2017 Anderson Ranch Reservoir Kokanee Fishing Report

[sawtooth]

Good Luck on all your trips to Anderson Ranch this year.

[thebug]

Anyone ever try it out at Anderson?

[thebug]

Are the Ramps open yet?

[spoons]

Nitz's, the store in Pine, told me this morning that I would still need snow shoes to get to the ramps.

[Fuzzy]

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w220/stickflinger/ElkCreek.png (http://s177.photobucket.com/user/stickflinger/media/ElkCreek.png.html)

Dam end is open........this was Thursday. Curlew is going to be awhile.

On a side note, did anyone attend the Kokabow seminar this year? Was hoping to hear what F and G had to say in regards to forecasts for Anderson and other Idaho Kokanee lakes this year. Last year they had it pegged for Anderson being slow.

Good luck to all this year.

[Trailbob]

I went to the kokanee seminar at Sportsman's in Nampa last Sat. The gentleman from Kokabow did a good job and had a lot of interesting info. He said Anderson will probably take another year before it gets good again. Also, they did a fin clip survey and found out that a lot of Arrowrock's planted fish end up down in Lucky Peak. F&G will be changing how/when they stock them this year to see if more will stay in Arrowrock. But again, it will take a year or two to find out if it works. Finally, the planted chinook are not having a large affect on kokanees, but mainly forage on perch.

[G3 longliner]

Good Luck on all your trips to Anderson Ranch this year.

Anderson is fishable BUT very slow been 3 times for total of 14 Koks only 3 keepers think will wait for Lucky Peak maybe June this year?

[rem40xb1]

Fished Anderson today for the 3rd time in 2 weeks 1 trout no kokes--I fished by the dam and lime creek area also the deer creek area--I marked very few fish

[davet]

Fished anderson on sat 3/29 very slow, very nice in the morning then the wind picked up around noon or so. Fished all the regular colors and combos, only caught 1 kokanee and 1 trout. Might have to try closer to home this weekend.

[Trailbob]

Fished Anderson Ranch on 5/4 and 5/5, from Curlew down to the first big creek (name?). The camping was good but the fishing not so much. Water was murky, and in the low 50's. There is a lot of debris in the lake, including some rather large logs to watch for. We caught three smallish (12" +/-) kokanee and a 17" trout. A pink spoon and watermelon dodger at 15' worked best for the kokanee. Also lost a couple that were the same size or smaller. Very few people trolling out there. Lots of bass boats.

The south fork of the Boise River looks like a raging torrent pouring in from the north end of the lake. I think it's going to take a while for this lake to settle out.

[crappieslayer]

Hey Trailbob. Have you tried any areas towards the dam. I know last year there were people fishing that area. I'm hoping to be up that way the week of the 21st unless the high water flows get worse. Then my backup plan would be Cascade.

[scottc]

fished Anderson for bass on the 9th, any how the water south of lime creek went up in the 65-67 degree temps, the closer you got to pine the colder,,,44 degrees. Water was really not that bad as far as derbis,,fairly clear towards the dam

[Trailbob]

Hey Trailbob. Have you tried any areas towards the dam. I know last year there were people fishing that area. I'm hoping to be up that way the week of the 21st unless the high water flows get worse. Then my backup plan would be Cascade.

No, I never got that far down. Sounds like it may be worth a try though.

[G3 longliner]

No, I never got that far down. Sounds like it may be worth a try though.

have nor been to Anderson for a month is it still dead? got a few at LP but slow

[Honas]

Fished Anderson today from 7am-1pm. Marked fish between 15'-35' but couldn't get them interested. Varied depth, speed, and color but nothing doing. Water temp at surface ranged between 53 at the dam to 58 further up the pool. Quite a bit of trash in the water yet and the visibility is still low.

[GrimReaper]

We also fished Anderson this past weekend, only caught 3 tiny kokes (returned to water), a couple squaw fish and a small rainbow. Didn't mark much, tried from Curlew to just past Lime, also tried around Fall Creek and down by dam. Not many boats on the water, the few I spoke with had similarly poor results as ours. Decided to try Arrow Rock Monday, also very slow only 1 small koke and couple squaw.

[crappieslayer]

Fished curlew for 2 hrs before the weather chased me off. Marked some fish at 25' and 30' but nothing hit on 4 totally different setups. Will try again Saturday and Sunday.

[Chasing tail]

Fished Anderson today from 6-noon. Surface temp was 57 and water clarity was fair but still murky with a lot of trash in it. Put 5 kokes and 3 squaw fish in the boat. Lost 2 more fish we never saw. All the kokes were caught on top. The fish we marked deep wouldn't hit anything.

[crappieslayer]

That must have been my mistake. Saw lots of fish 35 to 40 ' deep. Had a couple that popped the rods loose, but none got hooked. Switched to bass around 1:30 and had a blast catching everthimg from 6" to 16" and lots of them. I will try shallow for kokes tomorrow. I trolled everywhere from 6' down to 40' down and no fish in boat. I will try really shallow tomorrow.

[davet]

That must have been my mistake. Saw lots of fish 35 to 40 ' deep. Had a couple that popped the rods loose, but none got hooked. Switched to bass around 1:30 and had a blast catching everthimg from 6" to 16" and lots of them. I will try shallow for kokes tomorrow. I trolled everywhere from 6' down to 40' down and no fish in boat. I will try really shallow tomorrow.

Crappieslayer, I know this is a kokanee forum, I will keep it brief. Just wondering if you would be willing to share some info on the bass at anderson, we fished bass this last weekend and did terrible. We usually do pretty well this time of year but our normal tactics did not produce neither did any of the others we tried. Senkos, crawdad plastics, in the weeds and the rocks, mostly around curlew. Good work on finding some fish to catch, the kokanee have been a bit off this year for sure.

Dave

[crappieslayer]

Just wanted to show how well my cooler did keeping ICE on my 4 day fishing trip at Anderson. Left Thursday morning and returned Monday afternoon, so technically that is 5 days with same ice in cooler. Maybe 20% loss in 5 days. Cooler is a Pelican 250qt and it was left outside. 9049

Never did catch any Kokes.

[KokaneeJoe]

Fished Anderson today from 6-noon. Surface temp was 57 and water clarity was fair but still murky with a lot of trash in it. Put 5 kokes and 3 squaw fish in the boat. Lost 2 more fish we never saw. All the kokes were caught on top. The fish we marked deep wouldn't hit anything.

