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tirby
03-16-2012, 10:24 AM
Well last week was our BIG adventure! We did good for the weather being so bad. (only one other brave soul who left early) We were on Dworshak and managed to get 10 and lost at least that many. Learned a lot at Camp Cabin from a man who loves to Kokanee fish. So he set us up with affordable basic gear. (THANK YOU) My question I guess is where else in this neck of the woods are Kokanee? My husband fished with his Grandpa and Dad I think YEARS ago and Dworshak is the only place he knows...
So any other GREAT Kokanee areas? say from mcall to coeurdalene? we live in Lewiston so Orofino is just a hop skip and jump away!!

SmokeOnTheWater
03-16-2012, 10:46 AM
101welcomw TIRBY!

I can't answer your question but I'm sure there of plenty of Idaho Koke Addicts that can and will provide you with all the info you'll need.

Another option would be to check out the Idaho Forum on this site.

MMDON
03-17-2012, 02:00 AM
Welcome to the boards Tirby. I can't help you as I fish S.Eastern Idaho but I'm looking forward to your reports!

kodiak1
03-17-2012, 06:18 PM
Tirby,
Payette Lake has kokanee, and with their newfound interest in planting them there, it might be more like the good old days. Cascade can have great kokanee fishing, although most people don't know it. Bigger fish than Dworshak. And there is L. Coeur d'Alene of course. You can combine kokanee and chinook for a good day of fishing, when both are in season. Watch my northern Idaho reports I post on BigFishTackle, Idaho general fishing section. Welcome to the site. Mike

tirby
03-22-2012, 09:24 AM
thanks everyone! I will be checking out the other parts of the forum and the other lakes!!!

fishslayer13
03-22-2012, 09:56 AM
I live up here out of Orofino. I fish dowrshak a lot, but they have been small fish now for a couple years. There have never been what I would call big kokes in the lake. Good thing is its a 25 fish per day limit and not that hard to do. When the season gets going good it should only take an hour or so to put 25 in the boat.

We go to wallowa lake in Oregon for big kokes. Its only about 1 1/2 hours from you in lewiston. We catch several every year that go 5lbs.
Idaho koke fishing in the northern part Idaho is poor at best.

tirby
03-23-2012, 10:45 AM
So when does the season pick up I. Dworshak? My husbands whole family lives in and around orofino..
I live up here out of Orofino. I fish dowrshak a lot, but they have been small fish now for a couple years. There have never been what I would call big kokes in the lake. Good thing is its a 25 fish per day limit and not that hard to do. When the season gets going good it should only take an hour or so to put 25 in the boat.

We go to wallowa lake in Oregon for big kokes. Its only about 1 1/2 hours from you in lewiston. We catch several every year that go 5lbs.
Idaho koke fishing in the northern part Idaho is poor at best.

fishslayer13
03-23-2012, 12:21 PM
The koke fishing gets good in may, gets real good the 2nd and 3rd week of June up until the 4th of July, then they start dumping 100 feet of water out of the lake, that slows it down some for a while. This all depends on the run off in the lake also.
In august the fish start stacking in the upper end above grandad and hold in the mile of lake before they enter the northfork of the clearwater river. We have put 100 fish in the boat in 3 or so hours that time of year. But now that they dump so much water out of the lake we dont go up there much anymore as the boat ramp
is out of the water. The closest ramp at that time of year is Dent and thats a 30 mile run one way so not worth it. But you can also catch West slope cutthroat in the 3 and 4 lb range and bass fishing until your arm falls off !!!

tirby
03-26-2012, 02:37 PM
The koke fishing gets good in may, gets real good the 2nd and 3rd week of June up until the 4th of July, then they start dumping 100 feet of water out of the lake, that slows it down some for a while. This all depends on the run off in the lake also.
In august the fish start stacking in the upper end above grandad and hold in the mile of lake before they enter the northfork of the clearwater river. We have put 100 fish in the boat in 3 or so hours that time of year. But now that they dump so much water out of the lake we dont go up there much anymore as the boat ramp
is out of the water. The closest ramp at that time of year is Dent and thats a 30 mile run one way so not worth it. But you can also catch West slope cutthroat in the 3 and 4 lb range and bass fishing until your arm falls off !!!

