Wallowa Lake early June

[smokin' Kokes]

Had a great first time on Wallowa. caught the koke of a lifetime there.
took several days to decipher their pattern.
5.5" RMT Bahama Mamma dodger and RMT UV Pink Haze Squid with a small green florescent Corkie up its rear on 8" 15lb stiff florocarbon leader egg loop tied double #4 Gamakatsu Octopus, Circle (Inline-Point) hooks. all dosed with Pro Cures Shrimp/Krill.

http://www.gamakatsu.com/catalog/octo_circle.htm

the Gamas light circle hooks are real killers on kokes. landed all fish that were hooked, fish self sets the hooks in the corner of the mouth mandible thus avoiding the tender mouth parts. no need for drastic pole tension on downrigger, they'll self set on early spring top water slack lining. only had one light hit that didn't hook itself, probably a rainbow.

3 lb 22 incher, picture on boat camera still in boat unpacked

6 lb 25 incher, fish and ruler don't line up, both fell off several times in the polish fire drill. they flop even after being brain stabbed several times. dropped the big Nikon and broke the battery door off, oh well, the price of koke fishing.

both caught in mid lake trolling after finding that all the boats targeting them in the 100 ft depth line near bank had driven the big boys to the center of the lake
30 ft ball depth with Magnum Cowbell troll
lure on 20 ft setback at 28 ft depth

lots of rain, fog, clouds and snow melt along with a late night rumbling snow avalanche above the camp ground

more pics

 

[eric71m]

awesomereport
thanks for sharing!!! congrats

 

[smokin' Kokes]

thanks,

slow fishing but worth the drive and the long waits between fish. sure glad after i saw the runs the big boy made that i was using one of my 8>15lb 9 ft steelhead rods instead of my whimpy kokes rods for Mr Big.

not the spectacular fight of an ocean reared sockeye but long determined runs that had me easing off the drag on the 8lb test Trilene Big Game line

need a BIGGER NET the next trip. 20" hoop and 30" bag just doesn't cut it, fish sticking out both sides. had him across the top of the net several times before i was able to thread him in head first.

maybe my Beckman Magnum Columbian?thumbsup

 

[sthoge]

Smokin Kokes,

What kind of boat do you have. That pic of the fish setting on the back looks just like mine. I've got a 1997 Trophy. It's got the exact same setup with the pole holders.

Btw, Congrads on a nice looking fish. I only caught one 14 incher when we were there last month.

 

[gonefishing]

Smokin Kokes,

Nice fish. worthy12 I'll be there in 10 days. Hope a high presure builds and holds for the week. It makes a difference in that lake. Learning that it can be an off and on lake. This is my second trip and last one for the year. Glad to see that you had some great success. 4 (19) inchers on my May trip! Would like to find something a little bigger this time.

I am taking my heavier Rods also. You never know!

gonefishing!!!

 

[smokin' Kokes]

yes, Trophy.

solid stable ride in the wild changing winds blowing in the Wallowa Canyon.
white caps on the lake several days. nice to have all that cabin, windshield and plastic canopy blocking the wind, toasty warm with the big Mr. Heater

pimpler the current record holder must be one tough dude to manage all hours he spends on the lake fishing in a small wide open boat especially in the snow storms when he caught the record.
wet cold place in the winter/spring.

the deer show it, rough raw hair coats and bone skinny

 

[DLM]

We will be there on Monday. The sun will be shining, the lake will be smooth all day, and the fish will be fighting to get on the hook.....

signfishin

 

[eric71m]

We will be there on Monday. The sun will be shining, the lake will be smooth all day, and the fish will be fighting to get on the hook.....

signfishin

"These are not the droids your looking for... Move along... "

Use your jedi skills and they will be jumping on your hook... best of luck.

 

[kokaneekid]

Got a phone call from my dad while I was at Green Peter today, he said fishing had been slow at Wallowa he released four that were about 2lbs but keep one that was 5lbs.....I hope he took a picture of it... I told Cannon to remind him to take photos....He's about as good with the computer as he is with the camera. If I get a picture I'll post it for him.

Fish On kokaneekid

[email protected]

 

[smokin' Kokes]

more info on Wallowa Lake
even the "locals" are promoting tourists coming, even fisher people.

http://www.josephoregon.com/wallowa_lake.htm

http://www.wallowalakemarina.com/

there could be several genetic strains of landlocked sockeye "kokanee" in Wallowa Lake. Ocean run native sockeye that morphed into landlocked kokanee and planted kokanee. The lake was dammed off to downriver access by "developers" in 1916, leave it up to the "White Locust" to screw up the ecology of a lake thus destroying one of the last natural sockeye ocean to lake runs in the US.

The introduced non native mysis shrimp may actually be harming the kokanee production of Wallowa Lake from Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife studies due to negative effects on the unique native zooplankton which are the primary food source of Wallowa Kokanee.

http://www.coastangler.com/kokanee/odfw.html
SPECIFIC STATUS CONDITIONS GRANDE RONDE/WALLOWA LAKE: The sockeye morphology became extinct in the Grande Ronde as the result of a barrier constructed at the outlet of Wallowa Lake in 1916. The barrier eliminated sockeye access to Wallowa Lake. Sockeye continued to be observed in Wallowa River below the lake until the early 1930s, when they become extinct. Two kokanee populations exist in Wallowa Lake, an inlet-spawning population and a shore spawning population. The shore population is a new population discovered in 1993. The two populations are reproductively isolated from all other kokanee. Kokanee population trends and age-class distribution have been monitored annually by creel sampling and inlet population age-class sampling since 1970. The populations fluctuate over time, but show no particular long-term trend. Models to estimate population sizes are being evaluated, but the spawning populations are known to include hundreds of fish based on observations on the spawning grounds. Mysis shrimp were introduced into Wallowa Lake in the 1960s. Although the shrimp are eaten in small amounts, they do not appear to be used as a primary kokanee food item and there is concern that they may be affecting the population dynamics of native zooplankton. Zooplankton populations have been monitored annually since 1986. Hatchery kokanee were planted in this population historically. The hatchery program was discontinued for a period, then reinstated in 1990 using Paulina Lake stock to evaluate the feasibility of using hatchery fish for harvest. Evaluation of catch contribution of these hatchery fish has been conducted annually through angler creel surveys. Preliminary results to date indicate hatchery kokanee have contributed less than 3% to angler catches through 1994. All hatchery fish have been marked. The hatchery fish are of mixed origin and less than 5% can naturally spawn with the wild fish. Marked fish were observed spawning in the shoreline population for the first time in 1993. No hatchery fish have been observed in the inlet population, but sampling of the population has been limited. Hatchery releases were discontinued after 1994. Preliminary results from the NMFS biochemical survey suggest that there has been some hatchery introgression in both populations, most probably from the historical hatchery program (Robin Waples personal communication).

the new Ron Campbell world record
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/wallowa_lake_yielding_monster.html

 

[kokaguy1]

Good lord......nice fish!!!!!!!