Rafting4fun
Well-known member
1st, There are numerous articles available for gleaning via the internet and on this forum. There are also forums specifically designed to address, how to catch, and offer multiple threads, relating to the catching of Kokanee. Whether you are new to Kokanee fishing, or a long time enthusiast, I hope the following information will assist you in deciding how you pursue them. Bear in mind, this is no panacea, and regardless of what anyone writes, there will be opposition. With that in mind, you decide. I beg you to study and come up with your own answers. When Kokanee are biting most anyone can catch them, however, I have seen Kokanee in full swing and still a lot of people suffer in the midst of the ordeal. The bottom line is I hope this compilation helps some of you learn, target, and catch more Kokanee. It is a fun sport, Kokanee have a good omega 3 content and are considered a good “bang for the buck”. You will either love it or perhaps hate the pursuit. You decide. I am not the author of most of these articles. Like I mentioned, it’s tips gleaned from the internet in hopes that you will not have to go hunt these sites down. Some of these tips are my ideas only and again subject to conjecture.
There are a lot of arguments concerning sound, smell, and sight. Each of those applies to the type of fish you are actively pursuing. A couple of examples would sound like this. If it is true sound carries in the water 5 times faster than on land, then sound becomes very important. If you are fishing at night for catfish and bottom fishing then the catfish are coming in to smell and not sound. If fish navigate from their origins to the ocean and back, how do they do it? Many believe it’s smell that guides them. Either way, smell/scent has a play in this science. So what is the right order? Smell, sound, and then sight <my fav… but again you will have to decide because there are many different points of view. Color is another extremely diverse argument. Again, you decide. When it comes to scents, use your sense to figure out what works best for you.
There are probably better articles written on this subject. Like I said, this is just to get some basic info out there for people to read and make decision on their own.
I hope all of you continue to pursue a great sport and good eating fish. I wish for all, “Tight Line’s” and to hear that faint call, “Fish ON”!!!!!
At any rate, my hope is if these articles broaden your fishing experience, then I’m glad.
#1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQTh_tnJ6c&feature=relmfu
#2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTi5nJqEzvo&feature=relmfu
#3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTqyVX3oZk0&feature=relmfu
#4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5P6UMGiT7o&feature=relmfu
In the early morning to midday kokanee seem to have a preference for greens and chartreuse. Later, when good light is on the water, the best colors are bright red, pink, and hot orange. Silver chrome has also become a very popular color. Many fishermen will add fishscale or other holographic tape to their lures or dodgers. This material picks up sunlight and literally explodes into a rainbow of colors. If you are marking kokanee and not getting hit, changing colors, lure styles or scents can often make the difference. Some lures are made in "Glow in the Dark" colors. These prove exceptional in early morning and low light conditions such as deep depths.
The Pro-Troll Kokanee Killer and the Wee Tad Plug have two rigging advantages for kokanee. On both of these, the lure will slide up your leader and the kokanee will not be able to use the lure for leverage to tear the hooks out of its soft mouth. Avoid using lures where the leader ties directly to the lure and the hooks are attached directly to the lure's body. Kokanee are tremendous head shakers and love to roll up on your lure and line. A lure that stays in a kokanee's mouth will provide a tremendous amount of leverage for tearing hooks out. Most anglers will tell you they lose at least 50% of the big kokanee they hook. Rigid hooks mounted in lures are frequently the problem. Free floating double rigged hooks behind kokanee lures seem to have an advantage. #2 to #4 red or gold Gamakatsu octopus style hooks or equivalents work very well. Approximately 1/4 inch distance between the bend of the top hook and the eye of the trailing hook is best.
When you get kokanee on top of the water prior to netting they usually go crazy. They will start to roll up on your line. When a kokanee is exhausted and lying on top on its side it is perfectly OK to skim him across the surface of the water into your net. However, when a kokanee is on top and going wild, quickly lower your rod tip and get the fish to go under and start swimming again. If you attempt to horse a kokanee when it's on the surface going ballistic you will almost always tear the hook out, even with the two hook rig.
Some lakes seem very color oriented. Greens and chartreuse may work well from first light until around 11:00 AM. when the sun is well up on the water. At this time if the bite slows down try the hot orange, bright reds, bright pink or pearl pink lures. Some lakes do not exhibit color patterns with light changes and more daily experimentation is required. Sometimes a color change can trigger action just because its different than what the fish have been seeing. In recent years a number of fishermen have had good luck fishing mid day with copper and pink or gold and pink lures. Vance Staplin likes copper under these conditions. He also drops the lures further back from his downrigger. Instead of his normal drop back of 10 to 15 feet he will go 30 feet or more when the sun is high.
