Looking for guidance

[Lost-in-Utah]

Hello everyone. I recently moved to Utah from Missouri and have fallen in love with kokes. Unfortunately, the only kokes I have caught have been by accident when trout fishing in some of the local reservoirs. I haven't had much success on catching trout either. I mainly fish from a kayak and have rigged up a fish finder on it and looking to put a down rigger on later this summer. Can anyone please give me some guidance on what lures and possible techniques to use? I'm starting to think fishing in Utah is a crock.

Chris

 

[lowe1648mt]

I havn't fished in Utah, but welcome to the forum. Someone will be along soon from that fine state.
Be careful with that downrigger on a kyak. Leave the drag on the reel as loose as you can. Don't want to hear about you losing your gear from tipping over.

 

[Bduck]

Welcome Lost-in-Utah What lakes are you fishing in Utah? Missouri bass plugs don't work too well for trout and kokes. Jointed Rapalas, Rebels, Lymans, Spoons work well for trout. Dodgers & squids for kokanee. The listing goes on. Water temp, depth and speed is a big factor as well. If your going to be fishing places like the Gorge, you will need more of a larger boat than just a kayake.

 

[Lost-in-Utah]

Hi Bduck. I live in Ogden and have been mainly fishing Causey, Lost Creek, Mantua and Porcupine. I've been using Rapalas, spoons and Rebel crayfish. I can do fairly well at Lost Creek for trout, but around here locally, I am striking out on both trout and kokes. I would like to focus more on kokes. For staring out, is a dodger necessary? And for this time of year, are the kokes closer to the surface, rendering a downrigger useless?

 

[SmokeOnTheWater]

101welcomw Lost-In-Utah

I don't recall ever hearing about kokanee in Mantua or Lost Creek but you're definitely on the right track with Porcupine (The PIG) and Causey. In addition to what BDuck gave for lure choices, you may want to drag some Needle Fish, Apex Kokanee Killers, Wedding Rings and/or Rocky Mountain Tackle (RMT) Assassin Spinners. Tip them all with some Berkley Gulp Maggots as these work well for me.

Keep us posted on your success.

 

[Bduck]

Hi Bduck. I live in Ogden and have been mainly fishing Causey, Lost Creek, Mantua and Porcupine. I've been using Rapalas, spoons and Rebel crayfish. I can do fairly well at Lost Creek for trout, but around here locally, I am striking out on both trout and kokes. I would like to focus more on kokes. For staring out, is a dodger necessary? And for this time of year, are the kokes closer to the surface, rendering a downrigger useless?

Now I know we are neighbors since I live on the border of N Ogden. I just made my first trip since ice off to Rock Port Tuesday. There I use Rapalas, Lymans and on occasion I break out some RMT stuff. Thursday I'm bound for E Canyon for some action pretty much using the same thing. There are no kokes in these lakes. Hopefully one day next week I'll be hitting Lost Creek once ice off occurs. These lakes hold trout with Lost Creek an exception having cutthroat trout. Saturday, weather or wind conditions permitting, I'll be heading up to Bear L joining up with another friend from the Idaho side. Bear L has cutthroats and Mackinaw or commonly called lake trout. Soon the Gorge will be on the list as well as Strawberry. Big boats can't be launched in Causey but you can carry a boat to the water. Porcupine can be launched with a larger boat. These 2 lakes have kokes. Strawberry & the Flaming Gorge have kokes. Trolling a squid 8-12" behind a dodger, depending the flavor the fish are after is a excellent way to catch kokes. There are other weapons of choice but that comes in do time. Downriggers for me is a must to reach kokes. This time of year you can target kokes more towards the upper part of the water column since water temps are still cold.

 

[SuperD]

Chris, here is a thread I started for someone just like you.

http://www.kokaneefishingforum.com/fishing-forums/showthread.php?t=5952

For the next couple of months, you can catch kokes trolling with a lead core line set up of a keel style weight.