OK well we did 2 days of fishin Fri and Sat. Friday we did do 50 in 8 hrs and 40 on Sat. WE HAD A BLAST. on another note BASS?? You know I havent caught many there but LOVE LOVE LOVE Bass fishing... good to know. trout... umm sorry I'll pass.

Sluggo
04-09-2012, 12:27 AM
I have some questions about Dworshak. We have heard some good things about this area and would love to try it out. I know nothing about this area. When should we go to give us the best chance at catching fish?Where should we fish at...are there camping sites...places to buy ice, etc. nearby? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

tirby
04-09-2012, 09:41 AM
I have some questions about Dworshak. We have heard some good things about this area and would love to try it out. I know nothing about this area. When should we go to give us the best chance at catching fish?Where should we fish at...are there camping sites...places to buy ice, etc. nearby? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Well let me say Dworshak is a beautiful area. Camping sites YES. some are pay some are free just depends on where you want to camp. What time and where, depends on what kind fish you are after. I live 50 miles away and this is my first year at really fishing the lake. the lake it self has no real BUYING of ice around. (unless the big eddy marina is open) But again how far you have to travel depend on where you camp.. I suggest you google a map of dworshak here this link may help

campsite info
http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/corpsoutdoors/siteMenu.asp?lake_id=105

and this is a map,
http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/corpsoutdoors/dwa/campsites1.htm

and this is some general good info from PEOPLE not the COE
http://dworshak.org/

Hope that helps..

oh and we caught the MOST kokanee the 24th of April.. it has gone down from there..BUT I AM A NEWBIE on this lake.

PS> I grew up on the lake and in the town of Orofino so NOT NEW to the area just fishing there

fishslayer13
04-09-2012, 09:32 PM
I have some questions about Dworshak. We have heard some good things about this area and would love to try it out. I know nothing about this area. When should we go to give us the best chance at catching fish?Where should we fish at...are there camping sites...places to buy ice, etc. nearby? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

June is the most stable koke fishing on the lake. Mid june to the end being about best. The lake is over 50 miles long and there are camps every mile or so and most can only be reached by boat. They have tables , tent sites and a toilet at each. They are free and first come first serve. Dent camp ground is always packed full in the summer and is a pay to camp with water and power.
Its also first come first serve for the fist time this year. No more reservations will be taken there anymore. The city of Orofino 6 miles or so away have RV parks and motels, grocery stores with food and ice etc, plus a few restaurants.

It all depends on what you want to do.

I prefer to fish Kokes with pop gear on Dworshack but I use a 2 blade Ford Fender by luhr jensen Thats 13 inches long total. Small for pop gear. The ones that do the best are the all silver and the half silver half brass color.
These kokes do best on a spinner such as macks lures that have a red tape on the blade or the green one. also pick up a blue. They call them wedding rings. If you can find them a white bladed spinner by brandys also may work well at times. Make sure you are tying your spinners about 24 to 36 inches behind your fender. I make all my own. I like to troll at a GPS speed of 1.2
I soak my corn in anise smelly jelly scent it seems to do best.

In june the fish should be between 20 and 35 feet down. I use down riggers for best results. This time of year a lot of the fish are up in the 8 to 16 feet mark and scattered all over. Look for creeks bringing in a little warmer water and fish it on the outside of the mouth.
I like to fish where I can see a bank that is dropping very steep into the lake and get out until the bottom 125 feet deep. When you catch a koke turn around and go back through where you caught him. I use my fish finder
a lot. Look also for ridges that go out a long ways into the water and fish from the deep side to the shallow on the ridge, they hang on the deepest side. These kokes hang with there noses pointed toward the ridge.
If I know when your there and I happen to be out you can also jump in my boat and we could help you.
I like the fishing in june from cranberry creek and up. August fishing can be great when they start stacking up to spawn, but they are best 45 miles up the lake.
This lake is full of kokes and you can catch them about anywhere.

Hope this will help you.

Sluggo
04-10-2012, 09:44 AM
Thanks everyone for all the detailed information about Dworshak! I really appreciate you taking time to give me all the great information! I do have a few more questions...how big are the average size Kokanee in this reservoir? Are most of the camp sites shaded and family friendly? Thanks again for your assistance!