biggest koke so far

[gorgehunter]

Got on the water Friday morning just after 6, started out slow over at antelope but moved on to better things at the koke and pup spot, 2 lines out for pups and 3 lines for kokes, about a dozen kokes and 5 pups in the boat by 2 but released the smaller ones that swam out of the net on their own and were back to camp around 3. Ate a good early dinner of brats and kokes, Friday evening we went back out for a few hours and only managed 3 fish, that wind was nuts and got our lines tangled at one point. Saturday morning the bite was great until around 9:30 but still had 7 kokes and 4 pups in the boat, stayed out until lunch and caught a few more including a triple that got us excited. Saturday evening we went back out and reeled in the biggest koke of the weekend, it was 4.18 pounds and just shy of 22 inches, would have been good enough for 2nd place if we were fishing the derby. See the picture below of a buddy holding it up.

 

[dubob]

Got on the water Friday morning just after 6, started out slow over at antelope but moved on to better things at the koke and pup spot, 2 lines out for pups and 3 lines for kokes, about a dozen kokes and 5 pups in the boat by 2 but released the smaller ones that swam out of the net on their own and were back to camp around 3.

Congratulations on a great trip. thumbsup

However - and with absolutely no judgement call on my part - I would like to offer an article for you to read and consider: Kokanee: to release or to keep?

 

[sawhorseray]

That's a beautiful koke, nice piece of work! We fished out of Buckboard from the 19th thru the 23rd. Early limits were the rule on fish 16"-20", all caught on pink hoochies behind a 4" Sep's flasher trolled at 1.7 - 2.3 mph. No hits on orange, no dinks, no fish released. RAY

 

[gorgehunter]

Congratulations on a great trip. thumbsup

However - and with absolutely no judgement call on my part - I would like to offer an article for you to read and consider: Kokanee: to release or to keep?

Yeah, we do everything on that list, we even swung back and netted one back up that didn't make it. Additionally, we never put a hand on one we aren't going to keep, it stays in the net and use hemostats or pliers to remove the hook. The ones we had for our late lunch Friday and Saturday were smaller ones that were perfect for a 10-inch cast iron skillet, 2 tablespoons of butter with plenty of salt and pepper makes for a crispy pan fish. The main reason I do not support any sort of koke competitions is the impact it has on the population, nearly 30% of released kokes do not make it, add in the fact that most guys who are fishing for money will care very little for a smaller fish and it is a recipe for more dead kokes.