The NW Kokanee Zone

[Medium D]

Building show content for “The OUTDOOR LINE; 710 ESPN. The weekly segment starting in a few weeks will be “The NW Kokanee Zone”. Anyone want to give their personal ranking of the below mentioned ie; top (5) and who has a standard go-to on any given piece of water. Or are there additional bodies of water throughout Idaho that should be mentioned as recognizable kokanne fisheries. Do you guys think the technique needs to change all that much from location to location? Are there some commonalities or large differences when you compare these locations? Same or different in depth, trolling speed, color morning, color afternoon, type of bait, and size of gear... Looking for info that makes these fisheries either completely different or very much the same.

Ririe Reservoir
Cascade Lake
Payette Lake
Anderson Ranch Reservoir
Lucky Peak Reservoir
Arrowrock Reservoir

 

[BlueBack79]

arrowrock, l.p. and anderson get enough pressure w/out advertising them.

 

[sawtooth]

arrowrock, l.p. and anderson get enough pressure w/out advertising them.

Well said BlueBack.

 

[MackayGuy]

arrowrock, l.p. and anderson get enough pressure w/out advertising them.

My thoughts as well.

 

[Medium D]

Sorry if I ruffled some folks over there. I was merely trying to create content on some of your fisheries over in Idaho. Not so detailed or specific, but some thoughts for guys here in Washington that may make the periodic drive. It's more of a comparison and trying to get a sense of what the guys who fish those locations feel the strengths and weaknesses are. It would also be an opportunity to compare some techniques to how the guys fish certain bodies of water, over here in Wash and Or. Again, my intention is not to create issues with you guys and your Kokanee fisheries... I do apologize if it came across that way.

 

[BlueBack79]

understood. appreciate the clarification. hope i didnt come across like an a$$hole. wasnt my intention.

 

[Medium D]

Not at all Blueback, I can appreciate and respect guy’s wanting-ness to protect their fisheries. Again, I really am looking for info that’s basic, generic, and comparable to other fisheries. The intent of The OUTDOOR LINE is to spend 2 hours on 710 ESPN AM radio, in Seattle every Saturday morning and help to educate, entertain and inform hunters and fishermen. We try to bring the sportsman back into Fishing, Hunting etc. Yes we do get into techniques, specific rigs, and detailed info on a lot of our fisheries over here, but we also fish those fisheries and they are no secret. I would never get on the air and tell everyone to bomb on over to Idaho to get limits of 20” Kokes at XYZ reservoir, as that would be a disrespect to the locals who have put in years. It is more like… There are some opportunities in Idaho. Based on the Kokanee fishermen in that region, the top (5) in no particular order to consider might be. Then to be able to bring out some of the techniques guys use and again tie it back into what works over here in Wa.
It’s just the opportunity to put at least one kokanee segment in each show for the next several weeks. Spread it out and talk about the whole NW. While that has a segment each week, we will also cover, Springers, the tail end of Winter Steelhead, Summer Steelhead on the horizon, Bass, Walleye, Trout, and of course out in the salt, Salmon, Lings and Halibut. Did I mention Crab and Shrimp?
There is a lot going on this time of year, we try to appeal to all the different fisheries and touch base with those that do them.. 101cheers101
Thanks

 

[Kokanee Troller]

o.k. I'll give a try. First you can scratch Cascade and Payette, they are new to Kokanee and do not have a stable population yet.
As you proabally know most of Idaho's brood stock for both North & South
Idaho comes from Deadwood Reservoir. Our Southern Lakes are all stocked,
and re-stocked with this brood stock. The big discussion going on with all
Fish & Game Kokanee producers is how to get bigger fish. Many feel genetics play a big part..Wallawa Lake, Flaming George seem to constantly
produce record fish...why? Some beleive it is all about enviorment, population control, catch limits. Some beleive its both. Although I feel we
in Idaho have some of the best F&G guys in the business...to be fair, money
plays a big roll. I don't beleive we have the resourses as some of of the other bigger states plus Kokanee Power Organization to help them. That all
being said we are proud of our Kokanee Fishery and it is getting better every year. If you are interested in a amazing Kokanee story, read-up on the recovery of Kokanee in Ponderay Lake..what happened and were it is now!! Good luck on your radio show..wish we could get it here.

 

[sawtooth]

Even though Payette Lake has received close to 400,000 kokanee fry and fingerlings each of the last two years (twice what they put in Lucky Peak and Arrowrock combined), I don't think it will become a kokanee lake until they reduce the Lake trout population a little. Right now those kokes are just fish food for those Lakers. 101chromefish101

 

[Medium D]

Kok troller and Sawtooth, thanks for the info. This is good stuff a little on the history of some of your fisheries. This is the type of stuff that works great as I am able to compare Id. with Or. as an example... BTW you can listen to our show live, every Saturday morning.... Just go to www.theoutdoorline.com and hit the "Listen Now" button. You can get it streemed live and when we start the kokanee segments in a couple weeks, you guys will be able to listen in. You can also check out the site, jump in on the forums, as I will have a kokanee section, read blogs, watch video's.... lots going on there. Not trying to steer you away from here, just thought you might want to check it out.

