Fishing Forum

So ive never caught one and been seeing a lot of you on here have some insight. I want to catch one or many in there spawning colors and on a fly rod. Where do i need to go what is the best time and place. I don't expect your best areas down to gps coordinates but send me in the right direction. I would love to fish for them in the headwaters of a stream [cool] I don't care if i have to pack into a place and spend a few days either



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PM Everet14 he is an expert at what you are asking for.

Windriver
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If you want a biggie to mount or photograph, go to Mores Creek, which follows the road from Lucky Peak to Idaho City (Hwy. 21). There will be plenty in the 18" + range. Since their flesh has degraded significantly, you will want to catch and release. The F & G writes lots of tickets in this area each year for snagging fish. The fish run time varies each year, but usually sometime in early September should do it. Since your profile doesn't give your location, I don't know which part of the state you are in, but if you are from the SW part of the state, it is always worth a trip to see the migration. Mike
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If you find out anything, I would love to know too! Even just a general area to go, and what kind of flies work best. I imagine you have to get in their face and annoy them. I am good at annoying. That is something I can do!!![laugh][laugh][laugh]
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If you're in the SE Idaho area I would recomend the Henry's Fork toward coffee pot above Island Park Res. hit it in late August, early September. If the river is red there you're on time. If not, try fishing for trout while you're there.

Another option if you're limited on travel time is hit Ririe by the boat docks (either side). They seem to stack up in there when they spawn. another spot on that res is to go to the dam and check around the intake pylon. Last two years I've gone out there and seen hundreds racing around the pylon. Can't get them to bite though. I heard a friends husband had good luck w/ some pink ugly fly of some sort. May be worth a try.
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I'm no expert but if you are wanting to catch em in Spawn mode/full colors I think you're gonna have to floss em..
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I use egg patterns, like glo-bugs, or beads. I've had the best success with red or purple, not so much with lighter colors. If you get into any big ones they fight pretty well. Definitely fun on the fly. I know some people catch them on streamers too. but I haven't tried that for kokes.
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Just my 2 cents but unless Idaho needs some depredation fishing that I'm not aware of, what you are proposing is pretty disgusting to me. Ripping something out of a nursery or fishing reds really doesn't seem like much of a "sporting" thing. I'm just saying . . .
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Normally I would agree to an extent, completely if it were an anadromous species. However these are kokes that are largely stocked by F&G as a put and take fish. Many, if I understand correctly, on the ramps don't spawn but die anyway (false spawning). So as long as it's not intentional snagging I don't see the harm in trying to entice them to bite a fly. Not to mention my own experience is that once they turn colors they are much more difficult to entice into hitting a lure than any other time. I say go for it.
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First off let me say thank you to everyone for the information. I didn't realize what i was proposing was unethical. Just seen a lot of pic of red salmon both in cricks and in fishing pic and didn't figure it would be much different than fishing for salmon or steel head when they were on there spawning run. I didn't plan on snagging or trying to floss the fish i wanted to legally catch one just because i never have. I dont keep fish most times just a quick pic and a release but i don't want to do something that is looked down on By other anglers.
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Belasko had a good point! Go to any lake boat ramp in the early fall where there are planted Kokanee. These fish won't spawn and are just going to die at that boat ramp. Tie up a bright red wooly worm. Toss it as far out as you can cast, let it sink and strip it back in. Salmon that are dying, red, are very aggressive and territorial. These fish aren't going to spawn and are even in a worse mood. They will hit your fly as it crosses their path. A note, don't try to eat them. They taste disgusting!

The Kokanee you see in the streams and rivers are going to spawn naturally and may be many generations old, or they may be the start of new generations of Kokanee to come. Either way, the boat ramp offers you an opportunity that doesn't effect that cycle.
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In the river above anderson ranch res, near pine. August/september they are al over in the river, very cool to see. Dog Creek Campground is a good place to stay.
i have caught them by accident while trout fishing, always put them back, red and or red/white patterns worked well.
Used to see lots of people snagging them and canning them.....seems so wrong to me. cool to see in the fall when a bunch of them swim by. The river between pine and featherville is a good place to see them in the fall.
just fyi......
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Thanks again i will have to try the boat docks and see if i can pick one up and going to have to make a trip to some of these streams as i would love to see the fish spawning [cool]
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