Exactly right, Blueback. I have an extendable net I bought years ago at Kmart, and have never found one since that extends as much as this one. I watch these folks trying to net kokes with a dink net 1-2 feet long, and wonder how they net anything. I will keep my rod tip down, sometimes in the water, to prevent jumping, and then when I get the fish close to the extended net, bring him to the surface and "surf" him into it. Mike
Kokanee Report from Andeerson Ranch
- Thread starter Ken Jones
- Start date
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Mike-- you are right buy keeping the Koke under water while retrieving it. You will net more fish into the boat.101chromefish101
BlueBack79
Well-known member
could not believe the lack of boats on anderson today! especially being free fishing day. it was kind of nice. we boated 12 and probably lost 10!! one really thick 17" trout too. we definately had to work for them. it wasnt "not stop" action...we were out all day. marked fish all over, but nothing was schooled. we were catching singles all over. good day on the water.
Idahokanee
Active member
Beautiful morning at Anderson yesterday, and like BlueBack79 said, very few boats out. I took advantage of the free fishing day to teach the family how to fish for kokes. They did ok for there first time out, and only lost about 30. 
)
After we had about 15 in the boat we called it quits, and they allowed me a few moments to catch a few nice size bass.
The bite is on strong at Anderson for Kokes, but right now they are only running 10-12 inches. And, even though its early-er in the season, I was surprised to see how soft the meat was, ...plus a few with red on there backs already. hum?
)After we had about 15 in the boat we called it quits, and they allowed me a few moments to catch a few nice size bass.
The bite is on strong at Anderson for Kokes, but right now they are only running 10-12 inches. And, even though its early-er in the season, I was surprised to see how soft the meat was, ...plus a few with red on there backs already. hum?
BlueBack79
Well-known member
idahokokanee, where did you put in and fish at? all fish we caught were still very bright and had firm meat. we were in my dads open roughneck. 150 johnson w/a honda kicker. i'm going to retract a statement i made in a different post about using snubbers. i'm going to use them next go around. i could not believe the amount of fish we were loosing. had a bunch pop our rods off the d. riggers and nothing was there too. maybe these smallers fish need the gentle touch101shock1101
Did you have the kokes on ice from the point of catching them? It makes a big difference. Pink salmon are the most vulnerable. When I am at a cleaning station in Sekiu cleaning a limit of pinks (humpies) I can tell who took care of them properly. If you bleed them immediately and ice them down, the flesh is nice and firm; if you don't they are soft and difficult to fillet, and their taste is deteriorated. Kokanee aren't as bad a pinks, but they do need to be iced. Washington Fish and Wildlife agrees, and has a campaign to educated people on how to care for salmon, esp. pinks. (P.S.: my wife has "invented" a bleeder bag for this year's pinks. In the past, we have cut the gills, and let the fish bleed in our net. Gets a bit messy, and more importantly, wastes time when they are obviously on the bite. She has taken a laundry bag...the nylon mesh type... and attached a long cord to the cinch cord to tie to the boat and another shorter cord with kitchen shears attached to cut the gills. Cutting the gills when the ocean is rock and rollin' can be dangerous!! And pinks, like kokes, have tender mouths, so you can't use a stringer on them and toss 'em over the side. I think it will work nicely, and save us the 5 minutes to bleed them. Then, on the ice!! Mike
What I do, I cover my Ice chest bottom with Ice. Catch and net, then throw into Ice chest as quick as possible. Bleeding Salmon and stealhead is a must. What I do I grab the Fishs Gills with too fingers, standup and jurk the Gills out of one side too Bleed them. A very simple process. I have found their is know need too Gill Kokanee as long as you put them on Ice.
sawtooth
IDAHO Kokanee Forum Moderator
Kodiak,
The "bleed bag" sounds like a good idea. As long as there aren't sea lions in the area. Can anyone say sea lion chum bag.101shock1101101shock1101
The "bleed bag" sounds like a good idea. As long as there aren't sea lions in the area. Can anyone say sea lion chum bag.101shock1101101shock1101
Idahokanee
Active member
hi guys, I get what you're saying, but I typically (like in the spring when the water is colder) just hang them on a chain stringer while I troll (cause I don't have a live well). ...Keeps them alive longer, and keeps them cold. Then for transport (if more than 20 minutes from home or dock), I throw them on ice for the ride. ......So, today i cooked up about 7-8 of them, and they tasted great, no issues with flavor. But, i was literally dropping meat on the floor while prepping dinner (meat was ice cold when prepping). Every time I picked up a fillet (if I wasn't careful) it would turn to mush in my hands. I have had enough of these things to know, in the fall they can be a little mushy, but this is June, and I'm totally perplexed by this. ... these are 10"-12" kokes, and they were all very, very feisty on the line (fresh). Although I'm still a 2 year old at this, I've never had this issue this time of year. As a newbie. I still realistically already have about 500+ of these things under my belt (and in my freezer). )
.....BlueBack79, PM me and I'll tell you exactly where I was for most catches. But some were also caught at various locations around the lake.