What was the size of the kokes? Some in Anderson are pretty big this year.

[Chasing tail]

What was the size of the kokes? Some in Anderson are pretty big this year.

We caught the first 4 off the same school and they were running only about 14". A couple hours later we hit a loner that was 19"

[KokaneeJoe]

We caught the first 4 off the same school and they were running only about 14". A couple hours later we hit a loner that was 19"

Thanks for the report Chasing Tail. thumbsup

[scottc]

Hey all, goin up tomorrow for the week, things may change or I might figure something out....(yea right ) well any how If you come up I'll be In SEA ARK camo with that yellow dog again. ck with me , if I know anything will share it with you.

[AkAngler]

Fished from 7 to noon and went 11 of 30 today with another 25+ drive byes that were gone before we got to the rods...just couldn't keep em hooked! Most were around the 14" mark with one just over 18". All four rods hit fish with 1 with 1/2 oz, 2 3/4 oz, and 1 1oz anywhere from 70-90' back. Color didn't really matter either. Weaved our way through the junk between curlew and lime cr. Will be back at it in the morning. Great day on the water and I f a few more would have stuck it had the makings of a really good day!!!

[Chasing tail]

Fished today from 6-noon. Surface water temp was 63 and the water had cleared up a little from last weekend. Still a lot of junk floating but we put 6 Kokanee in the boat. All of them were 14-15" we couldn't get on anything bigger. Had a few other hits and lost one right at the boat.

[tracker]

Fished long line 1/2 oz weight, green/silver spin glow hooked 4 landed 1 .
Down rigger 10' pink dodger pink spin blade caught 4 landed 1
Down Rigger 20' nothing many color changes
Down Rigger 10' nothing many color changes
fished 8-2 water was a little cold still.
Save of the day was a nice 24" trout

[Chasing tail]

We fished Saturday evening till dark then Sunday morning until 10. Boated 24 Kokanee and lost 8. Also one smallmouth that was probably a couple pounds. Only one decent fish the rest were small. Water temp was 61-63 and a lot less junk floating. That will probably be my last trip since I can find small kokes about 3 hours closer to home.

[fish4kok]

Camp and fish 1st time in Curlew, Anderson Ranch this year on Thur. & Fri. (6/15-16/2017). It's beautiful place when the reservoir is full, the hills sides are green and weather not so bad.

No boat dock at Curlew boat ramp, there was stacks of docks on the Curlew parking space, there were few marked good :) It was damaged by last winter. Someone told me there will not boat dock at Curlew this year. If someone know more about the Curlew's boat dock please let us know.

It was nice to meet and talk to AkAngler on Thursday evening. Glad to talk to you Mr. AkAngler.

Fishing hard on both day. Fish scattered. We fished from West side Curlew up to Lime Creek and brought home 31 Kok. Lost whole bunch because they didn't hit hard. Most of them size 13.5" few 11". No Trout, Chinook and Squaw fish.

DR from 8 to 15', Ford Fender + WR mixed color green and orange+ shoepeg corn + Anise scent.
Long line pole same setup 1.5 oz weight 25 - 32' line out.

[Lunddude]

Now that's something you don't see at Anderson every day. For a second I thought the picture of the boat was at Buoy 10

[fish4kok]

Now that's something you don't see at Anderson every day. For a second I thought the picture of the boat was at Buoy 10

Yeah! That's big fishing rig that I saw in Anderson, the decal that read Imperial Taxidermy Fishing Team. I found their website from Google and their local business in Caldwell.
http://www.imperialtaxidermy.com/

[AkAngler]

It was nice meeting and talking with Fish4Kok on Thursday! We fished for about 5 hours in morning of Thursday and boated 6 and lost a ton then boated 3 more in the evening in 2 hours with just as many or more lost. Gave it about 2.5 hours Friday morning for 5 more. Just out there for Thursday/Friday with my two kids (7 and 8) and my uncle from Colorado. I think if we had been a little more serious about getting fish in the boat we could have done significantly better but was just nice to be out of town! I also really enjoyed watching the kids figure out reeling in and netting each other's fish...by Friday morning they had it down and we only lost 2 fish that were off long before they got close to the net! Fish are all small compared to size I was catching earlier in the year but think that as the water stabilizes a little more we should see them schooled up and better fishing!

[Sweetroll]

Yeah! That's big fishing rig that I saw in Anderson, the decal that read Imperial Taxidermy Fishing Team. I found their website from Google and their local business in Caldwell.
http://www.imperialtaxidermy.com/


Not trying to highjack the thread - just wanted to say that Imperial is a great shop if you have something to mount. Had a deer done there a couple of years ago and they were awesome to work with and it came out great.

[Sweetroll]

It was nice meeting and talking with Fish4Kok on Thursday! We fished for about 5 hours in morning of Thursday and boated 6 and lost a ton then boated 3 more in the evening in 2 hours with just as many or more lost. Gave it about 2.5 hours Friday morning for 5 more. Just out there for Thursday/Friday with my two kids (7 and 8) and my uncle from Colorado. I think if we had been a little more serious about getting fish in the boat we could have done significantly better but was just nice to be out of town! I also really enjoyed watching the kids figure out reeling in and netting each other's fish...by Friday morning they had it down and we only lost 2 fish that were off long before they got close to the net! Fish are all small compared to size I was catching earlier in the year but think that as the water stabilizes a little more we should see them schooled up and better fishing!

Any particular colors that were working better than others?

[AkAngler]

I'd say pink hoochie was the best but we caught on orange pink and green hoochies as well as orange and pink wedding rings. Best dodgers were probably RMT 5.5 splatter in orange and pink

[Sweetroll]

I'd say pink hoochie was the best but we caught on orange pink and green hoochies as well as orange and pink wedding rings. Best dodgers were probably RMT 5.5 splatter in orange and pink

Thanks! We're heading up Saturday - hoping that the warm weather and lower flow rates in the system will help the fishing!

[KokaneeJoe]

Had a great Fathers Day weekend at Curlew in spite of some mechanical failures and the absence of a boat dock. Koke fishing was fair with an average of 1.8 fish in the boat per hour of fishing. All were in the top 15-20 feet. We had the best luck with a pink/purple Father Murphy Combo. But also a pink/green and orange/green combo did well. Don't think they were being very picky.

