2013-2016 Idaho Kokanee Fishing Reports Quick Links

[AlumaChris]

Thanks galaxy - I tried green dodgers/hoochies and various flasher/wedding ring combos. Don't know why I didn't try pink dodger/hoochie. I have had good luck with it in the past. Used Fire Corn with extra krill. Had some anise on the boat and didn't try it either. Guess I didn't quite try "everything". Thanks for the reply. Never been to Anderson before. Really nice lake. Definitely going back.

[galaxy51]

Chris, try Slingblade dodgers, but get the ones that are UV. The UV ones are a couple bucks more but seem to work much better. I am going to try the Glow series too. I just bought one of each in the medium size and am hoping for the best!! Maybe size matters?

[kodiak1]

Ditto that on the UV Sling Blades. Can't beat 'em! They look so good I've even caught an osprey on one! Couple that with a UV pink hoochie and you can't do any better. Galaxy, I am assuming you are fishing by the dam? Wondering if you've caught any Chinook. Of course, they might be hard to tell from a rainbow. Mike

[Rush Rock]

Looking forward to the traffic dropping off this fall! :) My question for now is what are the huge fish pings I am getting at 80-100ft near the goose neck? and if fish are they catchable?

[MackayGuy]

My question for now is what are the huge fish pings I am getting at 80-100ft near the goose neck? and if fish are they catchable?

What you're seeing is not huge fish, but jet skis that wandered into someone's secret fishing spot.

[kodiak1]

That's good, MackayGuy!! I'm guessing you are looking at northern pikeminnows. What puzzles me is the large groups of fish on the lower end of the narrows, often by cliffs, that are in 150 or greater. Mike

[Rush Rock]

So while we are waiting for Lucky Peak to clear out and cool down I wonder if Arrow Rock is close to turning back on, has anyone been up to Arrow Rock lately? I had a BALL early season until the water started the big drop but have not been up since. I would love to get back there and get more of the big Kok's we were catching earlier to get me some nice winter meals! :).

[mrgene]

Rush Rock
The big koks you caught early are probably in the creeks getting ready to spawn.The koks biting now are next years spawners. The water in Lucky Peak comes out of the bottom of Arrowrock so I would think it is just as cloudy as LP. Just have to wait for next years "crop" of bigger ones.

[Rush Rock]

Going to LP tomorrow afternoon. Not sure of our chances but worse case is friends and a few beers! :) best chances? spring shores to AR dam or Goose Neck to nursery? I will be in my fishing machine (bought new btw from miller marina!) 1973 Fiber form tri-hull blue and white 20'. 140 hp merc outboard with 7.5 Ev. kicker, so troll by and say hi. I will post my report....any advise for this time of year to improve chances?

[inthedirtagain]

New to the forum and new to fishing LP/AR. Been in the area for about 8yrs and will be trying out my luck with a new boat. I grew up trolling in my grandfather's 1969 Silverline DeVille (16ft/100hp Merc OB), and it has now passed hands down to me! Grandpa had a 15hp troller on it, but I prefer electric. So, I sold the little Evinrude and put on a 28lb MinnKota. Trolled Lake Lowell with it on Wednesday, but only managed one bite. Hope to get out again in the next couple of weeks.

One question......I see many folks on here talking about what pop gear and such they are using. Where can I find a reference to these items? I have no idea what any of this stuff is because I used whatever my grandparents put in my hands at the time. Thanks!

[galaxy51]

This should enlighten you.
http://www.fishexplorer.com/co/fxrforum.asp?action=det&pid=67248
If the link doesn't work for you just put pop gear fishing on a Yahoo search.
You realize of course, that you are probably in the incubation stage of "Kokanosis" and pop gear alone will just barely have an effect on you!!!
Good luck.

[inthedirtagain]

thanks for the link

[mrgene]

With the water cloudy like it is now, the Jack Lloyd would be a huge advantage.
They are still made in Renton Wa. & I have an inquiry in to one of their distributors for local retailers. I will post it when I get it. ;)

[kodiak1]

I fish almost exclusively with a Jack Lloyd 2-blade unless I'm using a Sling Blade. Turner's on State Street carries Jack Lloyds. Mike

[Rush Rock]

I know this is the LP thread but here is what I posted in the Anderson Ranch thread as a way to share an update: The water up there is super clear and still lots of water.

Anderson Ranch fished 9-6 and 9-7. Streams are red with the senior Kokes doing their thing. caught a bunch of the 10-13"ers and had a blast in the nice weather ....we found if we could see the dam we were good but it was slower the closer you get to the dam....so we just kept it in sight in the distance. pink hoochies were best with corn/anis. however we were even catching them on floating rapalas too (go figure). early early early fishing....as soon as noon hits the fishing turned off both days.

[Physion]

Has anyone been doing anything on Lucky Peak in the last week or so?

[conservationist]

Yeah, I'd like to know too. My Father in Law is in town and I'd love to take him fishing for Kokes, but not too anxious to just troll around if the cloudy water has totally stopped the bite. Thanks.

[Physion]

I went to Lucky Peak today hoping the water had cleared. No such luck. I went from Spring Shores towards the dam. I picked up one squawfish (oops, I mean northern pike minnow) and a nice trout in the mouth of Mores Creek. No kokanee, and the water is still pretty murky. Will it clear up for some late fall fishing? I hope!!! Based on other reports I've read, my next trip will be to Anderson Ranch for the small kokanee or to CJ Strike for some perch or crappie.

[inthedirtagain]

Thinking of heading out to LP next Thurs or Fri after I drop the kids off at school. My boat is gassed up and the trolling battery charged. I'm anxious to try out some new kokabow lures I bought earlier this week.

[conservationist]

Thanks Physion ... decided to pass on LP ... and the wind pretty much has stopped me from heading to CJ. Did well at CJ week ago ... lots of medium perch, few nice bass and a whole bunch of top water action in the AM with little 8-10 inch bass .. sort of fun to watch the little guys smack a lure that's almost half their size.

[inthedirtagain]

Heading out in the morning to try my luck. Picked up a larger battery (group 29) and some new trolling lures just in case the kokabows don't get much action. We'll see. So far, all of my fishing partners have bailed on me, so if anyone is interested in going along, I'll have room. Flash me an email with your contact number and we can meet at the dock. Hoping to get there by 0930.

Andrew
[email protected]

[johng]

Wondering how the water looks at LP? I'm hoping to get out Sunday and have been waiting some time for water to clear up. If anyone gets out please post water conditions and good luck fishing.

John

[inthedirtagain]

Made it out there by 0930, just like I wanted to. The wund was blowing a bit and it spinkled on and off, but it wasnt too bad. Kept the trolling speeds between 1.0-1.5mph and saw fish mostly between 30-100ft deep on the finder. Still, didnt have a single bite. Asked another boater about his luck and it was the same as mine. Having never fished LP before today, Im not sure what conditions should be like. Its was kinda green-ish and somewhat murky. I went out with a 4-blade Ford Fender in bronze/silver and had a pink Kokabow attached. Tried out a 30ft sinker thing, but the damn thing kept floating to the top. Might go back out on Monday and sink everything with lead.

[Rush Rock]

What location were you in? I have found that LP can be great/horrible based on location. Also I have found first light to 9:30 is the good time and start thinking about heading out around 10:00. If you were not using a downrigger or leaded line you may not have been deep enough. I am tempted to go this weekend but still am not convinced it is worth it yet with the murky water I have heard about. I am really interested in any Arrow Rock reports.

[kok-head]

even with the murky water lots of 11-14" kokanee can be landed, just like any body of water the fish have to be in the area, i would imagine many of the cooperative fish are anywhere between 15 and 30' currently and some might even be up on the surface, i plan to fish on 9/27/14 and if i go i will post results, i'm confident that i'll get a limit in the boat even with the water dropping 2' each day up there

[sturgeon8r]

is anyone catching kokes this time of year?

[ricks]

I'm headed to Dent for a couple days tomorrow. Last year, this week we caught around 20 per day for 2 of us working mostly surface lines from Dent to up max of 8 mile or so above the bridge. I'll let you know sunday how it goes this year.

Rick

[Goldknight]

I have been to busy to get out for the last few weeks. With that said and being I can see the dam and lake from the back yard, I have seen 0 boats on the lake for the last 3 days. There are coho running in the river so most are there i think. The lake is way down, Be care full out there and hope you catch a boat full.

[sturgeon8r]

I will also be chasing the river fish as well. but it is just nice to have options for the week. I know when we fish Lucky Peak down here the fish are shallower this time of year. I might have to pack 3 more rods. If we fish I will post results. Thanks all

[Badlander]

Has anyone been fishing up at Lucky Peak? Just wondering if the bite has ever started again? Thanks for any info, tired of sitting at home, would like to get on some fall Kokes. hehe

[ricks]

Well we're here at Dent. Campground host says the koke fishing has been dead since mid August. I'm hoping I can pull some magic out of my hat in the morning. All ya'all keep your fingers crossed for me.

Rick

[kok-head]

Has anyone been fishing up at Lucky Peak? Just wondering if the bite has ever started again? Thanks for any info, tired of sitting at home, would like to get on some fall Kokes. hehe

I'm surprised there haven't been a few reports lately, I plan to head up this Saturday, had battery issues last week that kept me from going

I'm guessing they are between 0 and 20' deep currently, start at spring shores and work your way downstream until you hook one, good luck

[amxerhull]

Hey Rick, if you have the time, horsepower, and gas, you might run to Granddad. Nice fish were being caught there at this time last year.

John

[ImprovePhotography]

Fished a few times last week and this week. Some interesting things are happening.

First, contrary to the posts of people saying the dam area is usually hot this time of year, I got skunked at the dam on two occasions. The marina area is still the only area producing for me.

Also, something strange. I fished two days from the crack of dawn until about 2PM. I caught NOTHING all morning and then started catching in the early afternoon. Talked to several other boats and same story. The fishing seems to pick up after the water warms up later in the day.

Tried spinners, rapalas, wedding rings, rooster tails, panther martins, spoons, green hoochies, etc. I was wondering if anything different would produce for the late season kokes. No luck. Couldn't get any kokanee to bite.

As for trout, I'm only catching on pink hoochies about 8" behind a dodger with 1.5 or 2 ounces of weight in front of the dodger. Most of the fish are at 22' deep and about 40' out from the edges.It's really slow. I didn't talk to anyone who caught more than 1 fish by 2PM. Nobody caught any kokes--only rainbows.

Also, be EXTREMELY careful while boating out on the lake. I spotted a group of 3 guys swimming long distance out in the MIDDLE of the lake with NO flags or anything. All were wearing black wetsuits so they are just about invisible. Would be nearly impossible for a boater to see them low in the water like that so WATCH OUT! Wouldn't want to see anyone hurt.

[Physion]

I fished today, and we are having chicken for dinner. I trolled from Brown's Gulch downstream to the Bowl Recreation Area. Two taps all day. I decided to call it quits a little after 2:00. I'm puzzled about where to find kokanee. We should be catching at least a few of the ones that will spawn next year.

[ricks]

Hey Rick, if you have the time, horsepower, and gas, you might run to Granddad. Nice fish were being caught there at this time last year.

John

This is an every year weekend for me with my son. He gets a 4 day weekend and we go to Dent. Last 2 years we could catch 10-12 inchers pretty much anywhere from across from the Dent dock up through the bridge. Regular as can be.

