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Thread: 2018 Lucky Peak Reservior Kokanee Fishing Report

  1. #151
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
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    Boise, ID
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    Quote Originally Posted by Physion View Post
    I fished between Charcoal Gulch and Gooseneck for most of today. After the wind calmed down, I got one rainbow between 20 and 25 feet deep. I noticed some "boils" on the surface so then I tried trolling shallow. I got one more rainbow and two kokanee. All shallow and fairly close to shore. When I cleaned the kokanee I discovered their meat was much lighter than normal. Not white, but certainly not the rich orange color I usually see in kokanee. When cooked, they look more like trout than kokanee. The fish were bright with all their scales, so they hadn't tried to spawn this year. I am pretty sure they weren't chinook. Very few spots on the back and tail and the gums weren't black.

    Thoughts? I have never seen this in kokanee.
    Below is the pics. of the Kokanee meat color that compare to the trout at LP posted by Kokaneekevin on Sept.18-2018. Sometime I caught those fish in LP and AR too. The meat color of the Kok. somehow very light. Click the attachment (9532) on the right for enlargement.

    Quote Originally Posted by kokaneekevin View Post
    Despite the recent grim fishing reports, my wife and I decided to head up to LP today (Tues). First trip there since early summer. Needed a fishing fix badly. :) Got a late start; didn't start fishing until 11:30, stopping at 3. I normally launch at Spring Shores, but decided to launch at Turner since it has a dock still in the water. And I rarely fish near the dam (just never had much luck there in the past) but decided to start fishing there since it was nearby. Within minutes (like 3!) of our first pass along the dam, I had my first fish on and lo and behold, landed a Koke! Couldn't believe it. In fact, I thought it was a trout and just lifted it into the boat (without really looking at it closely) instead of netting it. Boy was I surprised to see it was a Koke and that I didn't lose it bringing it into the boat. Happy Days! So we kept running back and forth in front of the dam (maybe 100 yards out). Got 5 more hits within an hour. Two of those were those quick hits you get. Pole takes a dive but then nothing. One was a nice trout that I landed and kept. The other two I had on for several cranks of the reel before I felt them throw the hooks. So, given what I think a lot of us know, I believe these 2 hits and 2 hookups were Kokes as well. Who knows really, but that's what I think. Finally on the 6th hookup I landed another Kokanee. Had 4 more hookups in the early afternoon, landing all 4. And all 4 were trout. Kept 1 and released the other 3. So all in all, kept 2 Kokes (each 12") and 2 trout (each 13"). The wind picked up and it was getting a little squirrely keeping the boat on track so we quit at 3pm. Details: 2 poles, both using ford fenders. Started with chartreuse spinners, and then changed to orange spinners and orange hoochies. Chartreuse got the most hits. No downrigger this time, just using 2 and 3 oz lead weights. 75 to 85 clicks out fishing in the 20-25 ft depth range. Marked plenty of fish between 20 and 50 feet down. So with a little more luck, I think I could have landed a few more Kokes. Always the optimist! :) Definitely not a bad outing, especially since my expectations were pretty low to start.


    Two pictures attached. First showing my catch for the day. The second pic shows the fillets after cleaning. Top two is one of the trout. Bottom two is one of the Kokes. It's always a nice surprise to find out a trout is orange/pink inside. But I was pretty surprised to actually see the trout were more pink than the Kokes. Don't think I've seen that before. Probably an age thing? Both BBQ'd up very nicely and tasted fantastic!
    Attachment 9531 Attachment 9532
    Last edited by fish4kok; 10-25-2018 at 09:50 AM.
    '92 Gray/Red Crestliner 130HP I/O Mercruiser, 9.9HP Honda kicker

  2. #152

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    Quote Originally Posted by fish4kok View Post
    Below is the pics. of the Kokanee meat color that compare to the trout at LP posted by Kokaneekevin on Sept.18-2018. Sometime I caught those fish in LP and AR too. The meat color of the Kok. somehow very light. Click the attachment (9532) on the right for enlargement.
    That's just so weird. Are the Kokes sick?

  3. #153
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Caldwell
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    Quote Originally Posted by hooknhunter View Post
    That's just so weird. Are the Kokes sick?
    Here is the answer.

    https://idfg.idaho.gov/blog/2018/10/...d-kokanee-meat

  4. #154
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Nampa, ID
    Posts
    223

    Default Kokanee meat

    Thank you for your research and your update.

    Both my wife and I thought the lighter color meat did taste a little milder, but that may vary depending on who is making the comparison.

    Again, Thank you for the info.

    Physion

  5. #155
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    Jan 2015
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    Thanks for the info JTM.

    The article leads one to conclude that the health of the Koke population in Lucky Peak and Arrowrock is contingent on the success of the Koke population in Deadwood. I know little about the fishing opportunities at Deadwood, but one must also assume that the Koke population in Deadwood is also in decline.... I don't know.

    While the article didn't really state if the fry from CDL backfilled the entire need for Lucky Peak and Arrowrock, or if it was just a percentage of fry to fill the shortfall, one may have to conclude that the CDL transplants may not be suitable for the conditions here in SW Idaho. Sure, some may have survived but it seems that with such a dramatic downturn of Koke harvesting in our local reservoirs, the real answer is to somehow get the Deadwood population back to a healthy level. I will, however, be happy to fish for CDL Kokanee in Lucky Peak or Arrowrock in the mean time. Beats fishing for pike minnows.

    Pauli

  6. #156
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    Jul 2015
    Location
    Boise, ID
    Posts
    227

    Default kokanee with lighter color meat

    Quote Originally Posted by JTM View Post
    Thanks JTM for the info. That's great to know about lighter colored kokanee meat.
    '92 Gray/Red Crestliner 130HP I/O Mercruiser, 9.9HP Honda kicker

  7. #157
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    Boise
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    Fished LP today, and the action was fast. Several doubles, and strikes about every 5-10 minutes. All trout. The gear dropped on dr's for kokes did not produce. Longlining rapalas was the trick. The girl we took with us caught an honest 18"er. Most were 10-14. Mike

  8. #158
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Nampa, ID
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    Any info on the location, and color :) I took a few of my employees on a riggins trip and we got skunked. I'd like to get them on some fish. They dont fish much and were bummed .
    22' Custom Jet boat, Blue with American Flag waving. Blue GMC draggin'

  9. #159
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    Jul 2009
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    Boise
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    Sure. Smaller Rapalas, both colors we used worked. blue and perch, and no weights. Let out plenty of line. We did best in the narrows. They ignored everything on the downriggers. Fished 10-20 feet, with worms, or kokanee gear with corn....nothing. Mike

  10. #160
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    141

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    Thinking about getting the boat out of storage and getting it ready for Springer season on the Columbia. Be nice to hit Lucky Peak a few times before hitting the big river. Anyone been out on the reservoir lately? Would be nice to get a few Kokes for the freezer.

    Pauli

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