merwin

[skookum9]

It may well be too early, and it certainly has been too wet lately. And I have no idea what the water level of those reservoirs will do to the bite. But I also know that April and May are too late for my fishing. I tried that last year but the fish had already mostly stopped surfacing.

I'm looking to find the right time of year when the koke's in Yale might perform something like those in Odell, Wickiup and LBC and show themselves on the surface a bit. I tried to listen to what others were saying about the great fishing these lakes offered by trolling. End results for me were very poor. A few fish but too far and few between bites. I am a surface jigger by choice and when the fish show themselves on the surface a bit, the real game is on.

It's still very doable even if they don't jump, just as long as they are in the top 20 or so feet of the water table. Once the water warms up too much it's time to put the koke rod away and take the flyrod too the brookies.

In Odell and Wickiup, the ideal is right after the surface temp reaches 41 to 42 degrees. Colder than this and the fish get lock-jaw. But from this temp on up, those little guys just go nuts when you toss them a jig. Not certain that Yale will perform the same at this same temp but this is what I'm hoping to find out. Merwin doesn't really hold much interest to me because first, it's a long way to drive for just the 5 or 6 fish limit that it has. And second, because all the koke's I've gotten out of there were the worst tasting koke's I've ever eaten. I'm really hoping that by going to Yale, the little bit colder that it is might help the taste of those little fish.

 

[Get'nJiggy]

Early season kokes

You should be fine in March. I fished my downriggers 12 -15' last year almost the whole month of March. One evening on Merwin in late March last year it looked like it was raining kokanee, they were jumping everywhere.

 

[skookum9]

Get'nJiggy, many thanks for the reply. That's the kind of conditions that make for some great kokanee memories. Did you find that they tasted okay? The one's we caught in April and May were more like eating bass or carp than like kokanee. (Okay, technically I only know what I think carp would taste like). And the chinook that we caught were even worse. Do you know if the Yale koke's might taste a little more like the one's we catch in the cascade mtn's here in Oregon? Happy fishing, and I hope to see you out there on the water some time.

 

[Get'nJiggy]

I have noticed that the meat color on the Merwin fish can very, but most of my fish either go in the smoker or are canned. I got my first kokanee of the year on March 6 last year (pic below) at Yale flat lining spinners so those fish are available early too.

 

[kokaguy1]

Get'nJiggy, many thanks for the reply. That's the kind of conditions that make for some great kokanee memories. Did you find that they tasted okay? The one's we caught in April and May were more like eating bass or carp than like kokanee. (Okay, technically I only know what I think carp would taste like). And the chinook that we caught were even worse. Do you know if the Yale koke's might taste a little more like the one's we catch in the cascade mtn's here in Oregon? Happy fishing, and I hope to see you out there on the water some time.

hum....I haven't seen much jigging on Yale or Merwin but I'm sure it would work like it does on Odell given the right conditions, good luck with that.
I am a little confused about your comment regarding the taste of the Merwin koks, I ate plenty of Kok's from Merwin, Yale and Odell last year both BBQ'd and baked in the oven and I didn't taste any difference at all they were all outstanding eating. Are you sure you didn't mistake some of those squaw fish for Kokanee in Merwin??? Now that my friend would put the ol pucker in the taste buds! tooexcited

 

[skookum9]

Nope, I can promise you that they were not squaw fish. They were definitely kokanee. And I have caught fish jigging on Merwin but it was tough fishing because the fish had already left the surface. We had a pretty good evening fishing one day when they went for the surface just before time to leave. Suspended jigging also works but that's not much more fun than trolling for them. I know I'm probably too fussy but that's what happens when you get spoilled with too much good fishing. Ha ha. Like there really is such a thing as too much good fishing.

 

[kokaguy1]

I have to admit I smoke 80% of the Kokanee I catch and it doesn't matter if they come out of Merwin, Yale, Odell or East Lake they all taste the same to me very very good!

 

[Koke-n-a-smile]

I have never noticed a problem with the taste of the kokanee I get out of Merwin, and the ones out of Yale seem to taste the same to me. Sometimes you can get a landlocked chinook out of Merwin, and they don't taste as good as the non-landlocked kind, but they are still pretty tastey. I have had fish out of Paulina, Wickiup and Wallowa, and they all seem similar to me. As for jigging, I have yet to try that, but I really like the relaxation of trolling so jigging doesn't hold the allure just yet.

 

[kokaguy1]

I have never noticed a problem with the taste of the kokanee I get out of Merwin, and the ones out of Yale seem to taste the same to me. Sometimes you can get a landlocked chinook out of Merwin, and they don't taste as good as the non-landlocked kind, but they are still pretty tastey. I have had fish out of Paulina, Wickiup and Wallowa, and they all seem similar to me. As for jigging, I have yet to try that, but I really like the relaxation of trolling so jigging doesn't hold the allure just yet.

I'm with ya Koke n a smile

 

[RibOwner]

Actually,

There is a huge different in flavor, color, and texture between Wallowa and all other lakes. The flesh of Wallowa Kokanee are bright, bright, red. As comparted to LBC, Merwin, Steilicom which are pink.

I will try to dig up some photos of the Wallow fish compared to Merwin and there is a huge difference. But properly prepared the Merwin fish are just as good with a nice beer.

 

[kokaguy1]

I'd like to see those pic's, I haven fished Wallowa for many years I'd like to get over there and catch one of those giants! Awwwww yes a ice cold beer does seem to be the icing on the cake with Kokanee and a good glass of wine isn't bad either 101goodpost101101goodpost101101goodpost101

 

[skookum9]

Hey, if trolling works good enough for you then by all means stick with it, that's how I used to do it too.

I'm pretty confident about how I prepare my fish and am willing to put them up against anyone's, (of course this is only as per my taste buds). Not a fan of beer so I don't think that would help the taste much for me. Not sure why the koke's I've had out of Merwin didn't taste very good, maybe we just caught the "stinkers". I'm sure I'll give it another try or two before I call it quits on that lake. But that still doesn't help with the little five fish limit.

You're most certainly right about those landlocked chinook not tasting as good as their oceanic brethren. I'm not the biggest of chinook fan going by any means but I found Merwins chinook completely unedible. They were soft and mushy and pale in color. Maybe it was the time of year I was there. I fished it in May and June. I don't see what difference that would have made but I suppose it may be a possibility. Either way, those little chinook are safe from me. Any I catch will go right back into the water without hesitation.

I hope to see you fella's out on the water this spring.