This year, there are hordes of schooled up fish on the finder, but all we caught were 5 inchers. We went about half way to Grandad, no one was having any different results than we were. So we went bassing.

We had pretty good luck on the 5 inchers in Reed's creek. Couldn't go all the way to Grandad as I have a new SEI outdrive on the boat and it is still a few more hours from finishing breakin and being able to go faster than about 25 MPH. Such is life - it works like a million dollars compared to the old one :D

Campground host has been in Dent Acres al summer. He said that the fishing for Koke ended in late august and no one has had any more luck than our eight 5 inchers. We tossed all those back - they seemed very robust.

Rick

[kok-head]

Fished for 5 hrs on 10/4, caught a few 15" trout and 1 12" kokanee, had a great day but out of the last 50 or so trips in the last few yrs this was by far the toughest and least productive kokanee fishing I've seen

[Physion]

Fished Lucky Peak on Monday. Still a nothing day for me. The water is still murky. Does anyone know how the water or fishing is at Arrowrock? The main reservoir or either arm?

[Physion]

Has anyone fished this recently? How clear is the water? Main reservoir or either arm?

[kok-head]

me and a buddy fished 11/1 from first light until around 3pm and landed a few limits of trout and kokanee, we turned a bunch loose and he kept his limit and I kept these fish, all caught on the surface on squids and crappie tubes and floating rapalas, fished back and forth between the confluence and about a quarter mi up the middle fork

771077117712

[kodiak1]

That spot can be a terrific place to fish. Also, same distance up the South F. I've caught some really nice trout up there. Thanks for the report. Mike

[ImprovePhotography]

Fished from noon to 5pm. Tried several spots with no luck until we went above the confluence (main left arm) about one mile. Hugging to sides (30 feet from the bank), we started catching tons on pink hooch use with Dodgers and half an ounce of weight above the dodger.

We caught 9 trout, one kokanee, and one sucked. When I felleted up 2 of the rainbow trout, they had pink meat and bones like a kokanee. What is that?

[sturgeon8r]

fished from sunrise to 11 am. 1 trout and 4 bites. water is still brown? we could see maybe 6 foot before we lost sight of DR clip. fished 8 foot to 22 foot. 5 different colrs. caught the trout on green wedding ring. Lots of trout being caught from bank.

[sawtooth]

Good Luck this year at Ririe.

[sawtooth]

Good Luck this year at Anderson Ranch.

[sawtooth]

Best of luck to those Fishermen at Dworshak Reservoir this year.

[sawtooth]

Good Luck to all the Arrowrock Fisherman this year.

[sawtooth]

Best of Luck to all the Lucky Peak Fishermen this year.

[JTM]

I have some new ideas for lures this year, Going to add some UV beads and Fiber Optics!! Very excitited to try them out this year.....

[mrgene]

Good luck Jim, let us know how they work out.

[Pauli]

Hi All. My name is Pauli. I've been kind of been lurking the shadows last season and thought it was time to sign up on the board. Last year was my first season Kokanee fishing and have spent most of my time on the water split between Arrowrock and Lucky Peak. Looking forward to the Thaw. About when will you all start venturing out to the lakes? It shouldn't be too much longer till the thaw. Can't wait!!

97 Boston Whaler Rage 15 with 175 Merc Jet

[JTM]

Hi Pauli and welcome to the madness!!!! You are fishing my 2 favorite bodies of water, I will start up trolling in late March. I'm sure there are others who will start before then, they are shallow when you first start then drop down and get bigger as the season rolls on.

Cheers and hope to see you on the water!!!

[GrimReaper]

Like Pauli I was a bit of a lurker on this site last season and figured its time to sign up for kokanee fishing forum. I used to do quite a bit of trolling for salmon and musky when I lived near the great lakes back east way back when. Last summer I finally put downriggers on my boat and got some kokanee gear, and then fished Deadwood once and Lucky Peak several times. Was having a grand time on LP until the water got muddy and then had hard time catching fish remainder of season.

Looking forward to the upcoming season.


John

[kodiak1]

[Welcome to the site, Pauli and Grim. Much more fun this way than lurking.....isn't that how we all started! Mike

[kenbarb]

Best of luck to those Fishermen at Dworshak Reservoir this year.
Just finished a fishing report for Washington Lakes, and decided to check out the Kokanee. Was nice to see that sawtooth had started this thread.

Have any of you folks tried Dworshak yet? am sure looking forward to some good kokanee fishing this year.

[amxerhull]

Just finished a fishing report for Washington Lakes, and decided to check out the Kokanee. Was nice to see that sawtooth had started this thread.

Have any of you folks tried Dworshak yet? am sure looking forward to some good kokanee fishing this year.

Hi Ken and Barb! We are still working the steelhead but when that ends we plan to attack Dworshak with a vengeance! Typically our early season kokanee trips turn out to be "scouting" trips but that won't stop us from going. Besides, there is a certain amount of pride getting skunked with snow blowing in your ears. thumbsup

John

[kodiak1]

Ever wonder why winter fishing for kokes is slow? Maybe Darrell and Dads, a well-known guide at Lake Chelan, has it figured. They are mega-deep. Watch this video.....

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#all/14b5870a4e1f3b83

[Cozmo]

Your link didn't work.

[kodiak1]

Your link didn't work.

Sorry. Let's try this:

http://sendy.washingtonlakes.com/w/S892r6JbucjwxZuRcid2ibVw

[kenbarb]

Hi John, We are doing the same, the steelheading is really good here on the Snake, but with all the warm weather the river will probably be out of shape soon. Do you usually start fishing near the dam on your early trips?

[amxerhull]

Hi John, We are doing the same, the steelheading is really good here on the Snake, but with all the warm weather the river will probably be out of shape soon. Do you usually start fishing near the dam on your early trips?

Yes, we usually fish near the dam or at Canyon Creek. We don't have much luck in the early season so we plan to experiment more with depths this year. We seldom see anyone else fishing so information is hard to obtain. There is a video on this sight with a guide fishing in January for kokes on Lake Chelan between 100 and 200 feet. I will have to upgrade to electric downriggers or have surgery on my rotator cuff before I will fish those depths!

[Goldknight]

The lake is filling fast with all this warm weather and rain. Looks like both boat ramps near the dam are in water now. I have not been on the lake this year yet. My boat is still under cover near the barn and its so muddy down there my dually gets stuck. grin .. Looking to getting on the lake.

Thurston

[ImprovePhotography]

Well, I'm going for it on Saturday. Looks like wind will be low with temps up to 58 degrees. Spring shores #1 has 50' of water on it, and the kokes are calling. Is this a horrible idea, or a fantastic idea?

[MackayGuy]

Well, I'm going for it on Saturday. Looks like wind will be low with temps up to 58 degrees. Spring shores #1 has 50' of water on it, and the kokes are calling. Is this a horrible idea, or a fantastic idea?

I think it's a fantastic idea. If I had my boat here I might be tempted as well. Please let us know how it fished. We're all getting antsy to get out.

EDIT to add: lest you forget it's Valentine's Day....in case you need a kitchen pass to go.

[HCM23]

I too was thinking of going this weekend but seeing that water levels are increasing 5 feet a day and that arrowrock is 94% full I was thinking of bouncing up the road to arrowrock instead. Anybody have thoughts on how the rapid water elevation increases in lucky peak may influence fishing?

[MackayGuy]

I too was thinking of going this weekend but seeing that water levels are increasing 5 feet a day and that arrowrock is 94% full I was thinking of bouncing up the road to arrowrock instead. Anybody have thoughts on how the rapid water elevation increases in lucky peak may influence fishing?

It puts a lot of floating trash in the water so be careful. Some of those waterlogged logs are hard to see, especially if you're moving pretty fast. Early in the year I have had more squaw fish hitting than when the water clears.

[Slicer]

I have never fished kokanee at Arrowrock, and I am looking for some help/advice. Is anyone fishing there yet (February 11)? If not, when is the best time to consider going after them? Any feedback on condition of the road?

Thanks

[ImprovePhotography]

The report I got from someone who has been going is that the arrowrock fishing is hot right now. He was trolling 4.5" rapalas kinda fast at 2-3 mph. He said the fish are scattered between 5 and 25 feet.

I heard the road isn't great but is passable.

I'm heading up tomorrow to try it out.

[terek]

we went up there last sat. and they were being real touchy. Took a bit to find them, but when we did, it was decent. Landed 5 and lost a few. Got a few trout as well. Fished for mabe 3 hours. Green hoochie with green darter. Shoe peg corn. Fish finder was showing them all over the place from 5 feet to 40 feet. We started hitting them at 32 feet. Gonna go spend the weekend if I can get off work at a decent time tom.

[terek]

I too was thinking of going this weekend but seeing that water levels are increasing 5 feet a day and that arrowrock is 94% full I was thinking of bouncing up the road to arrowrock instead. Anybody have thoughts on how the rapid water elevation increases in lucky peak may influence fishing?

went up last weekend and did alright. Took a bit to find the bite, but when we did it was on. Fish finder was showing them all over the place, but ended up getting most bites at 32 feet. Landed 5 and lost just as many. Got a few good sized trout as well. No squaws. Fished for 3 hours. Some floating trash and a few patches of ice, so look out. Going back this weekend.

[terek]

anyone been up yet to see if the ice has started to melt? Im antsy to get up and hammer them. Been slow at arrowrock

[Slicer]

Thanks for the feedback you two. We went up this morning, and once we got it figured out we did ok. Ended up with 7 kokanee and 7 rainbows in about a two hour window. We got a late start and had to leave early for other things. Weather was great. Road was rough but dry. Trolled chartruse hoochies with shoepeg on a couple poles and a weeding ring with worm on another. The corn combo worked best. Caught most of them down about 30'.

[terek]

nice slicer. we are headed up in the morning, so should be about the same. Were you guys by the dam, or up in the south fork?

[Weekendwarrior]

I am headed up tomorrow - black G3 12' boat...hope the bite is on prior to a weather change for Sunday!

[terek]

I am headed up tomorrow - black G3 12' boat...hope the bite is on prior to a weather change for Sunday!

might see ya up there. Im in an older 16' red tracker bass boat. Blue chevy with shell

[Slicer]

nice slicer. we are headed up in the morning, so should be about the same. Were you guys by the dam, or up in the south fork?

We caught most of the fish up towards the south fork, and did not fish down toward the dam at all.

[ImprovePhotography]

Went yesterday. Did not catch a single fish on hoochie a, which is a first for me. Caught 7 on 4" green and orange rapalas flat line without any weight 200' behind the boat. All rainbows and one bull trout.

Fishing right by the dam was poor but caught a few up in the shallows across from the dam.

Best fishing was just just 100 yards up the left fork of the confluence.

I think the kokanee must be a lot deeper than the trout. We kept seeing fish hovering right at 40' but couldn't target them without a downrigger. Tried jigging at them without success even though we were right on them.

Best time of day was 10am once we gave up on hoochies and went for the rapalas. We found the trolling speed to be better kinda fast with the rapalas. 2.4 mph.

After noon we only got one.

[terek]

Went yesterday. Did not catch a single fish on hoochie a, which is a first for me. Caught 7 on 4" green and orange rapalas flat line without any weight 200' behind the boat. All rainbows and one bull trout.

