What is your favorite type of early season lure?

[sawtooth]

The ice is finally starting to melt and the early season fishing is getting ready to ramp up. With the cold water, what techniques and lures are your first go to for the season? Do your trolling speeds slow down with the colder water? I find that needlefish and other small spoons tend to work better early in the season and when the water warms up hoochies become my go to lure.

 

[gonefishing]

Home Brew early in the Season

I had a terrible trip a couple of years ago early in the season. I fished most of the day and caught only 2 kokes. They were all over my fish finder and I couldnt catch hardly a thing. I had a friend with me and was sort of feeling foolish as I told him he would catch a bunch of Kokes as I was always successful.

So we loaded up the boat went back to camp and I pulled out my tackle box. We'll lets see I said, what would work. I tried everything that they usually bite on with no luck. What could be wrong?

I was not using dodgers or spoons becuase I was still learning and building my inventory of options. I had a great collection of kokanee killers, and wedding rings at the time.

Well only one option that looked possible different. I had a couple of strings of those little kokanee trolls that I had never used before. I carried them around for several years without using them. So I took out my my wire cutters and pliers and hooked them to my willow leafs. I have no idea why I thought of doing that.

They were a little long but interesting looking at least. I fixed up one of these for each of us. On went a pinkish wedding ring and one with a bright green wedding ring.

Back out we went. They weather had turned windy and the water was fairly rough, but we were going to try any way. Back to the same spot we went and started catching fish. Kept going untill almost dark, about one hour. We almost got to our limit of 10 each. Was it the time of the Day? Wish I knew.

I did speak with a fellow koke fisherman that I know who fished that day but about a mile and a half away from me. He and a friend caught nothing all that same day. Go figure???

I still have them and use them ocasionaly, early in the season. I now have a bunch of different stuff to use also. With this little creation of mine, I troll real slow with them into what I think is an area of a school of fish, and then speed up to try and pull them up through a school. They still work early in the year and on crapy cloudy days.

I know this sounds weird, but what the heck! They work pretty well that day! I can't tell you why!

 

[SuperD]

What is your favorite type of early season lure?

The one that works! I swear that every year the Kokes have a meeting and decide what the lure da jour is going to be that season. I usually start small like mini RGT's and a 4/0 dodger or small spinners (#1 or #2 Colorado blade). With the fantastic network we have with internet forums, it doesn't take very long to get the real time scoop on what the fish decided on in their preseason meeting and then you just give them what they want.

 

[Fallriverguy]

SuperD has it right. Every year it changes. Last year a wiggle hoochie was my hot lure and the year before that it was an orange hoochie. I have a lot of luck with larger hoochies early in the year.

 

[Bduck]

Last year the hoochies started out really good for me at the Gorge for the kokes with some experimenting with a couple of RMT serpents. Have been gearing up with added things in the arsenal for this year. Will post any successes.

 

[Cariboospeed]

My lake just broke up a week and a half ago, weekend of the 3rd-4th. A full 6 weeks earlier than normal.

Went out all psyched up, new g/f, charged battery, remembered the net, lunch, cold beer, camera, and ready to fill the boat. Same gear/speed/depth as last year, one bite in 4 hours.

It was still a good day, calm and sunny. I didn't bring the fish finder so they could be deeper than I was fishing. Not a real great start, I'll give it another try in a week or so. Supposed to be near 70*F in the next few days so maybe a little warmth will get them moving and a bit shallower.

 

[Bduck]

My lake just broke up a week and a half ago, weekend of the 3rd-4th. A full 6 weeks earlier than normal.

Went out all psyched up, new g/f, charged battery, remembered the net, lunch, cold beer, camera, and ready to fill the boat. Same gear/speed/depth as last year, one bite in 4 hours.

It was still a good day, calm and sunny. I didn't bring the fish finder so they could be deeper than I was fishing. Not a real great start, I'll give it another try in a week or so. Supposed to be near 70*F in the next few days so maybe a little warmth will get them moving and a bit shallower.

I gotta give you credit for having cold beer on hand. A must necessity. 101cheers101