[sage68]

Fished Saturday (6 hours) and Sunday (4 hours) last weekend.

Used four poles all long line.

Saturday morning fish were on "top". We were going about 2.5 mph (based on the recommendations I've read regarding speed this a bit fast, but it doesn't seem to keep the fish from biting) according to the GPS About 11am all top water bites stopped and the 1 oz weighted lines got the bites. Fished about 20 feet deep (estimated). The fish we seeing on the fish finder were primarily between 14-30 feet Had 19 hits, landed seven, released two of those.

Sunday was more productive. used 1 oz weight and again fished about 20 feet. Had 36 hits and landed 12. Fish were between 11-14". Nothing huge, but by far the best day we've had at Anderson this year.

[kodiak1]

[Does anyone have any info about the dock being out at Curlew?

[tracker]

[Does anyone have any info about the dock being out at Curlew?

it was not out yet as of 6/16/17. I was told it may never be out this year.

[AkAngler]

According to the sheriff and several locals the dock will not go in at all this year.

[hooknhunter]

I'll bet they'll still expect you to pay to park there......... :-(

I don't like it when I have to pay for NO SERVICES.

[kodiak1]

I called the Boise Nat. Forest and was told that they are scrambling because a. they have so much damage from the winter to deal with....bridges, landslides, etc., and b. they don't have the money to cover everything. They don't have plans currently to repair the dock. I suggested they purchase or borrow one of the portable wheelchair accessible docks used at Lucky Peak until the repairs are made. They were very interested in the idea. Mike

[hooknhunter]

Would they allow sportsmen to cover it/do the repairs? You might find folks willing to do the work and contribute funds if they would allow it.

[scottc]

the kokes are starting to bite this last week, shallow, pink hoochie. ford fender or silver dodger, nice fat 12 inch kokes, see you monday

[Ntlost]

I want to head to Anderson on Tuesday for a few days. What's the latest report. i don't care about the dock...the old Northriver is use to being in the rocks so to speak. More interested in the depth, water temp? and any pop gear being used. Will share my results upon my return.

[galaxy51]

We fished 3 days, June 23rd 24th and 25th, and used dodgers with little squid behind them and caught fish from surface to 25 feet.
Lots of fish but size is down from past couple of years.

[KokaneeJoe]

I want to head to Anderson on Tuesday for a few days. What's the latest report. i don't care about the dock...the old Northriver is use to being in the rocks so to speak. More interested in the depth, water temp? and any pop gear being used. Will share my results upon my return.

Can't say about now but last week we did best with a pink/purple dodger and a pink/purple bug. But we also caught fish with green/pink and green/orange and blue/purple gear. Not really too picky. All were caught in the top 15 or 20 feet using both long lines and downriggers.

We will be up there this week as well. Thinking about Deer Creek or Pine ramps because of the boat dock situation at Curlew. Perhaps I will see you up there.

[salmonster]

I'm sorry to say I have no news about the docks.
We did catch 30+ koks on Sunday, though. Unfortunately they were all smallish (12"-14"). There were no eggs in any of the ones we finally ended up keeping for dinner so I am assuming they are next year's fish. We were fishing half way between Lime creek and Fall creek on the timbered side of the reservoir. All fish caught between 15 and 30 feet deep. We did best on reds and blacks, a couple on pink but none on green - unusual for us for Anderson where we typically do best on pinks and greens. We did hook one very large fish that we really never had a chance against. We are thinking chinook but we never saw it. Good Luck- tear 'em up.

[Physion]

The docks are still out at Curlew and will probably not be put in this year. And we still get to pay.

On a better note, I went yesterday, Tuesday, and did well. Tight lines!

[dustyjohns]

We are headed out in the morning. Haven't caught much of anything for kokanee yet this year so hoping it changes tomorrow.

[dustyjohns]

We could not keep the fish on for some reason. Most likely due to rookies LoL. The 20" bow made up for a bunch we never boated. Stayed right around Curlew and did ok.

[fish4kok]

We could not keep the fish on for some reason. Most likely due to rookies LoL. The 20" bow made up for a bunch we never boated. Stayed right around Curlew and did ok.

Hi dustyjohns! Thank you for service.
My wife and I fished there yesterday with the kokabow spinner and did well. Sure we lost many fish in the morning but in the afternoon when the wind came up then the fish hit little harder. I put couple shoepeg corn on the 2nd hook and 1 piece on the 1st hook and leave the sharp point uncover.
That's a nice size trout.
Were you on the 18' Lowes boat?

[UncleLucas]

So, I've been snooping around here for some time now and thought it was high time I join up and start sharing info. I took my dad out weekend before last. We ended up with 13 kokes for one day. Last weekend I took mom and we limited with 50 fish. I went up this last Friday after work and had my limit by 8pm. Mom and dad joined me Saturday and we left with three more limits. Water temp is 75 degrees and the fish are biting mainly from 10-25ft down. Pretty much any color combo is working although some are much better than others at times. Best place to fish seems to be right in front of curlew launch out to the two shallow water buoys. Get em while you can boys and girls cause I have a feeling the water is gonna warm up fast and they will go deep and stop playing. Good luck and tight lines!

[nakinney]

So, I've been snooping around here for some time now and thought it was high time I join up and start sharing info. I took my dad out weekend before last. We ended up with 13 kokes for one day. Last weekend I took mom and we limited with 50 fish. I went up this last Friday after work and had my limit by 8pm. Mom and dad joined me Saturday and we left with three more limits. Water temp is 75 degrees and the fish are biting mainly from 10-25ft down. Pretty much any color combo is working although some are much better than others at times. Best place to fish seems to be right in front of curlew launch out to the two shallow water buoys. Get em while you can boys and girls cause I have a feeling the water is gonna warm up fast and they will go deep and stop playing. Good luck and tight lines!
c
Thanks UncleLucas! Went up in the morning on the 4th and fished from 8am to 3pm Caught 10 kokes around Lime creek and in between Curlew. Fished orange from 25 to 35ft deep.

[dustyjohns]

Hi dustyjohns! Thank you for service.
My wife and I fished there yesterday with the kokabow spinner and did well. Sure we lost many fish in the morning but in the afternoon when the wind came up then the fish hit little harder. I put couple shoepeg corn on the 2nd hook and 1 piece on the 1st hook and leave the sharp point uncover.
That's a nice size trout.
Were you on the 18' Lowes boat?