Fishing right by the dam was poor but caught a few up in the shallows across from the dam.

Best fishing was just just 100 yards up the left fork of the confluence.

I think the kokanee must be a lot deeper than the trout. We kept seeing fish hovering right at 40' but couldn't target them without a downrigger. Tried jigging at them without success even though we were right on them.

Best time of day was 10am once we gave up on hoochies and went for the rapalas. We found the trolling speed to be better kinda fast with the rapalas. 2.4 mph.

After noon we only got one.

no downrigger? I seen two cheep clamp un ones with weights on craigslist for $100, but that was a week ago and probably snatched up. Last weekend they were poping at 40 on the finder, but we were hitting them at 32. Getting the boat ready right now, will let ya'll know how we did

[Slicer]

Went yesterday. Did not catch a single fish on hoochie a, which is a first for me. Caught 7 on 4" green and orange rapalas flat line without any weight 200' behind the boat. All rainbows and one bull trout.

I think the kokanee must be a lot deeper than the trout. We kept seeing fish hovering right at 40' but couldn't target them without a downrigger. Tried jigging at them without success even though we were right on them.

Best time of day was 10am once we gave up on hoochies and went for the rapalas. We found the trolling speed to be better kinda fast with the rapalas. 2.4 mph.

After noon we only got one.

We caught all of our fish after noon, with exception of two trout I caught jigging a Kastmaster. We did not catch an single one on the downrigger pole.........but didn't have the hoochies on that pole either. Trolled at .8 to .9mph with weights ranging from 1-1/2 to 3 ounces. All seemed to work about the same. Most were caught in 50' of water with about 35-40' out on the line counter.

[ImprovePhotography]

Fishing was really slow for us today. Marked large schools on the fish finder but couldn't get them to bite. Only caught one--my slowest ever day at lucky peak.

Arrowrock yesterday was better.

[terek]

slow day. Ended up with 3 koks in the boat, 2 lost. Released 2 small rainbows and Kept a good sized one that happened to be tagged. Started with green hoochie, then as the sun was setting, they switched to pink. All around 30-40 feet. At least got my kok withdrawls out of my system. Cant wait for spring. Was a lot of boats on the water, and they seemed to be moving around a lot. Makes me think no one else was doing that great.

[terek]

arrowrock was not that great today ether. Boated 4, lost 2, and released 2 small trout, but was there from 10-5. 3 boated in the last hour.

[Weekendwarrior]

I went on Saturday. Got a bit of a late start on the years maiden voyage, but with calm winds and patchy clouds, it beats the heck out of being inside! Started with a green hoochie down about 30, but couldn't buy a strike despite marking some. Switched to a kokabow orange/silver behind a small dodger and dropped it to about 45 ft and almost instantly got a hit, but I was too slow on it and the next two! Speed was about 1.0 to 1.3, hope for better luck next time.

[campdog]

I decided to run some sea foam through the out-board today, and to try and catch a kokanee with a jig. I ran the boat from about a quarter mile above the elk creek ramp down to the dam and found a couple of schools. The were running from about 30-60 feet with a few smaller groups down at about 80 feet. I ran the bout back above the school and let the wind push me through the school. The first couple of passes I made resulted in a couple of lure changes and one small koke. The next few passes I ran the jig at about 30 feet with about 2 seconds between a 1.5 foot jig. Each pass I picked up another koke until I could not find the school. So I ran some more sea-foam through the out-board and found another small school and I picked up 2 more. I fished for a total of about 2 hours and caught 7 lost about 7 and watched another 7 hitting the second pole that was sitting in the rod holder. When the boat isn't moving the fish don't want to stay on the extra pole while you land the first one. There was no ice, road was clear and smooth. The 7 that I caught were 12-14 inches on a pink and white gibbs minnow (3/4oz) at 30 feet, just above the school. Next time I will plan on going for the day and I'll bring some back-up, like a couple of kids. I had three doubles today and only landed two out of those six.

[microfish]

I was up there last weekend around merry's bay. Little slow. fish were 5 to 7"..... at about 25'. looks like it might be a smaller fish yr.

[kenbarb]

Sure hope you just got into the smaller ones microfish, on several occasions we have hit schools that were mostly small fish. I am pretty sure there's a big number of larger ones, we were catching quite a few in the 7" to 8" range last year that should be this years fish.

[amxerhull]

We were there yesterday and never hit a fish but we were probably fishing too deep (30 to 60 feet) trying to find bigger fish. We talked to a guy who caught a few at 20 to 25 feet and said they were all in the 6" range. Another fella said he attended a fish and game meeting a few nights ago and the F&G thinks the fish may be bigger this year than last. I hope they are correct.

The lake has a lot of water in it (very clear) and the weather was great.

John

[kenbarb]

Thanks for the information John, I think the F&G is correct, the holdovers from last year are still there, the small ones that are being caught now are next years fish. What area were you fishing? We are going up next week, will probably hit Canyon Creek first, if nothing there then try near the dam. Our first trip last year was March 12th, we caught 12 fish, they were small, except for one that was 13" (glad Barb keeps a good log), we were fishing Canyon Creek.

[kokehunter]

Is all the ice off? Do you know if Curlew is open? Thanks.

[terek]

from what i have herd, all the ice is off. The last time i was up there was late oct. deer hunting and we were launching at curlew. Since all irrigation was off then, and with all the snow melt, I think its safe to assume its launchable. I was gonna head up tom. but it is supposed to snow. I need to work anyways, so whatever. Will be plenty of time for fishing :)

[bayhorse]

Hi we went up last Saturday , Curlew was still frozen over and the ice was below curlew into the narrows.
We drove back to the dam and were able to launch although it was sketchy the washed out end of the ramp has a stop that we backed over and were able to float our 14' Starcraft off.
We ran back to the edge of the ice and trolled back. The reservoir was all clear except the curlew end.
We landed 14 kokes 12'-14' and 6 trout. We used silver,pink,and copper/pink splash dodgers and sling blades with silver and gold w/r and kokabows also glow crappie tubes.
Heading up tomorrow despite the chance of rain and snow.
Good luck!7764

[kokehunter]

If anybody goes up today, please give us a road/ramp/ice report. Oh...maybe a fishing/catching report too please.signfishin

[mrgene]

bayhorse,
The attachment wont open for me.

[amxerhull]

Thanks for the information John, I think the F&G is correct, the holdovers from last year are still there, the small ones that are being caught now are next years fish. What area were you fishing? We are going up next week, will probably hit Canyon Creek first, if nothing there then try near the dam. Our first trip last year was March 12th, we caught 12 fish, they were small, except for one that was 13" (glad Barb keeps a good log), we were fishing Canyon Creek.

Ken, we fished the dam (most of the day), Indian Creek and Canyon Creek.

We are looking forward to your next week's report. Good luck!

John

[bayhorse]

7765
Well I did not get to go up today. Hopefully the picture will open.

[bayhorse]

7765
Well I did not get to go up today. Hopefully the picture will open.

[stev7975]

We went down last Monday when it was so nice. Launched at Freeman Ck and drove down by Big Eddie. Started trolling a 1/2 mile below Indian ck. Had one line down at 35 ft and one at 10 ft, both with pink wedding ring patterns. Passed over a school right at the mouth of Indian ck and one hit the 10 ft line. I lost it right at the boat but looked about 10 inches long, nice fish. The breeze was pretty chilly and we had the kids with us so I kept going into the wind rather than circling so the cab would keep them warm. Trolled up into Canyon Ck and never had another bite, tried some other patterns and depths. Saw five or six other boats but no nets out. Probably will give it another go in a few weeks, looks like it's going to cool off again. Water was high and warm, 35 ft down and 45 degrees. Never seen water that warm in February. Smallmouth should be unreal this year if the water levels stay stable so it's going to be tough sticking to kokes this spring.

[BonkinKokes]

Couldn't open the attachment.

[cgtootall]

Just wanted to introduce myself, new to the forum, returning kokanee fisherman. Haven't fished for kokanee since I was a kid with my dad and grandpa. Hoping to get out soon.

[terek]

wrong thread

[terek]

has anyone been up in the last few days? Was thinking on heading up on sun. but fear the colder weather has started the formation of ice again. Would hate to drive and hour and a half to not fish

[kenbarb]

Welcome to the forum cgtootall, will be looking forward to your reports. Since you posted on the Dworshak Thread I assume that you will be fishing there, there's a lot of fisherman on this thread that have fished Dworshak, and are willing share their methods for catching Kokanee.

[fishingmom]

hoping for some bigger fish this year,,,made it up just once early last summer and could only find a bite in dicks crk working a point,,,, tried a plastic slider with ball weight clipped on and ran it on the mainline and then tied mainline to barrel swivel with flasher and leader below,,,worked really well

[terek]

headed up in the morning, hope the weather holds

[spoons]

Good luck! I would love to get a report from you.

[terek]

Good luck! I would love to get a report from you.

Very slow day. Marked a few fish. Had 2 bites, and none in the boat. Fist time i have been skunked in a while. I threw everything i had at them, and nothing. Hopefully better on sunday. Im planning on taking my dad and a good friend that i have not seen in a while out.

[terek]

We went back up yesterday. We went all over and tried everything with little luck. A few strikes and misses early. We finally found some fish around 2pm and by 3pm we figured what lure and scent they were taking. We left at around 6pm with 10 in the cooler. Let 4-5 small ones go, and lost many. We kept hooking into this big one that would take line and everything. Would loose him right before we could get a look at him. Picked that fish up 4 times in the exact same spot and never landed him :/

We found the school down by the dam. The point where that first creek arm comes in is where they were hanging in about a 75 ft circle. It got to the point that we were just going in a big circle to be able to keep picking them up.

Catching them on pink and yellow wedding rings with herring scented corn at 15 feet

[Physion]

I've hooked that same fish in Arrowrock. It's a peculiar species called a rockfish. It has a cousin in Deadwood called the stumpfish. I'm convinced that my fish locator has saved me enough in lures (as in not losing them) to pay for the locator.

Physion

[kok-head]

We went back up yesterday. We went all over and tried everything with little luck. A few strikes and misses early. We finally found some fish around 2pm and by 3pm we figured what lure and scent they were taking. We left at around 6pm with 10 in the cooler. Let 4-5 small ones go, and lost many. We kept hooking into this big one that would take line and everything. Would loose him right before we could get a look at him. Picked that fish up 4 times in the exact same spot and never landed him :/

We found the school down by the dam. The point where that first creek arm comes in is where they were hanging in about a 75 ft circle. It got to the point that we were just going in a big circle to be able to keep picking them up.

Catching them on pink and yellow wedding rings with herring scented corn at 15 feet

what size fish are you hooking into?

[terek]

what size fish are you hooking into?

they were real good for this time of year. 12"-13" most of em. 2 were 14 1/2" and one 15 1/2"

[JTM]

I have some new ideas for lures this year, Going to add some UV beads and Fiber Optics!! Very excitited to try them out this year.....

I have them ready to go now can't wait to try them out!!!!!tooexcitedtooexcited

[terek]

I have them ready to go now can't wait to try them out!!!!!tooexcitedtooexcited

head up to arrowrock. I was there on sunday and we hammered them. didn't get real hot till after noon though

[HCM23]

Is the road still like pulling your boat over the bottom of an egg carton?

