kokanee water temp

[knotatwork]

why don't you target kokanee at a 54 deg f water temp that is the temp they like & our sonar units are looking at them through a very narrow cone (or field of view) so why chase fish marks up & down
it works for me

 

[trollmonkey]

101chromefish101 All fish have a "preferred temperature",which is a good place to start if that temp is available.Other factors such as food ,bright sunlight dissolved oxygen,etc. may cause fish to leave ideal temps.I've seen trout and walleyes chasing minnows on top in mid 80's water ,when they should have been 50-60 feet down at their preferred temp.Probably cool and cold water fish could not survive long periods in the warm water ,they go where the food is then return to the comfort zone to rest and plot the next feeding run.101chromefish101

 

[redmanjr1]

Kind of like when I leave the perfect habitat of my couch when I don't really want to but the fridge is calling my name for another snack/beer...laugh hyst

Sorry, I know a serious question but trollmonkeys good answer had me thinking of myself and I couldn't resist.

Bob

 

[platypus]

--just another one of my unproven theories... prey don't swim toward a preditor..in some areas I think you can predict which way the fish is facing.. underwater current or surface wind. ever notice near some structure, bays or points you catch more fish when trolling in one direction.
--I think kokanee are suspicious of object like a trolled lure that comes up behind them or even directly toward them. When the lure is off to the side, above or below or moving away they become more interested that it might be something to eat rather than something trying to eat them.
--There will always be exceptions.
--I observed in a river the fish moved out of the school to attack or if they did attack from intrusion within the rest of school scattered then regrouped.
--Again this could be influenced by spawning behavior rather than normal lake feeding behavior.

 

[Ken Jones]

I fish there comfort zone which is 50degrees. Not 54 or 60. Locate there comfort zone and start catching Kokes. Yesterday the 3 of us got our limits of 6fish each. Have limited out every time on that particular body of water. Biggest was 3 and a half pounds.

 

[HiTechKoke]

I'll chip in on this one with some observed data using a FishHawk Thermotroll device over the last 3+ years across multiple California lakes, each with differing temp profiles, thermoclines etc. This gives me realtime data where that downrigger is set. Here's my observations..

1. Kokanee have a range they will roam in based on the lake profile and food and the time of year. That range for most of the lakes varies from 50 to 62 degrees. At the derby last weekend you could catch fish at 30 feet or at hundred where the temp was 50 vs 60+ up top. They were all over the place.

2. In the spring on cold lakes they tend to be in that warmer water where the food chain is breaking out...But even now plenty of fish in the 60 degree water at several lakes is common. It was interesting to observe this at a lake this year where the 54 to 58 zone was barren of Kokanee.

3. As the summer rolls on and the lake stratifies the fish settle down further in the water column, making them easier to target. Knowing where that upper range is can be useful but you can usually see that on the fish finder, no probe needed. It seems the food chain compresses down as well in terms of where the plankton roams and develops.

4. Here in Ca the water profiles are quite different for the upper mountain lakes versus our typically warmer lower valley lakes as would be expected and with all the snow this year the higher lakes have been colder. Catching Kokes in 48 degree water at depth where there is warmer water in these lakes seems odd but no point in arguing with the results.

So in the end I have learned there is no perfect temp for Kokanee but a range that has a number of variables that has been interesting to observe and correlate what they are doing on a given day.

Kevin

 

[HiTechKoke]

I'll chip in on this one with some observed data using a FishHawk Thermotroll device over the last 3+ years across multiple California lakes, each with differing temp profiles, thermoclines etc. This gives me realtime data where that downrigger is set. Here's my observations..

1. Kokanee have a range they will roam in based on the lake profile and food and the time of year. That range for most of the lakes varies from 50 to 62 degrees. At the derby last weekend you could catch fish at 30 feet or at hundred where the temp was 50 vs 60+ up top. They were all over the place which has been a trend this year.

2. In the spring on cold lakes they tend to be in that warmer water where the food chain is breaking out...But even now plenty of fish in the 60 degree water at several lakes is common. It was interesting to observe this at a lake this year where the 54 to 58 zone was barren of Kokanee.

3. As the summer rolls on and the lake stratifies the fish settle down further in the water column, making them easier to target. Knowing where that upper range is can be useful but you can usually see that on the fish finder, no probe needed. It seems the food chain compresses down as well in terms of where the plankton roams and develops.

4. Here in Ca the water profiles are quite different for the upper mountain lakes versus our typically warmer lower valley lakes as would be expected and with all the snow this year the higher lakes have been colder. Catching Kokes in 48 degree water at depth where there is warmer water in these lakes seems odd but no point in arguing with the results.

So in the end I have learned there is no perfect temp for Kokanee but a range that has a number of variables that has been interesting to observe and correlate what they are doing on a given day.

Kevin

 

[sisca]

nice posting ..HiTechKoke

 

[mrmike]

nicely put