Lucky Peak Kokes

[luckykoke]

Just wondering if anyone else is fishing Lucky Peak now. We have been out on three separate occasions in Feb and caught 8, 11, and 6 kokes. Seems like there have been a ton of boats out there especially compared to last year. Best of luck fishing this year,
Lucky

[sawtooth]

It is good to hear that LP is starting to produce.

[sawtooth]

Hoping to get out to the lake this weekend. Were the fish on top or will I need to use the downriggers? I was waiting for the water to warm up a bit but my fishing addiction needs a fix. :)

[luckykoke]

Seems like they were in the 15-20 foot range. We didn't try on top so there could be some up there. I think we are heading out Sunday to give it another try.
Lucky

[kodiak1]

Hey Lucky,
Congrats on getting a good start on the kokes!! I'm curious. Last year they seemed to be on the move more than usual early on. They were around the dam early on, then they were packed in below Arrowrock, and finally settled in at Spring Shores. Wondering where you found them. Thanks for any info. Mike

[sawtooth]

Luckykoke,

If you see a red and white 17' Crestliner on the lake Sunday afternoon stop by and say hi.

Sawtooth

[luckykoke]

They have been on the move this year too. We have fished spring shores one week and then went back and fished there again with no luck. We spend an hour or two tracking them down. Not even sure where we will start on Sunday. Sawtooth, I'll look for you. We are in a Yukon with a black strip. We will be running 4 poles. Good luck this weekend.
Lucky

[Luge]

Lucky, sounds like you have a great boat driver, fish locator, and tackle consultant. What's your secret.

[luckykoke]

Well to tell you the truth, my boat driver sucks and I have to direct him all the time. Rumor has it, he caught 6 last week and I caught 11 the week before. The proof is in the numbers. See you on Sunday and please try to contribute this week!

[sawtooth]

Went out for three and a half hours on Sunday afternoon. Hooked two kokes and two trout (when we got a little to close to shore). Had a couple other takedowns, but didn't have them on long enough to see if they were kokes or not. Fish were holding at 12-20 feet with no real combination being a true winner. A variety of homemade spinners and a couple of needlefish all had fish on. Luckykoke, I think I saw your black striped Yukon, but you were a little out of voice range, and by the time I passed back through you were long gone. How did you do on Sunday?

[clearwaterb]

weather was great, fishing not so much. Fished both days, marked TONS of fish. Only caught a few trout. I am thinking that the water coming up has them a little messed up. What does anyone think of that assessment? I tried down riggers, the trusty leadded line, squids, weeding rings of various colors, nothing seemed to work. Most of the fish were in that 12-24 foot range. The few folks I talked to caught some at 45 feet deep.

[bkondeff]

I have yet to wet a line for Koke's, but am very excited and have been doing research. I do not have downriggers yet and while at a store recently was told I won't need them until later in the summer. I thought I would ask your opinion. There is a used, but like new Cannon manual avail for a decent but not great price. I have a lot of gear to buy on a limited budget so....

Should I get the downriggers sooner rather than later or can I afford to wait a few months.

Brian

[sawtooth]

bkondeff,
Look out, your about to step off onto a very slippery slope. Koke fishing can become addictive and like many addiction it has a way of separating you from any and all disposable income you may have. :) In regards, to your question about downriggers, you should be able to catch fish either without weight or with small inline weights through May. Once the weather reaches highs in the 80's a downrigger gives you the ability to catch fish without excessive weight on your line or the use of leadcore line. I have a couple friends that fish throughout the summer without a downrigger at Lucky Peak, but by mid-June they are pulling so much weight or have so much leadline out that they are loosing alot of the fun of catching these silver bullets. Another big bonus to having a downrigger is that you always know exactly the depth your line is fishing. You can also stack two lines on the same downrigger, allowing you to fish two known depths on one downrigger. If you have a good deal available to you right now, I would probably pick it up and then wait a while before buying a second. I used one of my downriggers this weekend and it sure helps knowing you always have at least one line at the depths your fishfinder is marking fish. Hope this helps, and tight lines.
Sawtooth

[luckykoke]

Sawtooth,
We didn't do well at all. Fished hard and only caught one rainbow. It was a tough day. We did stop by a red stripped crestliner, but found out it wasn't you ;-) The guy was very nice though so that was good. Think he thought I was a little crazy when I asked him if he was Sawtooth. I'll ditto Sawtooths remarks on the downrigger. Plus I'll add that with a couple of downriggers it is easier to get 4 lines down without having a tangled mess and you want to run 4 lines if you are fishing with 2 people. Remember to buy your two pole license though.
I would also agree that the reservoir coming up is causing them some of the problems, but you also have the runoff from Mores Creek coming in and the change in the weather. Good luck to all, not sure if I'll make it out this next weekend, but will keep you posted if I do.
Lucky

[kodiak1]

Brian,
Sawtooth and Lucky give great advice. Sometimes, we have two downriggers out, and the third pole with lead core gets all the action. This is often true even in the heat of the summer, but usually early in the A.M., before they drop. You will love downriggers; they are, in my mind, a necessity, and will greatly increase your catch rate. I know some will disagree with this next bit of advice, but I strongly recommend the Penn downriggers. I fish a lot on the ocean for salmon, and on the west coast, you will find that Penns dominate. They never seem to break down, and they have HUGE numbers to indicate depth. It can be difficult early in the morning and later in the evening to read depths on a small readout. Unfortunately, no one around here carries them. They can be ordered easily on the internet. I had a friend fish with me recently, and he sold his Cannons shortly after and ordered Penns. Just one person's opinion!!! Good fishing. Mike

[kodiak1]

Hey Brian--have you looked at EBay? I just checked it out for Penns, for example, and there is a pair of fine looking Penn 625's with the desired 2' arm for $269 for the pair, "buy now price", with a 60 day guarantee. Good deal. If you prefer the Cannons or Scotties, I am sure you could find some good deals, as well. Mike

[metalheadgene]

That is a good price for those Penn's....being a longtime Koke fisherman using leadcore and wieghts I fished last sunday for the first time with my new Easi Troll and loved it. It caught the most and biggest fish of the day. I also agree that later on, the lead core can dominate but the downrigger is a blast.

[3RivrFishr]

Geno
First of all welcome to KFF. Secondly, how many downrigger rods should I build for ya?

[Uboat]

I just loined the club... looking forward to exchanging info with you folks. Metelheads down rigger did great but my 30 yers old leadcore line did pretty good too.....

[BorntoFish01]

Oh boy, there goes the neighborhood with you 3 schmucks...Uboat/Mel, Geno, 3RivrFishr/Ron.

Good to see Mel and Geno onboard.

I'm excited to see another koke season coming on. Think I've got enough hootchie rigs tied to get me through many years.....oh wait, I just got the urge to tie somemore.

[3RivrFishr]

Uboat, your leadcore has been fishing longer than I have.

[metalheadgene]

Ron...I need one for now but soon will need two::

Mel was right, that leadcore line was so old you could not even see the colors on it yet it did very well.

Dean...I can't wait to get you back out there!

[BorntoFish01]

Me too Geno....Mel and I were talking and maybe if the weather/winds settles down, Sunday or Monday might be good.

[sawtooth]

I wasn't able to make it out this weekend to LP. Sunday afternoon was sure nice. Was anyone else able to get out? If so how was the fishing?

[Uboat]

Borntofish01, Dean, and I will be out there tomorrow.We will post a report when we get back.