2017 Anderson Ranch Reservoir Kokanee Fishing Report

[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]

Good day on the water

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]

Good fishing day @ Anderson

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]

Anderson Ranch Advice

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]

Saturday

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]

Anderson Ranch

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]

Anderson Ranch Report

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]

Best trip to anderson in years

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.

 

[rem40xb1]

Fish are turning

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]

Great day

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]

Pink color

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]

Traffic

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

 

[Sluggo]

TRAFFIC REPORTS FOR ANDERSON

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