Arrowrock 3/28/09

[HappyHooker]

Well a friend and I headed out to Arrowrock Sat. for the first real fishing trip of the year. we launched the boat at around 8:00 am and began trolling in the vicinity of the ramp to the dam. It was overcast with calm winds and the water temp was 38. The only thing hitting was rainbow trout, we landed about six and missed some bites. I was targeting Kokes using leadcore with a dodger and a wedding ring tipped with corn, I landed three trout on that setup. Anyway it was a nice morning but I don't think the Kokes are hitting much yet. I talked to one other boater who said he targeted Kokanee all day and only came up with trout also. Hopefully they will turn on soon.

 

[RickM]

I have fished the lake as well 3 times in the last month. My partners and I landed 36 fish, only 3 were Kokanees...we had a great time. Most of the fish caught on Dodger/Hoochies with lead-core. Down riggers were out fished 3 to 1.

 

[luckykoke]

I've been hearing reports that people are catch a lot of squaw fish in Arrowrock this year when targeting Kokes. Anyone out there having the same problem or is it just an isolated problem? I'm thinking of heading out there on Sunday to find out for myself.

 

[DragginBalls]

I know last year and the year before the squaws (oops! pikeminnows) were terrible. It was almost 4 or 5 squaws to 1 koke. Anybody been up there this year yet.

 

[luckykoke]

We hit Arrowrock around 6am last Sunday (5-31-09). Jumped around to different spots and could only catch squaw fish and rainbows. Finally found them around 8am. We fished until 11:30 and had 5 in our boat. Sizes were:
16.5
16.5
17
17.5
18.5
All big hogs and really fun to catch. We also caught around 20 squaw fish and 10 rainbows. Definetly not a slow day, but kind of a pain with all the squaw fish and rainbows. The surface water temp was around 67 degrees. Here is a photo of our biggest

We are heading out again tomorrow. We haved fished LP a ton and we kind of like the change and the challenge of Arrowrock. Plus there are some hogs in Arrowrock. The squaw fish were a pain, but sure kept you busy. I'll report back on Monday. The increased flows could cause a problem. Aside from clairty, I would think more food and nutrients would be pushed down during higher flows thus better fishing????? Not sure, but a guess.

 

[luckykoke]

Went out last Saturday to Arrowrock, it was rainy, but not too bad. Headed out to scope some new areas but only came up with Squaw fish. We couldn't keep 4 lines in the water without catching a Squaw. Ended up with at least 30 Squaw, a few nice trout and only had one Koke on. We lost him, then got fed up, loaded the boat and dropped it into Lucky Peak. Fished for about 1.5 hours had 4 Kokes in the boat and then went exploring. All in all a pretty good day. Looks like Arrowrock has the big ones, so if you can find the school it would be a nice day, otherwise pack your club for the squaw fish. Hope others out there can send in a report.

 

[Waterskipper]

Were you fishing downriggers at Arrowrock? I know there are some serious squaw fish up there. I want to go up there, but I am going to wait until the last week of June or first week of July. If I get a wild hair and try before then, I will post a report.

 

[luckykoke]

Yes we were fishing with downriggers and leaded line. We had downriggers to 50 and 60 feet and were still catching squaw fish. The lake hasn't turned yet, so when it does, the fishing may get better. There are some big ones up there and I'll be back again soon to try and find them. I'm heading off to Deadwood today, I'll be able to throw in some leaded line to see if I can catch any up there.

 

[Waterskipper]

OK I could not stand to wait. I fished there yesterday 6-10-09 and only caught 3. I am sure we had 1 other Kokanee bite but we did not see the fish.
On a side note I could not believe how clear the water was. I put my lure down and did not loose sight of it until about the 20-22' mark.