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Thread: Hayden Lake Kokanee

  1. #26
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    Mar 2015
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    Well, I'm going out to give it one last shot before I focus on Springers, last weekend we landed 10 & 2 pike. I'll let you know how it goes.

  2. #27
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    Dec 2012
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    Nice job Brentdog I haven't been out in two weeks boated 8 lost 10
    Where did you get the pike and what did they bite on. Tina at black sheep was telling me the big crappie are starting to bite at the weed line over by sportsmens park might take the wife and see if she can land a few of them slabs.

  3. #28
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    Nov 2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by downriggeral View Post
    There are two launches on Hayden lake. One is at Honeysuckle on the south end and the other is Sportsman's on the north end. Sportsman's is free and Honeysuckle is $5 for Idahoans and double that for us visitors from Washington. Nice docks and facilities at both locations.
    And lots more parking at Sportsmans!
    Take time before time takes you

  4. #29
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    Mar 2013
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    My friend Mark asked for a re-match to go to Hayden and give the Kokanee a whirl. I watched the weather reports for Saturday and they did not look too good. Rain and wind in the AM with wind increasing to 30 plus around noon.

    Met Mark and Leroy at the appointed time and location (alarm worked this time). We had to stop at the Walmart in Hayden to get Leroy license. They had to find someone who knew how to write it and then get a manager to collect the money. Arrived at the lake in a howling rain storm. Put the boat in and fired up the heater; sure glad for the top and heat on days like this!

    We ran down to the middle of the lake and there were a couple of other hardy souls fishing in the wind and waves. Did I mention waves....white caps and rollers; too much fun. Got the boat headed down wind and put Mark to driving while I prepped the tackle. Three colors lead and 25 on the downriggers for a start. Mark got the first fish on a fluorescent orange Apex off the leaded line. Then a while later we had a triple and got them all in the boat in spite of the bad weather. Caught them on a variety of dodgers and "home brewed" wedding rings with custom UV treatment. Died purple shoepeg corn and pink maggots were the bait of choice.

    Sonared some nice schools in the 50 to 60' range but could not stay on them; did I mention WIND? It finally got so bad around noon we had to quit....BIG waves!!

    The fish are beauties thick and fat 13 to 14" with the beautiful bright red flesh. Had a couple for dinner tonight; YUM!

  5. #30
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    Feb 2010
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    East Sonora, CA
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    What is the fishing like in June??

  6. #31
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    Mar 2013
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    Spokane, WA
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    Hayden kokanee seem to be an early in the spring thing. I have fished in June with some success.

  7. #32
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    May 2015
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    Went yesterday April 30th the boat traffic has really slowed. Really weird day, got out there about 7:45 and immediately had about 10 strikes within 5 minutes. It was like Kokanee fishing of old on Lake Kookanoosa grabbing a pole, fish off so grab the next pole, fish off again grab the next pole Every pole was getting hits but was only able to land 2 fish. Then nothing just turned off like a switch and I mean nothing not a bump for 3 hours before we called it not before dumping the whole tacklebox overboard. Weird, what has happened to our lakes in North Idaho for Kokanee, Poor management? It used to be nothing to go to spirit lake or CDA and catch 30-40 fish now we struggle to get 5-10.

  8. #33
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    Dec 2012
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    North Idaho
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    Hayden always starts to slow about this time. But you're right about the lakes I'm thinking our secrets out I've never seen the lake so busy so early in the year. Boats where on Hayden as soon as the ice was gone. Maybe I'll sell the boat and buy me a kayak and fish the no motor lakes.

  9. #34
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    Nov 2013
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    The year before last, so 2013, was the first time I fished Hayden and it has not been the same since. The F&G says they are still planting 100,000 fish each year but it dies not seem like the quantity or quality of fish are there. Could it be that 100,000 is too many and they are eating themselves out of the food supply? Granted there is a lot more pressure so I can understand less catch-able fish but why are they smaller?
    Take time before time takes you

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by clawman View Post
    The year before last, so 2013, was the first time I fished Hayden and it has not been the same since. The F&G says they are still planting 100,000 fish each year but it dies not seem like the quantity or quality of fish are there. Could it be that 100,000 is too many and they are eating themselves out of the food supply? Granted there is a lot more pressure so I can understand less catch-able fish but why are they smaller?

    The only thing constant in nature is change. These bigger kokanee in Hayden will be short lived and will be replaced by more abundant smaller fish as they fight for food supply in a smaller lake and then it just dies off as all the smaller fish are depleted of a food supply. Then fish and game moves to the next lake to stock after their food supply is depleted. The bite cycle has also changed. You could never catch kokanee in the early spring. it has always been an ice fishing (schooled), mid summer (trolling as the fish disperse when the water warms) fishery. When the weather was hottest was always the best kokanee fishing, not anymore. CDA is not the kokanee fishery it once was, nor is spirit lake, hayden will be next. Ponderay may be the next best hope if you want to go fight the wind and keep your boat pointed in the right direction along with keeping the proper trolling speed. Anyway, very frustrating for a fisherman who used to have no problem having a smoker full of kokanee every weekend in the summer.

