kokanee fishing

[juggalo]

where are all the kokanee this time of year?why can't they be caught?finding info on kokanee is proving to be very difficult.in 2005 over 5 million fry were put in lake whatcom,yet i haven't seen a single report.anyone wanna talk kokes? :shaking2:

[Smalma]

Juggalo -
Could be that Lake Whatcom is closed to all fishing until the last Saturday in April.

In general one of the difficult things about winter fishing kokanee is that typically the whole lake has temperatures that are suitable for the fish so they can be really scattered. On some lakes the fish can be found in the depths and others on the surface but often they are scattered throughout the water column until the thermocline begins forming which serves to concentrate the fish in layers allow the anglers to target a specific level.

To put in another way if the fish are scattered from the surface to a depth of 100 feet you have a much lower density of fish at anyone place than you do if the majority of the fish were in a 20 foot layer.

Once the surface temperatures rise into the mid-50s (usually May?) it seems that the kokanee are more active and predictable and you can expect to see a lot more kokanee reports. That said I plan on doing some early season test fishing in your backyard.

Tight lines
curt

[GeryG]

I see your location is lake Stevens. Why are you asking about whatcom lake when they plant
lake stevens a lot? I dont think any one fishes for kokanee here in the winter, in the lakes.
Spring is your best bet. I read recently that kokane dont eat any thing big in the winter, they
eat the same stuff they ate when they were young. I think the article was in one of the last 2
issues of fishing & hunting news.

[juggalo]

regardless of the season on whatcom there are no reports of kokanee fishing on that particular lake. i do fish stevens religously however its 200,000 fish compared with whatcoms 5,000,000 is hard to overlook

[Smalma]

Have spend some time on Whatcom.

You'll find the majority of the kokanee in the north end of the lake duirng the early season (May and June). As the year progress most of the fish move southward. The hatchery creek (Brannion) is located at the South end of the lake.

There are 2 launches on the Lake - one on the north end in Bellingham and the other at the extreme south end in the bay just north of Cain lake. Have not used either in several years so do not have late information on their conditions or cost etc. The south one is/was a WDFW launch while the north end was City/Whatcom county launch that has charged and had heard that there may be other restrictions.

Lots of fish though they are on the small size. Typically they average much smaller than say the Stevens fish with the largest any day likely to be no larger than average for Stevens.

Other bets if you wish to travel that far include Baker; good numbers of fish but small as well. Shannon just below Baker has much nicer fish though the boat launch is steep. Lake Samish just south of Bellingham has nice fish in recent years the numbers seem to be down.

Sorry that is about all the info I have.

Tight lines
Curt

[juggalo]

smalma
thanks for the info.i apreciate and enjoy anything kokanee and expect to spend some time on shannon this year.

[AdsBot [Google]]

I remember I did well for kokes late in the Fall - like August - October...after that the fishing really died off. Some kokes were 14-16" and were fat! They are some amazing fighters too...also great smoked! Kokes often get overlooked in my opinion, and are very fun to target. They'll take anything immitating a wounded baitfish.

[Lotech Joe]

My best luck for Kokanee (we call them blue backs or silvers around here) has been to troll a red or green wedding ring with white shoe peg corn on each of the treble hooks. Drag that behind a 0/0 brass/silver Dodger with a 4-6 inch red snubber. This method is for land locked Kokanee. I hope that's what you're asking about.

[SPARKY101]

Went to riffe lake fished for about 4HRS caught 1 silver 15"slammed a cocktail shrimp 12' under slip bobber using pautzsky juice also,fishing at the dam is always better if the wind is blowing some good waves for the bait action

[HillbillyGeek]

regardless of the season on whatcom there are no reports of kokanee fishing on that particular lake. i do fish stevens religously however its 200,000 fish compared with whatcoms 5,000,000 is hard to overlook

I don't know about other lakes, but the kokes in Lake Stevens travel in schools and are usually suspended in the thermocline. Trolling a wedding ring with a fly as a trailer is effective.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about other lakes, but the kokes in Lake Stevens travel in schools and are usually suspended in the thermocline. Trolling a wedding ring with a fly as a trailer is effective.

Exactly. I use kokanee killers and those work well too along with wedding rings tipped with worm.

[Fisherman_max]

when i used to fish for kokanee it was all about depth. if you dont get your spinner or whatever to the right depth you might as well not be fishing at all. tip your wedding rings with scented corn or worms to increase the appeal of your presentation.


and use kokanee killers. usually makes your rod bend pretty hard but you will know when you have a fish on.


rubber snubbers help to.

[colton]

when i used to fish for kokanee it was all about depth. if you dont get your spinner or whatever to the right depth you might as well not be fishing at all. tip your wedding rings with scented corn or worms to increase the appeal of your presentation.


and use kokanee killers. usually makes your rod bend pretty hard but you will know when you have a fish on.


rubber snubbers help to.

hey max thats exactly how i fish for kokanee. i usually troll in an S shape with the same setup. and your right about the depth. when i go we usally have three people at different depths to find them. but in the winter i heard they go really deep in lakes and are really pretty hard to catch. but thats for merwin

[Fisherman_max]

yea its kinda the go to trolling choice for people who fish yale, merwin or swift resivoirs. i have heard of people using shrimp and such off the bottom at the dams and such but i have never tried.

[Jake Dogfish]

I fish for Kokanee in some of the lowland lakes in the area with my pontoon boat. I usually use a pink holographic mini dodger with just bait on about 18" back. I use little or no weight added in most of the lakes that are not too deep, I just let out alot of line and go real slow. I use Maggots and shoepeg corn for bait. This year I plan on trying some different techniques though. I have heard jigging can be good.

I have not figured out any way to get them to bite before very late April or May...
Anybody have any ideas on how to get them to bite this time of year?

[SPARKY101]

I have trolled riffe lake with 6oz banana weight 5'leader weddinig ring and cocktail shrimp fished 40-50 even 25ft depths also have used macks flashers silver/gold with 3oz weight triangle on the front 3'leader and a dick's nite spoon tipped with bait both have produced all year long

[HillbillyGeek]

I fish for Kokanee in some of the lowland lakes in the area with my pontoon boat. I usually use a pink holographic mini dodger with just bait on about 18" back. I use little or no weight added in most of the lakes that are not too deep, I just let out alot of line and go real slow. I use Maggots and shoepeg corn for bait. This year I plan on trying some different techniques though. I have heard jigging can be good.

I have not figured out any way to get them to bite before very late April or May...
Anybody have any ideas on how to get them to bite this time of year?

If they are not actively feeding, getting any fish to bite is not easy. This explains why spawning salmon can be so hard to catch. They don't eat!
Maybe annoying the kokes would be effective -- I know it works on bass. I've made multiple casts to the same exact location simply because the spot looked so "fishy", and had bass hit my lure on the fourth or fifth casts. I think the lure eventually just pissed them off.

[axelfisher]

These fish are just tough to catch in general. Up north in Lake McMurrey the fish get a bit lethargic in the winter but ussaly spring up around opening weekend Best of luck!

[SeaKing]

Here is a link to a tech sheet on Kokanee tips that explains more about Kokanee.
http://www.luhrjensen.com/techreports/1 ... nee%20.pdf
Kokanee fishing is intentional. You need to be aware of speed, depth, and location. I went to a lake in Oregon that I fished as a kid and 30 years later the hot spots were the same. I fish a local lake that has the same hot spots year in and year out.