Probably a dumb question

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Drifterdon

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
67
Location
Black Diamond, WA
Nooby here so be gentle please:)
After ready many hours of posts it appears that Kokanee fishing is almost done for the year. My question is since it is only the mature (3-4) year old fish getting ready to spawn and turn red, what happens with the juveniles? Doesn't anyone fish for them later in the year?
 
One thing about asking questions on a public forum, a lot of the answers involve personal opinion. And I've got plenty of that!

Kokanee tend to spread out far and wide during the "off season". In late Spring and early Summer the fish will start grouping up again and you can find them in large numbers close to each other and fishing for them becomes a lot easier once you fing the fish.

Fishing for juveniles is kind of a personal ethics code for a Koke fisherman. The fish do the brunt of their size growth as they get close to the last year. Catching a lot of small fish is usually a meat hunters game and done a lot by the ice fishermen. My position is I do it for sport as well as table fare so I let them grow.
 
Thanks Dave,
I appreciate your response. It just seemed odd to me that a fishery would be just a few months. Your response makes total sense to me.
Koke fishing is a lot of fun but as far as meat goes, there are a lot bigger fish to fry so to speak, steelhead, Coho, Chinook,
 
--its your duty as a koke fisher to fish now... I'm on my way today.
--late fall winter is favourite feed time for large trout.. usually over 5 lbs that feed on kokanee.
--I know some don't like the word trout on here but I use a spawn coloured kokanee wooden plug to reduce the competition.
--Also not sure why all the fuss about not getting larger kokes in fall as fish are scattered there are many lakes where the large kokes that may wait up to 7 yrs before they spawn or natural or hatchery sterile kokes of size are also available.
--Often a bit more time between fish but if you can't stand the wait can always target an alternate species.. expecially those that are hunting kokanee.
--cooler stormy weather is the best excuse I know for purchase of a safer more comfortable.. larger boat!
 
I call it a season when catching/releasing spawners out number the keepers. By then the warm days of summer are about over and the mornings get icy cold (lake sit's at just over 6,000'.)
 
-for sure if you are catching spawners I would wait a few weeks and if no ice start again.
-I dont fish near shore or obvious staging areas for spawn inlets.

--One of the reasons to fish this time of year is if you get no wind, calm clear water.. not ideal for fishing but great for viewing lure action. In onther words testing lures different speeds to see how they will react... different hooks leaders etc. It's all useful information for next season.
 

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