[terek]

Is the road still like pulling your boat over the bottom of an egg carton?

its worse. I clocked it, took 21 min to get from the boat launch to the pavement. Literally going an average of 5-10 mph

[kok-head]

they were real good for this time of year. 12"-13" most of em. 2 were 14 1/2" and one 15 1/2"

nice, thats great

[spoons]

Cruised by curlew on 3/1 it was still totally iced in by the ramp... by at least several hundred yards to the south.

[kodiak1]

Cruised by curlew on 3/1 it was still totally iced in by the ramp... by at least several hundred yards to the south.

Thanks for sharing. Mike

[terek]

Cruised by curlew on 3/1 it was still totally iced in by the ramp... by at least several hundred yards to the south.

how did the water level look? herd bad things lately about the dam launch because it was basically out of the water. A little fearful of trying to put in my 17 footer

[spoons]

http://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/ramps/anderson/anderson.html
looks to be totally fine

[Pauli]

Hello All...
Today I made my first Kokanee run for the season at Arrowrock.....it was fabulous. I had outfitted my boat with a new trolling motor and really just wanted to give it a dry run. I installed a Minn Kota Riptide St last week and today was my first try with it. Finally.... a product that makes trolling a jet boat completely hands off. What a pleasure GPS guided navigation equipment is. I also tried out my new Cannon down rigger, my first down rigger ever. Ended up boating 5 Kokanee in about 4 hours. I probably should have been limited out earlier in the day....but I was kind of preoccupied with the new toys. The fish started out at about 15 feet and through out the afternoon they ended up hitting at around 40 feet. I marked several fish at 70-80 feet but wasn't able get them to take the bait.

On the way in I was starting to regret not stopping at Lucky Peak...because the road in to Arrowrock was just horrible. While I was out fishing I heard a road grader working on the road from the dam to the boat ramp. The trip out was WAY better than the trip in. The grader worked for several hours and did an amazing job on the ruts and pot holes. I hope they come back for a few finishing touches, but they did make quite an improvement.

Although I missed several strikes, I landed all five on a small dodger with a green hoochie (with red fire corn). Two of the fish were 15 inches, 2 were about 14 and a half, and the last was only about 11 inches. The smaller fish caught was the first one of the day....so I thought I had better keep it in case I didn't catch any more the rest of the day.

With the beautiful weather, calm winds and a reasonable amount of action, I am preparing to go back out again tomorrow (this time my wife wants to go). Hope to see some of you out on the lake

Pauli

[ImprovePhotography]

Thanks for the report Pauli. What area of arrowrock were you fishing?

[terek]

Hello All...
Today I made my first Kokanee run for the season at Arrowrock.....it was fabulous. I had outfitted my boat with a new trolling motor and really just wanted to give it a dry run. I installed a Minn Kota Riptide St last week and today was my first try with it. Finally.... a product that makes trolling a jet boat completely hands off. What a pleasure GPS guided navigation equipment is. I also tried out my new Cannon down rigger, my first down rigger ever. Ended up boating 5 Kokanee in about 4 hours. I probably should have been limited out earlier in the day....but I was kind of preoccupied with the new toys. The fish started out at about 15 feet and through out the afternoon they ended up hitting at around 40 feet. I marked several fish at 70-80 feet but wasn't able get them to take the bait.

On the way in I was starting to regret not stopping at Lucky Peak...because the road in to Arrowrock was just horrible. While I was out fishing I heard a road grader working on the road from the dam to the boat ramp. The trip out was WAY better than the trip in. The grader worked for several hours and did an amazing job on the ruts and pot holes. I hope they come back for a few finishing touches, but they did make quite an improvement.

Although I missed several strikes, I landed all five on a small dodger with a green hoochie (with red fire corn). Two of the fish were 15 inches, 2 were about 14 and a half, and the last was only about 11 inches. The smaller fish caught was the first one of the day....so I thought I had better keep it in case I didn't catch any more the rest of the day.

With the beautiful weather, calm winds and a reasonable amount of action, I am preparing to go back out again tomorrow (this time my wife wants to go). Hope to see some of you out on the lake

Pauli

nice to hear about the road. I have been up 4 time this year and the road was horrible. We are heading up in a few hours and am looking forward to a smooth ride. Gonna hawl up the camper and stay the weekend. Get to try out the new fish finder. No more black and white fishy icons. I get color and DownVu action :) Mabe see ya'll up there. Im the red tracker, blue chevy, and pop up camper

[ImprovePhotography]

Got skunked for the first time ever in this boat, and also my first time getting skunked at Arrowrock.

Fished from 3 until sunset. Only one bite.

[Trailbob]

Fished Arrowrock for the first time this year yesterday, from 11:00 to 4:00. My wife and I caught one small trout, and three koke's from 13 to 15". All caught on various flashers and nightcrawlers from 10' to 20' deep. Water was 42 degrees.

[MackayGuy]

Good first post Trailbob. Welcome. Pictures 101bananna101 Pictures 101bananna101 Pictures 101bananna101

[Pauli]

Headed up to Arrowrock again yesterday. My wife boated one small Kokanee and I got skunked :-( Hot and cold.....so goes Kokanee fishing. At least the weather was great. I did manage to meet Terek up there.

Pauli

[ImprovePhotography]

5 hours, 3 fishermen, one small trout. Tried every lure in the tackle box. Found lots of fish on the fish finder but couldn't interest them. Bald eagle near the marina all day.

[sawtooth]

ImprovePhotography,
How was the water clarity at Lucky Peak. The last few weeks it looked like chocolate milk as we headed up to Arrowrock.

[ImprovePhotography]

Looked like chocolate milk with a sprinkling of water.

[Stripes]

7802

Fished from 2 to 4:30 at LP, worked the dam/cliff front, saw some other boats boat fish, we got 2 sockeyes ;) and one koke, only bite we boated. Marked fish at all depths but our luck hit at about 25' on FWG royal blue w/mags. Was slow for us. Wind was picking up around 3. I have a bit of a gripe with the bank fishers at Barkley(is Spring Shore open yet?) I was with someone who doesn't back up a trailer or drive the boat and the bank fishermen were pissed as hell when I attempted to beach near the docks, I thought our boat registration paid for these ramps/docks/parking areas...O well, can't wait for the season to pick up. Good luck All!!

[HCM23]

What is the reason for the water color? We noticed it when we went to arrowrock last month. I remember last fall hearing people talk about the off color of LP, is this a continuation of that? When should we expect it to clear up?

[terek]

Was nice to see a fellow forum member up there. So sorry pauli, you should have stayed. Got on the water about 20 min after you left. Was rushing to get the new fish finder hooked up ;) we were only able to fish for 1 1/2 hours before dark. Landed 4. Sat. was kinda slow. First thing in the am was hot, but they kept pulling the hook. Landed 6 and lost like a million. My dad showed up at like 4 and we got a couple hours out. Landed another 4. Sunday was hot hot hot. Had 9 in the cooler by 10. Went back, ate and grabbed the wife. Went back out and got another 4 and a bunch of trout. The koks would stop, then the trout would start hitting. Mornings they were at 15 feet, and as the water warmed up, they went down to 27 feet. We kept marking fish at like 50-60 feet, but were hitting them much higher. Finally dropped a rig down to 50 feet. I hate running that low, cuz you always hit bottom. Got 2 squaws at that depth. First ones of the year. All the fish we were hitting where by the dam where i told you about pauli. We tried where you told me that you got some, and nothing. Also counted 18 boats running over there. :/

Ended up taking home 24 fish and released a bunch of trout. Best results where on pink wedding rings with UV herring corn. 15 feet in the am and 27 feet in the afternoon. Running at 1.27 mph. I will post a pic as soon as the cloud uploads it

[terek]

7805

the ones with the heads hanging up the edge where over 15 inches. Second one from the left was 16 1/2. Most of the trout fell into the sink. Not koks, so they dont count anyways ;) Big fish all in all, but im used to anderson rats

[terek]

7806

The wife with her big one of the weekend. Kids had to be in the pic of course

[terek]

7802

Fished from 2 to 4:30 at LP, worked the dam/cliff front, saw some other boats boat fish, we got 2 sockeyes ;) and one koke, only bite we boated. Marked fish at all depths but our luck hit at about 25' on FWG royal blue w/mags. Was slow for us. Wind was picking up around 3. I have a bit of a gripe with the bank fishers at Barkley(is Spring Shore open yet?) I was with someone who doesn't back up a trailer or drive the boat and the bank fishermen were pissed as hell when I attempted to beach near the docks, I thought our boat registration paid for these ramps/docks/parking areas...O well, can't wait for the season to pick up. Good luck All!!

Lame to hear. We were up at arrowrock. Had the first boat problem ever on this boat. Starter wouldnt engage for a bit. We drifted threw about 6 shore fishers lines. They were more than friendly about it. Actually it was a big joke cuz I had to get wet so i didnt really mess up there rigs. Got started up and out of there, but they where real cool about it. Ended up going out and slaying them. All you peps having trouble at LP, head up to Arrowrock. Water clarity is fine and the bite is hot. Just look out for logs in the water. (even some trees, lol.)

[terek]

if the attachments dont open, check out the pics in my pic folder "first camping trip of 2015, arrowrock"
For some reason, i havent been able to open anyone elses attachments

[sawtooth]

My guess to the large amount of silt that is coming through the system is due to the mud slide on the South Fork of the Boise last fall and the rapid rise of water depth coming in to Lucky Peak for the last month. This rise has slowed quite a bit the last week, so I am hoping that things will clear up in the next couple of weeks.

[Physion]

Part of the time last fall Arrowrock had clear water and Lucky Peak had murky water. The same appears to be true now. I had assumed most of the problem was from the slides and mud above Arrowrock on both forks, but now I'm not so sure. I don't understand how Arrowrock can be cleaner than Lucky Peak. The rapid fill we have had this spring doesn't explain the problem last fall. I admit I'm confused, and more than a little concerned. I hope Lucky Peak clears and doesn't become continually off color like Cascade or CJ.

Physion

[BigggCountry]

What's the water temp been at Arrowrock?

[ImprovePhotography]

Water temp is 39.8 as of last Friday.

[Sweetroll]

I was talking with a buddy as we drove along the south fork about a month ago about this - it's really amazing how big and how often the slides are - makes it clear why the lakes had so much sediment in them. We were thinking that Arrowrock clears before lucky peak just because the water coming into lucky peak is from the bottom of the dam, so it will get the dirty water first, whereas the water coming in from the south and middle forks has cleared up quite a bit. I agree with Sawtooth too - a rapid rise would probably stir things up quite a bit.

Side note - if anyone is looking at floating the south fork take time to look over the river - it has changed a lot since last year and could be dangerous in spots that were easy before. There's a point right below the ramp below the dam that looks like a much bigger rapid than it was in the past. Lots of other new sandbars and stuff too.

[terek]

it was around 40.5 in the morning, and getting up to 46 by afternoon. That was sat. and sun. Quite a temp change, but the air tem started at dawn at 29 and by 3pm it was over 60. Going from coveralls and frost on the boat, to shorts and a tanktop

[kokfix]

Spent the day fishing at Lucky Peak and finally boated 2 kokanee at around four. Finally we didn't get totally skunked.thumbsup

[ImprovePhotography]

@terek what area of arrowrock are you having success with? I had a tough time locating them.

[terek]

@terek what area of arrowrock are you having success with? I had a tough time locating them.

