2013-2016 Idaho Kokanee Fishing Reports Quick Links

[amxerhull]

We fished Canyon/Indian Creeks on Sunday. We had company of up to 15 boats during the day. We never saw a net come out. We ran two downriggers between 5 and 25 feet and two long lines with varying amount of weights and distance. Fishing was frustrating but it turned out to be a very pleasant day. We need lessons from Ken and Rick!

[fishslayer13]

Thats about the way Dworshak runs until about june. It can be good every now and then and not so good too. Very inconsistent this time of year. Did anyone run a silver hyper plaid agitator with a spinner 10 feet behind it. Yep thats what I said, 10 feet. Works a lot, earlier in the year. Some times very close in, like rock throwing distance to the bank. Also When in that close drag a night crawler on the bottom with a walleye rig. I have caught my biggest small mouths the end of this month doing just that. All that said, you can never go wrong with a day out on Dworshak.

[kenbarb]

Thanks for the reports Rick & John, It appears the fish are pretty much scattered at this point in time. When we were fishing Canyon Creek last week it was a single fish now and then, never hit a school until we trolled in the main part of the lake, and those were very small schools. I am wondering if all the boats in Canyon Creek are scattering the fish to some extent. I think we may try trolling the open water, away from other boats the next time out, then if we find a school mark it on the GPS so we can circle back over the spot. One thing about it, this is what makes fishing so much fun, weather permitting we plan on going this Wednesday.

[whiskeynkoke]

Pretty much new to the whole trolling approach. Been almost 30 years since trolling. Been a bit preoccupied with the whole fly fishing thing during that time but now with young children I figure this is a better way to get them out on the water and excited about fishing without all the frustrations associated with fly fishing. Spent last year figuring out, or trying to at least, the perch in Cascade for the same reason. Figured the local koke population and proximity to home just made too much sense not to work on. Not to mention the table fare.

First outing on 3/15.
Cold and windy in the morning...DUH. Fabulous weather followed.
Fished the dam pool area from 10:30 to 7:00
One strikes the first 5 hours - one pole on the surface (no weight) and one pole with a couple ounces weight, both longlining. Unweighted rod with a dodger, weighted with a small lake troll. Apex, Kokabow, and hoochies all tipped with white corn.
Started to pick up fish occasionally in the afternoon. Both lines unweighted, again one with dodger the other with troll. Both rods with kokabow, one tipped with corn, the other with maggots. Green dodger, pink kokabow with the maggots got virtually every hit and all the fish minus one rainbow. If I had found this somewhat succesful combo an hour or two earlier, I think I could have filled the cooler.
Ended the day with 3 14" kokes and a couple rainbows released.
Overall my impression was that a "good/decent" koke fisher probably eeked out a limit, but it took some time.
Marked lots of schools at 20-40' but seemed the players were all at the surface as expected.

Couple random observations or questions:
Whats up with the folks up there? I'm trolling along and catch this awful smell and immediately think "somebody's lost a motor and the smell does not bode well" smells like a motor running with no oil. I look around and see a speedboat with the hatch up and figure that's it. So I slowly start to troll his way. I watch no fewer than a half dozen "nice" boats go by and not one of them slows down or stops to offer these guys a hand. Just blow by in their jet, ski, or large fishing boat without a second thought. Now I don't mind giving someone a tow in when they need it, but seems a little silly on that lake that with so many people around that I need to tow in a speed boat with my 30 year old 16' boat and motor. I'll take the fishing karma, but it sure makes me wonder about the quality of folks I'm out there with.

Incident #2 - While searching for fish in all corners of the pool, another boat trolls past about 180 degrees and all is fine, but as soon as he goes past, he makes a sharp turn into me. I see this and go "oh #$%". The only option I had because of the shoreline was to try and turn the same direction he was and maybe this was a bad idea on my part. He ends up making more than a 180 degree turn and is going to pass about 50' behind me. He drops his downrigger balls and I grab the first rod and start reeling as fast as I can. Not fast enough. I spool the line and let him know that he's hooked me up. All goes slack and the ball comes up empty, I think he cut my line with his prop. I get a simple "sorry" and we go our seperate ways. I keep an eye on this boat and notice that he has a real regular and predictable route that he is repeating and I can't help but wonder if this turd was somehow trying to protect "his turf"? Maybe I did something wrong and the whole thing is a "my problem" issue but in my mind I know I wasn't trying to steal his track because I hadn't even noticed he had one until after the fact. Is there some sort of unwritten rule or trollers etiquette I'm not aware of? I can understand being a bit upset if others interfere with a route you have established, but I had barely crossed over the end of his route when the whole incident happened.

