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Strawberry 5/8
#1
Beautiful weather this morning at Strawberry. You know that any post that mentions the weather first isn’t going to contain an impressive fishing report. Despite the nice weather this morning, the fishing out of the marina was very slow for me. I could see fish all through the water column but despite my efforts I couldn’t get them very interested in what I was offering.

I kind of expected slow fishing this early in the season based on Robert’s report earlier this week. If he’s not catching Kokanee it’s doubtful anyone is.

The docks aren’t in and the restrooms and pay station aren’t open but there were still a lot of boats today. Some inconsiderate fella backed his pontoon down into the water when I got there and he just left his truck there all day...trailer submerged, blocking a space on the ramp, while he was out on the water. It was still there when I left.
  Huh
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#2
I'm probably about 1 1/2-2wks from hitting the Berry. This ramp hog should know better, but then they become specialized with their own priveledges. I can imagine the antics going at the ramp over this. There should have been a citation issued over this.
[Image: P3100003.jpg]
Harrisville UT
2000 7.3L F250 Superduty  '07 Columbia 2018 Fisherman XL Raymarine Element 9HV 4 Electric Walker Downriggers Uniden Solara VHF
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#3
(05-09-2020, 02:28 AM)fishnotphish Wrote: Beautiful weather this morning at Strawberry. You know that any post that mentions the weather first isn’t going to contain an impressive fishing report. Despite the nice weather this morning, the fishing out of the marina was very slow for me. I could see fish all through the water column but despite my efforts I couldn’t get them very interested in what I was offering.

I kind of expected slow fishing this early in the season based on Robert’s report earlier this week. If he’s not catching Kokanee it’s doubtful anyone is.

The docks aren’t in and the restrooms and pay station aren’t open but there were still a lot of boats today. Some inconsiderate fella backed his pontoon down into the water when I got there and he just left his truck there all day...trailer submerged, blocking a space on the ramp, while he was out on the water. It was still there when I left.
  Huh

Four of us on my boat found some 50 degree water and ended up with 5 kokanee and 2 rainbows sized for eating out of 24 for the day.  Fishing really picked up at 11:30 when it warmed up and stayed good until the wind came up and we left.

The kokanee were 16-18" and hit best when the water warmed up between 11:30 and 1:30.  They were 0-30 feeet, many of them came on planer boards.  Bright oranges and pink squids were the ticket but the biggest one came on a very reflective crankbait pulled on the planer boards.
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#4
(05-09-2020, 06:11 PM)Downriggerer Wrote:
Quote:Four of us on my boat found some 50 degree water and ended up with 5 kokanee and 2 rainbows sized for eating out of 24 for the day. Fishing really picked up at 11:30 when it warmed up and stayed good until the wind came up and we left. The kokanee were 16-18" and hit best when the water warmed up between 11:30 and 1:30. They were 0-30 feeet, many of them came on planer boards. Bright oranges and pink squids were the ticket but the biggest one came on a very reflective crankbait pulled on the planer boards.

Welcome to the site and thanks for the post, sounds like you did good for some decent sized kokes. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of crankbait were you using for the kokes? I don't hear of many folks catching kokes with cranks, so you have my curiosity up.
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#5
(05-10-2020, 04:13 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote:
(05-09-2020, 06:11 PM)Downriggerer Wrote:
Quote:Four of us on my boat found some 50 degree water and ended up with 5 kokanee and 2 rainbows sized for eating out of 24 for the day. Fishing really picked up at 11:30 when it warmed up and stayed good until the wind came up and we left. The kokanee were 16-18" and hit best when the water warmed up between 11:30 and 1:30. They were 0-30 feeet, many of them came on planer boards. Bright oranges and pink squids were the ticket but the biggest one came on a very reflective crankbait pulled on the planer boards.


Welcome to the site and thanks for the post, sounds like you did good for some decent sized kokes. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of crankbait were you using for the kokes? I don't hear of many folks catching kokes with cranks, so you have my curiosity up.

Thanks, I was on the Utah Wildlife Net for a long time but nothing much was happening over there any more.

