Helena regulating reservoir Kokanee are starting to bulk up

On Saturday, June 4, I fished the Helena Regulating Reservoir and caught 10 kokanee.  It was tough fishing because the fish were scattered around the lake, rather than being clustered together in schools.  The biggest one was 16.5”.  I'm looking forward to the end of the summer, when we should be catching a lot of 16”-18” kokes.

nice! We have very limited kokanee opportunities on this area but the sockeye run is just getting going!

congrats! looks like good eats!!!

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That is a chunky little devil.

I'm curious about what you have to do differently when they aren't schooling up?

Nice!  My little home lake which is just a few minutes from the house is only producing 9-10 inches this year.  They are getting bigger.  We will see if they make 11 by the end of the season, but Lake Roosevelt (The lake behind Grand Coulee Dam) is producing 3-4lb fish on a regular (constant) basis.  I have to get over there.

I am having "kokanee envy".

I'm curious about what you have to do differently when they aren't schooling up?

When the kokanee are clustered in schools I can use my downrigger to run my lure right above or through a school, and I can use the GPS features on my fish finder to do figure 8 or cloverleaf patterns which run through the area of the school and pinpoint its location.  When solo fish are spread out at different depths in an area, the fishing is somewhat more random.  I have to criss-cross through the area where they're hanging out and hope I attract a fish.

Nice!  My little home lake which is just a few minutes from the house is only producing 9-10 inches this year.  They are getting bigger.  We will see if they make 11 by the end of the season, but Lake Roosevelt (The lake behind Grand Coulee Dam) is producing 3-4lb fish on a regular (constant) basis.  I have to get over there.

I have trouble getting excited about catching the 10" -11" kokanee found in most lakes in Montana when I can go to Helena and catch much bigger fish.

What lures do you troll with? I vaguely remember old school Wedding rings etc. When fishing for kokes as a kid with my dad.

What lures do you troll with? I vaguely remember old school Wedding rings etc. When fishing for kokes as a kid with my dad.

One typical rig I use is (from top to bottom) a Macks "Flashlight" four-spinner flasher, a rubber snubber, and a two-hook or treble-hook wedding ring baited with white Berkley Gulp maggots, with some scent on it.  Another typical rig is a rubber snubber, a dodger, about 8 inches of leader, and a two-hook hootchie or squid baited with white Berkley Gulp maggots, with some scent on it.  I suppose I should experiment with different lures and flashers, but I'm lazy and these set-ups work pretty well, so I haven't had much incentive to experiment with other equipment.

That's a nice koke!  Nice job finding 10 when they're spread out!
Do you smoke these?

That's a nice koke!  Nice job finding 10 when they're spread out!
Do you smoke these?

I generally smoke about a third, and cook the rest.  They're tasty both ways!

Thank you, Pete.  Someone is trying to get me interested in kokanee fishing, but I wouldn't have had a clue about finding them or how to fish for them when they aren't schooled-up.

Thank you, Pete.  Someone is trying to get me interested in kokanee fishing, but I wouldn't have had a clue about finding them or how to fish for them when they aren't schooled-up.

Besides being great eating, Kokanee are a lot of fun to fish for.  They have large air bladders which show up clearly on a fish finder, and their pattern of movement is pretty distinctive.  They tend to be down around 30-40 feet or deeper, the sonar return will squiggle up and down a few feet as they dart around, and they are typically found in small schools.  Once you find them, you just have to figure out how to present them with a lure by trolling or jigging.

In the summer, kokanee often hang out in pretty predicable areas in a lake.  One way to locate those areas is by watching boats which are fishing for kokanee.  Another way is by trolling around in a systematic search pattern and watching for kokanee on your fish finder.

Excellent!  I really appreciate this.

Good stuff Pete! It's good to know there's another yak angler in the area. I've been wanting to try to get into some kokes from the kayak but it seems pretty technical. Guess I need to get my ff working. Is it doable without electronics?

Fishing blind without a fish finder is really tough for kokanee.  They can be holding at different depths depending on the day, weather, time of day, etc.

Out here rather than  using the string of rotating blades we use a dodger style single blade with either a wedding ring style or or hoochie (small 1.5inch - 2inch) squid.  Only 8" of leader behind the dodger.  Troll at .8 - 1.2 mph.   The fight is a lot better without all the hardware.  There is a lake about 45 min. from me that is producing just shy of that quality of fish but the lake is infested with water maggots.  So it is advisable that you only go on weekdays.