Suttle Lake 9/5/14 - Mini Koke Frenzy

First time fishing Suttle Lake. Arrived at sunrise and launched with Molly around 6:30AM from the picnic area at the west end of the lake. Air temp 38, water temp 62 with good clarity. Trolled the north shore with a Rapala TDD 7 Rainbow Trout and hooked a small brown which I released. Started marking large schools of kokes in 40 FOW off the north shore. Switched to jigging a pink 1/2 oz kokanator jig tipped with corn. Hooked a small koke which I released. Apparently there is no size limit for kokes on this lake with a 25 fish bag limit but a 9" koke just isn't worth keeping IMO. Hooked a few more kokes but all the same size.  Never caught a brown or koke from a kayak so it was pretty exciting. The fan came on at 930AM and I headed in. Really nice day on the water and Molly had a good time too. Life is good.

Scott

Nice, good company and fish found, I've never been to Suttle but reports are the Kokes are on the small size.

GB, thanks for the report. Been thinking about Suttle kokes, which do run small  - but there is no limit.

Thanks for the report. I've been curious about Suttle. I drive by it a couple times a year on an annual trip. Thanks for the intel.

Here are some tips on fishing Suttle:
1. Launch from the end of the road at the west end of the lake. There are toilets, picnic tables and a launch ramp. There is a day use fee of $5. There are 3 ramps on the lake but this one is preferred for kayaks because the wind blows hard starting around 10 AM from east to west so if head west you will have a tailwind home.
2. Launch at dawn or predawn and target browns on the north shore which has a lot of dead fall. There is an inlet stream next to the ramp and they were rising at dawn so bring a fly rod.
3. If you jig for kokes, downsize your treble hooks. I hooked some but they were snagged under the jaw. You are going to need to catch a bunch of them for meal.
4. Bring an anchor if you want to fish after 11AM.
5. If you troll for kokes they were suspended 20-35' below the surface so you will need a DR or some other diving device.

It's worth fishing if you are in the area. A beautiful lake.

Scott