Fishing For Kokanee
Now that you have a better understanding of Kokanee, lets go fishing!!!
Kokanee as you may have heard, have very soft mouths, are a schooling fish, and are hard to target on a consistent basis. If you use the right gear, your chances of landing more fish goes up tremendously.
Fish Finder:
This is the most important piece of equipment on your boat. You can not catch Kokanee if your offerings aren't in front of the fish. You could be at 30 feet and everything perfect on your line for that day, but if the Kokanee are at 65 feet, you are just burning gas and enjoying the scenery, then telling your friends about the ones that got away... instead of showing off pictures of "The Catch-of-the-Day".
Purchase the best fish finder that you can afford, but keep in mind, the higher-end models will allow you to target Kokanee easier. Kokanee have a larger air bladder than most other fish and the higher end units will allow you to see the difference on the screen. If you can get one with a GPS built in, this makes for better viewing because everything you need is on one screen. When you see a school of fish on your screen, mark that location on your screen. You can now just circle around and target that school of fish. Read your manual carefully. Talk to the salesperson who sold it to you... chances are they are more than happy to get you aquatinted with your electronics.
Downriggers:
Downriggers are a must in the later months of Kokanee fishing because Kokanee will be at the thermocline area where the water temperature is about 54 degrees. This is the favorite temperature for Kokanee. At this temp, they are aggressively feeding and protecting there territory. In this area, use your electronics to target Kokanee in the later months of the year, April-September. You can see the thermocline on your electronics if you set the sensitivity to about 90%, then send your rigs down. When I have my offerings in the zone and see fish on the Garmin, I can predict just when they will hit.
When fishing with downriggers, I prefer to use the Shasta Tackle Ultra Release. Once everything is set, getting your poles back in the water should be super quick. The only drawback is, you have to have the same diameter line on all your reels. If you change out your line every year like I do, that shouldn't be a problem. I take all my Kokanee reels in at once when I find line on sale. For about $15 bucks a year, I can get my 10 reels all changed out. Then, take some time at home to set each release. That way, in a hot Kokanee bite, you can get things back in the water right away.
Figure out what setback your going to use that day. Some folks like the 100 foot rule. If your going down to 75 feet, then your setback will be 25 feet. If your going down to 50 feet, then your setback will be 50 feet and so on. Later in the season when the Kokanee are at least 30 feet or deeper, I use a setback of 5-10 feet and drop to where the fish are. Then, I just circle through the school without tangling lines and limit out quickly. This is a great time to use a release with flashers on them to attract Kokanee. In any more than 40 feet back, this release will not be of any benefit.
When you are using manual downriggers, I have a great tip for you while in a hot Kokanee bite. Get some 12 oz. fishing weights, cheap wire style shower curtain clips, and some more releases .
You just attach to your line, then to the downrigger cable, and let it slide down until it stops. Voila! Your back fishing in the zone without bringing the ball all the way to the surface.
Stacking downriggers takes some practice, but it is a very effective way of putting 4 lines in the strike zone. I will be posting a how-to video soon to help you better understand the ins and outs of this tactic.
Rods:
Kokanee have very soft mouths, so increase the number of fish you get in the boat by picking the softest rod you can afford. This is your shock absorber that helps prevent the hooks from getting ripped out. Fiberglass is your friend here! Lamiglas makes a great couple of rods. The one I use on my boat was designed in conjunction with Jeremy Jahn, "Kokanee Kid". It is 7' 6" long, and in my opinion, is the best Kokanee rod around. This Kokanee rod has a soft fiberglass top two-thirds, but has a graphite bottom third that gives the rod just the right amount of backbone when needed. If you are on a tight budget, Shakespeare also makes an ultra light rod with a fiberglass tip. I used this for many years with great success.
Reels:
Use the lightest level wind reel you can afford. Believe it or not, a heavy reel will increase the center of gravity, and the pivot point of your rod is not as smooth (we will go into this later in "Reeling in your Catch"). Daiwa make a great digital one.
Line counters are an essential part of Kokanee fishing in the early season because Kokanee are in the first 15 feet of water until the water warms up. When your boat goes over them, they scatter "like cockroaches when the light comes on". So, we need to let our offerings set back at least 100 feet. I like to run 150-200 feet back from December until the the first week in May when the water warms up. Then, I can get a little closer to the boat. Because of the hooks I use, I have a landing rate of over 80%, most days 100% even when so far back. Remember, if you have other boats around you in the early season, the same rules apply. With all the commotion on the surface, nobody is going home with any fish, so it's time to move away from the crowds.
Also, an added benefit of using reel counters is: If you set back your lines at the same distance in the early season, when you hook into a Kokanee, just play the fish by moving your rod back and forth without reeling in. In the area of your other lines, the chaos that that Kokanee is causing will usually get his friends to strike. This tip was given to me and others by Cameron Black, the owner of "Gone Catchin Guide Service", probably one of the best Kokanee guides in the northwest. Thanks Cameron!
If you don't have the budget for a reel counter we have a great solution for you. Just take some time in the garage and count out 100', 150' and 200' feet of line and attach a different color bobber stop for each, you can see the bobber stop in the line on the reel and you have just created a poor man's line counter.
Line:
Use monofilament line only for Kokanee fishing, not braided line unless you are jigging for Kokanee but we will let the expert jiggers talk about that. We are not fishing for sturgeon here! We need the stretch from the monofilament to help us get the Kokanee in the boat.
Snubbers:
Don't need them, don't want them! If you have the right pole, line, drag, technique and patience, you will have a much more enjoyable Kokanee fishing experience. Plus, the less "CRAP" on the line when going through a school of Kokanee, the less chance of spooking any wary fish away from your offerings.
Dodgers and Lake Trolls:
Dodgers are an essential tool for targeting Kokanee. Dodgers do exactly what they are named for, they dodge right and left in the water and create a sonic wave in the water that bring Kokanee in for a closer look.
There are a great number of dodgers on the market today. Some of my favorites are: The Arrow Flash, Side Winder, Dakota style, Strike Zone, and The Fast Limit. Lake Trolls are not my favorite Kokanee flasher, just because the weight and drag takes away from feeling the vigorous fight that Kokanee are so famous for. I very rarely use them unless nothing else is working.
Lures:
Most Kokanee lures on the market will catch Kokanee on a specific lake some of the time. Check with the local tackle shops for that area to see what is working and where to fish on the lake. Tackle shops like return visitors and will be happy to sell you what works. If you get some bogus info, start with Orange "Venomous Hoochie", Pink "Venomous Hoochie", and Fluorescent Orange, Pink, and Red. Chartreuse seems to work well in the early spring mornings, but each lake varies. ifish is a great resource to learn the tackle & tactics for your local lake.
Hooks:
The go-to hook for Kokanee fishermen/women for quite a few years has been the octopus hook size #2 and #4. But, times are a changing, and Kokanee fishing is following suite. The new and improved tactics of the best Kokanee guides in the northwest have finally been revealed. The Gamakasu "Drop Shot" hook is now the BEST Kokanee hook on the market today. This hook design buries the hook into the Kokanee, resulting in fewer lost fish. We also Carry the VMC wide gap hooks, that are almost as great as the Gamakatsu Drop Shots.
