Detroit kokes

I'd be game for a trip out there as well.  I've never fished detroit but think about it whenever I drive on by it.   If you all plan something please post it up here. 

May be interested!

Hey, probably gonna make my first trip here next week as I have Sunday through Thursday off. Let me know if anyone wants to go. I've been hearing it's starting to get good.

I'd probably be game to join in...depending on what day, I have a few plans swirling around.

What's the preferred kayak launch location at Detroit? In a previous fishing life I scooted across the lake under power, but have only fished there once. And, having only fished for kokanee once, what are some of the picks for the business end of the line? Last time I used some 'willow' flashers and a variety of small spinners/spoons.

Mongold ramp and fish near island. I'll be running arrow flash Dodgers, sling blades, vances dodgers, etc. I also have inline trolling blades like ford fenders and seps flashers. Hoochies, spinners wedding rings, beads, spoons, etc. brined white corn. Worms work but trout hit those more

Wedding Rings with a worm or shoepeg corn work great at Detroit - for trout and kokanee.  Other spinner type lures have worked great for me...like Rocky Mountain Tackle Assassin (beads with a dakota blade).   I don't think ODFW stocks Detroit until later in May, so we have a chance to catch some kokes before the trout take the offering.

having only fished for kokanee once, what are some of the picks for the business end of the line? Last time I used some 'willow' flashers and a variety of small spinners/spoons.

If you want to use a flasher set-up in front of a wedding rig or other lure, I'm a big fan of the Macks Flash Lite four-propeller flashers, which have real low drag.  A lot of cowbell style flashers have so much drag that you can hardly tell when you hook a modest sized kokanee, and you can end up dragging the poor fish around the lake for fifteen minutes.  Another option is to use a small kokanee dodger 6-12 inches in front of a small rubber squid or hootchie or other lure.

Kokanee have delicate mouths, and they can thrash around like hummingbirds and jump like mini tarpon when hooked. You can increase the percentage of kokanee which you get to your net by using a real flexible rod, setting your drag real lightly, reeling them in slowly and gently, and installing a rubber snubber in your rig to help absorb the shock from the thrashing fish.  I install the snubber below a flasher chain, so the drag of the flashers won't stretch out the snubber, but I install it above a kokanee dodger, because you want to have a short leader below the dodger, so there isn't room below the dodger for a snubber.

I have good success baiting my lures with Berkley white gulp maggots.  They're a lot easier to use than white corn, because you don't need to refrigerate them, and can keep a bottle of them in your fishing gear all season.

A fish finder with GPS and a downrigger will increase your success at kokanee fishing.  The downrigger will allow you to run your lures right through or above the schools of kokanee which you see on your fish finder, and then you can use the GPS features of the fish finder to do figure eight and cloverleaf patterns through the school of kokanee.

Detroit is a real odd color of green right now.  This picture is the reservoir just below Detroit yesterday. Detroit is not quite as green, but it gives an idea what to expect.  Not very much visibility.

Good to know. I had mulled over the idea of visiting the lake in the coming weeks. Will have to wait til I hear some better reports.

Back in the early '90's, I fished Detroit several times a year and the odd thing was I would catch catfish while trolling for trout and Kokes. It made no difference if it was white corn or worms. Catfish liked both baits.

What's the preferred kayak launch location at Detroit? In a previous fishing life I scooted across the lake under power, but have only fished there once. And, having only fished for kokanee once, what are some of the picks for the business end of the line? Last time I used some 'willow' flashers and a variety of small spinners/spoons.

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7287365,-122.1472947,333m/data=!3m1!1e3

If fishing just for the day I launch at Detroit Flats day use. You access it from the town. See link above.
No day use fee for this park easy parking and launching.

willbd

Here's the ifish thread for anyone who wants to check there reports

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?p=12114258#post12114258

We're heading to Detroit the first weekend in May, planning on bringing the Outback and trolling for Kokes. Never done that, so any thoughts just throw 'em out and I'll believe you.

I was 1 for 5 when I went a few weeks ago trolling by the island