.....kodiak1 & Ken Jones, I've never put them right on ice after landing them. I will start trying that. BUT, I've never had this issue before either. I may be naive on this subject, but I've never bled any of my game/animals (deer, pheasant, chicken, pigs, Geese, ducks, salmon, steelhead, squirrels, whatever ...you name it). I personally think it's an old wives tale. ...But like I said, maybe I'm naive. I have tasted animals/fish that have been bled, and in my humble opinion haven't ever noticed a difference.
Thanks guys for all your input! There is ALWAYS room for improvement.
Steve
).....BlueBack79, PM me and I'll tell you exactly where I was for most catches. But some were also caught at various locations around the lake.
.....kodiak1 & Ken Jones, I've never put them right on ice after landing them. I will start trying that. BUT, I've never had this issue before either. I may be naive on this subject, but I've never bled any of my game/animals (deer, pheasant, chicken, pigs, Geese, ducks, salmon, steelhead, squirrels, whatever ...you name it). I personally think it's an old wives tale. ...But like I said, maybe I'm naive. I have tasted animals/fish that have been bled, and in my humble opinion haven't ever noticed a difference.
Thanks guys for all your input! There is ALWAYS room for improvement.
Steve
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Idahokanee- Personally I think its a bad idea to put your stringer of fish in the water while trolling. Think about this, what is the surffice temperature at this time. The warm water will make your fish softer. If they are starting to soften then they are starting to deecompose or rot. Meat will start falling off skin. Sorry, I think putting Kokanees into water isn't a good idea. If you put your on ice in boat you should have no problem. You say you never bleed your salmon or steelhead that also isn't a very good idea either. Sir you may think I'm picking on you but I'm not. I try too telling it like it is. I always bleed my Stealhead and Chinnock Salmon. They never smell funny when I gut them for transport home. Bleeding big game will make a difference in its taste. bleeding is a must. 101chromefish101
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KokeJunkie
Active member
Never bled a kokanee before and never had any issues with taste or firmness of the fillets. I prefer to not make koke soup with caught fish and melting ice. I use lots of hard plastic freezer packs and/or large plastic bottles filled with water that I freeze. They keep the kokes ice cold and are reusable which saves $$ on ice. Just rinse and freeze for the next trip out. I also think it keeps thrashing kokes from covering me and my boat with bloody ice water when adding fish into the cooler.
Rafting4fun
Well-known member
I think there is a pretty good argument for “bonking and bleeding” to retain maximum results of a good day on the water. Kokanee do no stand up to the stresesss after being caught in my opinion. That would include putting them in a live-well and continue to smack the sides while mingling with other fish close corders.
It makes sense to me to bonk and bleed and even gut them in the field if you can. I bonk, pull a gill, and then put on ice immediately. I can see the difference when I’m filleting a fish. I also prefer the better taste and I can tell the difference. It all comes down to the integrity of the meat. You won’t have kokanee soup if you drain the cooler periodically. You will not have fish thrashing around if you bonk them first. I have tried both though. Keep them alive unitl I come off the lake, and put them on ice… again, I think the later means you have stressed fish, and I’m not exactly sure if the enzyme process /breakdown is the same… so it has been catch, bonk, bleed, and ice… to take it one step further I would field gut them but I have not been doing that because it affects my filet process a little. I also used to bonk, bleed and put them in the live well until they quit bleeding and then introduce them to ice. What I learned is that I’m pulling the warmer water from the top 2’ of the lake I’m on and by the time they bleed out I would have been ahead by just putting them on ice to keep them cold. So, I line the bottom of the cooler with ice. Then I stack stunned kokanee on the upper layers and let the blood pool on the bottom. The ice on the bottom keeps my kokanee from wallowing in their own blood which isn’t a lot anyway. If it gets a bit much like on Anderson with a limit, I will rinse occasionally .. Either way, the cooler has to be cleaned at the end of the day. It just makes sense to me to take the kokes out of 65 deg surface water in get them into a much cooler <- no pun intended...environment.
The frozen ice jugs is a thought though. I have not tried that technique to see if they stay evenly cold throughout the filet.
Good information as usual, keep up the good work. I always learn good things from you guys. Tight Lines, Jt
It makes sense to me to bonk and bleed and even gut them in the field if you can. I bonk, pull a gill, and then put on ice immediately. I can see the difference when I’m filleting a fish. I also prefer the better taste and I can tell the difference. It all comes down to the integrity of the meat. You won’t have kokanee soup if you drain the cooler periodically. You will not have fish thrashing around if you bonk them first. I have tried both though. Keep them alive unitl I come off the lake, and put them on ice… again, I think the later means you have stressed fish, and I’m not exactly sure if the enzyme process /breakdown is the same… so it has been catch, bonk, bleed, and ice… to take it one step further I would field gut them but I have not been doing that because it affects my filet process a little. I also used to bonk, bleed and put them in the live well until they quit bleeding and then introduce them to ice. What I learned is that I’m pulling the warmer water from the top 2’ of the lake I’m on and by the time they bleed out I would have been ahead by just putting them on ice to keep them cold. So, I line the bottom of the cooler with ice. Then I stack stunned kokanee on the upper layers and let the blood pool on the bottom. The ice on the bottom keeps my kokanee from wallowing in their own blood which isn’t a lot anyway. If it gets a bit much like on Anderson with a limit, I will rinse occasionally .. Either way, the cooler has to be cleaned at the end of the day. It just makes sense to me to take the kokes out of 65 deg surface water in get them into a much cooler <- no pun intended...environment.