I've only caught 3 kokanee on spoons and crankbaits ever so, not recommending it as a tactic.  This one was an accident too.  I am usually fishing for something else with the crankbaits and just happened to get a kokanee excited.  But, I got the one on Friday on a Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow 65.
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#6
<quote option="&quot;fishnotphish&quot; pid='1099472' dateline='1588991296'"><br />
Beautiful weather this morning at Strawberry. You know that any post that mentions the weather first isn’t going to contain an impressive fishing report. Despite the nice weather this morning, the fishing out of the marina was very slow for me. I could see fish all through the water column but despite my efforts I couldn’t get them very interested in what I was offering.<br />
<br />
I kind of expected slow fishing this early in the season based on Robert’s report earlier this week. If he’s not catching Kokanee it’s doubtful anyone is.<br />
<br />
The docks aren’t in and the restrooms and pay station aren’t open but there were still a lot of boats today. Some inconsiderate fella backed his pontoon down into the water when I got there and he just left his truck there all day...trailer submerged, blocking a space on the ramp, while he was out on the water. It was still there when I left.<br />
  Huh</quote><br />
Maybe his vehicle had issues.<br />
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#7
(05-10-2020, 07:59 PM)Downriggerer Wrote: I've only caught 3 kokanee on spoons and crankbaits ever so, not recommending it as a tactic.  This one was an accident too.  I am usually fishing for something else with the crankbaits and just happened to get a kokanee excited.  But, I got the one on Friday on a Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow 65.

I actually caught a kokanee on a 'j-plug' lure being trolled at 90 feet deep.  And I've been told by more than one old timer that when kokanee were fist introduced into Utah waters and before dodgers and squids were born that they caught them all the time on triple teasers & needlefish behind pop-gear.  Go figure.
Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
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#8
(05-10-2020, 08:09 PM)dubob Wrote:
Quote:I actually caught a kokanee on a 'j-plug' lure being trolled at 90 feet deep.  And I've been told by more than one old timer that when kokanee were fist introduced into Utah waters and before dodgers and squids were born that they caught them all the time on triple teasers & needlefish behind pop-gear.  Go figure.
I've caught them on triple teasers and needlefish, catching them on smaller spoons like that is nothing new but catching them on cranks, that is something you don't hear about much. Did you see this post on the Idaho board:
https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/showthre...id=1095311
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#9
(05-10-2020, 08:20 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote:
(05-10-2020, 08:09 PM)dubob Wrote:
Quote:I actually caught a kokanee on a 'j-plug' lure being trolled at 90 feet deep.  And I've been told by more than one old timer that when kokanee were fist introduced into Utah waters and before dodgers and squids were born that they caught them all the time on triple teasers & needlefish behind pop-gear.  Go figure.


I've caught them on triple teasers and needlefish, catching them on smaller spoons like that is nothing new but catching them on cranks, that is something you don't hear about much. Did you see this post on the Idaho board:
https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/showthre...id=1095311

Except for kokanee (sockeye), adult salmon are fish eaters and that is why the Idaho report was not surprising.  He was catching chinook (king) salmon, not kokanee (sockeye) salmon.  I've been pulling Rapalas on the surface off my planer boards at the Gorge for the past 3 years hoping to snag the bonus rainbow for my 4 fish limit.  Doesn't happen very often and I've never cuaght a kokanee on those Rapalas.  I have caught a couple off spoons fishing for lake trout and tha one off the J-plug.  That's it.  Catching a kokanee (sockeye) salmon off any kind of a crank bait or fish imatation bait is always going to be a rare thing.  IMHO.
Bob Hicks, from Utah
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
"Free men do not ask permission to bear arms."
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#10
Yeah, I've caught kokanee on Needlefish and Triple Teasers.  There are the Ospreys and Serpent Spoons and etc. which are intended for kokanee.  But the 3 I'm talking about hit a 4 inch long silver hammered Krocodile or that Lucky Crafter Pointer 65.  They are usually deep like Bob said and usually pretty good sized. 

We had a quadruple on Friday.  That made number 13 for the boat all time.  Still only 1 quintuple though.  Too many doubles and triples to count.

It was around noon and I had just finished a turn and turned my head to look back at the fish finder when I saw it change from 49.9 to 50 degrees.  I turned around and looked at the gear, right as it was going to finish the turn and "flip" to start a different direction.  As soon as I located the gear, I saw two salmon skyrocket out of the water, 6 feet or so.  One with the Lucky craft in his mouth on the planer board and the other 10' down on the downrigger with a pink hoochie trailing a pink dodger behind it. 

I love how they go berserk in the early season and jump like the devil just forked them in the tail.  Never gets old.
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#11
(05-10-2020, 08:56 PM)dubob Wrote:
Quote:Except for kokanee (sockeye), adult salmon are fish eaters and that is why the Idaho report was not surprising.  He was catching chinook (king) salmon, not kokanee (sockeye) salmon.  I've been pulling Rapalas on the surface off my planer boards at the Gorge for the past 3 years hoping to snag the bonus rainbow for my 4 fish limit.  Doesn't happen very often and I've never cuaght a kokanee on those Rapalas.  I have caught a couple off spoons fishing for lake trout and tha one off the J-plug.  That's it.  Catching a kokanee (sockeye) salmon off any kind of a crank bait or fish imatation bait is always going to be a rare thing.  IMHO.