Down By the dam. Had the best luck right in front of the dam, and by the 3 pine trees on the road side. Dont tell non of the googins though, forum member info only ;)

[JTM]

Down By the dam. Had the best luck right in front of the dam, and by the 3 pine trees on the road side. Dont tell non of the googins though, forum member info only ;)

Your secret is safe with us... Well except Mackayguy he tends to let the secret spots out.

[MackayGuy]

101noway101 Not me

[AverysAdventure]

Down By the dam. Had the best luck right in front of the dam, and by the 3 pine trees on the road side. Dont tell non of the googins though, forum member info only ;)

That’s exactly where we found them Monday and Tuesday.

[terek]

101noway101 Not me

laugh hyst this place is great!

We are getting ready to head back up, (I know, its an addiction, i have a problem) let ya'll know what is going down. I also got a misc bead kit last night from cabelas, so get to try out some home made spinners. Never made any before.

[ImprovePhotography]

Caught one small koke and a trout last night by the dam. One on the downrigger at 25 feet and the trout at 10'. Koke on a green hoochie and the trout on a worm behind a dodger.

Water temp was 43.5. Fished for 3 hours.

[kok-head]

Your secret is safe with us... Well except Mackayguy he tends to let the secret spots out.

MackayGuy did eventually share his secret parking spot with me, but i signed a confidentiality affidavit and to sweeten the deal i also gave him blue prints for making homemade kokabow lure copies

[MackayGuy]

MackayGuy did eventually share his secret parking spot with me, but i signed a confidentiality affidavit and to sweeten the deal i also gave him blue prints for making homemade kokabow lure copies

Wow....payback is a bugger huh? Ok....I started this didn't I? .....and I will continue it.:cool:

[kok-head]

Wow....payback is a bugger huh? Ok....I started this didn't I? .....and I will continue it.:cool:

i actually remember JTM starting it, but he secretly started it

[Pauli]

I will make an attempt to go this weekend. I usually don't fish on the weekends but work has me committed to heading to Africa for 30 days. If I don't make it up Sat or Sun don't catch all the Kokes while I'm gone. (Ugh.... Africa.... It usually takes 3 days to get that smell off of me :mad)

Pauli

[terek]

Had an alright day for march. Nothing like last weekend, but hey, whatever. Started slow, but picked up after a hour or so. As soon as we started catching fish, the boats came over like flies. Got one small koke right at the end of the day, but as I was cleaning it overboard, the lip ripped......Almost cried as it gracefully sank into the abiss at 1.27 mph.

I never seem to be able to post pics directly to a post, so here is a link to the album its in. Dont ask me why it always uploads them upside down :/ The one on the bottom was 16 1/2 inches. Pretty much all the kokes i have got this year have been large. Seems like this summer will be epic. Tossed back 5-6 smaller trout, and stabbed 4 squaws in the head. Too bad the squaws are starting back up. Havent had many yet.
Pink spinners again. Herring corn. 15-25 feet. 1.25-1.35 mph. Water temp started at 41 and by noon when we left it was around 44.

http://www.kokaneefishingforum.com/fishing-forums/album.php?albumid=361&attachmentid=7816

[JTM]

i actually remember JTM starting it, but he secretly started it

SHHHHH seriously? Keep it down man....

Now for the important stuff, Have you been able to find MakayGuys secret trailer parking spot???
Don't post it PM me.

[JTM]

Getting ready to start running Lucky, I'm on VHS 68 and FRS 21.12 if you want to contact me.

[PullmanAggie]

First time poster here, but we've been watching the forum since we casually took up kokanee fishing a couple of years ago. We're new at the game, but we've taken the kids to Dworshak a half-dozen times the last two years boat camping and fishing. We've always caught fish (sometimes good numbers), but not generally as many as most on this forum do. With that introduction (low skill level, fishing with kids), I wanted to post on our trips to help give back to the forum, since it has been really useful to us.

Last Sunday (3/8), we decided to give the kokanee a try during the fabulous early March weather (65 F and sunny). We launched at Freeman crk. and fished down across the canyon crk. bay and then along the dam without a single bite for about 2 hours of somewhat diligent fishing. This was the first time that we haven't had at least sporadic success. The trip was still fun with the great weather. We got some bb gun shooting done, scouted some rock piles for summer bass fishing, and checked out live forest fire by camp 12.1, but I was surprised to not get any kokanee action on our normal presentation of various color wedding rings presented between 20 and 50 ft. I chose to fish toward the dam from Freeman crk. because we were way earlier in the year than we've gone before and I gather that the fish kind of start by the dam and head upstream as the water warms. I figure that I may have messed that up because when I called the dam to check water level, the Corps fellow said that they're already filling the reservoir (as opposed to pulling it down) because of the horrible snowpack this year. The water level is way higher than even in previous April trips, and on the way up, so maybe I should have fished our normal spots upstream of Freeman.

Anyway, that's the report. Bad fishing, but good time had by all. Hopefully we'll see lots of good reports on this forum before we head out for some boat-camping later in the year!
Doug

[salmonster]

Finally hit 'em good today. Hit the lake at the crack of 10:00. In a 2 hour period we hooked 12 and boated 8, all within an inch of 14". Kind of skinny compared to summer fish but happy to get them. Water has cleared some. 44 degrees. Black and red seemed to be the best colors. All fish hooked between 16 and 28 feet. Got on a school and we and 2 other boats stayed on them, Bite ended just after noon and we packed it in at 1:00. First trip this year where we really felt like we had something good going.

[JTM]

Ran a recon trip today, Lake is not brown but a merky green not as clear as normal. Seems like it is higher than it was at this time last year going to start fishing it on Friday will post up a report.

[sawtooth]

Water has definitely started to clear up from the chocolate milk of the last couple of weeks. Went Saturday and picked up 5. My buddy lost four others. Finally got a couple in the boat. Find the warm water and you will find the fish.

[MackayGuy]

SHHHHH seriously? Keep it down man....

Now for the important stuff, Have you been able to find MakayGuys secret trailer parking spot???
Don't post it PM me.

Ok, ok, ok....in the spirit of good sportsmanship to fellow fisherman.....here's the secret parking spot. Feel free to use it.

[terek]

Ok, ok, ok....in the spirit of good sportsmanship to fellow fisherman.....here's the secret parking spot. Feel free to use it.
where are you finding the pavement parking spots at arrowrock!?!

[MackayGuy]

where are you finding the pavement parking spots at arrowrock!?!

That's why its a secret.

[sawtooth]

where are you finding the pavement parking spots at arrowrock!?!

It is right next to the Arrowrock Walmart along the South Fork of the Boise road.

[DRM]

Great, just great. Now I will have to get there extra early to get the spot. Now everyone knows.laugh hyst

[Kokedawg]

I've been reading this forum for a couple of years and I appreciate all of the information.
Last year, in March, we fished at Mack's with great sucess. I didn't see any boats up there last weekend. Are the schools lower in the reservoir this year?
I was fishing on March 15th and enjoyed the lack of boats. The catch rate was a bit slow. We fished 4 hours and put one kokanee in the boat. A watermelon dodger and a pink squid was the only combination that worked. I noticed there was only one other boat that also caught one fish. Perhaps the water turbidity is making it tough. I have noticed a lot of fish on the bottom so I'll try jigging when I'm out on Thursday and let you know how that works.
Has anyone else tried jigging at Lucky Peak?

[cromedogg33]

Finally hit 'em good today. Hit the lake at the crack of 10:00. In a 2 hour period we hooked 12 and boated 8, all within an inch of 14". Kind of skinny compared to summer fish but happy to get them. Water has cleared some. 44 degrees. Black and red seemed to be the best colors. All fish hooked between 16 and 28 feet. Got on a school and we and 2 other boats stayed on them, Bite ended just after noon and we packed it in at 1:00. First trip this year where we really felt like we had something good going.

Were you in the blue I think thunderjet next to the white CW and red CW?

[salmonster]

Hi,
Blue Custom Weld WW Special (w/2 chocolate labs). the other two boats were a white thunder jet with really high sides, and a red jet boat (northwest I believe).

[cromedogg33]

Hi,
Blue Custom Weld WW Special (w/2 chocolate labs). the other two boats were a white thunder jet with really high sides, and a red jet boat (northwest I believe).

Gotcha, that was me in the Red CW WWS. I did well in that spot after trying to fish the dam which was horrible and windy, it was like 2 different lakes.

[terek]

headed up in the morning. Gonna be a great day as far as weather is concerned. I hope the kokes are out and about enjoying it as well. And I will be in the secret parking spot as well. ;)

[salmonster]

Really can't fish that corner well once the ski boats start regularly. Better fish it while we can

[JTM]

headed up in the morning. Gonna be a great day as far as weather is concerned. I hope the kokes are out and about enjoying it as well. And I will be in the secret parking spot as well. ;)

I made it up for my first trip of the year, secret spot was taken dammit! Was slow for me but the weather was awesome!!! Tried the dam around the launch and threw everything in my arsenal finally connected by the confluence. Great day to be on the water.

[amxerhull]

Put in about 5 hours yesterday fishing the dam, Indian, and Canyon. Had a few "small" hits. When we finally landed one, we found out why the hits were small: the fish was about 5 inches. Yikes!

We were fishing from the surface to 25 feet because our previous trip we worked deeper water and were skunked. Water temp was 45 at the dam and 49 at Canyon. That should be warm enough for more action than we had. We're kinda confused and a little worried that it might be an off year.

There were lots of bass fishers and they were doing reasonably well.

Is anyone having better luck than we've had?

John

[terek]

was a nice day yesterday, but the bite was not on. I tried everywhere and used everything. Ended up with 3 nice sized fish, but we fished from 730am to 530pm. All fish caught in random places. Even my secret spot that has produced every trip yielded nothing. Kinda bummed out, hopefully was just this day. Think we will shoot for a camping trip up to anderson next weekend. A friend went to featherville on wed. to see family and he said all the ice was gone.

[terek]

we decided to head up in the morning. Kinda want to go camping next weekend, and would like to get in a "trial" run to see if we should go to arrowrock instead. Fished arrowrock yesterday and it was real slow

[pthept]

Really can't fish that corner well once the ski boats start regularly. Better fish it while we can
Fished Sunday the 22nd and not a bite. The water seemed to warmest 42 degrees at the Nursery area and marked a ton of fish just not interested in my gear.

[H2Oguy]

I was up by Spring Shores the last three days. Thursday after work 1 person 1 limit. Friday after work 2 people 2 limits. Saturday morning 2 people, I caught my limit and the other guy only caught 2 but he had to leave early. All in all not a bad week.

[sawtooth]

Hey Salmonster,
Were you at LP on Sunday. I think we saw you around noon as we were leaving the lake. If so, how was your trip? We finished with our two limits. Got there early and were done by noon.

[terek]

what a great day on the lake. First trip to anderson, and I was a bit fearful to go this early, but arrowrock has turned to crap. We where the first boat to launch, but many followed. Pretty much anything I put on and at any depth was catching fish. The best ended up being pink and green spinners at 28 ft. They have started to school up a bit, and are showing up on the radar in groups of 10-20. Good sizes as well, 14" the avarage, with a couple real large ones. I thought they were chinook at first, but at closer look, im pretty sure they are kokes. All in all, ended up with 27 in the box with 6 lost, and fished from 8-2. Did not see one trout. Pretty much nets in the water on all boats all day. We ended up getting flagged down by a bass fisher with a dead boat battery. We towed him to the dock, then jumped his dead truck battery. laugh hyst Go figure.

