Fishing Forum

I thought I would go up to Strawberry today - generally I do not fish there in August in years past. I arrived at Strawberry Bay around 6:30 a.m. & on the water at 7:00 a.m. I thought I would put away the koke gear and target some larger fish using large dodgers with large squids/minnows. Headed over to the white cliffs east of the marina. I was fishing with down riggers, 32 to 42 feet deep in 60-70 FOW.

The first hour was fairly fast fishing, caught 7 to 8 slot cuts. Ended the day at 12:30 p.m. with a total of 26 fish. 24 slot cutts & 2 kokes. I never did find the big fish or any rainbows. All of the cutts were 18 -20 inches. Although I did not find the big ones, I was encourage with the results. I was using all new tackle - large UV flashers with 3 to 4 inch squids. I also used some "Krippled Anchovy" rigs with frozen red shiners. I caught something on just about everything I was using.

I attached a photo of the 18-inch male koke caught today. The other one was a smaller red female. It was interesting to see the schools of kokanee jumping out of the water today similar to a pod of porpoises. I had never seen this before in the past. I wonder if they are trying to knock off their scales. If you look at the photo, the fish does not appear to have much in the way of scales on the skin.

One last thing, has anyone notice the groves of dead or dying aspens around the reservoir? I wonder if this is a disease, fungus, borers or drought driven?
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Sounds like you had better luck than me! Was up in the same area trolling sat evening and sunday morning. A handful of cutts but no kokes! Have been to the berry twice this month with similar results...except last time we boated 2 kokes. Never manage to catch anything out of the slot limit trolling. Maybe I should start jigging or drifting worms!
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Wow, I've never caught a koke that red. Are they still good eating when they get this "far along"?

I was up there Sunday morning, trolling in the ladders area hoping to catch a few rainbows and trying out my new kicker, but only caught slot cutts. I didn't target kokes at all this trip.

It's getting to be pretty chilly up there at 6 a.m. I was wishing I'd brought a heavy winter coat! I guess the water temp will begin to drop soon now, and maybe it'll get the fish going again.
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I hear a lot of people say how the kokes don't taste good once they turn. I've eaten them red and they still taste delicious to me!
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I haven't eaten it yet; however, the meat felt firm when I filleted it. I think it is going to be OK.
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I saw the same thing at Porcupine on Saturday. The kokes were on top doing the porpoise thing. Must be a pre-spawn ritual.
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Nice fish, I need to get up there before the cold sets in. Thanks
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If you get in real clear water you can see the males chase each other, sometimes they will run clear to the surface. Also I read somewhere the females do that to break up the egg sacks?
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Visited the Milking station Tuesday and still no Kokes heading up the creek. Should happen soon if the fish are massing at the mouths of the creeks. For anyone that has not visited during the spawn it is actually a site to see. At the peak, fish numbers are truly impressive.
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