Dodgers and multi blade attractors can often make the difference between catch and no catch. Dodgers are run in front of your lures and multi blade attractors are usually run off your downrigger cannonballs. Dodgers are flat metal blades that rotate in a side to side movement. These blades are not designed to spin completely over. If this happens you are trolling too fast. Multi blade attractors have blades that spin and appear like a school of kokanee. Most fishermen will not attach attractors to their fishing line but will attach them to the cannon balls. Combinations of silver, and silver and brass blades work well tied in tandem. The sequence of flasher tandems can be up to eight to ten feet long. When these are run from the cannonball your downrigger release must then be attached on the downrigger cable two or three feet above the ball. Pull out enough leader so that your lure ends up two to five feet behind your flasher blades. When fishing this way it is very important to lower your downrigger ball very slowly in to the water. If you lower it too fast the drag from the flasher tandem will cause it to rise upwards and tangle your lure line.
Its more fun to land fish without a dodger on your line. However, the use of a dodger will usually help catch more fish. Some days the kokanee bite so well a dodger is not necessary. If you are consistently marking fish without getting bit on plain lures, add dodgers. If that doesn't work try adding tandem flasher blades off each downrigger ball. The best kokanee dodgers are four to five inches long with chrome or dimpled finishes. Wee Tads and Apexes are usually run 30 inches behind a dodger to allow the lure to swim freely. A shorter leader will greatly restrict lure action. Bugs and flies are usually tied 10 to 12 inches behind the dodger.
Most experts will not use more than two downriggers in the water at once with one or two rods on each downrigger. More than two downriggers with four to eight lures, dodgers and tandem flashers may serve to attract kokanee but there is a limit. Too many lures and attractors can confuse the kokanee and they cannot focus on attacking a lure. When these fish attack they exert a tremendous amount of energy, but their burst of pursuit only lasts for a few seconds. The kokanee may simply get confused, tired and quit. You may be getting dozens of "almost" bites each day and never know it. Its best not to try fishing too many rods at once.
Food for thought. What is the color of plankton, zooplankton in the water at different depths? Does it matter?
A full moon is not just a night time phenomena. The moon is still full during the day, having the same effect on the tides as it does at night. Question: Do moon cycles affect fishing? In my opinion, YOU BET!! Can you catch a fish at full moon, YES, however; I do better on a new moon.
I see this time after time… People keep trolling lures/presentations the same way, the same speed, and the same depth, and the same color hoping for something different. It is the definition of insanity.. I know , I know you have heard it a hundred times… but guess what… they continue to do it… some will change up a bit but many keep trying the their same concoction hoping for a different outcome…. Time for a change?
There are a lot of arguments concerning sound, smell, and sight. Each of those applies to the type of fish you are actively pursuing. A couple of examples would sound like this. If it is true sound carries in the water 5 times faster than on land, then sound becomes very important. If you are fishing at night for catfish and bottom fishing then the catfish are coming in to smell and not sound. If fish navigate from their origins to the ocean and back, how do they do it? Many believe it’s smell that guides them. Either way, smell/scent has a play in this science. So what is the right order? Smell, sound, and then sight <my fav… but again you will have to decide because there are many different points of view. Color is another extremely diverse argument. Again, you decide. When it comes to scents, use your sense to figure out what works best for you.
There are probably better articles written on this subject. Like I said, this is just to get some basic info out there for people to read and make decision on their own.
I hope all of you continue to pursue a great sport and good eating fish. I wish for all, “Tight Line’s” and to hear that faint call, “Fish ON”!!!!!
At any rate, my hope is if these articles broaden your fishing experience, then I’m glad.
#1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQTh_tnJ6c&feature=relmfu
#2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTi5nJqEzvo&feature=relmfu
#3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTqyVX3oZk0&feature=relmfu
#4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5P6UMGiT7o&feature=relmfu
In the early morning to midday kokanee seem to have a preference for greens and chartreuse. Later, when good light is on the water, the best colors are bright red, pink, and hot orange. Silver chrome has also become a very popular color. Many fishermen will add fishscale or other holographic tape to their lures or dodgers. This material picks up sunlight and literally explodes into a rainbow of colors. If you are marking kokanee and not getting hit, changing colors, lure styles or scents can often make the difference. Some lures are made in "Glow in the Dark" colors. These prove exceptional in early morning and low light conditions such as deep depths.
