Gene,
any color is the right color on any given day, the kokes decide what they want and what stirs their finicky pea brain to strike.
Merwin kokes can be very selective during the cold waters of spring.
start on the surface flat line trolling one of the dodgers and lures 50ft to 200ft behind the boat on the surface, mono only no weight.
the spring water in Merwin is cold, they are lethargic and shallow.
change speed, drop back distance, depth, weight, lures and scents every 30 minutes until you start getting strikes
March April they are scattered, start trolling as soon as you clear the small bay at Speelyai Bay launch. troll S. across the lake to the S. shore. they tend to favor the S. shore especially in mid and late season. early season they may be in the middle or N. shore. early plankton hatch will determine where they frequent. no large schools in early season.
few early season kokes will show on sonar because they are so shallow unless you have side scan. watch for them dimpling and surfacing, must be plankton feeding. when you spot a school or get a fish, continue to work that one area, back and forth.
take good rain gear and warm clothes. watch for storm clouds, the wind can come up too quickly down the river canyon. make sure you have a bailing bucket. the waves can get large quickly
we may be lucky this year with the climate change, little snow and ice pack in the mountains so little icy cold water runoff this spring. should make for fast growing food and fast growing fat kokes in Merwin. we may even see some size growth in Yale this year.
the kokes out of Lake Roosevelt are like fat puggy footballs this winter, stuffed full of algae and shrimp. no snow ice runoff from west side Canadian Rockies and e. side Coast Range. will be tough year on the irrigation farmers.