The frozen ice jugs is a thought though. I have not tried that technique to see if they stay evenly cold throughout the filet.
Good information as usual, keep up the good work. I always learn good things from you guys. Tight Lines, Jt
Will be going too Anderson Ranch Friday. I will be giving a fish report when I get back. So far we have done pretty good. First Trip we netted 27, second trip 35 third trip 31. The forth trip will be friday. Wedding rings and Hoochies. Later guys.
Rafting4fun
Well-known member
Ken, I'll be there tomorrow and will post results!! BTW, you have an awesome boat... ! Take care gents, Jt
Ken and Rafting,
I, too, will be over there. On the upper end. If you see me, give me a shout. Our boat is a 16 ' blue Hewescraft with a 75 and 8 Yamaha and a grey top. 2 Penn downriggers. Good fishing. Hope to see you. Mike and Kali
I, too, will be over there. On the upper end. If you see me, give me a shout. Our boat is a 16 ' blue Hewescraft with a 75 and 8 Yamaha and a grey top. 2 Penn downriggers. Good fishing. Hope to see you. Mike and Kali
BlueBack79
Well-known member
i always bleed my steelhead and salmon as well. you should always bleed your fish before you wack em. you'd be suprised how much more effective it is when they arent dead. the blood literally pulses out of them.
metalheadgene
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2010
- Messages
- 85
I have never experienced some of the issues being described so I dont know what to say. I catch em, bleed em and then throw them in the fish box until the end of the day, (lake water goes in and out of the fish box) i then clean em and then throw them on ice for the ride home....i have never had meat falling off, be white etc...
Good tips though
Good tips though
redmanjr1
Well-known member
Anyone fish Anderson today? Heading out in the morning for my first run of the season. Hope the weather holds out but not looking good on the forecast right now.
We only fished 2+ hours, but worked hard to boat a few dinks. We fished at 8, 14, 17, and 20 but all our fish came from 12'. I did keep graphing fish at 53 and 46, but didn't go deep to see what was there. Seemed awfully deep for this time of year. I guess I got spoiled by easy limits of 25 fish, and good-sized at that last year. Good luck to you. Mike
Rafting4fun
Well-known member
I agree Kodiak1, this is an unusual year for me at AR. They seem to be running a tad deeper early on.
This is such a late post, but here goes. I was AR on the 17th. Before the wind came up we boated only 13. After the wind arrived it took the fun out of it for me and I bailed. Red Sling Blade the green by far. We lost several., however, the red uv sling with a pink hootchie was the ticket once again...Smoked the tranny in my F-350-OUCH!!! so I have not been fishing for a while and my attitude reflects exactly that.... I need a fix?? <-again , no pun intended I started at 5' then to 10' where i did my best in am... Later went down to 20 and did ok...
BlueBack79, when I bonk my fish, I'm not killing them... I don't hit them that hard. I hit them just hard enough to stun/not Kill and that is why they continue to bleed out. I have to admit though, when the catch is on.... I will just gill one and put it on ice... I still get excited big time when the bite is hot!!!
Good luck to all of you who have trucks that are working.. it's a character builder when they are not!!! hmmm, I have not tried thumbing it with my pole in hand yet??? Maybe a Walmart sign, "Will Fish For Food"!!! I get it back this week ... maybe I need a whaaaaaburger with some cries!!
Seriously, though thanks for sharing all the good info.. I can live vicariously through you gents.. no problems.... good fishing to all, Jt 101ok101
This is such a late post, but here goes. I was AR on the 17th. Before the wind came up we boated only 13. After the wind arrived it took the fun out of it for me and I bailed. Red Sling Blade the green by far. We lost several., however, the red uv sling with a pink hootchie was the ticket once again...Smoked the tranny in my F-350-OUCH!!! so I have not been fishing for a while and my attitude reflects exactly that.... I need a fix?? <-again , no pun intended
I started at 5' then to 10' where i did my best in am... Later went down to 20 and did ok...BlueBack79, when I bonk my fish, I'm not killing them... I don't hit them that hard. I hit them just hard enough to stun/not Kill and that is why they continue to bleed out. I have to admit though, when the catch is on.... I will just gill one and put it on ice... I still get excited big time when the bite is hot!!!
Good luck to all of you who have trucks that are working.. it's a character builder when they are not!!! hmmm, I have not tried thumbing it with my pole in hand yet??? Maybe a Walmart sign, "Will Fish For Food"!!! I get it back this week ... maybe I need a whaaaaaburger with some cries!!
Seriously, though thanks for sharing all the good info.. I can live vicariously through you gents.. no problems.... good fishing to all, Jt 101ok101
