08-13-2008, 02:48 PM
The fish finder is the probably the most valuable tool in the boat when fishing for kokes. Down in the Canyon reach, you can troll over a lot of dead water, so I always start in areas where I'm marking good numbers of fish. The kokes right now are hanging between about 45-60ft over the main channel. I've also gotten a few as deep as 75ft, while fishing for lakers, closer to shore. Like Marinaman said, upstream from Gold Point is a good place to start looking.
In general, fish will begin to migrate north, staging to spawn in Sheep Creek Bay. You can actually hit kokes one day and go empty the next, because they've moved somewhere else. So don't hesitate to pull gear and start looking, if the fish finder goes blank.
You're typically trolling pretty fast for kokes (1.6-2.2mph) and monitor my speed with a GPS. My fish finder is adjusted so I can see my cannonballs, and place them so they are slicing through the fish I'm marking. If you can't see your cannonballs, give them a little more depth to adjust for the angle in downrigger cable, so the lures are tracking closer to the depth of the fish. That can really help when the kokes are being picky.
Lately, it's really fast action first thing in the morning. As the sun gets higher and hits the water, I notice a little break in the action. It picks up again, but never as hot as the early morning bite.
Sounds like you've got a good supply of baits. If they're hitting good, most anything that is prone to catching kokes will work. Needlefish (#2) in pearl/red, flour. green hot tiger, and pearl bikini and RMT Serpent spoons in watermelon, carribean sunset, and mai-tai are great spoons to start with. Lately, when the bite is tough, I'm actually boating more fish on a Hyperplaid RMT dodger with a hot pink squid (Shasta Pee-Wee). Shorten your leader so it's about 12-14 inches, and you'll get some sweet action.
I graphed a lot of fish last weekend, and the bite was pretty good. Most of my fish were running around 2-2.5lbs, and the males are starting to get some teeth and hook in their jaw which makes them easier to boat than when they were soft-mouthed.
Hope it helps, good luck, and let us know how you do. Ryno
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In general, fish will begin to migrate north, staging to spawn in Sheep Creek Bay. You can actually hit kokes one day and go empty the next, because they've moved somewhere else. So don't hesitate to pull gear and start looking, if the fish finder goes blank.
You're typically trolling pretty fast for kokes (1.6-2.2mph) and monitor my speed with a GPS. My fish finder is adjusted so I can see my cannonballs, and place them so they are slicing through the fish I'm marking. If you can't see your cannonballs, give them a little more depth to adjust for the angle in downrigger cable, so the lures are tracking closer to the depth of the fish. That can really help when the kokes are being picky.
Lately, it's really fast action first thing in the morning. As the sun gets higher and hits the water, I notice a little break in the action. It picks up again, but never as hot as the early morning bite.
Sounds like you've got a good supply of baits. If they're hitting good, most anything that is prone to catching kokes will work. Needlefish (#2) in pearl/red, flour. green hot tiger, and pearl bikini and RMT Serpent spoons in watermelon, carribean sunset, and mai-tai are great spoons to start with. Lately, when the bite is tough, I'm actually boating more fish on a Hyperplaid RMT dodger with a hot pink squid (Shasta Pee-Wee). Shorten your leader so it's about 12-14 inches, and you'll get some sweet action.
I graphed a lot of fish last weekend, and the bite was pretty good. Most of my fish were running around 2-2.5lbs, and the males are starting to get some teeth and hook in their jaw which makes them easier to boat than when they were soft-mouthed.
Hope it helps, good luck, and let us know how you do. Ryno
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