Kokanee Fishing Update

Where: As of this writing the Kokanee are spread throughout the lake. They can be found from the south end to the north end and on both the east and west shore lines and bays. This week, I caught some very nice 15 inch Kokanee on the skirt of Mica Bay. Returning home, I marked lines of Kokanee from Mica, on the west shore all the way to Rockford Bay. I did some additional scouting and marked them at Arrow Point all the way South to East Point. There are huge schools of smaller 10-12 inch Kokanee everywhere. Those guys are not as deep and very easy to catch.

Depth: For the rest of the summer and into the fall, the kokanee will be 35 to 60 ft. deep. Troll at 1.2 – 1.4 knots. You will need a downrigger, leaded line or weights to get deep enough during the summer/fall. Some anglers choose to use a banana weight to get the lure to the fish. Easy release divers can also be useful to draw your line down deeper.

Lures: Wedding ring set ups, mini hoochies/squids, little flies, Brad’s Kokanee cut plugs

Kokanee Cut Plug: Fill the cavity with tuna. Add a little Pro Cure anise, shrimp or krill scent if you like.

Wedding rings and hoochies: Add a couple little live maggot or the commercial colored fake maggots to your hook. White Shoepeg Corn is also a great choice. Dying the corn hot pink (I use Pro Cure Wizard crystals), orange or green sometimes is a magic bullet. You can also scent the corn with garlic or anise. Pro Cure makes a Sweet Corn scent that I use to stimulate bites.

Color selection: Pinks, Greens, Chartreuse, Orange are first favorites. Black and white combos are also good. Any hue of those colors or color combinations can be very successful. Don’t forget the florescent, UV and glow in that mix. On dark days or in off colored waters, gold, silver, purple, red and black can attract a bite.

Hook set ups: Use a double hook set up when possible for more successful take downs. Use size 4 hook set ups or size 8 or 10 in treble hook. If tying your own set ups, I recommend size 4 or 2 split shot-drop shot for fish retention. Use a 10 to 12 pound test line for the leader.

Leader length: 12 to 15 inches behind the wobbler or dodger.

Attractors: Traditional Ford fenders, cowbells, multi- blades etc. are still productive. However, I have moved away from those to small dodgers, Mack’s Lure Sling Blade Dodgers (4 & 6 inch) and Brad’s Extreme Kokanee Dodgers. All of those have great action and make fighting the fish more fun. Eight inch flashers can also work well.