March Newsletter

[Steelheadin360]

For this months newsletter I want to just focus on the basics of trolling for Kokanee. Time of the year, water depth, weather, lures, and bait/scent all play a huge roll in having a successful day in the water. You can have the right lure but if you aren't fishing were the fish are then its gonna be a long' day on the water . Or maybe you are using the right gear, fishing in the fish, but they just wont bite. I am going to cover some basics tips and explain some of the things I do on the water to make sure that cooler is gonna be stuffed with fish.

As the water begins warming in Spring, Kokanee begin to feed and will also become more willing to bite. Most productive Kokanee fishermen are using a boat outfitted with downrigger's and a sonar. This allows you to locate the depth of the fish and use the downrigger to adjust your fishing gear accordingly. I like to position my gear 5-10 feet above the fish. In the Spring in shallower lakes fish can be found in the upper 20-30 feet of the water column. As the water warms Kokanee will move deeper and as should your gear. In deep and clear lakes, you will find fish often at 50-150 feet deep year around. This is when a good sonar for locating suspended fish very important. I like to run my gear back 40-100 feet from the ball as well. The deeper I am fishing, the shorter my “set back” will be. Also a good GPS will be very helpful to make sure you hit the 1.2-1.8 mph target speed while fishing. Another important thing is making lots of turns to speed up and slow down my gear and most of my fish are caught during these changes.

The single most important thing for any species of fish is presenting the correct lure at the right depth and speed to induce a feeding response or a territorial reaction. Kokanee, being primary plankton feeders, don't attack a lure because they want to eat it. The color of the lure in addition with the action cause a “anger” response from the fish. This is why many lures on the market are brightly colored. Most fishing is also done with a small dodger or a series of blades in front of the lure to impart action or speed changes. I recommend starting out the day with several different styles and colors of lures and let the fish tell you what they want for the day. Also try to talk to local anglers and they can advise you on whats been the hot lure. But, you cant go wrong with a small spinner such as a Mack's Lure Wedding Ring or hoochie skirt in pink, green, purple or orange and don't overlook gold or silver. Tie it on 15 pound fluorocarbon with 2 size 2 hooks and fish it 10-12 inches behind a 4-6” dodger. Using bait on your hooks will also help, I like to use shoepeg corn or Berkely GULP maggots. Match that will a high quality scent and you should be catching Kokanee in no time!

The amount of gear you can collect being a fishermen can be quite impressive, and I see a lot of fishermen using the wrong gear to target Kokanee. Your Steelhead rod might work good for trout, but you will lose a lot of soft mouthed Kokes. This is why I recommend getting a rod that has been specially made for targeting these fish. Pair that with a good level wind reel and spool it with either 10 pound mono or 20 pound braid. I also run a 30 foot “bumper” of 12 pound fluorocarbon. Kokanee have very good eye sight and I like eliminating as mush visible line as possible. Also keep your gear clean and organized. Also be sure to keep those hooks sticky sharp. And lastly, if you are trolling and catch fish, be sure to troll back through that area again and very often you can catch multiple fish in the same area before they move.

Fishing will begin to heat up this month and now is a great time to stock up and get ready to get out fishing!