Wiperslayer and I got up early this morning to meet Robert at Heber at 4:45 am. We got to the ramp and talked to Jmorfish before we launched, good seeing you Joe.
We got out and started trolling and had the first koke in the boat by 6 am. We caught another one not long after that, then things got tough. We were catching cutts and a few kokes here and there but it wasn't going to be one of the days with fast limits. We pressed on, releasing some kokes around 12' or smaller and cutts up to 17" but nothing special. We started moving around and changing things up and finally were about to catch that last fish by noon. Pink seemed to be the best color for squids but we used a variety of dodgers, all with varied success. Kokes were caught between 32 and 42' and water temp was around 64 to 66 degrees. It was a nice day and as always Robert was a great host, thanks my friend for taking us out again. Here are a couple pics of our catch.
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You guys got some nice koks! Glad you had a good time!
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Thanks. This was the first time I've ever seen a guy up there fishing for kokes, out in the middle, on a kayak, but I talked to him as we came in and he said he did good, so that is impressive. Wish I would have ask him, how he was getting down to them but I'm guessing he was using snap weights because I did not notice a rigger on his yak.
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I was up there as well. I was the other boat that headed out of the marina at 0530 along side of you and Liketrolling.
The guy on the kayak did more than good. I saw him pull in several nice kokes as well as a slot buster Cutt that was probably 5-6 lbs. He deserved them too, He pedaled that thing all over the place.
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The wife and I were up there as well on Friday (even though we didn't get out until 8:30). Wish I had recognized you guys, I would have said hello (we were in a red Lund with a bimini top).
It was a memorable day for us as we both caught our first Kokanee (17" and 18") (thanks to the advice of so many on this forum).
We shared a rod with lead core line and fished the "triangle" between 30' and 40' down (six colors out). We had a lot of hits, but as fly fisherpersons, it took us a bit to figure out how best to set the hook.
The lead line worked well for us but I can see the advantages of a downrigger. We went with lead line because it was much cheaper to get started and we wanted to give it a try before making a big investment in new gear. We also caught a reasonable number of cutts and a big bow on this rig, so a great day. It was fun to be able to get down to these depths (something we can't really do with fly lines).
We will be enjoying these fine fish tonight at a family bar-b-q.
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So that guy had one of those pedal type yaks, thats cool, he wasn't near use but I saw him in the distance. That's great he was able to do so well.
Which boat were you in and how did you do?
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I do remember seeing a bright red boat but I did not notice the brand but it really stood out from the other boats. Good to hear you had such a great day and caught your first kokes. I've used lead core line for years, depending on where and who I fish with, nothing wrong with that, sometimes it's a lot easier than downrigger, especially if you are stacking. Nice koke, should be great on the BBQ.
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I have a Green Crestliner Fishhawk. There were 3 in my boat and we had our limit by 11am. My son caught our boats largest Koke at 21".
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I remember seeing a green Crestliner. A 21" koke is a good one this year.
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Nicely done Curt, Robert will get you into the fish. I was there on Thursday with a fishing buddy. We caught our koke limits in between cutts.
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Thanks Roger, yea Robert really knows that lake. I'm thinking Thursday would have been better, it was very crowded on Fri. We even had to yell at one guy because he wasn't paying any attention where he was going, he was within 100 ft of us and finally we had to say something[crazy].
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Roger you need to PM me what day you go to Strawberry so I can follow you around
The kokanee are not where they were last year and that messes me UP. hope they will start moving
Last year at this time I would Have 2 limits by 7 to 7:30 it got so I did not like to go unless I had 5 or 6 in the boat so we could stay longer
this year I have to work for them
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Its a strange koke season this year Robert. Retirement allows me to go on a whim providing I don't have a doctors appt that day. I'll be glad to hook up anyone if they pick a day. I might be able to drag AFDan52 from his ranch also. I avoid weekend hysteria as much as possible and prefer the middle of the week.
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I don't think there's as may fish this year and the stocking reports seem to support that. Seems like all these kokes they've been stocking in other lakes has been to the detriment of Strawberry and hasn't really produced much of a fishable population in many of these other places.
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WET1 I disagree with your assessment. I think that stocking Kokes across the state is a good thing. I like having a lake within an hours drive that I can fish kokes. It doesn't produce the fish that Strawberry does but is still a fun destination. I love going to Strawberry to catch the big ones but I would hate it if only Strawberry and FG were the only lakes stocked with Kokes. And, just because it takes longer than 2 hours to catch a limit doesn't mean that Strawberry is ruined.
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[quote elkantlers]WET1 I disagree with your assessment. I think that stocking Kokes across the state is a good thing. I like having a lake within an hours drive that I can fish kokes. It doesn't produce the fish that Strawberry does but is still a fun destination. I love going to Strawberry to catch the big ones but I would hate it if only Strawberry and FG were the only lakes stocked with Kokes. And, just because it takes longer than 2 hours to catch a limit doesn't mean that Strawbe[b[/b]rry is ruined.[/quote]
Having said that, how do you feel now when the DWR plants kokes in jordanelle, then plants tiger muskies a few years later.
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I don't mind that a bit. The tiger muskies aren't going to have much, if any, affect on the Kokanee. The other good thing is that if the DWR determines that the Tiger Muskie are no good in there they can quit planting them and in ten years they are gone.
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