Pre-smoked kokanee

On August 14 I hit the Helena Regulating Reservoir at first light.  It was pretty spooky light, due to thick smoke from forest fires.



I’m used to locating fishing spots on the lake by lining up trees along the reservoir with the mountains around the Helena Valley.  That strategy was not very effective on this day.



The kokanee continue to grow as fall approaches.  I caught 13 and kept 8 big ones, which included a 17.5” and two 17” kokanee.  There are mountains someplace out there in the smoke.





I was hoping that the kokanee would already be smoked when I pulled them out of the water, but no.  I’m currently running them through my smoker.

Nice koke , Pete, Unless you've got the "tiny hands" on.

The sky looked like that in Oregon lately until we got a nice sea breeze the other day.

Great fish!  I am a kokanee addict. I love the way they fight and the way they taste!  Those bigger ones can really sock it to ya!
They are just too fun!  I caught a nice one last week and posted the video.  You will have to check it out.

Nice chunkers

Made the drive from Vancouver, WA to Salt Lake City two weeks ago and was detoured twice due to wild fires. As I was driving, I couldn't help but think about all the animals that don't make it out in time, and all of the venison and bunny jerky hanging in the remaining shrubs. Those are some great looking Koke, Pete.

Nice fish! You guys are getting my wheels turning with all these kokanee pictures. Perhaps it's time to try my luck again.

A friend caught a 19" kokanee in the Helena Valley Regulating Reservoir yesterday.  Wow!  That beats my personal best by an inch!

Old timers report that years ago they used to routinely catch kokanee in that size range in Holter and Hauser reservoirs.  Then the bucket biologists imported walleyes, and the kokanee disappeared from those lakes.  Now the only place in the area with big kokanee is the regulating reservoir.

A friend caught a 19" kokanee in the Helena Valley Regulating Reservoir yesterday.  Wow!  That beats my personal best by an inch!

Old timers report that years ago they used to routinely catch kokanee in that size range in Holter and Hauser reservoirs.  Then the bucket biologists imported walleyes, and the kokanee disappeared from those lakes.  Now the only place in the area with big kokanee is the regulating reservoir.

walleye = voracious predator