NorthWest Kayak Anglers
Regional Discussions => Idaho Kayak Fishing => Topic started by: IdahoSkies on February 06, 2016, 08:30:11 PM
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Anyone getting out and paddling for some early kokanee?
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Where do you find kokes in Idaho this time of year? We get a few year round opportunities in Merwin (WA) and Detroit (OR). The real action will start in a few months when the water warms just a little bit and the jigging party is started. I'm looking forward to a banner koke year! Gonna fish Odell, Wickiup, Paulina, Lemolo, Crescent, Miller, Detroit...but I'm from Oregon.
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I won't be out until first part of March, and will plan on hitting American.
I too am looking forward to a banner year. I am mostly going to be fishing American, Clear, and mostly Devereaux (since it is 10 min. from my house) but I will also hit Wickiup once during our family reunion in OR. :)
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Arrrowrock and lucky peak from what I hear. My yak is on the drilling rack right now but should be back together by the end of the month.
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I haven't done a lot of koke fishing in the past but plan on doing a little this year out of the yak. Arrow rock and Luckypeak should be great. Next time I get out to Anderson Ranch for smallies I want to do some koke fishing there too.
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Got out this weekend. There were fish there but real slow. Water temp was still in the upper 30s for the most part. Pretty sluggish fish.
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New to cda idaho.
What do you guys use for kokanee here?
Never fished for them before.
Looking to fish for pike, trout and salmon.
Mostly trout and salmon for eating. The rest are catch and release for me personally.
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Kokanee are a lot of fun to catch, and they taste great cooked and great smoked. In the early spring the kokanee will be mostly hanging out near the surface, so you can catch them longline trolling. As the summer progresses, they'll be down 30 feet deep or more. One way to fish for them is by jigging, with the help of a fish finder. But if you really want to catch kokanee, get a fish finder with GPS and a downrigger, so you can use the downrigger to buzz your lure right through or above schools of kokanee which you see on your fish finder, and you can use the fish finder's GPS features to do figure 8 and cloverleaf patterns through the schools of kokanee when you find them.
There is a lot of good advice about kokanee fishing techniques, equipment, and tackle on YouTube and elsewhere on the internet.
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Troll with a kayak? I don't have my kayak yet. End of next month I will though. Maybe first week of may. So until then it's bank fishing :(
Can you catch them from the bank? Or is it just an if you're lucky kind of thing?
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Trolling with a kayak is not really a problem especially for kokanee. Kokanee want the lure in-between .8mph and 1.2 mph. So a very easy paddle to get the right action is important. I actually have to be careful not to go too fast. The other thing about fishing them with the kayak is that you are probably going to vary your speed and direction more than you would with a power boat. That random action will often trigger a strike. A few crazy Ivans are always a good idea.
In my book, down riggers are essential. I am headed out for my first trip tomorrow. Here is a video from last year to set the mood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ0ACQ0Gt7Q&list=PLYA_dpBRvlIFmPMsnUVQVaOAGzvWjQy8-&index=7