That was us yes. I ended up tying a modified hoochie/uv-insert/kokabow with a treble as the trailing hook. That worked pretty well. We ended up fishing 3 days and did well all 3. Did not catch limits but better than none. Headed back up tomorrow I think.

[CrewDawg]

9083Today 19 Kokanee from 6-11 AM. Lead line 15-20 feet deep. Water temps at 73.

[AkAngler]

Tons of boats out there around curlew but we ended with 42. As always with Koke fishing we had plenty that got away but still had a decent land %. If it wouldn't have taken so long to get 2 of our rods dialed in I think it could have been an epic day. Multiple 3 and 4 rod hookups which are always fun! Right around 20' or slightly higher with pink and orange worked best for us!9084

[fish4kok]

That was us yes. I ended up tying a modified hoochie/uv-insert/kokabow with a treble as the trailing hook. That worked pretty well. We ended up fishing 3 days and did well all 3. Did not catch limits but better than none. Headed back up tomorrow I think.
Good luck and I hope you're filling up your cooler with kok. today.
We were there yesterday, it was hot but fishing was very good. Water temp raising from 72 deg. in the morning up to 76 deg. in the afternoon. I had our luck with orange color and silver flasher. DR from 20 to 30'.

[fish4kok]

Tons of boats out there around curlew but we ended with 42. As always with Koke fishing we had plenty that got away but still had a decent land %. If it wouldn't have taken so long to get 2 of our rods dialed in I think it could have been an epic day. Multiple 3 and 4 rod hookups which are always fun! Right around 20' or slightly higher with pink and orange worked best for us!9084

Those are good size fish. The wife and I were there yesterday too and did well. The orange was good for us, DR from 20 30".
It's hot day on the lake.
After loaded the boat and we swam to cool off before drive home.

[F-Bomb]

Hearing the good reports and knowing that LP hasn't really gotten going yet we decided to make the journey to Anderson Saturday. We finally got fishing at about 8am and never got a sniff for the first hour out it front of the Curlew ramp. I ran a couple DR setups one pink one orange back 45' from the ball and down at 20' and then two long lines with orange and pink and 1/2 ounce of weight 100ft back. Our first fish came an hour in when we moved towards the damn on the s shoreline. A quarter mile stretch between the two small outcroppings was the spot. We discovered that the Anderson fish want your spinner back from the flashers almost double what the LP fish want and then things got fun. We bagged the two long lines as I couldn't figure out the depth and it was plenty busy with two down riggers going off every four or five minutes. Progressively dropped from 20ft to 25ft through noon. Two nice 18's and lost a really big fish at the boat...the rest were 15" to 16". I don't know why but I think last years LP fish sure fought more aggressively than this bunch. One of the big fish fought really hard once it got in the cooler!

Once again just like the fish at LP we are really happy to report that they are not offended by cigar smoke or smell especially when accentuated by a small taste of Buffalo Trace bourbon.

There were a bunch of people out but it was interesting that most everyone was fishing or floating so the few wake boats and buzz bees didn't really bother or affect our enjoyment. Much more relaxing and enjoyable than the madness that goes down at LP on a 100 plus * Saturday. Almost worth the extra drive time.

This morning......Just finished my first FRESH kokanee BBQ samples (grudgingly worked through the zillion frozen ones from last season) and I think from this day forward I will only take home what I can eat and not have to freeze. Incredible!!!!

Living well!!! Good living!!!

[kodiak1]

Way to go, F-Bomb! I've got to get up there. You're right, freezing does make a bit of a difference. I have discovered that by removing the skin before shrink-wrapping seems to help considerably. So, I have a friend who's been wanting to go up there, but just had hip surgery recently, and without a dock, could have problems. Is it still out? Maybe I will have to head over to the other side (Pine Campground, I believe). I think there is a dock over there. Never been over there. Again, glad you got it figured out. P.S.: Sometimes when people say the morning bite was bad, I think the problem is that we find ourselves below the fish. I certainly have noticed that as the morning goes along, there seems to be more fish sitings on the finder, as they drop.

[sage68]

There is a dock at the Pine Dock (campground). If you are going up during the week there should be plenty of room to park your trailer. It can get full during the weekends, but the extra walk from the parking place isn't that far.

[fixed blade]

I went out Thursday and only caught 2. How far are y'all trailing your squid from the dodger? I was only trailing it about 12" I'm taking my kids tomorrow and sure would like to get into a few more

[kodiak1]

There is a dock at the Pine Dock (campground). If you are going up during the week there should be plenty of room to park your trailer. It can get full during the weekends, but the extra walk from the parking place isn't that far.

Thanks, Sage!

[crappieslayer]

Fished Anderson Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Only fished a few hours each day. It was tough to find the fish. I caught more chinook than kokes. Caught about a dozen total. Did some bass fishing and caught a couple. I ran 4 lines different depths different colors and fished around curlew and a ways around the corner towards the dam. Saturday evening got into kokes to where we caught one or two every pass in one area, but with all the boats and the dance, it took awhile to get back to the spot.

[F-Bomb]

...no docks that we saw

It does suck for people with limited mobility to get to play because there aren't docks. I bought my first pontoon boat last year and that solved all of the issues associated to access, comfort and mobility for fishing and relaxing. My Dad is a slow mover so it's worked out exceptionally well plus it is actually the single best trolling fishing boat I've ever owned or been on. (that says a lot since I've owned or fished off of every variety including a quarter million dollar river boat) We don't get to the fishing hole fast but when we do arrive we are comfortable. I wish that I would have figured that out four boats ago! (apparently I had to mature before my brain turned on)

If the dodger and hoochie question was directed at me I can't answer. The hundred thousand dollars worth of dodgers and squids (you must have five of everything) that I have bought never seem to produce as well as my spinner setup. I'm getting pretty much exclusive with a Mack's troll lite paper flasher (silver) and an orange with silver hammered Mack's Wedding Ring spinner. Treble hook with each hook tipped. Shoepeg with tuna fish oil and chunks and then coated with the blue herring juice. I normally start with two of these and then two of a hodge podge of other setups that you either hear or read are hot. So far I always end up settling back into my go to orange spinner setup. Once we get going everything goes to the same. I'm not winning any fishing tournament but it seems like we are always slightly busier than the boats around us once we dial in the depth. I start at ten feet if we see fish on the finder. If we don't see many consistent schools we fish up to five feet on the dr and usually do well. (theory says shallow ones swim away from the boat as you pass so you need to be back much further than at 20ft) Last year we caught a lot of fish between 5ft and 15ft all year long. I've only fished twice this year so far and once was LP and all we could catch was trout that day and the reports were dismal so it wasn't a technique issue.

