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I guess this mainly concerns Koke fishermen and ladies at Strawberry.....I'm definitely not bragging, but almost every trip this year,so far, I've gotten a nice 4 fish limit of this great salmon, and my guests have done well also....This is only my third full year trolling here, but the difference (to me) this year is amazing.....Are most of you experiencing this this season? Is there something different about the water this year that it's producing so well? More food, more stocking? I've learned alot from this site, and fishing with a buddy at the Gorge, but I'm still thinking it has more to do with the fish/lake conditions of Strawberry itself.....and if so, could it crash - future year/years just as easily? Have any of you done just as good, or better, in years past? Thoughts??
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oh hello here we go.
remember some of us are not that lucky.....😤
I think that strawberry is just getting better due to lots of things stoking age class etc but I will say I've been able to loose at least my limit of kokes each time I go up.....
I am jealous that others can boat a limit lol.
CONGRADS.
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This has been one of my best years at Strawberry - quantity and quality. Had a better year maybe 3 to 4 years ago. However, I believe I had my best day ever this year! July 5th, four of us were on the water at 5:30 a.m. and had our limit of 16 at 9:45 a.m. One 4 pounder and several over 3 lbs. Nothing less than 2 pounds. Probably caught another 16 cutts that we threw back. The real kicker, 2 of the four had never fish for Kokes and had never fished with downriggers. I told them to not expect this kind of fishing experience in the future.
Not sure why the difference? Might need to check the stocking reports - It might be as simple as they stocked more fish 3 years ago.
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we went up today saturday, all i can say is wow . 15 nice sized kokes in the boat . before 11am . one came in at 22 inches with a great average size . i don't remember any time strawberry has produced the size and quantity of fish .[  ]
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4 lb'er, that's a huge Koke!...3 years ago I caught a true 4 lb'er, but that was at the Gorge.....For some reason July 5th was a magical day for me and fishing partner also at Strawberry....my biggest do date, a 3 lb'er, plus 7 others in the 2 to 23/4 lb range...we were done by 0830... I was amazed....glad to hear you're having such a good year there also....Guluk...
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Wow is right! Amazing catch, and great pics....we were up this past Thurs. again and got our fish, but it took 6 hours.....that's about the max I can take on my boat, but it was a great A.M. to be out on Strawberry, wind only picking up as we left at 1230....I've always left Sat. open for guys that can't fish during the week, but it sure looks like I should have been there today!...let's hope it holds up for a little longer....Guluk....
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each year it seems to get better than the last
this year I was catching kokes at ice off and some big kokes
that was a first maybe I just learned how to catch them early.
I made a bar graph from the stocking report and posted it a few years ago need to find it and and update it
also (don't know a lot about this) but heard they planted a new kind of kokes that spawn later and in the lake
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Amazing!!! Great job !!
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we didn't get on the water until 7am my guest was late . but the number of fish on the fishfinder was amazing ,and with the over cast sky and great weather it was like the sun never hit the water ,which i thing improved the bite .
i'm going next saturday again for sure .
by the way the size and quality of fish was much better than the gorge this year . i hope it keeps up
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Well, at this time of year when you need boat repairs, it takes until the second Tuesday of next week to get it out of the shop. AAArrrrg!!!!! With that said, I am going through withdrawal. I know you take people out some times, so if you need a fishing buddy in the next week or so, drop me a line!!! PLEASE! My sanity and my wife's safety may be involved here.
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Hey Robert, I think I'll try calling UDWR - fisheries (maybe Chris Penne) and ask about them maybe stocking a different strain of Koke in this water....that could explain the bigger size (at least to me) that I've seen this season....I'll post if I hear something that makes sense....
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Hey all - I did get ahold of Wes Pierce, one of our Northern fisheries biologists concerning quality (size) and quantity of a lot of our catches of Kokanee this year....We didn't have alot of time to talk, as he was working out in the field somewhere....but he said on years where the cutthroat numbers are down, like last year and this year, the Kokanee numbers and size will be up....we've all seen the tons of little cutts we're catching, and that's because they're trying to re-boost the numbers of cutts again...he said last year and this year there were probably more Kokanee in the water than cutts (I think I liked that)....He also said that there hasn't been any new strain of Kokanee introduced, and if any are spawning in the lake itself, that would be an abnormality.......I also learned that (normal good water years) the Kokanee here would be 50% from natural spawning, and 50% from stocking, and that all stocking is from hatched fingerlings, 2 to 4", only from Strawberry stock....and these are stocked just once a year, in April or May.....so when we have Bad water years, like last year and this year, the natural spawning numbers will go down.......We just need to enjoy this good cycle while we have it......Guluk.....
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This year has been the best year for me as far as big fish goes. I have had many 21 inchers this year and a 23 last week that weighed 4.8 lbs. Not to mention the monster that my granddaughter lost on Sunday at the back of the boat I wrote about in an earlier post.
I think the DWR does a fantastic job managing the koke fishery at Strawberry.
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You are right Robert. They are stocking a strain that are main lake spawners in both Strawberry and Flaming Gorge as well as the tributary spawners that they get at the trap on Strawberry river. The main lake spawners spawn in November and you can see them around the rocky shoreline near the dam.
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