Just got home from tryin for some kokanee I'm new to kokanee fishing but have a desire to learn and catch some I have a boat d ownriggers fish finder and some flashers with some squid lures I just got in the mail today some bill fish squid and got some berkley maggots advised by another member but still can't figure out how to catch them any ideas what I may be doing wrong?
skunk I thought it was the pig
- Thread starter cantcatch
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One single flasher with about 16 to 20 inches of leader to the squid bait tipped with berkley maggot in white fished at 25 to 30 feet deep or where ever I've been marking fish. Fished about 5feet behind the downrigger ball and trolling speed between 1.3 to 1.8 mph I figure I can't catch big nice ones at the gorge till I can at least catch some small ones but I am known as can't catch
Mike
Well-known member
Hmm leader length sounds a touch long to me , of course everyone has their " perfect length" I tie mine at about 10-12 inches. Also are you running any kind of scent on your rig? I've had good luck with Smelly Jelly's "herring" and "kokanee feast".
Mike
Mike
This will just be my 2 cents. You will need a little more arsenal than squids. Petty's reports from the last couple of weeks has identified that it was a spinner bite. From my approach, your leader lengths are on the long side. Try cutting your current length in half. For depth, when fishing above 30', think long set backs like 50'.
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clawman
Well-known member
Herzogs famous words, "don't be a lazy troller". That statement probably means different things to different people. I zig and zag along calling it doing the crab. What it does is constantly speed up one speed of the boat while slowing the other. I think it triggers strikes vs just dragging along in a straight line.
dubob
Well-known member
Another 2 cents worth
I will say up front that just about anybody can out catch me when it comes to kokanee, but I get enough to keep myself happy.
As has already been said, your leader length IS too long. I don’t use anything over 8 inchs on mine and accounted for 75 in the boat over 3 days at the Pig. The dodger will swing back and forth as it travels through the water, but will NOT impart any action in your squid lure with leaders longer than about 10” or so. The shorter the leader, the more action will be transferred to your lure from the dodger. Try this next time you go; let the dodger out about a foot from the tip of your rod. Now hold the tip under water so that the dodger is completely submersed. Now, look at the squid. With a 20” leader it will just be traveling in a straight line with NO side to side action. Try the same thing with an 8” leader and see the squid twitch side to side.
Now, about that spinner bait. Here is a link to what they are talking about: Kokanee Tackle. Scroll down to the Pinky Pink version and you will see what a friend was using to account for a lot of those 75 boated. And same deal with leader length; I run mine about 8” behind the dodger. These also are tipped with a Berkley Gulp maggot on each hook. I’ve been using white, chartreuse, and pink maggots with about equal success.
And the deeper you go with your DR weight, the closer you can be to the weight. At 30 feet down I’m running about 10 to 15 feet behind. At 20 feet down, I’d run at least 40 feet back. At 35 and deeper, you can run 5 feet back with little or no ill effects. There have been some videos posted that show the fish following and taking the lure only 5 feet behind the weight at 30 to 35 feet deep. They apparently are not detracted by the weight in the least.
Your speeds seem about right. I usually keep it somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0 for kokanee.
I will say up front that just about anybody can out catch me when it comes to kokanee, but I get enough to keep myself happy.
As has already been said, your leader length IS too long. I don’t use anything over 8 inchs on mine and accounted for 75 in the boat over 3 days at the Pig. The dodger will swing back and forth as it travels through the water, but will NOT impart any action in your squid lure with leaders longer than about 10” or so. The shorter the leader, the more action will be transferred to your lure from the dodger. Try this next time you go; let the dodger out about a foot from the tip of your rod. Now hold the tip under water so that the dodger is completely submersed. Now, look at the squid. With a 20” leader it will just be traveling in a straight line with NO side to side action. Try the same thing with an 8” leader and see the squid twitch side to side.
Now, about that spinner bait. Here is a link to what they are talking about: Kokanee Tackle. Scroll down to the Pinky Pink version and you will see what a friend was using to account for a lot of those 75 boated. And same deal with leader length; I run mine about 8” behind the dodger. These also are tipped with a Berkley Gulp maggot on each hook. I’ve been using white, chartreuse, and pink maggots with about equal success.
And the deeper you go with your DR weight, the closer you can be to the weight. At 30 feet down I’m running about 10 to 15 feet behind. At 20 feet down, I’d run at least 40 feet back. At 35 and deeper, you can run 5 feet back with little or no ill effects. There have been some videos posted that show the fish following and taking the lure only 5 feet behind the weight at 30 to 35 feet deep. They apparently are not detracted by the weight in the least.
Your speeds seem about right. I usually keep it somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0 for kokanee.
Rooster
Well-known member
Recently I have had good success trolling relatively fast with an aggressive dodger, and thus squid action on a shorter leader as mentioned above. I make small home made squids too. Sometimes Porky one day kills on hoochies, and the nest day kills on small koke spoons. Try putting your rigger 5' higher than the fish being marked. You may be fishin under the fish...
Bduck
Flaming Gorge Forum MODERATOR
Trolling speed sounds good. Like others have mentioned leader length is a little long. I like to measure out between 8-12". Instructions for RMT squids is usually on the back of package. I usually like to run 15-20' setbacks but recently had to go 50'+ at the Gorge to get a strike. The key is to keep changing up until you find something starting show promise. Try zig zag motion to see if speed makes a difference. The use of maggots or scents can either be on or off. Having them available is good.
mrmike
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2010
- Messages
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I will add my 2 cents for what its worth, first lets change the negative handle from cantcatch to CAN DO SEABEE MOTTO second you are realizing these fish aren't going to jump in your boat as you just found out your getting a lot of very helpful and positive feed back from these folks. They are telling what the correct tools are for the job at hand (that experience). Get Kent Cannons book on basic kokanee fishing explains a lot of what right and whats not. sometimes it can be the very simple item. I hope your using mono line not braided. I personnel use 8 to 10 # max ultra green works excellent. Make sure your boats putting out a positive charge from your down riggers all the trolling speed dept etc won't change the outcome (no fish) if its negative discharge. Kokanee love repeat love scent crawdad oil/ krill oil/garlic scent/ Mikes kokanee scent to mention just a few. On a recent trip to Odell I slayed the fish on a copper blades on a spinner the next day it didn't work. That day it was over cast and dark very little sun windy cold you know A GREAT DAY TO BE ON THE WATER/ copper or bronze will put out a small positive charge more than gold does the following day you guessed it the Sun popped out that COMBINATION Didn't work at all. One last thing read a lot on anything you can find on kokanee, The best advise there is a book on the market Why color matters THE MASTER ANGLER BY PHIL RHOPERTON live in Vancouver. As you move forward you will understand there eating habits as they eat phytoplankton with is very sensitive to the sun so in the morning we fish on top of the surface and as the sun comes up there food source move deeper to shield themselves from the suns rays in the food colume thus the kokanee will follow (WE THINK).
Wow thanks guys I never thought I was going to get that much info and help thank you! So since the beginning post I have purchased some scent, spinner tackle and ordered some epic spinners along with a few kokanee spoons I can see that kokanee fishing is just as expensive as walleye fishing! Im headed out tomorrow morning and going to use my new learned tactics thanks again I will report how it goes!
Rooster
Well-known member
It's addicting!! Good luck!