[tracker]

Friend and i went up for the week end. No problem catching Kokanee. When water was at 72 about 22' as it went up about 32'. Green kokabow spinner never let up on the catch rate but other stuff does work in gold black blue just not as well. Best with a 9" watermelon dodgers by kokabow. Limited two days in a row between lime creek and fall creek . Hope this helps some one.

[THE MOUNTAINLIFE]

Hello Gang, I'm new to Idaho, and this forum, but hoping to contribute to some great info. I hit Anderson Last Tuesday and did very well. I fished from 7:30-1:30 and had my limit of 25 fish. And yes, to anyone still wondering, there is no boat dock in at Curlew. I made a quick video highlighting my trip which shows what I was using as well as a few other tips. Hope you enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH8DrnuC39g

[F-Bomb]

Mountainlife that is a great instructional. It's interesting that this technique essentially mimics (in a miniaturized version) how we catch coho on the coast and fall nooks in Hell's Canyon using divers instead of DR setups. A couple years ago I put a large version green hot lips with the trailing spin and glo and that was the ticket in Hell's Canyon. Now you see a lot more cannon ball weighted setups as opposed to the divers for depth control. I guess things go back and forth...

I've begun gutting/bleeding my Kokanee immediately and then throwing them in the ice. I read somewhere that they go into an almost immediate decomposition process (some cellular breakdown reaction) if you leave them in tact. It might be placebo but I believe that I notice a more firm meat since I started bleeding them. .........................Of course they are always delicious but maybe just a little more so now.

[THE MOUNTAINLIFE]

Thanks F-bomb. The diver setup came from when I was a poor college student and couldn't afford downriggers but still loved fishing for Kokes. So I started messing with the Jet diver originally, which worked, but I lost a lot of fish with this setup. I assume the fish could leverage against the always diving jet diver on the retrieve. That's when I started researching a little more and came across the Trip Z divers and Dipsy divers. It's hard to really know the depth with these set ups, and I prefer to use a downrigger, but they work well for poor fishermen! ha ha.

You're right, I probably should have bled my fish before throwing them in the cooler, I just got too excited to get the line back in the water and get the next one, ha ha! Thanks for the input, and thanks for watching!

[hooknhunter]

I've begun gutting/bleeding my Kokanee immediately and then throwing them in the ice. I read somewhere that they go into an almost immediate decomposition process (some cellular breakdown reaction) if you leave them in tact. It might be placebo but I believe that I notice a more firm meat since I started bleeding them. .........................Of course they are always delicious but maybe just a little more so now.

I like that idea. Thanks for sharing it. I noticed some of my last kokes were very soft by the time I got them cleaned. Not my preferred way to have them.

[fish4kok]

The MOUNTAINLIFE, that's a nice video. This is the 1st time I see how the tripz diver 40 works, it's working very good. I don't know when that was first made.
Back to mid '80 when I started to fish for kok in Deadwood res. I didn't see any fishermen use the diver, mostly they fish with the leaded line. I used the Jack Lloyds 5 blades (cow bell ~ 48" long) + 1.5 oz sinker + wedding ring and leaded color line. The fishing pole very stiff and perhaps the reel was Penn 209M. I had fun to catch kokanee with that set up, later I replaced the Jack LLoyds with the Ford fender and that was much lighter dragg...

I will go fishing tomorrow at Anderson Ranch. It's will be another hot summer day.

[THE MOUNTAINLIFE]

Thanks Fish4Kok. I believe the TripZ diver was originally marketed under the name "walker rundown diver." It seems to be the right size to where I can still use a fairly limber rod, but big enough to dive to 30-50 ft. Let us know how the fishing was today, I'm wanting to head up on Tuesday.

[F-Bomb]

I've begun to really appreciate the Mack's troll lite "paper" flashers. Fish don't seem to leverage off during the fight as much as with the heavier metal flashers and our hook to landed rate seems higher. You get to feel and fight the fish instead of two pounds of hardware dead dragging. The combo runs at a consistent depth to the DR ball so you know you are always fishing at the controlled and known depth (regardless of speed). I've had many days when a few feet made all the difference in production. There particular flashers also work great at all speeds so you are much less reliant on an exact speed dial in which can be a giant PIA when the wind blows (which it mostly does). We have been regularly productive from 1.1mph to clear up in the high twos with these flashers. When I run metal or dodgers I have to dial in the speed more exactly to have consistent action.

The only issue I've noticed is that the lead blade will eventually bend and flex enough that it loses it's consistency and lays over and doesn't spin as good or do it's job of flashing. I get a lot of hours out of each one so for $7 per it's really not a big deal.

[fish4kok]

Thanks Fish4Kok. I believe the TripZ diver was originally marketed under the name "walker rundown diver." It seems to be the right size to where I can still use a fairly limber rod, but big enough to dive to 30-50 ft. Let us know how the fishing was today, I'm wanting to head up on Tuesday.
Fishing is still good. There were ton of boats yesterday from East side of Curlew to Lime Creek and West side of Curlew too. People caught fish early in the morning and mostly quit by noon when the surface water temp rised up to 80.
We took home 20 kok most of them caught in 25' with DR. in the morning and about 4 of them at 45' in the afternoon.
Good luck on your Tuesday fishing trip.

Thank F-Bomb for info to keep the fish fresh after caught. We gutting the fish this time before put in the cooler, sure the fish were firm when clean and scaled at home.thumbsup

[goodhome]

Thanks-Nick

[fish4kok]

Thanks-Nick
16 by Curlew and other 4 by Power Line Balls

[dedub]

My Wife and I finally got out this season, on Saturday, after hearing negative reports early.
Fished from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We ended up with 38 in the De Dub. Anxious to go back!
Most fish came off long lines out the back with 4oz of weight, out 85 feet.
Long bungies seemed to increase out catch ratio.
Hope to see some of you out there again this Saturday.
Good Bless
DW

[crappieslayer]

I was trolling at lucky peak Sunday morning and a wake boat was screaming towards me only about 50 feet away and I yelled at them to slow down. They finally listened Sheriffs need to start handing out tickets to idiots.