  11. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve86 View Post
    The only thing constant in nature is change. These bigger kokanee in Hayden will be short lived and will be replaced by more abundant smaller fish as they fight for food supply in a smaller lake and then it just dies off as all the smaller fish are depleted of a food supply. Then fish and game moves to the next lake to stock after their food supply is depleted. The bite cycle has also changed. You could never catch kokanee in the early spring. it has always been an ice fishing (schooled), mid summer (trolling as the fish disperse when the water warms) fishery. When the weather was hottest was always the best kokanee fishing, not anymore. CDA is not the kokanee fishery it once was, nor is spirit lake, hayden will be next. Ponderay may be the next best hope if you want to go fight the wind and keep your boat pointed in the right direction along with keeping the proper trolling speed. Anyway, very frustrating for a fisherman who used to have no problem having a smoker full of kokanee every weekend in the summer.
    FYI, there has never been kokanee in Hayden until the first plant in 2012. The number of fish planted is a work in progress, that is why I posed the question if 100,000 may be too many.
    Take time before time takes you

  12. #37
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    Jan 2015
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    Anyone been out lately? I only fish this lake a couple times a year, one of which is during 4th of July. Last year we had decent success with Macks Double D dodgers in red with Macks DoubleWhammy Kokanee lures in green. Noticed that we had better success with longer leaders(12-16") rather than typical short leaders(8"-12") we use on lakes her in Western Washington. has anyone noticed similar patterns as of late?

  13. #38
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    Aug 2015
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    I took the misses out for a troll a few days ago. We boated 6 after about 4-5 hours. Missed at least twice that amount. First time on Hayden. Had a good time till the jackass yahoos started circling us with their damn skis and tubes. We were using the DR's anywhere from 30-60 feet, and trolling leaded lines 3-4 colors back. Got some hits on long lines but only landed a small one.

    She landed the first one, and biggest of the day. Didn't measure it but I think it was about 13" and fat. They got smaller as the hunt progressed and we called it about noon.

    I'll try to get a few pics up after they get smoked. Heading out again soon. I'm the guy with the loud ugly Phowler duck hunting boat with the mud motor. If you see me out there say hi!

    When I was younger, I grew up fishing Lucky Peak and Anderson with my grandpa, then I moved north and fished Loon. I'm used to trolling a leaded line and this was my first day using downriggers. Very nice. But it was nice to see that grandpas old setup and lures could boat some fish!

    Do people night fish Hayden? I love jigging for Kokes. I would love to go out some night and jig Hayden with my lady. Haven't night fished since we moved to Rathdrum. Loon is too far on our limited budget these days. Maybe I just need to go out some night and try it out....but if anybody does let me know! I love a good nighttime flotilla!

    As a side note....does anybody on here fish Hayden for perch or crappie? I was thinking about stacking a crappie troll rig shallower next time out above the koke rig
    Last edited by Surfj9009; 08-10-2015 at 03:56 AM.

  14. #39
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    I have never night fished any where except Loon. Don't see why you couldn't do it at Hayden though.

    Water lice are always a problem if you stay too late at lakes like Hayden in the summer; no respect for the fishermen. Guess they own the lake. We were fishing Roosevelt yesterday and no boats for miles and here comes one of those wake boarders up behind us...really?? The person in tow fell off before they completely ran over us.


  15. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by downriggeral View Post
    I have never night fished any where except Loon. Don't see why you couldn't do it at Hayden though.

    Water lice are always a problem if you stay too late at lakes like Hayden in the summer; no respect for the fishermen. Guess they own the lake. We were fishing Roosevelt yesterday and no boats for miles and here comes one of those wake boarders up behind us...really?? The person in tow fell off before they completely ran over us.

    I hear ya. I've been to a lot of places and I've never seen such disrespect for fisherman as I saw at Hayden. Damn boats getting too close, couldn't slow down even a little bit to pass. I was getting pissed. You can bet I'll be launching at 4am from not on.
    Maybe they need to have a few fisherman buzz too close to their skier in the water a few times

  16. #41
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    Feb 2016
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    Has anybody had any luck fishing for kokanee thus far in Feb 2016?

  17. #42
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    Jan 2015
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    I haven't been out yet. I remember it being pretty decent fishing this time last year, but that was after a very mild winter. I might expect the bite to turn on in a few weeks.

  18. #43

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    Fished Hayden yesterday. Lost more than caught but managed to nearly limit. Most fish were smaller in the 11"-12" range but caught a few 15" so can't complain much. Beautiful day not many boats. Trolled at 29' - 75'. All fish were caught at 29' weird...
    Orange Trout Killer with E chip not my go to lure but I tried a lot of others, both spinners and apex to no avail.

