Friend and I went back to the Berry yesterday for more Kokes. Did OK with six more. Four were good sized and two were smaller. Largest was 20". Also caught a 24" Cut, but didn't weigh it; see picture below. Store manager said a 6# (+) Koke was recently caught that set a new state record.
Here's the story on our day. Tried to avoid the Cuts which were @ 40' and up. Kokes were 48' down to 65'. Caught a few Cuts down there and a couple small Bows, but that region was mostly Kokes. Trolled 1.5 to 2.1 GPS. Started at Strawberry Bay but moved over to Soldier Creek about 10:00a since all we could catch was Cuts in the Bay.
Started with 8" plaid/lavender flasher with UV squid. No takers ex Cuts, but that could have been due to the calm water in the early morning. Finally changed to Shasta flasher with 24" leader and purple e-chip Kokanee Killer. That did the trick! Lost several larger Kokes when they saw the boat and took a dive. Pink Kokanee Killers didn't work. Could be because of the depth which washes out the red wave lengths. Green was most active, but got all Cuts. Wind really played a factor ... most bites came during wind gusts that put a one foot chop on the water. The lower the chop, the less hits.
Coming back to marina there was a good chop on Strawberry Bay and I wished we had stayed there since Soldier Creek is a little more protected and didn't have as much wave action.
All in all, it was a good day. Good friends, good conversation, good weather and good fishin'. Here's some pics:
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Dumb question, how come water having chop or not affects the fish action so much?
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Good question. I have noted this on several reservoirs including Deercreek, the Gorge, Starvation and Strawberry. We have talked about it a lot and it could be that in sunny weather the waves break up the light refraction filtering into the water ... or even that the waves give extra action to the lures as the boat bounces up and down. I have also wondered if the wave action puts a variable pressure on the water that the fish can sense.
We especially notice it on the Gorge. Fishing will be slow until the wind comes up ... then the bit turns on. Sometimes I can't use the trolling motor in windy conditions because my boat has a high free board and gets blown around. Often we have to use main motor to troll or motor into wind, then turnaround and use trolling motor to go with the wind and hope we can keep the speed down.
In addition to the wave action, I have noticed that downwind shore has more fish activiity than the leeward shore.
I would be interested to know if you have found this to be true as well.
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[quote TRUBBS]Dumb question, how come water having chop or not affects the fish action so much?[/quote]
this answer is based purely on my own opinion and related to fly fishing.
i personally believe that chop helps for a few reasons. disapates light, there fore fish will smack out of curiosity rather than feeding.. stirs up the plankton, small fish eat plankton, big fish eat small fish... breaks up visible patterns of what is above the water therefore the fish are not as timid... cools warmer water, warms cooler water
again, just all personal opinion.
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Wind also creates artifical current. That moves the bait fish around. Thus the bigger fish out and about chasing the bait fish around.
Higher winds I run both the trolling motor and big motor. Big motor for forward motion and then my Terrova with I-Pilot does the steering. Piece of cake in high winds to have total boat control that way (except speed control going down wind). Almost as easy as trolling with no wind.
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Nice Kokes, and a possible new state record caught out of there. An old friend of mine held the koke record for many years at 6 lbs. Todd caught that in 1995. The wife and I were planning on a trip to the Gorge for some big kokes but we may have to change our plans and hit Strawberry instead. Thanks for the pictures and the post.[fishin]
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Nice post, and I'm jealous I might add. Been a dream of mine for quite some time to catch some Kokes. Did so once with petty4life at Porcupine on his boat, thanks again Jason for that experience if you're out there.
Anyway, my question is this. Do you try to locate fish before dropping your rigger down to depth, or just pick a spot and go for it. I tried a couple times a year ago at strawberry, and felt like I was trolling through lots of deep water void of fish (Kokanee anyway), and probably was (it's a big reservoir). I have two riggers, a ton of Koke Tackle to use, and would really like to give it another go without driving all the way to the gorge. Any constructive advise, tips, or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated. Especially on using my electronics to locate schools of fish. I have Humminbird series units.
Thanks
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It's easier to find the Kokes in Soldier Creek so I'll start there. North of the Narrows inlet there is a high underwater mound the rises to within 30' of the surface. There is a deep cut on either side running N & S. I troll up one side of the mound and back the other and then reverse directions. The Kokes are staked up along the sides in the cuts. You can also just troll thru the deeper water between the mound and the dam. There are many, many Kokes in there and you won't find much water without them. Soldier Creek is about 50' deeper than Strawberry Bay and that may be why there are many there.
I have to wonder if the Kokes in Soldier Creek migrate over to the Bay side and then up to the Strawberry River inlet at spawning time. Anyone know?
In Strawberry Bay I heard there were large Kokes off Hawes Point about 200 yds and down toward Renegade. We tried that and confirmed lots of Kokes (on the sonar), but we couldn't get them to hit. I like to fish in the middle of the Bay as far from land as I can get. If you draw a line from the marina to the Narrows, go to the middle then up toward the Strawberry River inlet until you are away from everything, then you will fine the Kokes and unfortunately a whole lot of Cuts too. The Kokes move around, but they will be within 100 yds of previous waypoints from day to day. There will be other boats out there in the middle so you can start somewhere near them.
The say Kokanee are an open water fish and don't like structure. I think this is true but I always find them along the top of deep underwater cliffs.
Hope this helps and good luck at the Berry.
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Thanks for the reply.
I hope to give it a go again sometime in the next few weeks and will try the Soldier Creek Side first this time. Can always pack up and head to Starvation if all else fails.
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What kind of bait are you using to catch those big kokanne?
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We just use the standard flasher/dodgers with either squids or e-chip Kokanee Killers. But you do need to use Kokanee scent, too. Here's a picture.
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