[THE MOUNTAINLIFE]

Headed up to Anderson Ranch on Tuesday (July 18th) and had a good day fishing with my wife. We fished two rods total and boated 20 fish from 8:30-1:30. Size seems to have improved a bit since I was there last (about 3 weeks ago). Fish were between 25-35 ft. Idaho fish and game was at the Curlew dock when we came in and took lengths and weights on our fish, as well as ear bones.

[fish4kok]

My wife and I fished yesterday (Thurs 7/20/17]in Anderson Ranch res. We took home 36 good size Kok. Fishing was hot from 7:30AM til 10:00 AM at Curlew then it slow down, we caught 16 kok at 25' deep with DR. After that fish went to deeper and we caught the rest of them in the mouth of Lime Creek area from 40' _ 45' with DR. 4" copper dodger with purple or pink signature squid do the best.
Long line 1.5 oz with 100' line out. You need to add about 3' or longer leader from the sinker to the dodger for its action.
There weren't not many boats yesterday compared to last Thurs.

[terek]

My wife and I fished yesterday (Thurs 7/20/17]in Anderson Ranch res. We took home 36 good size Kok. Fishing was hot from 7:30AM til 10:00 AM at Curlew then it slow down, we caught 16 kok at 25' deep with DR. After that fish went to deeper and we caught the rest of them in the mouth of Lime Creek area from 40' _ 45' with DR. 4" copper dodger with purple or pink signature squid do the best.
Long line 1.5 oz with 100' line out. You need to add about 3' or longer leader from the sinker to the dodger for its action.
There weren't not many boats yesterday compared to last Thurs.


I have never tried long lining with a dodger. Have to give it a whirl tom

[Sluggo]

Hey everyone. I am thinking about taking my kids out tomorrow to Anderson Ranch and fish for Kokanee. It is a very long drive for us so I am hoping some of you veteran fisherman would be willing to share some information that might increase our odds of catching a few fish. We have a downrigger. Any information regarding setup, depth, location in the reservoir (Curlew, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

[Jonnyidaho]

Been lurking for awhile now. Thanks to advice posted here have learned some tricks. Fished from 6:30 till 1 today. Started at 20' to 25'. Had my teenage boy and his friend running the poles so we struggled a little getting fish in the boat. Once they figured it out it was a good time. We slowly dropped our depth through the morning and wound up at about 35' to 40' at the end. Put about 40 in the boat and kept 27 for the cooler. Trying to teach them to let the smaller ones grow up. I stopped counting how many they lost. Most were caught just south of Lime with watermelon dodger and pink hoochies. Pink wedding ring was working too. Fish are in the brine getting ready for the smoker in the am.

[kodiak1]

My wife and I were up there a few days ago, and hammered 'em. Lots of doubles and triples. Didn't seem to matter whether we were using a red/green wedding ring or pink hoochie. Put them tight behind the dodger, esp. the hoochie, since they don't have any action by themselves. Tip them with shoepeg corn. We trolled at 1.5 to 1.7. Stack your downrigger since you only have one, or use lead core line. Usually, we retire the lead core and just go with our two downriggers, but the lead kept pace all morning. Start out at 25 as was previously stated, and just keep dropping during the day. If you aren't in them, keep looking. Set the drag loose! Good luck, and give us a report. Mike

[UncleLucas]

I took a co-worker and his 6 year old daughter yesterday (7-22). We fished from 7am-6pm. We ended up keeping 28 average fish 12-15". We caught 4 immediately in front of curlew before moving down to lime creek. The bight was pretty steady there all day. Green in the morning and orange in the afternoon worked best for us. 1.3-1.5 mph at 30-40ft deep. It looks to me like the fish are already starting to change. They have a slighty purple tint and the nose is starting to hook. Get em while you can boys and girls!

[terek]

Anyone know why curlew dock isn't in the water? Not only is it not in the water, it's in the parking lot taking up a bunch of trailer parking spots. Causing a ton of people including me, to have to park on the side of the freeway. Kinda pissed me off, since I pay them quite a bit to park and camp.....

[Sluggo]

My wife and I were up there a few days ago, and hammered 'em. Lots of doubles and triples. Didn't seem to matter whether we were using a red/green wedding ring or pink hoochie. Put them tight behind the dodger, esp. the hoochie, since they don't have any action by themselves. Tip them with shoepeg corn. We trolled at 1.5 to 1.7. Stack your downrigger since you only have one, or use lead core line. Usually, we retire the lead core and just go with our two downriggers, but the lead kept pace all morning. Start out at 25 as was previously stated, and just keep dropping during the day. If you aren't in them, keep looking. Set the drag loose! Good luck, and give us a report. Mike

Thanks for the information Mike. I really appreciate it! We fished today from 7:30ish until around 1:00, mostly around Lime Creek. We never could find the big schools (maybe they were attending Sunday School) and it was pretty slow. We did not see anyone around us who was slaying them...I am sure there were some who go into them somewhere. Any way, we had a great time on the water and brought home 14 Kokes which I am getting ready for the smoker. I might be completely crazy but I have a theory that the fish bite more when there is a little bit of chop on the water. Most the day the water was glass. We found a spot by the power lines when it got a little breezy and we started getting into fish. But we had to get home and was only able to make three of four passes (caught 3) before we needed to head in. Thanks again for the information.

[kodiak1]

Thanks for the information Mike. I really appreciate it! We fished today from 7:30ish until around 1:00, mostly around Lime Creek. We never could find the big schools (maybe they were attending Sunday School) and it was pretty slow. We did not see anyone around us who was slaying them...I am sure there were some who go into them somewhere. Any way, we had a great time on the water and brought home 14 Kokes which I am getting ready for the smoker. I might be completely crazy but I have a theory that the fish bite more when there is a little bit of chop on the water. Most the day the water was glass. We found a spot by the power lines when it got a little breezy and we started getting into fish. But we had to get home and was only able to make three of four passes (caught 3) before we needed to head in. Thanks again for the information.