  19. #44

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    Attachment 8402 after reading the reports I went out to give Hayden a try guess Fish and Game went a little over board (05/07/2015 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 150,192 )on the stocking fish are way smaller than
    ever before in this lake.. Why not keep it a trophy Kokanee lake like it has been

  20. #45
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    Dec 2012
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    North Idaho
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    Robbie
    Did you have any luck finding any larger fish or where they all smaller ones?

  21. #46

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    fish in picture were the big ones... I thru about 8-11 back because they were about 6 -7 inches long. a guy at the dock was talking about a giant kokanee, so I took a look and it and actually TAPED it a 14 inches ! not the same lake as the last 4-5 years.. I just don't understand we have small Kokanee in most big lakes in North Idaho. why manage Hayden Lake Kokanee to be just average.... guess ill go to Keller and catch a 2 kokanee limit. ohh boy what fun.. When Hayden started producing trophy Kokanee of a life time. I went out and bought a boat, motor, trailer, and thousands of dollars of gear. I was so excited to have this great Kokanee in my back yard. Thanks you so much Idaho F&G. Time and time again this agency gets greedy and just had to try and make it a little better, and lost an outstanding large Kokanee fishery in in the process....be interested in seeing the lost revenue in the area. compared to March last year i was seeing plates form all over now not so much. Back in the 1950's 60's and 70's this was some of the best open water trolling in the state. now those fish are long gone given up on. Now thanks to fish and game we have a lake full of micro small mouth bass... give it a few years and the kokanee will not be worth catching. oh and by the way Early Spawner Kokanee can naturally reproduce in this lake I guess their is more underground out flow in Hayden that the biologists GUESSED !! just like their GUESS in the early 80's about lake CDA Chinook not being able to reproduce. I was at the meeting where F@G told the public they would never reproduce.

  22. #47

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    sorry for my first post being so negative. this is not how I normally am I just felt like everyone needed to know
    Last edited by Robbie Curtis; 03-05-2016 at 09:07 AM.

  23. #48
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    Nov 2013
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    Robbie;
    I don't think you were negative, the facts hurt sometimes. I am totally with you in your opinion of Hayden. I have been fishing Hayden since they first planted kok's there and have seen the decline as well. I wonder if they aren't planting too many fry and the food supply is being depleted. I generally catch and release the fish so I would much rather they plant less fish and manage it as a trophy kokanee fishery. Keep the limit to 2 or 4 fish but they would be quality fish. Maybe add a minimum size limit. It is my understanding they started planting 100k each year. That was great the first couple of years but every year there after the average size has been declining.
    Take time before time takes you

  24. #49

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    Date Stocked

    Species Type

    Size

    Number
    Stocked

    05/07/2015 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 150,192
    06/06/2014 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 67,388
    06/05/2014 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 82,615
    06/14/2013 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 104,238
    09/24/2013 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 38,750
    06/13/2012 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 101,553
    06/15/2011 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 99,965


    This is the stocking info for Hayden Lake for the last 5 years. Everyone can have their own opinion but I am not sure how you can say that Idaho Fish and Game is being Greedy! They have basically stocked the lake the same every year. We all want to catch big Kokanee, but I would not blame fish and game. The first few years a fish is introduced to a lake will be the most productive years....i.e. we had great big kokanee, now they are declining in size but these fish should still be nice fat 14-16" fish when they mature. I know that isn't 17-20" but it's not too bad. I think if they knew how to keep them big they would do it. So far this year the ones I have caught have been smaller on average, but they have been 11-13" and they eat good, with nice red meat. Can't say that for CDA or Pend Oreille, those fish have pale meat color and don't have any flavor! I will say that if there is a way to keep the fish size up I am all for it.

  25. #50
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    If they only planted 50k and the limit was 2 fish would you be OK with that?

    Quote Originally Posted by KokaneeHunter View Post
    Date Stocked

    Species Type

    Size

    Number
    Stocked

    05/07/2015 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 150,192
    06/06/2014 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 67,388
    06/05/2014 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 82,615
    06/14/2013 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 104,238
    09/24/2013 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 38,750
    06/13/2012 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 101,553
    06/15/2011 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 99,965


    This is the stocking info for Hayden Lake for the last 5 years. Everyone can have their own opinion but I am not sure how you can say that Idaho Fish and Game is being Greedy! They have basically stocked the lake the same every year. We all want to catch big Kokanee, but I would not blame fish and game. The first few years a fish is introduced to a lake will be the most productive years....i.e. we had great big kokanee, now they are declining in size but these fish should still be nice fat 14-16" fish when they mature. I know that isn't 17-20" but it's not too bad. I think if they knew how to keep them big they would do it. So far this year the ones I have caught have been smaller on average, but they have been 11-13" and they eat good, with nice red meat. Can't say that for CDA or Pend Oreille, those fish have pale meat color and don't have any flavor! I will say that if there is a way to keep the fish size up I am all for it.
    Take time before time takes you

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