Agreed
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#12
(05-10-2020, 08:56 PM)dubob Wrote: Except for kokanee (sockeye), adult salmon are fish eaters and that is why the Idaho report was not surprising.  He was catching chinook (king) salmon, not kokanee (sockeye) salmon.  I've been pulling Rapalas on the surface off my planer boards at the Gorge for the past 3 years hoping to snag the bonus rainbow for my 4 fish limit.  Doesn't happen very often and I've never cuaght a kokanee on those Rapalas.  I have caught a couple off spoons fishing for lake trout and tha one off the J-plug.  That's it.  Catching a kokanee (sockeye) salmon off any kind of a crank bait or fish imatation bait is always going to be a rare thing.  IMHO.

The only other time I caught a kokanee on a Lucky Craft was the same lure which is very very reflective.  Otherwise, I've not caught any kokanee on cranks or hard baits.  And, the only reason I think I've got them is because that particular lure is so reflective the kokanee see the flash and strike out of surprise or aggression.  And, I think that because both kokanee I've caught on the hard baits were on the surface and right at the end of a turn.  The sun hits it just right, the flash changes when it "flips" in the turn and there is a kokanee right at the end of the turn.  That's a recipe for a kokanee jumping behind the boat follwed shortly by flopping on the deck.
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#13
(05-10-2020, 09:00 PM)Downriggerer Wrote: Yeah, I've caught kokanee on Needlefish and Triple Teasers.  There are the Ospreys and Serpent Spoons and etc. which are intended for kokanee.  But the 3 I'm talking about hit a 4 inch long silver hammered Krocodile or that Lucky Crafter Pointer 65.  They are usually deep like Bob said and usually pretty good sized. 

We had a quadruple on Friday.  That made number 13 for the boat all time.  Still only 1 quintuple though.  Too many doubles and triples to count.

It was around noon and I had just finished a turn and turned my head to look back at the fish finder when I saw it change from 49.9 to 50 degrees.  I turned around and looked at the gear, right as it was going to finish the turn and "flip" to start a different direction.  As soon as I located the gear, I saw two salmon skyrocket out of the water, 6 feet or so.  One with the Lucky craft in his mouth on the planer board and the other 10' down on the downrigger with a pink hoochie trailing a pink dodger behind it. 

I love how they go berserk in the early season and jump like the devil just forked them in the tail.  Never gets old.

Yea, you got to love it when they come out of the water like that, very cool. What color Lucky Crafter Pointer 65 were you using?
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#14
(05-10-2020, 09:05 PM)wiperhunter2 Wrote:
(05-10-2020, 09:00 PM)Downriggerer Wrote: Yeah, I've caught kokanee on Needlefish and Triple Teasers.  There are the Ospreys and Serpent Spoons and etc. which are intended for kokanee.  But the 3 I'm talking about hit a 4 inch long silver hammered Krocodile or that Lucky Crafter Pointer 65.  They are usually deep like Bob said and usually pretty good sized. 

We had a quadruple on Friday.  That made number 13 for the boat all time.  Still only 1 quintuple though.  Too many doubles and triples to count.

It was around noon and I had just finished a turn and turned my head to look back at the fish finder when I saw it change from 49.9 to 50 degrees.  I turned around and looked at the gear, right as it was going to finish the turn and "flip" to start a different direction.  As soon as I located the gear, I saw two salmon skyrocket out of the water, 6 feet or so.  One with the Lucky craft in his mouth on the planer board and the other 10' down on the downrigger with a pink hoochie trailing a pink dodger behind it. 

I love how they go berserk in the early season and jump like the devil just forked them in the tail.  Never gets old.


Yea, you got to love it when they come out of the water like that, very cool. What color Lucky Crafter Pointer 65 were you using?

It's not a secret by any stretch, but they are very hard to find in 65.  Just so the google robots are less likely to find it, a brand new out of the package l a s e r r a i n b o w.
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#15
[Image: FDC94288-B021-4320-ABFE-21-E4-C759-BBA3.jpg] In all my years of fishing the gorge I've caught 2 on crankbait. I believe the first one was on a rainbow colored rapala. This last one was on a flicker shad. To throw salt in the wound I fished for kokanee all morning only to switch gears and try for rainbows. Then caught a random koke on a crank. However it was exactly as described. Right after a turn, that was the inside rod on a board. This was back in mid April.
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#16
(05-11-2020, 10:01 PM)POk3s Wrote: In all my years of fishing the gorge I've caught 2 on crankbait. I believe the first one was on a rainbow colored rapala. This last one was on a flicker shad. To throw salt in the wound I fished for kokanee all morning only to switch gears and try for rainbows. Then caught a random koke on a crank. However it was exactly as described. Right after a turn, that was the inside rod on a board. This was back in mid April.
If seems more random than anything when someone catches a Koke on a crank, just like you I have done it once or twice but never able to repeat it on a consistance bases.. Pretty cool when it happens though.
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