Final question. The fish that were caught seemed awfully lethargic when hooked. Is this just a water temp issue and will they get a little more spunky as the season progresses? Even with just a dodger, there really wasn't much of a fight involved in bringing them to the boat.

[kok-head]

Pretty much new to the whole trolling approach. Been almost 30 years since trolling. Been a bit preoccupied with the whole fly fishing thing during that time but now with young children I figure this is a better way to get them out on the water and excited about fishing without all the frustrations associated with fly fishing. Spent last year figuring out, or trying to at least, the perch in Cascade for the same reason. Figured the local koke population and proximity to home just made too much sense not to work on. Not to mention the table fare.

First outing on 3/15.
Cold and windy in the morning...DUH. Fabulous weather followed.
Fished the dam pool area from 10:30 to 7:00
One strikes the first 5 hours - one pole on the surface (no weight) and one pole with a couple ounces weight, both longlining. Unweighted rod with a dodger, weighted with a small lake troll. Apex, Kokabow, and hoochies all tipped with white corn.
Started to pick up fish occasionally in the afternoon. Both lines unweighted, again one with dodger the other with troll. Both rods with kokabow, one tipped with corn, the other with maggots. Green dodger, pink kokabow with the maggots got virtually every hit and all the fish minus one rainbow. If I had found this somewhat succesful combo an hour or two earlier, I think I could have filled the cooler.
Ended the day with 3 14" kokes and a couple rainbows released.
Overall my impression was that a "good/decent" koke fisher probably eeked out a limit, but it took some time.
Marked lots of schools at 20-40' but seemed the players were all at the surface as expected.

Couple random observations or questions:
Whats up with the folks up there? I'm trolling along and catch this awful smell and immediately think "somebody's lost a motor and the smell does not bode well" smells like a motor running with no oil. I look around and see a speedboat with the hatch up and figure that's it. So I slowly start to troll his way. I watch no fewer than a half dozen "nice" boats go by and not one of them slows down or stops to offer these guys a hand. Just blow by in their jet, ski, or large fishing boat without a second thought. Now I don't mind giving someone a tow in when they need it, but seems a little silly on that lake that with so many people around that I need to tow in a speed boat with my 30 year old 16' boat and motor. I'll take the fishing karma, but it sure makes me wonder about the quality of folks I'm out there with.

Incident #2 - While searching for fish in all corners of the pool, another boat trolls past about 180 degrees and all is fine, but as soon as he goes past, he makes a sharp turn into me. I see this and go "oh #$%". The only option I had because of the shoreline was to try and turn the same direction he was and maybe this was a bad idea on my part. He ends up making more than a 180 degree turn and is going to pass about 50' behind me. He drops his downrigger balls and I grab the first rod and start reeling as fast as I can. Not fast enough. I spool the line and let him know that he's hooked me up. All goes slack and the ball comes up empty, I think he cut my line with his prop. I get a simple "sorry" and we go our seperate ways. I keep an eye on this boat and notice that he has a real regular and predictable route that he is repeating and I can't help but wonder if this turd was somehow trying to protect "his turf"? Maybe I did something wrong and the whole thing is a "my problem" issue but in my mind I know I wasn't trying to steal his track because I hadn't even noticed he had one until after the fact. Is there some sort of unwritten rule or trollers etiquette I'm not aware of? I can understand being a bit upset if others interfere with a route you have established, but I had barely crossed over the end of his route when the whole incident happened.

Final question. The fish that were caught seemed awfully lethargic when hooked. Is this just a water temp issue and will they get a little more spunky as the season progresses? Even with just a dodger, there really wasn't much of a fight involved in bringing them to the boat.

welcome to KFF whiskeynkoke,

the fish are a bit sluggish this time of year, and yes they will get very energetic soon, when i'm at lucky peak i try and stay a good 50yrds or so from other boats, most of them aren't going to cut your lines but a few might accidentily, i wouldnt say you did anything wrong, probably just someone not thinking clearly

[whiskeynkoke]

Hey folks. Can those that use them tell me how long is the blade on the Kokabow spinner (size if you know)? I have a handful of Willow leaf blades from way back when I was guiding but not sure if they're too big or not.
Thanks, and keep up the good posts! Going to try to get out there, but due to spinal problems can't go alone. If you see a Blue/White Center Console Nautic Star boat (has "Fear The Spear" decal on front of console), wave Hi!

