need help with Jordanelle Kokes

[liketrolling]

This is not for the ones that fish Jordanelle all the time, they know a lot more than I do

today in the dark I had a hard time finding the boat ramp
I fished Jordanelle one time this year when Strawberry had Ice on
then today
there is a lot of Kokanee in Jordanelle
it did not take us to long to find them and what setup to use

In the attachment is a map
by 7 AM we got 5 kokanee on the south side by the dam you can see two way points
they stopped biting so had to find some more

where you see the boat there is a lot of kokanee there and bigger

MY speed (thanks to kevinL) set my iTroll to change the speed on my kicker motor from 1.1 to 2. mph

downriggers best was down 35 feet I have four downriggers but if I was stacking one would be 33 and the other one 36 3 feet apart this may change tomorrow.

the Kokanee should have been down 45 feet that is where the 54 deg. water temp was at
I saw fish down there but, could not get them to bite.
also saw them at 24' could not get them to bite

every dodger had green on it, one orange squid with a orange spinner.
and another Glow In The Dark White & Yellow Skirt w/Orange Splatter w/Silver Flake with spinner
so using two orange squids

two squids (5CM UV Purple and Pink w/Silver Flake Mini Hoochie with glow spinner

they call it Dr Death Mini Hoochie it is a good one it works at strawberry to

I had one set up that missed at least 10 kokanee it was driving me nuts
would keep sharping the hooks. looking at the way I tied the hooks one is 90 deg. off from the other one, will retie and see what that does.

any way fun day we did not see the sun that is why the glow stuff worked so good today
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[ReelMasta]

Our first time chasing the kokes as well. We caught them down 30 & 35 ft. 10 caught on pink splatter rmt Dodgers with rmt pink billed squid at 1.6 mph.
We were the trophy with the fish sock and stayed west side of dam most if the morning.
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[ratnest]

took my first trip for the kokes earlier this week. when you say that you saw them, what does that look like on the finder. I see plenty of fish, off and on, most in a 10 foot range. How do I know, or assume, if they are kokes, or something else?
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[liketrolling]

I just saw fish above 35 feet and below 35 feet on the fishfinder what kind they were I don't no I tried to catch them but they did not bit so what kind of fish they are It is hard to say

if you see them around 35 feet they should be kokanee but tomorrow they may be down 45 feet when you catch one you will no what you are looking for

at strawberry sometimes I can tell if it is a cut are koke but not all the time
the bigger cuts are under the kokanee.

at flaming gorge the Lake pups are under the kokanee
they all like the thermocline and will mix

I don't fish jordanelle, so don't know a lot about the fish in there
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[lovetofish]

Maybe try a trebble hook on the trailing hook. We lost quite a few last Monday ourselves.

Was the water still stained? Monday it was not very clear. I think the fishing would have been better than is was.
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[Outfishing13]

You didn't mention if you were using a rubber snubber in front of your dodger or not. That will help a ton with your hookups. We fished on Saturday with a snubber in front of the dodger and 80% of our hook ups were landed.

Keep your drag a little looser too. Kokanee have very soft mouth as they are filter feeders.

Good luck!

Matthew
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[kevinL]

Sounds like a great day, Robert. We caught most of our fish between waypoint 1368 and your boat. You are right, we saw a lot of fish deeper and shallower, but the fish that were most actively feeding were between 32 and 36 feet. We started stacking our downriggers 6 feet apart so we could get all four lines in this zone. I’ve used your advice on the glow gear and had a lot of success as well, especially early morning and overcast days. Almost all of my hoochies now have a glow hook for the trailing hook.
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[liketrolling]

[quote Outfishing13]You didn't mention if you were using a rubber snubber in front of your dodger or not. That will help a ton with your hookups. We fished on Saturday with a snubber in front of the dodger and 80% of our hook ups were landed.

Keep your drag a little looser too. Kokanee have very soft mouth as they are filter feeders.

Good luck!

Matthew[/quote]

I did not think any one used rubber snubbers any more
a guy I learned a lot from about fishing for Kokanee said never use snubbers
get a good kokanee rod .
so I have rods that cost $120. but I have seen some that are not to bad for $30

If you are watching my poles you can see a 3" fish bite
The ones I miss are what I call hit and run I put cameras down and you can see what they do.

