Shasta Lake 4/30 - 5/2 Kokanee Power Derby

[HiTechKoke]

Fished Lake Shasta with my good friend TopFuelKokanee (Russ) this last Friday through Sunday to participate in the annual Kokanee Power Shasta Lake 2-Day derby. It was quite an adventure this year as it was during a major late season rain front that made for some very challenging conditions late Friday and all daySaturday. We started off Friday with some pre-fishing and Russ dialed into some beautiful Kings rolling some bait that we thought would do us well for the derby days Saturday and Sunday. Also we found some nice trout on Friday so out hopes were high for Sat.

As with most pre-fishing jinxes the fish had lockjaw Saturday for us on the big Kings we had found Friday while fishing in some of the nastiest rain and wind I have ever fished in that did not let up from 6AM till weigh in at 5PM Saturday for day 1. Shasta got over 4 inches of rain in two days we found out later. We only managed a few measly trout and a scrawny King Saturday which did not fare well in the field but Sunday was another day.

On Sunday we spent a little time on Kings but a lot of the usual spots had muddied up from the rain so we had no takers and then went after the trout which decided to cooperate quite well for us using RMT Spoons based upon a nice tip from a pro staff RMT participant. We had some decent rainbows up to 2lbs to turn in and decided to try for a brown but that didn't pan out since we were virgin brown fisherman but at least it didn't rain much on Sunday. In the end we missed the pay cut by .2 of an ounce! What a fun weekend and we absolutely love Shasta and this derby in the Spring and the one in the fall.

Lures that worked consistently for us were:

Shastra Tackle White PadlleTails (Trout)
RMT White UV Hoochie behind a sling blade - Kings
RMT Serponts Spoons (UV Orange FLash, UV Pink Flash, Orange Tiger) - Trout
Rolling Shad / Anchovy / Herring slabs - Kings

We took a few videos along the way you might enjoy of some King action. Watch in the High quality mode by clicking on the HQ link in the video frame if you have a good connection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boAFZxG5dtY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzvM3apPO_Q

And now for a few pictures..

Russ's good looking Kings:

The Trout...

 

[Kokanee Killer]

awesome kings even more awesome hat,, i wear the same one steelheading,, only when it is below freezing though lol lol

 

[SilverBullets]

Great report Kevin! Looked like you and Russ made the best of it considering the weather...thanks for sharing!! thumbsup

 

[Fallriverguy]

Wow, nice kings. The rain looks strong, but it seem wind stayed down. Thanks for the pictures. I really like the idea of the bells. I am going to try that!

 

[HiTechKoke]

awesome kings even more awesome hat,, i wear the same one steelheading,, only when it is below freezing though lol lol

The hat is my old Mad bomber ski hat and gets a lot of ribbing but my head stays warm and in this case dry.

 

[HiTechKoke]

Wow, nice kings. The looks strong, but it seem wind stayed down. Thanks for the pictures. I really like the idea of the bells. I am going to try that!

I failed to take pictures of Saturday storm day... I was afraid the camera would be ruined or blown out of my hands! The bells are something that lets us be aware of the subtle bites on the troll. When they got soaked they were not as effective though.

 

[Full_Monte]

Good job, guys! It must be fun netting a fish while holding a video camera!
Did they post the results of the tournament anywhere?

 

[Fallriverguy]

The bells are something that lets us be aware of the subtle bites on the troll. When they got soaked they were not as effective though.

What I found this past weekend is I did not know I had a fish on until I heard the rod rocking in the rod holder because I either had my face in my tackle box or looking at my FF. By the time I could get to the rod the fish was already jumping out of the water getting slack in the line. With a bell I could have heard that first strike and could have been on the rod faster.

Are the bells just twist-tied to one of the guides?

 

[Full_Monte]

The bells are available in most bait & tackle stores. I think Walmart has them, too. Generally, they are attached to an alligator clip. I don't like the idea of alligator clip teeth digging into my nice new downrigger rod, so I would put some tubing over each of the jaws of the alligator clip.

 

[SilverBullets]

Ok...Since were on the subject, I have a bell story to share. While winter steelhead fishing years ago up in Washington State, we plunked for them and set up our rods in holders with bells attached, then climbed up the embankment to the trucks to get warm and have a cup of coffee. Poles were lined up with guys fishing to the right and left of us...most were in their vehicles waiting for their bell to ring. This guy next to us decided to play a joke on his partner that had fallen asleep in his truck. He tied a piece of fishing line to the end of his friends rod, then brought the other end back in the truck with him. He then started yanking on it causing the bell to ring while screaming to his partner that he had a fish on. This guy was still half asleep and tripped down the embankment and landed in the ice cold river! He wasn't a happy camper after he found out he never had a fish in the first place, and let his partner know all about it. Be careful with those bells!!!laugh hyst

 

[HiTechKoke]

As for bells these are a cheap screw on type... they fall off too easily as well as the bells so I have lots of extras. What I really want are the plastic clamp on type here:

http://www.uxcell.com/green-clamp-fishing-twin-bell-lures-alert-p-18923.html

This clamp style is not the heavy metal cowbell type that I wouldn't want on a Koke rod. I'd have to import these from Hong Kong and pay a premium to have them shipped. I have not found a source I can order them online in the U.S. yet.

FRG - that's exactly why I have them.... my head is buried in half a dozen other activities with lures / FF / video etc so I need a reminder a fish is calling!


Monte - A link to the derby results are here as I just finished them up on the site:

http://www.kokaneepower.org/derbiesdet.php?code=20090502

It was a 4 fish weigh-in per day.

Kevin

 

[Full_Monte]

Those clamp-on bells look pretty cool! I know what you mean...you can be pretty busy while koke fishing, even if there isn't a bite going on. And I don't even have a fancy fish finder. I can imagine myself running the boat ashore while looking at the screen of one of those new, fancy models. If I get one, you guys had better give me a wide berth on the water!fencing

 

[Fallriverguy]

As for bells these are a cheap screw on type... they fall off too easily as well as the bells so I have lots of extras.

I found these at Bi-Mart. First the bell and spring fell off the clamp. Being the smart guy that I am I super glued the spring to the plastic housing. That worked great until the bell fell of the spring. I guess I had better clamp down the dog ears on the bell.

 

[HiTechKoke]

Yep.. their shelf life is limited. I got some green clamp on ones that are holding up a bit better but I need a few more trips to be sure.

 

[SilverBullets]

I found these at Bi-Mart. First the bell and spring fell off the clamp. Being the smart guy that I am I super glued the spring to the plastic housing. That worked great until the bell fell of the spring. I guess I had better clamp down the dog ears on the bell.

Check out the special order catalog behind the counter at Bi-Mart, page 515-516...8 different bells to choose from. thumbsup

 

[Fallriverguy]

Thanks SB. I always forget about the special order catalog at Bi-Mart.