Still have not figured out how to get a pic to show up right here, so click the link below to witness the thumbsup awsomeness thumbsup
We probably could have filled both our limits by the end of the day, but we wanted to drive up to the golf course and check it out, as we are getting married there soon. Plus the wind was really picking up.

http://www.kokaneefishingforum.com/fishing-forums/album.php?albumid=366&attachmentid=7826

[kodiak1]

Hey Terek,
Just checked out your pics, and your initial inclination was correct.....at least two of your fish are Chinook. They have prominent spots on the upper part of the body, less of a cut in the tail, and spots on both the upper and lower part of the tail. Sockeye (kokanee) have no spots on the tail, coho have spots on the upper part only, and pinks have oblong spots. Didn't happen to notice what was in the stomachs of them did you? Should have been some small kokanee. I wonder to what extent they are responsible for the larger kokanee so early in the spring? Thanks for the great report, and congrats on a great day of fishing. Which end did you put in, and is the dock in water? Mike

[sawtooth]

Terek,

The two larger ones on photo #2 are both Chinook. You can tell by the spots on the tail and black in their mouths and more defined teeth. The fish in photo 1, 3, 4 are all chinook as well. Looks like you had a great day on the lake.

[kenbarb]

John I hope someone says they had better luck than you did. We have put the ski's away for the season and will concentrate on fishing. Had planned on going to Dworshak tomorrow, but the forecast calls for 80 percent rain, and it's raining here in Hell's Canyon now, so we will wait for better weather.

Seems strange that the bite is so slow now when it was very good at this point in time the last two seasons, maybe it will turn on soon.

Ken & Barb

[fishingmom]

i heard the kokanee were very small also,,,and the bass are starting to bite...

[terek]

Terek,

The two larger ones on photo #2 are both Chinook. You can tell by the spots on the tail and black in their mouths and more defined teeth. The fish in photo 1, 3, 4 are all chinook as well. Looks like you had a great day on the lake.

I was pretty sure they were, but my old lady kept arguing with me about it so i gave in. She just did not want me to throw them back. Never caught one before. They were real fun fights, but the meat is almost white, like you would see in a 1-2 year old stocker trout. Probably because they are stockers? Im not sure, but I think I will be releasing them next time. Let them do there job and eat the kokes. Must be working, because the quality of the kokes is the best I have seen in many years. Nice fat healthy fish

[terek]

Hey Terek,
Just checked out your pics, and your initial inclination was correct.....at least two of your fish are Chinook. They have prominent spots on the upper part of the body, less of a cut in the tail, and spots on both the upper and lower part of the tail. Sockeye (kokanee) have no spots on the tail, coho have spots on the upper part only, and pinks have oblong spots. Didn't happen to notice what was in the stomachs of them did you? Should have been some small kokanee. I wonder to what extent they are responsible for the larger kokanee so early in the spring? Thanks for the great report, and congrats on a great day of fishing. Which end did you put in, and is the dock in water? Mike

Did not check the bellies, my bad. We put in at curlew. The dock is rolled out, and there is just enough of it in the water to get two boats on one side if you really squeezed em in. Plenty of room to tie up and back the trailer in for a solo launch/load.

[salmonster]

Hi Sawtooth,
I saw you guys working that corner. Glad to hear that you did well. We got off to a terribly late start again. We ended up one fish shy of two limits. I did turn back one of next years fish. We hooked a lot of fish but yesterday was one of those 50% landed days. We left about 2:30 to get some yard work done. Nice day up there. 3 of our 11 fish measured 15", which was really nice. I will actually start showing up at daylight.

[sawtooth]

Hi Sawtooth,
We got off to a terribly late start again. We ended up one fish shy of two limits. I did turn back one of next years fish. We hooked a lot of fish but yesterday was one of those 50% landed days. We left about 2:30 to get some yard work done. Nice day up there. 3 of our 11 fish measured 15", which was really nice. I will actually start showing up at daylight.

Get to sleep in a little, catch a couple limits of fish, and still get home in time to get the yard work done! Can't get much better than that. Sounds like the bite continued through most of the day. Nicely done.

[kodiak1]

Terek, you mention that the flesh is white, like a stocker trout. This is not a bad thing with chinook. Ocean chinook eat a lot of crustaceans.....shrimp, krill, crabs. They contain carotenoid, a red-orange pigment that turns their flesh the same color. However, 1 in every 30 chinook cannot process carotenoid genetically, and thus their flesh is white. Not too many years ago white chinook sold for a lot less than red chinook. However, they are now called "ivory" Chinook and command much more than the reds. Whites actually have a lot more oil in them, and thus more flavor. I am assuming that the reason land-locked chinook are white is simply because their diet is probably all fish and no crustaceans. Mike

[Kokedawg]

The bite is on!
Caught limits on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. We caught only a couple of fish early. The action is very fast between 12:00 and 3:00. We found fish in several spots throughout the lake. The fish seem to be fairly shallow; 5ft.-20ft. Watermelon and copper dodgers when it's overcast and chrome/coppper dodgers when the sun is out. Hoochie color doesn't seem to matter much; the fish were biting on every color we put in front of them but the more lure motion the better.
We tried jigging but didn't have success so we went back to trolling and hammered them.

[terek]

Terek, you mention that the flesh is white, like a stocker trout. This is not a bad thing with chinook. Ocean chinook eat a lot of crustaceans.....shrimp, krill, crabs. They contain carotenoid, a red-orange pigment that turns their flesh the same color. However, 1 in every 30 chinook cannot process carotenoid genetically, and thus their flesh is white. Not too many years ago white chinook sold for a lot less than red chinook. However, they are now called "ivory" Chinook and command much more than the reds. Whites actually have a lot more oil in them, and thus more flavor. I am assuming that the reason land-locked chinook are white is simply because their diet is probably all fish and no crustaceans. Mike

Makes sense, as they are supposedly eating koke fry. Will have to eat one tonight and see. Could be the bomb

[Jwood]

Had a good day on LP. Caught a limit all about 13" fished 20' used Kokabow tackle all the way, Chartreuse combinations worked the best.. Best luck across from Spring shores. water was tinted green but pretty clear. 42 deg at spring shores and 45 deg at Kokanee flats. Go out a good luck.

[Physion]

So how did the Chinook taste?

Physion

[jumperzee]

i heard the kokanee were very small also,,,and the bass are starting to bite...

That's what we've been hearing too.

John, no better luck here. Haven't got one yet in 3 trips. In fact I can't say with any certainty that we've even seen one on the FF. Tried Merrys Bay, the dam and Indian Creek. Nothing at any of the "usual" spots. Better not be an "off" year!!! Almost thru last year's supply of canned kokes!

[terek]

So how did the Chinook taste?

Physion

Better than expected. Flesh was more pink than I thought once I filleted it. Nothing like kokes, but it was very good. Good fat in the grain, you could see it well. I still like kokanee better, but a nice change and good thick fillets

[amxerhull]

What bothers me most is that fish are being caught in all the usual lakes at water temps lower than Dworshak's temps. Fish should be up and goin'.

Nothing strikes fear in me like seeing the last can of kokes in the back of the cupboard. (Envision music from the shower scene in "Psycho").

[terek]

about ready to head up to anderson for the weekend. got the boat and the camper. we will probably be the only ones camping at curlew, stop on in for a beer if anyone is around

[Sweetroll]

Probably going to hit the lake this Sunday - any suggestions on which area to fish? I'm thinking we'll put in at the dam but don't want to waste the morning if the fish are hitting further up... Thanks!

[livingidoutdoors]

Hey all, just happened on this site, really glad I found it. I just got myself a little boat this year, and looking forward to starting to do some Kokanee fishing this year. We were planning on heading up to Lucky Peak today, but with this wind, it would have blown us all over the place. Looking forward to learning what it takes to catch these little suckers.

[MackayGuy]

Hey all, just happened on this site, really glad I found it. I just got myself a little boat this year, and looking forward to starting to do some Kokanee fishing this year. We were planning on heading up to Lucky Peak today, but with this wind, it would have blown us all over the place. Looking forward to learning what it takes to catch these little suckers.

Welcome! You just happened onto a great site with tons of info and lots of knowledgable folks. Enjoy.

[sawtooth]

Welcome to the site livingoutdoors. When you say little, are we talking 12 foot aluminum with 8 horse motor or inflatable raft with oars? Just a bit of a warning, Kokanee fishing is addicting. Before you know it you will be looking at downriggers and other gear to allow you to pursue them throughout the summer. Glad to have you on board and fill free to ask any questions you might have.

[livingidoutdoors]

Thanks, glad to be aboard. I have an old 14ft Naden aluminum boat with an old 18hp evinrude on it. I have heard Kokanee fishing can be addicting, really looking forward to getting after it. Don't think the wife is as excited as I am though, the daughter is super excited though.

[oldranger]

Quick question

Have grandpa duty the end of May. Should I tow my boat from Bend to take my 4 and 6 year old grandsons koke fishing at either lucky peak or Arrowrock? Thanks for any advice. They love to fish but I've never had the opportunity to take them on the boat even though I've already bought life jackets for them. Oh yeah I will be taking them to Odell in central oregon in late June.

Mike

[sawtooth]

That would be a great time to be at Lucky Peak or Arrowrock. Do you have downriggers or lead core line, as that is about the time the fish start heading to the depths. Fish will probably be at around 25 to 35 feet down by then. With this early season warm weather you will also have to deal with a few waterskiers as well. Still should be a great time for the kids.

[crawdad376]

Hi All,
Just found this site, and I am encouraged.
Moved here a year ago, and only got out to LP on time. Have a 20 ft Pontoon Boat with downriggers.
Fished Kokes alot back in the day, in, i hate to say it, that state that starts with a "C". Way out of practice, but looking forward to getting back in.

[Stripes]

Hit LP yesterday afternoon, from 2-6, the bite was slow! Two hookups, none boated, and we threw the book at em, ouch. My HDS7 took a crap on me and kept freezing so no idea if we were on them or not. The conditions, for the end of March, were awesome.

[terek]

great weekend at the lake. Sat. was pretty windy, but thur, fri, and sun all beautiful. Sunday fishing was a little slow, bet there was a lot of pressure all weekend. At one point, I counted 14 boats all circling the same area. We would go out for an hour or two at a time, and it was hit and miss. We would either slay them, or get one or two. Ended up taking home 73. Now that the freezer shelf for kokes is full, time to hit up the cats and crappie to fill the white fish shelf. Then just need a couple deer and an elk and we are set.
Did not get one chinook all weekend. Kinda odd since last weekend we got 2 nice ones in 5 hours. I did catch a 4-5 lb bull trout first thing sun morning. Beautiful fish. Wanted a pic, but i was rushing to get him back in the water. Didnt realize what it was at first, and netted it. He swam away just fine though.
Same old same old rigs. Pink and green spinners, herring corn, 15-25 feet. 1.3-1.5 mph

7848

[terek]

nice, figured out how to post pics. I love not having to buy fish at the store. We eat fish 2-3 times a week weather there are some in the freezer or not. This should get us threw a few months before heading back to stock up. Time for my other addiction, bass fishing :) Lowell opens in 16 days, yay!