Yes Terek, I called the Boise National Forest, and was told that their funding has been cut by Washington DC, and coupled with all the damage from this spring, they aren't going to repair the docks in the near future. If more people contact them, maybe they will act sooner. I suggested to them that they use a portable dock like the ones used at Lucky Peak until permananent repairs are made to the docks, and they liked the idea, but that didn't go too far, did it. I contacted them a second time by email, explaining that I was the moderator of BigFishTackle Idaho, and that many sportsmen were wanting some info. Not so much as a response, and that was weeks ago. They are coming under attack recently, and you would think that they would realize that we fishermen and sportsmen are among the few that have their backs. We deserve an answer, at least. Mike

[terek]

Thanks for the information Mike. I really appreciate it! We fished today from 7:30ish until around 1:00, mostly around Lime Creek. We never could find the big schools (maybe they were attending Sunday School) and it was pretty slow. We did not see anyone around us who was slaying them...I am sure there were some who go into them somewhere. Any way, we had a great time on the water and brought home 14 Kokes which I am getting ready for the smoker. I might be completely crazy but I have a theory that the fish bite more when there is a little bit of chop on the water. Most the day the water was glass. We found a spot by the power lines when it got a little breezy and we started getting into fish. But we had to get home and was only able to make three of four passes (caught 3) before we needed to head in. Thanks again for the information.

we started yesterday morning at around 7, and had 27 koks by 11. Most were caught deep into lime creek, almost around the corner. It was sketchy, but we had the most luck in the shallows, running the downriggers 5-10 feet off the bottom. Radar screen was loaded in these areas.

[terek]

Went up to Anderson for the weekend, and came home with 72 kokes. 44 on Saturday, and we got 27 sunday, and left about 11. Yesterday morning they were slamming. Running 4 downriggers, I never stopped baiting and setting for the first 2 hours. Sunday morning was slower, but we managed to find the schools deep up lime creek in about 55 feet of water. Scary to run that close to the bottom, but it was worth it. We were running 2 poles at 35 feet and 2 at 45 feet. Consistent bites on both depths. Hot rig was a silver dodger and pink wedding ring, or a pink hoochie. We spent most of the weekend making circles in lime creek bay. It was hot in front of curlew for the first hour on Saturday, but that area slowed, and we moved to the bay. Had several boats get close to us and ask what we were doing, so I guess we were doing better and people noticed. I let them all know what we were doing, and I hope it helped them out. Bags are fillets from sat, and the fish are from sunday. Didn't want to clean them before heading home. Tackling them now.

And an FYI to anyone wanting to head up there they are definitely starting to turn colors. I'm not sure how long they have until they're pink all the way but their fins are definitely turning red and some of them have a pink lateral line.

We were the ones in the big blue jet boat, with a tall ass yellow net on top.

910791089109

[rem40xb1]

The kokes at Anderson are turning pink fast and getting soft. I fished 3 times this last week and limited each trip with Pink Hoochies and silver blades--Fished 40ft in the morning and 65 ft in the the afternoon---Lots of fish 13-15" and a few larger

[mowrus]

The kokes at Anderson are turning pink fast and getting soft. I fished 3 times this last week and limited each trip with Pink Hoochies and silver blades--Fished 40ft in the morning and 65 ft in the the afternoon---Lots of fish 13-15" and a few larger

Fished today caught 2 limits. About a third of the fish were getting some color. 40 ft in morning and 50 to 55 in the afternoon. It was a great b-day for me...

[Outdoors]

Thinking of heading up this weekend and fishing. If they are just starting to turn are they still good to fry and eat or do they need to be smoked?

[crappieslayer]

Heading to Anderson tomorrow and I want to specifically target large chinook. I know that they are usually lower than the Kokanee, but are any areas generally better for finding them.

[GeoVal]

If headed to Anderson this weekend expect long delays . The country music fest is this weekend!!!

[Sluggo]

Thinking of heading up tomorrow but leary of the Country Music Festival crowds. Does anyone know if the crowd is spilling over to Anderson Ranch and is there parking spots for truck and trailer?

[crappieslayer]

I was there Thursday thru Sunday and it was crowded. I saw lots of boats fishing but nobody was really killing them. I fished a couple of days and only caught a few. Then fished from 7 pm to 9 pm one evening and caught a dozen and lost at least that many more. 90 percent of the fish I caught were chinooks. I tried multiple setups and every depth from 10 ft to 70ft. Most of what I caught was at 70ft

[kodiak1]

I was there Thursday thru Sunday and it was crowded. I saw lots of boats fishing but nobody was really killing them. I fished a couple of days and only caught a few. Then fished from 7 pm to 9 pm one evening and caught a dozen and lost at least that many more. 90 percent of the fish I caught were chinooks. I tried multiple setups and every depth from 10 ft to 70ft. Most of what I caught was at 70ft

What size are the Chinook running? Glad you figured it out! Mike

[crappieslayer]

What size are the Chinook running? Glad you figured it out! Mike

The Chinook were all 14 to 15 inch.

[dustyjohns]

We found a few today. 3 Chinook and 5 Kokanee. They were really deep and I was running really slow. I've switched to double Kokabow blades as my normal rig with a modified hoochie. Been working well so far!

[FSHFNDR]

I was there Thursday thru Sunday and it was crowded. I saw lots of boats fishing but nobody was really killing them. I fished a couple of days and only caught a few. Then fished from 7 pm to 9 pm one evening and caught a dozen and lost at least that many more. 90 percent of the fish I caught were chinooks. I tried multiple setups and every depth from 10 ft to 70ft. Most of what I caught was at 70ft

Any size to the chinooks? any advice on targeting them?

Thanks,
FSHFNDR

[crappieslayer]

All chinooks were 13 to 15 inch. I was trying to target chinook for an entire day and didn't catch 1. Then started searching for kokes and caught chinook. So I guess my advice is target something besides chinook and maybe you too will catch some.

[fish4kok]

Fished today (8/01/17) at Anderson from 7:30AM til 6:00PM. My wife caught 1-19" kok and a 23" rainbow trout weight 5.4 lbs. We took home 30 kok average size 12 ~ 15". We caught 5 kok. in 20 minutes in the morning and I thought I might get our kokanee limit...:) We got 1 limit at 3:20PM.
Water temp. in the morning was 74 deg and 78 deg when we quit.
Vance UV dodger + pink squid + shoepeg corn. DR from 40' ~ 60'.
Long line pole 2oz sinker + Ford fender + Talon Kokabow. 80' line out.
There were more boats concentrated in Lime Creek area. That's my last trip to Anderson this year.
Best luck to all.