Thanks,

 

[jimbojump]

OK I have to chime in some theories then as well...I just started Koke fishing last year in April....we hit LP first for a month or two...had ok success...but it didnt get good til we started learning Arrowrock...which can also be a bugger...but the theory part begins with why are the Kokes in LP so much smaller and maybe even fewer in LP vs Arrowrock? If the previous poster says Payette will always be a poor to mediocre Koke fishery due to Lake Trout...maybe thats why LP is behind Arrowrock in that regard...supposedly there are a good number of Lakers in LP...which in theory may also explain why LP doesnt seem to have the Sqauwfish problem that Arrow does...hmmm? Lakers would eat sqauwfish and Koke fry and limit the overall numbers of all species right? Since there is no history of Lakers in Arrowrock...maybe thats why the perch and sqauws and kokes do so much better in there...just a thought.

 

[kodiak1]

One correction: neither Cascade nor Payette Lake are new to kokanee fishing. I have been catching kokanee in Payette L. for over 55 years! Years ago, the best method in Payette was a silver and red triple teaser. The fish started biting well in mid-June at the earliest. We have caught more than a few mackinaw on triple teasers over the years! A 25 pound mac on a dinky TT and 8-pound test is a test of your skills! Of course today, with hoochies, etc. the kokes might come to the hook more often. The fish have certainly had their ups and downs over the years. With the lake being so sterile, the size will always be on the smaller size. Cascade is totally different. We have caught more 16 to 18-inchers in there than any other size. Mike

 

[Medium D]

Thanks Mike... It's kind of interesting to me. Guys like yourself, have been doing the kokanee thing LONG before it was ever considered popular. I have had more guys tell me that they simply use to troll a red and white triple teaser or something similar, and did very well for many, many years. But, like most things, advancements in technology and pretty soon it cost a guy a bunch of money to go after kokanee. I like the guys that keep it simple and basic and still catch their fare share...
I can only imagine the Mac's on that ultra-lite gear had to be an absolute blast...

 

[Medium D]

Jim, predation is always a factor in the size and survivability for kokanee. When you have predators your kokes are generally far less in numbers, for obvious reasons. I know many of the States back in the day, simply planted Kokanee as feeder fish for other game fish, and still do. They are extremely cheap to raise to fry size and then dump hundreds of thousands into our lakes and reservoirs. Lakes that receive annually high plant counts but don't generally produce decent numbers of kokanee for sport catch is only secondary to a couple of things. Predators always being a factor and of course, how well they survived through the winter..

 

[kokaneenation]

Even though Payette Lake has received close to 400,000 kokanee fry and fingerlings each of the last two years (twice what they put in Lucky Peak and Arrowrock combined), I don't think it will become a kokanee lake until they reduce the Lake trout population a little. Right now those kokes are just fish food for those Lakers. 101chromefish101

I just moved here from Central Oregon. I fished Odell for Kokanee and trophy Lakers. Both fisheries are thriving with Lakers consistently over 20 lbs. and 17-20 inch kokanee 2-3 lbs. Limit is 25 per person with over 100 boats a day targeting kokanee. Maybe 5-10 targeting Mackinaw.

 

[sawtooth]

I am not saying that Kokanee and Lakers can't both thrive in the same lake, I am just saying that right now the balance between the two is a bit "out of wack". Payette is not the most prolific lake in regards to aquatic life and other forage fish, so this makes those fingerling kokes number one on the Laker's menu.

 

[Medium D]

Kokaneenation... Odell sounds like a great place to fish, I'm sure you miss it. Do you get back to Oregon for a few days a year to get some quality fishing in??

 

[BlueBack79]

...but the theory part begins with why are the Kokes in LP so much smaller and maybe even fewer in LP vs Arrowrock?

i didnt fish arrowrock last year and the fishing in l.p. was so-so in my opinion. but, the fish we pulled out of l.p. were very nice. i have found that the size of the kokes to be pretty comparible between the two fisheries in years past. granted, each kokanee fishery goes through its cycles. just take anderson for example. that used to be our go to stop some years ago. 18"+ fat kokes were the norm. fast forward to the present, and we're starting to see the size of the fishery getting back to what it once was. we didnt see the 18" fish last year, but they were nice size fish...and in great numbers too. i think this year will be even better and i bet we start seeing larger numbers of big fish. just my theory.

 

[metalheadgene]

Interesting observations Blue. I did not fish Anderson ranch last year and I struggled finding the numbers on Lucky peak last year but the size was great.

Arrowrock last year for me was great on the numbers but not as many of the hogs as in years past.

I was saddened to see the number of water maggots invade Arrowrock last year. I seen a couple of smaller boats come very close to capsizing due to those uncooth ^%$#@s.

Oh well....still looking forward to to this season.

gg

 

[kokaneenation]

I plan to. I just moved to Boise this fall. There is a big Mackinaw derby on Odell I plan to fish in. $1000 for biggest Mack. May is the best month for big kokanee too.