13, ended up fishing all day and went home with several limits of koanee and rainbows, all were 13 - 15", fished spring shores and downstream to the bottom of the narrows, most of the fish were caught between 10 and 15' deep and nearly every kokanee was taken between 1.5 - 2mph, caught fish on spinners and flashers and also on crappie tubes behind dodgers


http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/kokaneekiller1/media/DSCN2704_zps2ede38a2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

[kodiak1]

Way to hammer 'em. Mike

[MasterCaster]

Hey all, new to the board!
Just moved back from 7 yrs in Florida. Although I lived within 10min of LP from 01-05, never fished LP except once at Arrowrock from shore with nary a nibble.
Found your thread surfing, and was very happy to find it! Managed to get out with Stepson last week and although new to the Lake, did pretty well I think for fishing "blind". We caught 4 Kokes and one RB in 3.5 hrs, all with my usual spring (Lake Rufus Woods) setup- UL rods, NO weight, 4" flasher and tried gulp maggots which made a difference as my stepson wasn't using them (they stink) and I had 3 boated with not one strike for him!
Rainbow was 13" and all Kokes were 14-17" and FAT! They are my favorite fish- period. Used to catch 24-26" up at Rufus woods.
Question- Do you folks get them that big at LP, and when is the fall "hot time"? Also, how late do you catch them in the fall?
I have to go to Seattle this week to help Mom winterize, wish I could be fishing. Hope I don't miss the good fishing before they stop or ice forms.
Thanks for any help regarding timing.
If you see me up there, I am in a 1900 Nautic Bay Center Console with 140 Johnson (Suzuki) on back. Console face just above bait well has decal that says "Fear The Spear" with spear fisherman. I'll post some pics from my PC (ipad won't allow pic uploads). Blue Sides and white. Wave hello if you see me up there!
Thanks again, this is a great thread to have stumbled upon.
Also, I am basically retired and would be happy to take fellow fisherman with me. All I ask is either help with gas or pay launch fee. Very comfortable fishing boat, 4 very comfortably and 2 perfect. 8 1/2' wide makes for very stable, comfortable fishing and Center Consoles are as roomy as they get. Need to find some fishing buddies that are local. Will also be hitting the Spring crappies at Brownlee if anyone is interested in that. Have some great spring spots, lots of "plate'ers" and biggest last time out was 18 1/2"...
Tight Lines!

[kodiak1]

Welcome to the site! Summer produces some in the 18" +- range. If you are looking for bigger salmonoids, they have planted Chinook in Anderson Ranch, and I intend to figure that fishery out this summer. Will try to duplicate the methods used in Coeur d'Alene as a starter. Mike

[downriggeral]

Welcome MasterCaster Hmm Rufus Woods Kokes? Never fished them there. Any tips on the subject appreciated. Thanks Alan

[kok-head]

Hey all, new to the board!
Just moved back from 7 yrs in Florida. Although I lived within 10min of LP from 01-05, never fished LP except once at Arrowrock from shore with nary a nibble.
Found your thread surfing, and was very happy to find it! Managed to get out with Stepson last week and although new to the Lake, did pretty well I think for fishing "blind". We caught 4 Kokes and one RB in 3.5 hrs, all with my usual spring (Lake Rufus Woods) setup- UL rods, NO weight, 4" flasher and tried gulp maggots which made a difference as my stepson wasn't using them (they stink) and I had 3 boated with not one strike for him!
Rainbow was 13" and all Kokes were 14-17" and FAT! They are my favorite fish- period. Used to catch 24-26" up at Rufus woods.
Question- Do you folks get them that big at LP, and when is the fall "hot time"? Also, how late do you catch them in the fall?
I have to go to Seattle this week to help Mom winterize, wish I could be fishing. Hope I don't miss the good fishing before they stop or ice forms.
Thanks for any help regarding timing.
If you see me up there, I am in a 1900 Nautic Bay Center Console with 140 Johnson (Suzuki) on back. Console face just above bait well has decal that says "Fear The Spear" with spear fisherman. I'll post some pics from my PC (ipad won't allow pic uploads). Blue Sides and white. Wave hello if you see me up there!
Thanks again, this is a great thread to have stumbled upon.
Also, I am basically retired and would be happy to take fellow fisherman with me. All I ask is either help with gas or pay launch fee. Very comfortable fishing boat, 4 very comfortably and 2 perfect. 8 1/2' wide makes for very stable, comfortable fishing and Center Consoles are as roomy as they get. Need to find some fishing buddies that are local. Will also be hitting the Spring crappies at Brownlee if anyone is interested in that. Have some great spring spots, lots of "plate'ers" and biggest last time out was 18 1/2"...
Tight Lines!

glad you found some fish, i've fished for them as late as the end of November and a few other guys on kff have as well, for fall kokanee fishing i find that just about the entire month of October is very good

[sturgeon8r]

went up today from 10:30 am until around 2 pm. caught all our fish from 10:30 to noon. hooked 7 and boated 3 kokes. All fish were caught in less then 20 feet of water. we found a school and just kept going back and forth through it. found them close to the bank also. it was a blast........ :)

[sawtooth]

Quite a few fishing boats out on Lucky Peak today, as well as, a few wake boarders (bit crazy with 56 degree surface temps). Like sturgeon8r said in the post above, the fish are near the surface. Downriggers were not necessary, but I used one to get my line down 10 feet. Other rod had just enough weight to keep the sling blade and spinner below the surface. Took my daughter out for a couple of hours during mid afternoon. Caught six kokes and two trout and released all but the two largest 14 inch kokes. Could be the last weekend with this kind of weather. Absolutely beautiful day.

[sturgeon8r]

Second day in a row at LP. WINDY!!!!!!!!!! to say the least. Boat 4 more fish. Found schools and just worked them the best we could in the WIND!!!!!!!! Did I say it was windy? All fiah in about 15 foot water. DR'S worked well. We fished out by the marina and did the best. We lost maybe 6 other fish. I turned my corn pink (roe mix)and Anise Scent. worked better then yesterday :)

[kok-head]

launched at spring shores and fished for about 3 hrs on 10/27/13, everything caught at less than 15ft, fished the big pool i've focused on the last few wks and could not get the kokanee to the boat so i headed downstream and finally found kokanee that would stay on the hooks long enough to jump into the net, kept the fish in the attached hyperlink below and released 7 more around the same size

had an interesting (and mostly positive) experience dealing with fish and game, they pulled me over after not stopping at the check station

me and the family had a good sing-along going on the way home and i glanced at the sign near mores creek and only noticed the word "hunting" and the massive scale for weighing big game and didn't think anything of it until i saw a ford truck with a small flashing blue light on top, pretty funny, they did look a bit disappointed when shown current fishing licenses and legal fish limits as i'm sure they were expecting some law breakers, they shuffled some fish around in the cooler and sent me off with a warning, everything went well and the fish didn't appear too dirty afterwards 101ok101



http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/kokaneekiller1/media/DSCN2706_zps56e32096.jpg.html

[sturgeon8r]

Fished today from about 10:30 to 2 pm. hooked and lost my first 3 fish. landed 5 kokes by noon. then all of a sudden the trout bite started? landed 5 of them. landed my last koke around 2 pm and cam e home :) Smoker will be busy again tomorrow
Fish in 10-15 foot water.

[sturgeon8r]

Kind of slow today. only caught 1 limit. nice fish. landed just as many trout. lost many many fish. wind laid down and the sun came out. VERY nice fish still in about 10-15 feet water. fish seem to be along bank in the morning then move out to the middle more in the afternoon.