I think I fished Strawberry 3 days this week.
2 days had cameras down
I don't know if you can learn anything from watching the video, but I did
( the first Video the sound did not download I was using new software)
I was using 4 different kind of dodgers. you can see what it looks like when the sun is not up high and when a cloud covers the sun
they are long about 20 min each
one, one day:: one another day
Fishing for Kokanee Salmon, is slow in August, here is some under water shots that shows different dodgers and set ups.
most of the dodgers have a 10" leader between the lure.
I try to keep the water wolf camera at 52 deg F water temperature
Kokanee like to be in water that is 52 deg. using the FISH HAWK X4D which tells me the water temperature at the lure, the true running depth of the downrigger weight. Most of the time the downrigger is down 40 feet.
you need to know about thermocline. It's very important to your fishing
knowing where the thermocline is, is important to finding Kokanee The water above is to hot. the water below has a low oxygen content.
They will leave the thermocline in search of food or to avoid predators but will return.
The most surefire way to find the thermocline is to use a thermometer
I use a iTroll Electronic Kicker Throttle Control to change speeds from 1.2 to 1.7 MPH
The Dodger is the main thing to bring the fish in.
Strawberry Reservoir, Water Wolf in Aug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD-mdiJe...e=youtu.be
Strawberry Reservoir under water Camera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3sMs119...e=youtu.be
Kokes may be all red in 2 weeks
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Thanks for sharing, very interesting video. This is the first season I have targeted Kokes at the berry and I have enjoyed it very much. My success rate dropped substantially late July, However, I do plan to go back earlier in the season next year to try it it again. Tite lines...
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It looks to me that a couple of the bigger fish were drawn to strike at the dodgers instead of the squids and spinners. Thank you for the videos.
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Trolling is starting to be more science than anything these days. Spent last weekend koke and trout fishing. Very slow but I like the fish hawk idea. Surface speed or SOG may not mean much depending on the water currents, surface currents, etc so that is one plus there. My fish finder will display a red line of where it's saying the thermocline is(see photo). I mark fish all over in the water column, but I just put the downrigger ball at the level where I am marking fish. The fish hawk x4d at $650 seems like a lot but is it worth it when you can just place the downriggers at the depth you are marking the fish?
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You've done it again, Robert. Great footage. I love using my Water Wolf to video the fish. I also have the GoPro mount (TrollPro I think it's called) and I don't like using it so much, it's more trouble and I can't set it back away from the boat (attached at the DR ball), but the Water Wolf is no trouble at all. Of course I don't have the bluetooth capability, so I have to wait until I get home to see what I videoed. I do use my GoPro chest mount to simultaneously video what's happening on deck. But at only $128, I recommend the Water Wolf for anyone interested in doing it.
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[quote Quicky] I mark fish all over in the water column, but I just put the downrigger ball at the level where I am marking fish. The fish hawk x4d at $650 seems like a lot but is it worth it when you can just place the downriggers at the depth you are marking the fish?[/quote]
When the fish have a very narrow range that is comfortable for them in the water column then tools like this can be very helpful.
The fish that you are marking could be rainbows, cuts, chubs, or salmon. So just setting the downrigger where you are marking fish is just the start. Then you have to find the depth that the active fish are holding at, what speed, and colors patterns are working.
Liketrolling was kind enough to take me out for a day of chasing salmon and it was fast and furious fishing till just after the sun hit the water and then it slowed down pretty quickly. After about a half hour of nothing he broke out his old temperature device and located exactly the depth that would best and set the riggers to that depth and the catching was back on.
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[quote a_bow_nut][quote Quicky]After about a half hour of nothing he broke out his old temperature device and located exactly the depth that would best and set the riggers to that depth and the catching was back on.[/quote]
I use a Fish Hawk that's not nearly as fancy as Robert's, but it's only about $150. I have mine attached to a cheapo spincast reel so I can stop the boat and drop it in the lake anytime, and get the temp from the bottom to the surface in 5' increments.
