Fishing Forum

I follow these forums but rarely post. Thought I'd give a report for today.

Fished the Soldier Creek side again today. The surface temp was 60-61F. We fished from sunrise until about 9:00AM when the wind kicked up and blew us off the lake.

We only landed 2 kokanee (16 and 18 inch), and 10 trout (2 cuts and 8 rainbows that all got put back). The trout were taking every color combination we had out, but kokanee were on classic pink and hot orange.

There were 12 boats trolling around, which isn't a lot, but with multiple boats running side planers it got a little tight at times. There was also a lot of debris getting snagged on downrigger lines and planer boards.

The sonar was picking up something around 20ft that covered about 1/4 of the area we trolled.....not a thermocline. I checked with a temperature gauge and the water temp just got gradually cooler as it went down.....only 46F at 20 ft. Not sure what this is as visibility isn't good enough to see that far down. Zooplankton of some kind maybe?

The fish are still shallow enough that we weren't seeing many schools on sonar.

With the exception of a couple larger vessels, most of the boats pulled off at the same time because of the wind. We talked to 4 other boats who hadn't landed any kokanee, but all had caught some trout.
[signature]

Thanks for your report!
[signature]

thanks for the report ,i knew the water was still cold 46 at 20 feet in june wow. don't be afraid to post ,i was for years but you definitely have something to add to this form[]
[signature]

Welcome, and glad you can post some good info about Strawberry/SC ... you said you 'fished it again' ... and I'm trying to learn more about this area, just my second year trolling here....last season I trolled Berry side about 3 times, and SC side about 5 times....varying luck at both sides....do the kokes congregate more in SC, and more cutts on the Berry side? In your opinion is it just personal preference which side to be on, or do you have better koke experience on SC? tks...if you'd rather, you can PM me...
[signature]

I've had similar luck on both sides for kokanee. I do catch more cuts on the berry side, but because the shore is never that far away on the SC side, I catch more rainbows there.....so similar amounts of unwanted trout on both sides. My experience has been that the largest schools are on the berry side once the water really warms up.

I run a small boat, so if there is a forecast for wind that day, I prefer the SC side since it is small and I can get off the lake faster if I need to.
[signature]

My experience in years past, the koke action is better on the SC side - May 1st through June 15th. Then the Strawberry side is better fishing June 15th - Aug 1st. All dates are approximate. I think when I go up next week, I will hit the Strawberry side.
[signature]

[quote OCF]My experience in years past, the koke action is better on the SC side - May 1st through June 15th. Then the Strawberry side is better fishing June 15th - Aug 1st. All dates are approximate. I think when I go up next week, I will hit the Strawberry side.[/quote]

good thing I don't fish on the strawberry side, week ends after your post
but all kidding a side, I'm like you about fishing the strawberry side.
[signature]

I was out today also on the SC side, though we launched from the Strawberry marina - have a camp over there. We launched at 530 and headed right over. We did have a bit of a problem in the narrows - we hit a piece of drift wood that lodged under the out-drive. Brought us to a screeching halt with a red Lund following in our wash. They fortunately avoided us. Had to use the fish net to dislodge and we were under way again.
We landed 8 kokanee today - no trout. All came between 15 and 27'. Today they were all between 17 and 17.5". Best size so far this year except the one I caught on Strawberry Wednesday.
The fish seemed scattered - only once real early did we have a double. I had a couple of newbees on board, my brother and his wife. They missed a couple early reeling too fast and too high but got the hang of it pretty soon.
I agree with OCF and usually fish SC early then move to Strawberry - I think the general size is better on Strawberry.
[signature]

Tks for the reply .... and I appreciate your sharing good knowledge... maybe see you up there on the water....almost all boaters I run into I ask if they are BFT....Guluk...
[signature]

Tks OCF for sharing your experience at Berry/SC ....I know some of you have been trolling it for years.....I've fished Strawberry alot of years, mainly on the ice, so trolling it is relatively new to me....I have posted alot on my ice trips there, and enjoy sharing that info.....I have 2 brothers coming out here from Wis. for 2 or 3 days of fishing, and Strawberry (or SC) is one on my list....that'll be on the 22nd or 23rd of June, so I'm trying to figure out which side to concentrate on with them....We're all into our 'Old Geezerhood', and will have fun trying wherever we go, but I know neither of them have trolled for salmon....tks again for your insight....and Guluk...
[signature]