The Pro-Troll Kokanee Killer and the Wee Tad Plug have two rigging advantages for kokanee. On both of these, the lure will slide up your leader and the kokanee will not be able to use the lure for leverage to tear the hooks out of its soft mouth. Avoid using lures where the leader ties directly to the lure and the hooks are attached directly to the lure's body. Kokanee are tremendous head shakers and love to roll up on your lure and line. A lure that stays in a kokanee's mouth will provide a tremendous amount of leverage for tearing hooks out. Most anglers will tell you they lose at least 50% of the big kokanee they hook. Rigid hooks mounted in lures are frequently the problem. Free floating double rigged hooks behind kokanee lures seem to have an advantage. #2 to #4 red or gold Gamakatsu octopus style hooks or equivalents work very well. Approximately 1/4 inch distance between the bend of the top hook and the eye of the trailing hook is best.
When you get kokanee on top of the water prior to netting they usually go crazy. They will start to roll up on your line. When a kokanee is exhausted and lying on top on its side it is perfectly OK to skim him across the surface of the water into your net. However, when a kokanee is on top and going wild, quickly lower your rod tip and get the fish to go under and start swimming again. If you attempt to horse a kokanee when it's on the surface going ballistic you will almost always tear the hook out, even with the two hook rig.
Some lakes seem very color oriented. Greens and chartreuse may work well from first light until around 11:00 AM. when the sun is well up on the water. At this time if the bite slows down try the hot orange, bright reds, bright pink or pearl pink lures. Some lakes do not exhibit color patterns with light changes and more daily experimentation is required. Sometimes a color change can trigger action just because its different than what the fish have been seeing. In recent years a number of fishermen have had good luck fishing mid day with copper and pink or gold and pink lures. Vance Staplin likes copper under these conditions. He also drops the lures further back from his downrigger. Instead of his normal drop back of 10 to 15 feet he will go 30 feet or more when the sun is high.
Dodgers and multi blade attractors can often make the difference between catch and no catch. Dodgers are run in front of your lures and multi blade attractors are usually run off your downrigger cannonballs. Dodgers are flat metal blades that rotate in a side to side movement. These blades are not designed to spin completely over. If this happens you are trolling too fast. Multi blade attractors have blades that spin and appear like a school of kokanee. Most fishermen will not attach attractors to their fishing line but will attach them to the cannon balls. Combinations of silver, and silver and brass blades work well tied in tandem. The sequence of flasher tandems can be up to eight to ten feet long. When these are run from the cannonball your downrigger release must then be attached on the downrigger cable two or three feet above the ball. Pull out enough leader so that your lure ends up two to five feet behind your flasher blades. When fishing this way it is very important to lower your downrigger ball very slowly in to the water. If you lower it too fast the drag from the flasher tandem will cause it to rise upwards and tangle your lure line.
Its more fun to land fish without a dodger on your line. However, the use of a dodger will usually help catch more fish. Some days the kokanee bite so well a dodger is not necessary. If you are consistently marking fish without getting bit on plain lures, add dodgers. If that doesn't work try adding tandem flasher blades off each downrigger ball. The best kokanee dodgers are four to five inches long with chrome or dimpled finishes. Wee Tads and Apexes are usually run 30 inches behind a dodger to allow the lure to swim freely. A shorter leader will greatly restrict lure action. Bugs and flies are usually tied 10 to 12 inches behind the dodger.
Most experts will not use more than two downriggers in the water at once with one or two rods on each downrigger. More than two downriggers with four to eight lures, dodgers and tandem flashers may serve to attract kokanee but there is a limit. Too many lures and attractors can confuse the kokanee and they cannot focus on attacking a lure. When these fish attack they exert a tremendous amount of energy, but their burst of pursuit only lasts for a few seconds. The kokanee may simply get confused, tired and quit. You may be getting dozens of "almost" bites each day and never know it. Its best not to try fishing too many rods at once.
Food for thought. What is the color of plankton, zooplankton in the water at different depths? Does it matter?
A full moon is not just a night time phenomena. The moon is still full during the day, having the same effect on the tides as it does at night. Question: Do moon cycles affect fishing? In my opinion, YOU BET!! Can you catch a fish at full moon, YES, however; I do better on a new moon.
I see this time after time… People keep trolling lures/presentations the same way, the same speed, and the same depth, and the same color hoping for something different. It is the definition of insanity.. I know , I know you have heard it a hundred times… but guess what… they continue to do it… some will change up a bit but many keep trying the their same concoction hoping for a different outcome…. Time for a change?
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... when you are tracking in even moderate wind it's unlikely you are going to get tangled.. Even at this , there is a formula... it becomes a toss up. Unless you are using the same weight line on both you can never reconcile your results. If you are in fact using the same weight line, in my opinion, giving you are even at the same depth, you should be good.. The wind will trump this every time. Even on longer D/R set backs you can catch your LL and that is why you need to know how deep u R at a certain color. 