#3 I do believe.

[sawtooth]

Welcome to the forum whiskeynkoke. Looks like you got to see the "best" of the boating community on your trip. Self centeredness is rampant in our society and unfortunately some of these guys own boats. Good on you for helping out a fellow boater in need. As far as the other fisherman cutting off your line, he should have given you a wider berth if he is making a turn around you. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for koke fisherman to troll in a set pattern once they find the fish, and as I approach a boat I try to figure out if they have a set pattern so that I don't get in their way. Nothing is worse than having four of five boats all going in a common direction and pattern to then have someone join them going in the opposite direction and forcing them to veer off all over the place to keep from getting tangled up.

[kenbarb]

We made it out yesterday, and the fishing was very slow, got a double about thirty minutes after putting the lines out, then nothing but a few singles, and one dolly that was about 20" long, fished Canyon Creek for about thirty minutes, only saw one other boat. It looks like they had lowered the water level a couple of feet or more judging from the distance the dock had been moved at Bruces Eddy, maybe that has something to do with the slow fishing, not only that the moon phase was wrong. Did nothing other than long line, probably should have put the downriggers on, the fish we were seeing on the fishfinder were all pretty deep, mostly 60' or more. It will be better fishing next week, and it looks like the weather will be great.

[ricks]

Hey Ken,

Kokanee seem a hard catch right now. Make it all that more gratifying when we start catching them. Question, did you try along the dam? I worked both downriggers and long lines sunday with absolutely zero interest from anything along the dam. We beat feet up lake after only half an hour, barely getting from Bruce's to Big, the wind and whitecaps were up making steering something needing constant attention. Too darn much work.

I have to pull the outdrive this weekend and check everything out. It had water in the drive shaft area last year and I want to make sure I got it fixed. It’ll be a couple weeks before I'll get back on the water.

Rick

[kenbarb]

We put the lines in about half way to Canyon Creek, then fished between Canyon and Freeman creeks, progressed toward Dicks Creek, which was totally void of anything on the F/F, made a short loop in Canyon Creek, then trolled toward Bruces Eddy. Sorry to say we did not fish at the dam, after we pulled the boat out I was looking at the water, and was wishing we had made a pass. Hope you get the leak fixed and back on the water soon. What was the deepest depth you tried with your downriggers? at Chelan they are going down 60' to 90' to get the kokanee according to the reports, maybe we need to do that at Dworshak.

[ricks]

What was the deepest depth you tried with your downriggers? at Chelan they are going down 60' to 90' to get the kokanee according to the reports, maybe we need to do that at Dworshak.

I was seeing fish around 50-60 feet across from Dent ramp and put a downrigger down there. No result at all. I caught the one 14 incher at around 20 foot mark, if I remember right. I had the line snagged up on the popper rig that was attached to the downrigger weight and didn't even know I had a fish till I pulled up to head further up lake. (some fisherman I am) Felt like a rookie all day.

I'd like to try Chelan sometime. Some of the YouTube videos make it look very attractive. Something to be said about a 16 inch kokanee for an addict.

Rick

[salmonster]

Lucky Peak is a good example of a potentially great fishery that is just too close to town. That is about the only way I can make sense of it. Just moving up the road to Arrowrock makes a big difference. I seem to have a post every year about the guys loading and unloading, mostly near the dam. I bought a pass for spring shores this year. Although one advantage of fishing with DR is when you hit a pod of fish, it is easier to spin and stay in them, that does not sound like the case in your circumstance. Wait until it warms up a little and you have multiple fish hooked or catch a few in a short period of time. A slice of humanity will find itself within 50 feet of your boat in minutes.

[Kokatoon]

Headed to Arrowrock in the morning. I have always fished long line with a ford fender and red wedding ring. I went to Cabelas today and bought a couple of Kokabow lures. I'm assuming I just swap out the wr for the Kokabow. Along with a couple of kernels of shoepeg of course. If I'm missing anything let me know. Thanks.