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most of The chubs are higher like 30 to 15 feet down I had a camera on the down rigger ball and had it at about 30 feet down you could see the chubs and there is a lot of them most of the schools of fish that you see at 25 feet on the fish finder are chubs. if any one wants to see them I could post them.
Last year I got a lot of big cuts over 22" just under the kokanee, but this year not very many. don't know what happened to them unless people are taking them home.
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Hi Robert, great video and information. August really has been slow. I went again this morning - early was the best - I started in the dark. Two large cutts and a multitude of the planter cutts. I did get one Koke, that has been my average "1" each time my last 3 trips. This one was a 19" hook jaw male, big hump back and turning red. I filleted him and he still seems firm and good. Just informational - he came at 49' on the downrigger on a green dodger and squid. Water surface today was 67*.
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[quote brookie]Hi Robert, great video and information. August really has been slow. I went again this morning - early was the best - I started in the dark. Two large cutts and a multitude of the planter cutts. I did get one Koke, that has been my average "1" each time my last 3 trips. This one was a 19" hook jaw male, big hump back and turning red. I filleted him and he still seems firm and good. Just informational - he came at 49' on the downrigger on a green dodger and squid. Water surface today was 67*.[/quote]
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if your downrigger counter shows 49' how deep do you think your down rigger ball is
mine I use a 10 lb ball and going 1.7 mph my counter shows 44' and the ball is at 40'
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Honestly I am not sure. The counter says 49', I use and 8 lb fish shaped "ball" and I usually go 1.5 to 1.7 mph. Likely it is not as deep as I thought. I don't have a way to know other than the counter.
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Just giving you something to think about, you may be catching fish at 45' it is 51 deg
right there.
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Great Information Robert,Thanks for sharing your time and Knowledge
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Wouldn't your fish finder show the accurate depth that the downrigger balls are located?
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I am not sure about all fish finders, but on mine I can see the dr ball. Problem is, the grading on the screen. Depending on the overall depth I often see grading lines at 25' and 50' on the screen with the ball somewhere in between. I can tell it is about 30' or about 35'. The actual depth is kind of a guess as the screen is does not show a more detailed grading. I generally try to put the ball where the fish are, and I have a pretty good idea of the temps. I put down at different depths and put it back where I catch fish.
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My Cannon charts show No Blowback with a standard 8 or 10 lb Cannon weight, up to 2 mph, and at depths including 40ft and 50ft........at speeds of 1.2 to 1.8, there should be even less (or less than none?) blowback....there are different shapes (customized) DR balls out there now, and some blowback can be created by shapes......At Willard, I'm not going to add 2 or 3 feet when I want to be close to the bottom with my ball, cuz I'll probably be dragging.....Strawberry or the Gorge? maybe I'll try adding a few feet "just in case" there is a little blowback at those lower depths.....can't hurt to try....Guluk...
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Just bought the Fish Hawk TD from Cabelas ($150). It will read in feet/meters and Fahrenheit/Celsius. It can read temps every 5 feet up to 300 feet deep and it can read max depth (useful for calibrating DR counter readings). Used at the Gorge last week to great advantage. Looked for 54 degrees F and found it between 70 & 75 feet down. Set baits there and it was on baby. The XD models ($600 plus) might be worth it in areas that offer more salmon species than just kokanee, but I don't think it worth the freight for Utah kokanee fishing alone. But then, I was a working stiff and price is always a factor on toy purchases. [/#800000][/font]
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I forgot that my fish finder screen has a temp graph on the left side that supposedly shows the temp near the thermocline. I will have to pay attention to that next time. Either way, koke season is winding down and that is a bummer. I didn't get nearly enough action this year so all the tips on this posting have been helpful to try to squeeze out the last bit of fun this year.
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Amazing post... great job and thanks for the information
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Hey Bob -- might be changing the topic here, but for info: is this a self-contained unit? or going to your fish-finder, or to a smart phone? or something else like that? How do you deploy it?
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