I take a lot of people out that have never fished for kokanee, first thing I tell them is don't lose my Poles and keep your drag loose
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[BSF]

Great report!
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[WET1]

You don't want a snubber if you're using soft kokanee rods specifically designed for them like Robert does.
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[Outfishing13]

LikeTrolling,

Snubbers are still sold at the tackle shops and many people still use them. Let me explain why I use them.

First, I don't have special poles just for trolling for kokanee. I have my all-purpose poles I use for casting and trolling for trout. Med or medium heavy. Older poles that work very well. So I know I need a little more give when kokanee are striking.

Second, I use them to help set the hook and often when trolling for trout as well. I feel like that stretch and pull a couple feet from the lure helps drive home the hook when the fish takes the bait. I don't always use one, but often I do when using a trolling device that prohibits me from getting a good set from the pole end, since the device gives some degree of resistance between the tip of the pole and the hook. For example, trolling with a planer board or with a diver, flasher, pop gear or a banana weight. Basically the fish are hooking themselves with a snubber.

We had 10 hook ups on Saturday and landed 8. That is dang good odds. Most were hooked with both hooks on our rigs. the main hook and the stinger. Only one came off at the surface. The other ran around the trolling plate on the outboard and broke the line.

They aren't to costly and are easy to set up. Try one you may improve your hookup and catch rate.

Matthew
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[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]Matthew,[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]My answer is in no way intended to dismiss or condemn you remarks regarding snubbers. They do have a place in fishing. However, dedicated kokanee fisherman select and use equipment designed for kokanee fishing. And rod selection is one of those highly sought after equipment items. There are a wide variety of brand/models to select from and none of them require or need snubbers to produce desired results. My personal favorite is the Shakespeare Ugly Stik Ultra Lite 7' 2-piece rods at about $40 each. I have owned and used several other brands that sell for 2 & 3 times that amount and can not detect any MEANINGFUL difference.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I also use at least a 120 degree plus bend in all my rods set in the downriggers (DR) to get maximum hook set on the strike and release from the DR release clips. My drags are set to allow this much pole bend without releasing the line from the clip which allows bigger fish to actually pull out line from the reel when fighting. I always use OffShore white clips which are the light release version and always place my line to the very back of the release against the stop posts.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I haven't owned or used snubbers for anything for at least 20 years and have very little problem with lost kokanee using my methods and techniques. At least 95% plus of lost kokanee from my boat come when the kokanee jump clear of the water and the rod tips are above the water. And those mostly come from quests who are novices and don't know to keep their rod tips low to the water or slightly submerged until the fish is near the boat and ready to be netted.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]Again, no disrespect intended or inferred to your use of snubbers. If they are working for you, that is a good thing. But their are better methods/equipment available and most dedicated kokanee folks don't own or use snubbers and would not recommend them as the best/better method to pursue kokanee.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]Peace to you and tight lines always in your fishing pursuits.
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[liketrolling]

this is a good post
I would think most good koke fishermen do some thing like this

there is only two release's I like they are
the offshore

and the one I use the most is
Scotty Power Grip Plus with a 18" Leader

I have wasted a lot of money trying others out.

but this goes to which car is the best
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[Outfishing13]

Bob,

I appreciate your post. No offense taken. Right now I have many poles.. lol. So I use what I have and use the snubbers to supplement what I have. We have had really good luck with hookup staying on. Last trip only one 1 of 10 came off.

I am not sure what other guys are doing for hooks on their rigs. I make all my own rigs and have a couple people have given me. Most of the store bought rigs seem to have a red octopus hook on it. Size 6 or maybe 4.

I'd like to know what others are doing for hooks they make their own rigs with.

Matthew
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[dubob]

[quote Outfishing13]I'd like to know what others are doing for hooks they make their own rigs with.

Matthew[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I don't make my own rigs; I just buy them. I do carry about 50 pre-made snelled 2-hook set-ups in my gear for quick replacement in the field. Snell them together at home and make them about 24" long and coiled up on Carlson Tackle Buddy tubes. I cut them to desired length based on what lure they will be used on. I currently tie everything on 15 lb test fluorocarbon line but am thinking about going to 20 lb when the 15 lb is used up.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I use Gamakatsu Octopus hooks in red and in sizes 4 (closest to the lure) & 2 (furthest from the lure). The hooks are about one half inch apart.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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