[sawtooth]

Just set it up like any other spinner. If you have a micro hoochie (pink or green) and a sling blade you might want to give them a try as well.

[hoolee99]

Went up there today way cold in the morning, Lots of boats, caught some trout first thing then found the Kokanee mid morning all through mid afternoon. Ended up limiting out on kokes took a while but was good.

[riverrunner16]

Fished in the wind Saturday (3-22) for a few hours, 4 Kok's and a couple trout.....long lining pink hoochies and corn with plain chrome dodger seemed to be the thing, nothing on downriggers.

[Kokatoon]

Hit arrowrock today. Caught a couple of trout but no kokanee. Morning was nice but windy fom mid day on...

[pthept]

I was out Sunday as well. Water temp just below 40 degrees. Marked plenty of fish between the marina and Dam but only boated one 12" koke. Tried spinners with flashers, hoochie with dodger, Lead core, long line nothing seemed to interest the things today. Good luck.

[microfish]

Hi!

When the corps is letting out water from the dam early in the spring like this the kokanee move out in the middle of the lake and go fairly deep. Sometimes to 60'. When the water is shutoff and the lake is fillling they move back to the bays and edges. Currently the corps is dropping the lake about 2' a day. Flow from the dam today is 20,000cfs! After the 4th of July when they let water out they make their migration up tward spawning grounds. Until the corps slows the flow down it is going to be a bit tough catching. I fish that lake close to 200 days a year. Love that lake!

www.wefishhere.com

[whiskeynkoke]

Fished both 3/22 and 3/23.
3/22 - with a long day managed 9 kokes and a couple rainbows. Flashers or dodgers with spinners seemed to do best. Longlining with 1/2 oz. weight. Picked fish up sporadically throughout the day along the south shore near the dam.
3/23 - picked up 3 fish right out of the gate on the first trolling pass with a couple more that didn't make it to the boat. Thought it was going to be one of those days, but after the first hour it got really slow. Strugggled to pick up a couple of next years fish. Spent the afternoon exploring and called it a short day.

Couple things I seem to have noticed and wondering if its a pattern for this time of year or just happenstance. Seem to do much better fishing with water depths between 50-75'. Anything deeper and I dont seem to mark as many fish and they don't seem inclined to take my offerings. Am also noticing that I am picking up fish along the shorelines that are dirt/sand and not basalt ledges. Don't think I've hooked a fish yet this spring along any of the rock shorelines. Curious if others are experiencing the same or is it just sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy in that these are the areas I've convinced myself to spend most of my time at so that is where I'm catching the most fish.

Need to work on staying in the fish when I find em. Jealous of the downriggers and their tight spins. Watched a gentleman put a pretty good hurt on the fish just circling around the school.

Water was 40-41 degrees at the surface. Beautiful weather for late March.

[kodiak1]

Thanks for the report. Temperature could be a factor. Perhaps those gently sloping sandy areas are a bit warmer. Or, as you say, could be a self-fulfilling prophecy!! You are sure right about downriggers. I use a d/r even if I'm fishing 5k-10 feet deep. I do, however, drop it back to about 60' or more. Mike

[kenbarb]

Very interesting microfish, hope to get out this week and use the downriggers, will look for fish in the main channel, thanks for the heads up.

[ricks]

Interesting learning experience fishing the lake right now. Lots of outflow and very cold water. Still snow on the peaks right around the lake. I'd bet the water temp at 60 feet is well below freezing. Not going to be very active fish down deep with those kind of conditions. Ken, best of luck! Microfish, thanks for posting. I'm right with you on Dworshak being special.

It'll be a couple weeks before I'm back up and running. Waiting on a bellows kit that is in transit. Need to reseal my outdrive. Had a lot of water in the bellows just from this last one day trip. Not a surprise, when I pulled the leg last fall the contents were runny lubricant, obviously wet. Bought this 25 year old boat last year, so I had to test it after a clean up. No luck with that though, so new bellows it is.

We'll see ya all out there! (and the fish are gonna be bitin by then :^)

Rick

[BigggCountry]

You might want to check out the "kokanee events link Anthony.

[kok-head]

is there a dock in the water at AR right now?

got a buddy with a BIG off shore boat that might come to town and wants to fish AR but prefers to use a dock so we might try LP instead if the dock is out of the water or has been removed, thanks in advance