The year in review

[Island20]

Now the season is all but over for this year how would you rate this years kokanee action?
Please add your 2cents

As for me things were kind of tough. I had a great time fishing but the catching was not as good as last year.
Looking forward to next year with high hopes for better catching.
Last week out of four days fishing I managed to get one nice fish of 4 1/2 lbs. but that was it for the kokes. Went on to follow my own fisholosophy that says fish for whats bitting and limmited out on Rainbows every day after two days of not catching only one koke.
Big thank you to all who helped me out with great advice and it was good to meet some of you in person. Hope to meet up with you again soon. Best wishes for a great year next year. Now off to make more beer.thumbsup

 

[Ryno]

Now the season is all but over for this year how would you rate this years kokanee action?
Please add your 2cents

We had a pretty poor year of recruitment in 2010 and it was actually the second lowest year of recruitment ever recorded. Those fish were the 4-year olds this year, and as some have noted, 4-year olds weren't near as numerous this year as in 2013. We did have good recruitment in 2011, which hopefully bodes well for fishing in 2015.

I think 2013 was an awesome year of kokanee angling in terms of numbers and size. Early 2014 was also good, but the later part of the 2014 season was full of ups and downs and I'm not sure why. Late-May thru June was spectacular in terms of numbers, quality and catchability. Around July 4th, I saw the catchability shift where I was still marking/finding fish, but had inconsistencies in tackle preference from hour to hour or day to day. It's always that way with kokes, but it just seemed more prevalent after July 4th, especially on the Utah side of the reservoir. Many anglers I spoke too had the same struggles or worse. I'm also surprised how many small lake trout I've caught while targeting kokanee lately. Many of these smaller lakers are 10-14 inches and are occupying shallower habitats, side-by-side with kokanee. Once again the numbers of small lake trout are growing in the reservoir, stressing continued harvest to maintain the predator/prey balance and still promote exceptional sport fishing opportunities for both species.

Thanks, Ryno

 

[liketrolling]

May and June was slow but still got are Limits. most days, July and Aug. was great great fishing,
a lot of 4 lbs fished from Javies to the ranch house.
going up Sept 17 and try to learn how to catch a big lake Trout
will try to fish for Burbot, Have never fished for Burbot, it is hard to find info. on where to go.

 

[kokanee_slayer]

Although I didn't post as regularly as I have in the past, This was a banner year at the Home Lake. thumbsup The Kok action really started to come on in mid April and was red hot through July. It's slowed a bit but the action is still pretty decent. Lots of quick limits early in the A/M with a few in approximately 45 minutes. Most Koks were in the 16 to 17 inch range with a lot of fight which made the drag on my reels beg for mercy. I used RMT gear almost exclusively as it always helps me put more fish on the deck. Attached are a couple of my pics.

 

[jacksonlaker]

I made it down 3 times this summer, late June and twice in August. I thought the fishing was great for all three trips. There seemed to be a lot of 3.5 to 4 lb fish around. I did land one that was just under 5. Even the rainbows seemed big this year. Every time down there is different, some days they like different colors, or apexes, or spoons. You just have to buy a lot of tackle and not be afraid to try new stuff, even when you are catching. I never get down there as much as I would like...next year !!

 

[Downrigger]

I noticed few of the 4+ pounders this year but I still caught quite a few, including one that was just over 5. Early season action was the best but we still did pretty well during August. I never left without limits of fish for everyone on board.

I finished out with a quick overnight trip with another couple. We were on the lake fishing at purple light and had 3 fish in the boat by noon. We moved to another spot and as soon as we got there we got a quadruple, a triple, and two doubles within a half hour. With one release and a lake trout, we were done for the day and the year.