[crappieslayer]

Not sure where/how it happened, but got home from camping at Anderson last week, and found that my EGO S2 Slider Net with Rubber Mesh is missing. Not sure if it disappeared from my campground, or got misplaced in the Curlew creek area. If anybody finds it or hears of anybody finding one, please let me know. I'm not looking forward to coughing up another $100.00 to replace it.

[terek]

Fished today (8/01/17) at Anderson from 7:30AM til 6:00PM. My wife caught 1-19" kok and a 23" rainbow trout weight 5.4 lbs. We took home 30 kok average size 12 ~ 15". We caught 5 kok. in 20 minutes in the morning and I thought I might get our kokanee limit...:) We got 1 limit at 3:20PM.
Water temp. in the morning was 74 deg and 78 deg when we quit.
Vance UV dodger + pink squid + shoepeg corn. DR from 40' ~ 60'.
Long line pole 2oz sinker + Ford fender + Talon Kokabow. 80' line out.
There were more boats concentrated in Lime Creek area. That's my last trip to Anderson this year.
Best luck to all.


how funny. I have been fishing for kokes at Anderson for years. Have caught hundreds of kokes, dozens of chinook, and a few bulls. But NEVER a rainbow. Actually, this is the first year I have got a pike minnow. Just the one though

[fish4kok]

how funny. I have been fishing for kokes at Anderson for years. Have caught hundreds of kokes, dozens of chinook, and a few bulls. But NEVER a rainbow. Actually, this is the first year I have got a pike minnow. Just the one though

I caught few rainbow trout before but they were little. When I cleaned this fish its stomach full of 2" perch.

[Physion]

A number of years back (1987) I got a 5.25 lb, 22 inch rainbow on the south side of the mouth of Lime Ck. I caught lots of trout in the 80's. Not many recently.

[terek]

Fishing has slowed way down. Only came home with 29 this weekend. 90% were at 50 feet. Pink of course. They are turning red fast. Let 5-6 go because they were all the way turned. Not much time till they aren't edible. My last trip to Anderson until deer season starts.

[fish4kok]

Just came across a video on Youtube that shows fishing in Anderson by the Mountainlife. That's nice video and especially his wife came with him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av9GrmLUoP4

[Tripleteaser]

We caught 12 fishing around airplane balls near Fall Creek. The down riggers were set at 75' 1.5 mph using gold pop-gear with a trailing hot pink wiggle hoochie and corn. The fish were 12 to 15" kokanee all were pure silver. Fished from 7:00 to 1:00.

[Honas]

Caught quite a few today at Anderson. All well into their color change. Nice size fish. Pink and orange were the colors of choice today. Caught fish between 30' and 70'. Only one section of dock left floating at the dam.

[hooknhunter]

Any updates on Anderson. Never fished it this time of year. Any advice you could offer?

[Tripleteaser]

I fished Anderson a couple of times in the last two weeks and had a little luck. We caught 6 kokanee each trip and a few really nice trout 20" and really deep healthy fish. We were at 20' deep with down riggers pulling a dodger and a silver wedding ring. The highlight of both trips was an ongoing elk bugling serenade. We also saw a pair of bald eagles near camas creek cove. The low was that i hit a rock coming down the grade and had to change a flat on the edge of the dam. The last dock was partially in the water at elk creek near the dam and usable. Next time I go I will pull some brads baits deeper than the Koks and try to hook some large Chinook. I was talking to a couple bass fishermen who were talking to a Kokanee fisherman who hooked a Chinook large enough to break his pole and later that day bust off a rod holder. They must have had their drag set too tight. the Koks we caught were in the 12 and 13" range.

[hooknhunter]

Fished Curlew Lime creek area on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. 4 rods out. We got about 30 kokes, 1 rainbow, and several small chinook. We tried to release all the chinook, but one was bleeding badly, so he'll make it to the smoker.

Pink hoochie at about 20-25 feet seemed to do the best. Late in the afternoon Friday was the best time of the day.

[KokaneeJoe]

Fished Curlew Lime creek area on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. 4 rods out. We got about 30 kokes, ...

How big were the kokes?

[hooknhunter]

The bigger ones were around 13 inches. Never taped any. Some were only 11ish (or a few smaller, released when possible).

[hooknhunter]

Fished Anderson again on Friday. Basically same result as last report.

Brother and I brought home 29 Kokes averaging around 13 inches. No really small ones this time and we caught a bunch of smaller Chinooks too (12-16 inches, all released). Fish were in great condition and are very good eating.

Pink hoochie 12 inches behind a fast limit dodger (red/ice chartreuse) seemed to be the best combo. Various depths ranging from 25-40 feet.

Did not see another boat on the lake anywhere.

[Trailbob]

Thanks for the report Hooknhunter. Did you launch at Curlew, or the dam?

[hooknhunter]

Thanks for the report Hooknhunter. Did you launch at Curlew, or the dam?

Curlew. Not much ramp left in the water, but still easy to launch as long as you don't need a dock.

[Trailbob]

Thanks for the update.

[hooknhunter]

Planning to head up there again tomorrow.

[tramos]

Planning to head up there again tomorrow.



How'd you end up doing?

[hooknhunter]

Whacked the heck out of them for about the first 20-30 minutes, about 2/3 were chinook. Then, it got very very slow.

Brought home only 10 kokes but they were a nice 13 fat inches with some approaching 14. Did not stay all day. The wind picked up around mid day so we headed home.

[tramos]

Nice! What time did you get on the water and how did you fish for them?

[hooknhunter]

Got on the water at first light. Same techniques and lures as described in previous reports.

[tramos]

Anybody gone out to Anderson lately?

Is there ice? Any fishing reports?

[hooknhunter]

My brother went about a week ago. There is not enough ice to bother worrying about. Boat can still be launched at Curlew. Fishing was pretty slow in the morning, but kokes were hitting in the afternoon if the sun was out.

Don't really know more than that. They brought home about 25 between 2 guys.

[tramos]

Thanks, maybe I'll try it this weekend if the weather is reasonable