[terek]

Thanks, glad to be aboard. I have an old 14ft Naden aluminum boat with an old 18hp evinrude on it. I have heard Kokanee fishing can be addicting, really looking forward to getting after it. Don't think the wife is as excited as I am though, the daughter is super excited though.

sounds perfect for the local lakes around here. You dont have to go far from the launch to get into em. Bigger boats are nice, but can cost a fortune in gas to drag around. I would rather run around in something small and burn a gal or two of gas. But, I got the wife, dog, and 4 kids. So im stuck burning 4-6 gal a day to drag around all the weight. About ready to break down and get a nice electric motor.

[kodiak1]

Hi All,
Just found this site, and I am encouraged.
Moved here a year ago, and only got out to LP on time. Have a 20 ft Pontoon Boat with downriggers.
Fished Kokes alot back in the day, in, i hate to say it, that state that starts with a "C". Way out of practice, but looking forward to getting back in.

Welcome to the site, Crawdad. Look forward to hearing lots of successful reports from you... Mike

[kodiak1]

Way to hammer 'em, Terek. Mike

[crawdad376]

Thanks Mike,

I can't wait to get out. Fired both motors, re-spooled, gettin itchy

[spoons]

So far there is only one other pontoon with a down rigger set up other than me. I'm not sure if you need to get a different boat or if there may possibly be room for 3 of us. fencing

[spoons]

great weekend at the lake. Sat. was pretty windy, but thur, fri, and sun all beautiful. Sunday fishing was a little slow, bet there was a lot of pressure all weekend. At one point, I counted 14 boats all circling the same area. We would go out for an hour or two at a time, and it was hit and miss. We would either slay them, or get one or two. Ended up taking home 73. Now that the freezer shelf for kokes is full, time to hit up the cats and crappie to fill the white fish shelf. Then just need a couple deer and an elk and we are set.
Did not get one chinook all weekend. Kinda odd since last weekend we got 2 nice ones in 5 hours. I did catch a 4-5 lb bull trout first thing sun morning. Beautiful fish. Wanted a pic, but i was rushing to get him back in the water. Didnt realize what it was at first, and netted it. He swam away just fine though.
Same old same old rigs. Pink and green spinners, herring corn, 15-25 feet. 1.3-1.5 mph

7848
Pressure? I have no idea why there would be any pressure up there at Anderson. It's such a long drive... and the Kokanee are so small... Chinook? What Chinook? I hear all the chinook got flushed out into Arrowrock.

[campdog]

I hope you have an outstanding season at Lake Lowell. I can't understand why Anderson is so busy this early in the season.101duh101

[crawdad376]

Oh heck,
I have room for all 4, and the set up is nice. however, when fishing with my grand kids, or folks that are not familiar with them, I get really busy. With that in mind, I would rather just cut to 2 downriggers, and stack if i must.

[jumperzee]

Played hooky from work yesterday AM and did a quick trip. Finally got into some right as we were leaving. Not much size though.

Found 3 large schools and caught fish at 50'. Prior to that there were numerous scattered fish at 15-25'ish or so. All around Indian Creek. Seemed to be generally concentrated over the points in the 100'ish zone. Heavy on the "ish"

Gorgeous morning on the water too.

[amxerhull]

Played hooky from work yesterday AM and did a quick trip. Finally got into some right as we were leaving. Not much size though.

Found 3 large schools and caught fish at 50'. Prior to that there were numerous scattered fish at 15-25'ish or so. All around Indian Creek. Seemed to be generally concentrated over the points in the 100'ish zone. Heavy on the "ish"

Gorgeous morning on the water too.

My wife and I put in 4 hours yesterday afternoon, mostly to enjoy the sun. We fished Canyon Creek and had no hits. We worked 10 to 35 feet down but never dropped to 50'. Water temp was 57 which is 10 degrees warmer than last year when we were doing well. Go figure.

[jumperzee]

Water temp was 57 which is 10 degrees warmer than last year when we were doing well. Go figure.

X-hull - that seems like and awful high temp reading? Where was it taken? I've been showing consistent about 48 degrees on the FF, pretty much the same as the ACOE site (gotta convert):

http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/ftppub/water_quality/tempstrings/DWR_S1_2015_03.html

57 is more than an "ish" factor! Not saying you're wrong...enough remote technology that we all cold be wrong!

[amxerhull]

X-hull - that seems like and awful high temp reading? Where was it taken? I've been showing consistent about 48 degrees on the FF, pretty much the same as the ACOE site (gotta convert):

http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/ftppub/water_quality/tempstrings/DWR_S1_2015_03.html

57 is more than an "ish" factor! Not saying you're wrong...enough remote technology that we all cold be wrong!

You're correct, Jumper, I had a senior moment. My wife said we were seeing 47 and 48 degrees with an occasional low 50 thrown in (late afternoon). This was surface temp at Canyon Creek. Still, I think we should be hooking some fish with those temps.

[redrider]

I'm wondering if there is a size limit or taken limit on the Chinook ? Same limit as trout ?

[Physion]

Kodiak1 received this note from IDFG. With permission, I have copied it from another forum:


"I wanted to apologize for the incorrect information I provided to you regarding your question about Chinook in Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The correct information is a follows:

The Chinook were stocked to take advantage of a large kokanee population as well as to reestablish a fishing opportunity once found in Anderson Ranch Reservoir.

We understand there is confusion regarding the current Chinook rules on Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The reason they are not addressed in the rules is that the recent stocking event occurred during the current 3-year rules cycle – which was published prior to the stocking event. Legally, Chinook fall under “other fish species” which do not have length, daily bag, or possession limits. Our hope is that folks would consider reasonable harvest – suggesting they consider Chinook as part of the general trout limit at Anderson Ranch Reservoir.

It is our intent to address Chinook harvest rules during this rule cycle. We have brought it up under the current rule scoping process and are reviewing public comments. Ultimately, Chinook fishing rules will be established Jan 1, 2016 following Commission approval.

Again, I am sorry if the incorrect information caused any inconvenience.

Donna Conrad
Customer Service Representative
Idaho Department of Fish & Game"


I hope people respond appropriately. Good publicity for our sport is always a plus.

Physion

[terek]

Kodiak1 received this note from IDFG. With permission, I have copied it from another forum:


"I wanted to apologize for the incorrect information I provided to you regarding your question about Chinook in Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The correct information is a follows:

The Chinook were stocked to take advantage of a large kokanee population as well as to reestablish a fishing opportunity once found in Anderson Ranch Reservoir.

We understand there is confusion regarding the current Chinook rules on Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The reason they are not addressed in the rules is that the recent stocking event occurred during the current 3-year rules cycle – which was published prior to the stocking event. Legally, Chinook fall under “other fish species” which do not have length, daily bag, or possession limits. Our hope is that folks would consider reasonable harvest – suggesting they consider Chinook as part of the general trout limit at Anderson Ranch Reservoir.

It is our intent to address Chinook harvest rules during this rule cycle. We have brought it up under the current rule scoping process and are reviewing public comments. Ultimately, Chinook fishing rules will be established Jan 1, 2016 following Commission approval.

Again, I am sorry if the incorrect information caused any inconvenience.

Donna Conrad
Customer Service Representative
Idaho Department of Fish & Game"


I hope people respond appropriately. Good publicity for our sport is always a plus.

Physion

This is kinda what I expected for an answer. I plan on releasing any more I catch. There presence seems to be working, IE making the kokanee population a bit smaller, thus better size. I have caught around 100 so far this year and they are averaging 13-14 inches. Much better than the 7-8 inch average from 3-4 years ago. So, unless its some 15 lb wall hanger, I will release if possible. The 2 I have gotten so far swallowed the hooks, so release was not possible. It would be nice to figure out a way to target them. I would love to do some catch and release fishing after getting a few kokes in the boat next trip.

[redrider]

Kodiak1 received this note from IDFG. With permission, I have copied it from another forum:


"I wanted to apologize for the incorrect information I provided to you regarding your question about Chinook in Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The correct information is a follows:

The Chinook were stocked to take advantage of a large kokanee population as well as to reestablish a fishing opportunity once found in Anderson Ranch Reservoir.

We understand there is confusion regarding the current Chinook rules on Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The reason they are not addressed in the rules is that the recent stocking event occurred during the current 3-year rules cycle – which was published prior to the stocking event. Legally, Chinook fall under “other fish species” which do not have length, daily bag, or possession limits. Our hope is that folks would consider reasonable harvest – suggesting they consider Chinook as part of the general trout limit at Anderson Ranch Reservoir.

It is our intent to address Chinook harvest rules during this rule cycle. We have brought it up under the current rule scoping process and are reviewing public comments. Ultimately, Chinook fishing rules will be established Jan 1, 2016 following Commission approval.

Again, I am sorry if the incorrect information caused any inconvenience.

Donna Conrad
Customer Service Representative
Idaho Department of Fish & Game"


I hope people respond appropriately. Good publicity for our sport is always a plus.

Physion

Thanks ! That answers my questions in detail.

[gonefishing]

Ririe reservoir is at 66% and will likely not fill again this year. The fish numbers are good in the deeper water, but that water has issues with an algae bloom already, including the dam end. I have never seen this much green, this time of the year. This will be a interesting year.

[Trailbob]

Fished Lucky Peak with my wife today, from 10:00 to 4:00. Caught 4 kokes (13-14") and two small trout, from 10 to 18' deep. Didn't catch a fish until after lunch. Not red hot, but at least some fish.

[Kokanee Vandal]

Took my new boat out for the first time. Fished from noon until around 2:30. One koke in the boat and two lost. One at 10' on a chrome dodger and pink hoochie with gulp maggots (that's the one I landed) and two on the surface with small pop gear, fire corn and a chartreuse wedding ring.

I tried further up the reservoir this time due to crowding across from Spring Shores. The new boat made it much easier to get up there fast. All in all a fun day and a successful first voyage. Way more traffic than I thought there would be. I even loaded and unloaded without incident with two little ones in tow. I have never tried to drive onto the trailer, pretty cool and quick.

I did see quite a few fish landed from other boats and saw two boats trolling right in front of the ramp and one hooked up fast. Made it tough to get to the ramp but glad to see him catch one.

[KokaneeJoe]

Just returned from Anderson. Fishing from Curlew to Lime Creek good. Kokanee at about 18 feet caught them on every kind of dodger 24" ahead of a pink wiggle hoochie. Leaded line about 2 colors. Monofilament 72 feet with 1 1/2 oz sinker. Three days to catch possession limit.

[livingidoutdoors]

Hit the lake early this morning for a couple hours, blew our little boat all over. Had on hit and that was about it.

