Clear Lake Kokanee 5-11-2015

Went to Clear Lake (Pierce County) for some more Kokanee.  Feeling very confident since I had such good success last week.  This week was a totally different story.  I couldn't keep them on no matter what I did.  (1 for 9) on the kokanee!  They would jump or do something at the last minute and I would loose them!  I did manage one kokanee and a nice 15 inch trout.  Still a great day fishing.

Still working on my video skills and I try not to take myself very seriously.

Enjoy.

Nice job!  When I post my 1st video you will see a lot of lanyards....ahem....for obvious reasons LOL.   

I enjoyed that video. Its great to see another kayak angler as passionate about kokanee fishing as I am. Somedays kokanee just don't stick. I'm sure you are already running #4 Owner dropshot or Gami BRB hooks but if not try switching up they really are an improvement over octopus hooks.

I use the Gamakatsu pink spinners (see picture) and have had pretty decent success both for Kokes n' 'bows.  Sure I've lost a couple, but not enough to worry about.  What's the advantage with the BRBs?

Oh BTW....for you divers out there who aren't afraid of lunatic power boaters (I am and am), there are two of these rigs in the picture sitting on the bottom of American Lake thanks to a water skier.....

I enjoyed that video. Its great to see another kayak angler as passionate about kokanee fishing as I am. Somedays kokanee just don't stick. I'm sure you are already running #4 Owner dropshot or Gami BRB hooks but if not try switching up they really are an improvement over octopus hooks.

I use the Gamakatsu pink spinners (see picture) and have had pretty decent success both for Kokes n' 'bows.  Sure I've lost a couple, but not enough to worry about.  What's the advantage with the BRBs?

I'm not saying the Gami octos are bad by any means. I fished with those for quite a while but statistics don't lie. I primarily fish Merwin and Yale Reservoirs which have generous 10 and 15 fish limits respectively. This gives me ample opportunity to compare them. I ran trials for several months comparing Gami octos, BRB, and Owner drop shots and found the octos to be the poorest performing of all of the hooks. All hooks were ran of the same rods/reels, line, leader, size 4, and tied in a similar configuration.

Here are those stats:

Gamakatsu Octopus: 14/25 = 56%
Owner Drop Shot: 13/18 = 72%
Gamakastsu BRB: 27/34 = 79%

My primary hypothesis for this is that the drop shot and BRB have a narrower gap at the bottom of the hook. The soft mouths of kokanee allow these hooks to drive deep into their tissue and I believe this narrow gap does a better job of keeping the hook from backing out while the kokanee are going nuts.

I might have to look into switching hooks.  I have also had people suggest that they offset the hook from the shank just a bit.  That too is an interesting idea.  Never had a day like Monday when it came to loosing fish though. The powerboat was out there at about the same time I was and they were having issues as well but were doing a little better than I was.  Kokanee are crazy fighters I will give them that.

Thanks for the tips and statistics on the hooks, next time I am in the tackle shop, I will be looking into those hooks.

I will also be looking for some grip tape for my paddle with will get rid of about 90% of the paddle sliding around issue.