[kokaneekevin]

First post to this forum! Been reading it for a while though. Great info here! Keep up the good work everyone... thumbsup
Went up to LP yesterday with a buddy of mine (used his boat, a duck hunting camo boat; can't miss it if you saw us!). Spent most of the day there: 10:30 - 6pm. We took home 8 nice Kokanees, 13" - 14", each catching 4. Lost a couple close to the boat late in the day (dang wind, that's my excuse anyway laugh hyst ). We only had 11 bites between us all day, so it was a bit slow, but luckily we boated most of the hits we had. Caught a few using "Fish with Gary" gear and Kokabow gear in the morning, then switched to Ford Fenders in the afternoon, trying to take advantage of the sunshine. Chartreuse and orange seemed to be the colors of choice. Almost all the hits were with 4oz lead weights (no downriggers), maybe 20 to 30 feed down. No luck in front of Spring Shores, so spent most of the time in that first small 'bay' (with many others) to the left as you head around the corner down the channel. All in all, another great day out there. Can't wait to get out there again! Picture attached. Had one angler out there give us his only catch of the day as we were both heading in - the smaller one in the picture, but even the small ones smoke up really nice. These 5 are in brine now and will be in the smoker tomorrow! Easter Dinner! Doesn't get any better... 101chromefish101
7877

[Jwood]

This is kinda what I expected for an answer. I plan on releasing any more I catch. There presence seems to be working, IE making the kokanee population a bit smaller, thus better size. I have caught around 100 so far this year and they are averaging 13-14 inches. Much better than the 7-8 inch average from 3-4 years ago. So, unless its some 15 lb wall hanger, I will release if possible. The 2 I have gotten so far swallowed the hooks, so release was not possible. It would be nice to figure out a way to target them. I would love to do some catch and release fishing after getting a few kokes in the boat next trip.

Terek, as mentioned by the quote from Fish and game the Chinook were not only planted to help with the Kokanee population but to offer an additional fishing opportunity. I don't think it is unreasonable to take a few Chinook home when caught; they are great table fair and fight like the dickens especially on Kokanee gear. I also believe when F&G sees the success they have drawing more anglers to Anderson plus the benefit to the kokanee size they will most likely continue to plant Chinook.

I have had some luck fishing for Chinook on Coeur'Dalene lake ( sorry about the spelling). It has been my experience the small Chinook school with Kokanee but the larger Chinook tend to stay below the kokanee schools so try fishing one rod for kokanee at 20' and one for chinook at 35". I prefer using a single large blade with plug cut herring or a 14 Quickfish with a sardine wrap, I also know of two guys that have caught nice size (about five pounds) Chinook on Kokabow spinners at AR. A large sling blade or one of Kokabow's new blades (I like the silver and black and the silver and pink blades) this type of tackle would be perfect. For information on land locked Chinook try calling Fins and Feathers in Hayden Lake Idaho.

On a similar note I have caught small Chinook on Lucky Peak that have come through the dams. They look a lot like Kokanee but they have black spots on the back and tail. I keep these fish because I don't think they are intended to be in Luck Peak and in the long run they might be detrimental the Kokanee population. These are Just my thoughts with no backing from F&G to support. Good fishing and good luck.

[kodiak1]

[Welcome to the site, Kevin! Mike

[terek]

Terek, as mentioned by the quote from Fish and game the Chinook were not only planted to help with the Kokanee population but to offer an additional fishing opportunity. I don't think it is unreasonable to take a few Chinook home when caught; they are great table fair and fight like the dickens especially on Kokanee gear. I also believe when F&G sees the success they have drawing more anglers to Anderson plus the benefit to the kokanee size they will most likely continue to plant Chinook.

I have had some luck fishing for Chinook on Coeur'Dalene lake ( sorry about the spelling). It has been my experience the small Chinook school with Kokanee but the larger Chinook tend to stay below the kokanee schools so try fishing one rod for kokanee at 20' and one for chinook at 35". I prefer using a single large blade with plug cut herring or a 14 Quickfish with a sardine wrap, I also know of two guys that have caught nice size (about five pounds) Chinook on Kokabow spinners at AR. A large sling blade or one of Kokabow's new blades (I like the silver and black and the silver and pink blades) this type of tackle would be perfect. For information on land locked Chinook try calling Fins and Feathers in Hayden Lake Idaho.

On a similar note I have caught small Chinook on Lucky Peak that have come through the dams. They look a lot like Kokanee but they have black spots on the back and tail. I keep these fish because I don't think they are intended to be in Luck Peak and in the long run they might be detrimental the Kokanee population. These are Just my thoughts with no backing from F&G to support. Good fishing and good luck.

The ones we did catch were around 4-6 lbs and very good fighters. Very noticable, like my wife handed to rod to me cuz she could not handle it. They also tasted great. Was a nice change to eat a salmon fillet the size of one you would get at the store. I will take your advice with the cut herring next time we go up. On another note, the larger one we caught had roe in it. I know its a bit early, but mabe this is a sign that they may spawn this fall. I thought i read something that chinook were planted in anderson a while ago, but never spawned. So they slowly disappeared.

[Lunddude]

The ones we did catch were around 4-6 lbs and very good fighters. Very noticable, like my wife handed to rod to me cuz she could not handle it. They also tasted great. Was a nice change to eat a salmon fillet the size of one you would get at the store.

You caught 4-6lb. Chinook @ Anderson this year? Didn't happen unless you post pictures.

[sawtooth]

You caught 4-6lb. Chinook @ Anderson this year? Didn't happen unless you post pictures.

Lunddude, Check out post #18 on page 1 of this thread. The two larger fish in the pictures are the ones he is referring too. I would guess three and four lbs. respectively. Looks like 18" and 19" in length.

[terek]

78797880

proof is in the puddin'

[salmonster]

I see the IDFG stocked fall chinook in Anderson in 2013. How long will they live? Will they spawn up the river like the situation ion Cour de Alene?

[Jwood]

It is my understanding that land locked Chinook only live three years with a few that live four years. The fish don't reproduce naturally because they were planted and unable to return to the water where they were hatched (in one of the hatcheries) so they get confused and even though they reach maturity they can't figure out where to spawn. Mother Nature, go figure.

F&G started planting Chinook in Coeur D Alene Lake in 1976 and over the years some have found their way into the streams and rivers to produce a few natural spawners but F&G still stocks the lake each year. It’s a great success for Coeur D Alene Lake. I hope they do something similar at Anderson Ranch. I have emailed the Fisheries manager for the Magic Valley region and will pass along information he provides to me.

[SuperD]

It is my understanding that land locked Chinook only live three years with a few that live four years. The fish don't reproduce naturally because they were planted and unable to return to the water where they were hatched (in one of the hatcheries) so they get confused and even though they reach maturity they can't figure out where to spawn. Mother Nature, go figure.


This is a misconception. Planted Chinook can spawn naturally if planted in lakes with suitable streams with proper spawning bed bottoms and water temperatures that don't fluctuate outside boundaries of salmon spawn habitat. We have a lake here that has successful Chinook fishing a decade after the last DFG plant. Natural reproduction has been successful in the lake. Furthermore, in ocean run salmon that are tagged at the hatcheries, many have been identified in future years returning to streams that were not their original hatch and plant waters.

[terek]

This is a misconception. Planted Chinook can spawn naturally if planted in lakes with suitable streams with proper spawning bed bottoms and water temperatures that don't fluctuate outside boundaries of salmon spawn habitat. We have a lake here that has successful Chinook fishing a decade after the last DFG plant. Natural reproduction has been successful in the lake. Furthermore, in ocean run salmon that are tagged at the hatcheries, many have been identified in future years returning to streams that were not their original hatch and plant waters.

I hope this is true, it makes sense. It would suck if jwood is correct, because that would make this summer the last one for a lot of the chinook. As it will be summer 3 for the last batch of stockers. I may have to go threw the pics I have of the last trip I made. Seems like a few of the smaller fish had spots on the tail. Seems that if we are seeing larger fish (i.e. 18-20 inchers) and smaller fish (i.e. 11-12 inchers) in the same area, leads me to belive the smaller ones may be spawners. At least I dream this is true. I would love to have a plentiful stock of 5+ lb fish to catch and my kids to catch for years to come.

[SuperD]

If this lake has feeder streams that run all year long, someone willing to hike them in the Fall would know for sure by seeing the sea of red fish. If you have 12 inchers and they haven't planted in 3 years, you have some reproduction occurring. This doesn't mean that there is enough happening to make the lake self sustaining but it usually means the fish & game can plant less or run the risk of over populating and end up with a stunted fishery.

[sawtooth]

The South Fork of the Boise River would definitely be large enough to sustain a population of reproducing Chinook. The kokes have been reproducing in the river for years. As a matter of fact you can already go there in the fall and see a mass of red spawners, but right now it is the kokanee that you will see. My understanding is that freshwater chinook tend to mature a bit sooner (2-4 years) as compared to their saltwater brothers who take 3 to as much as 7 years to mature. I am guessing that if the chinook in Anderson are going to successfully reproduce this should be the first year that we see some of them in the river come fall.

[30carbine]

Went to Anderson last Friday 4-3-15. Started fishing at Lime Creek somewhere near 2:00 and quit at 7:00. Brought home 17 kokanee and 1 chinook. 12-14" on the kokanee and 19" for the chinook which weighed 2.25 pounds on my scale. Pink was good as well as orange. Corn or Gulp maggots on the hooks. A dab of Smelly Jelly Shrimp/Anise seemed to be important as well. Had the rigs stacked at 25 and 35 the whole time with one rod at 45 pulls with a 1 ounce weight. Everything worked. The first 4 fish were on 4 different rods. The chinook was on the weighted rig. Heading up again tomorrow hoping the wind doesn't blow too much.

7882

[Jwood]

Chinook Salmon cannot naturally reproduce in land lock lakes. Just check the historical stocking. Arrowrock Chinook were stocked from 1996 through 1998 with no natural reproduction. CJ Strike 1982, 1984 and 2000 with no natural reproduction. Luck Peak; 1995 through 2000 with no natural reproduction. Anderson ranch; 1982 - 1984 no natural reproduction. Deadwood; 1982 - 1998 no natural reproduction. There are two lakes in Idaho that support a healthy Chinook Population but only with support from F&G, Coeur D Alene and Deadwood (possibly some in southern and eastern Idaho I would not be aware of). All this information is available through the F&G web site and by contacting the Fisheries Managers and Biologists. I have contacted them by email and phone and they have always been very helpful and informative.

[SuperD]

To say that they cannot is just flat BS if you are making an unequivocal statement about all lakes. Many lakes have natural reproduction but not to the extent that it supports the mission of F&G or stands up to the fishing pressure for that lake.

[Jwood]

I base my comments on facts from the F&G. Tell me the lake where there is natural reproduction I'll apologize and eat my words if I can be proven wrong..

[SuperD]

Okay, working on reaching out to my fish biologist and F&G resource for links to articles that will hopefully provide the evidence. I can add that many of the lakes that are being planted with Kings now are being planted with triploid Chinook which means they have been neutered sort of speak so that they are physically incapable of reproducing at all, period. This helps the fish grow bigger, faster as energy is not spent in maturing them sexually, so all their energy goes into growth. But if we are speaking of sexually capable Kings, I'm sticking with my assertion that they can naturally reproduce. It has been 7 years since Kings were planted in Folsom Lake, in my town, and people have been catching Kings there every year since and juveniles are frequently caught and released. Will be back with links when I get them.

Dave

[SuperD]

I decided to see if I could find something in a good old internet search and found this. Read the second paragraph on the second page.

http://www.chelanpud.org/relicense/study/reports/6450_1.pdf

[SuperD]

Another article speaking to my own backyard lake that I know to be true.

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/salmon-spawning-american-river-above-folsom-lake

[Jwood]

Okay Dave, I'm eating my words as I speak. In my defense I was speaking of Idaho lakes only. I wish we had lakes in Idaho where there was a natural spawn. Maybe someday. I enjoyed the debate.