How to Fish Odell Lake

Hey guys,

Wondering if any of you guys have fished Odell Lake and are willing to give me some tips.  I'm having a family reunion there this weekend and would like to tear it up  .  Probably targeting macs and rainbow.

What's a Mac?


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Mac = mackinaw or lake trout.
 

Rum: Can't tell you what the fish are doing right now, but in my limited experience just fishing for kokanee, you need to be prepared to jig just off the bottom -- at up to 100 feet deep or much more, or have a downrigger to get you to where the schools are. A fishfinder may be the most important piece of tackle on your yak, but you can ask the folks who are hauling them in, or at the cleaning station. The macks tend to be the deepest -- think 200 feet. We tried in early June to get to the koke schools at 50-75 feet trolling heavy weights and lead core line from a 16-foot Jetcraft and while we caught a few, the folks with downriggers were smoking them.

By the way, go to ifish.net and kokanee fishing dot com or something like that for deets.

Sweet...thanks Fishboy.  I don't have a downrigger set up yet so looks like I'll be jigging and trolling near shore for some rainbows.

I've spent a lot of time on Odell and have caught a lot of Kokanee and Rainbow. The lake is huge and can get real nasty (and dangerous) especially when there are whitcaps breaking. There are 2 primary methods for Kokanee- trolling and jigging. I usually toll while searching for schools and hotspots in the lake. Once I get into a large school of them,  I drop a (various colors) Nordic jig down (at whatever depth I am seeing them on the fish liar) and play out the action. My trolling gear consists of a salmon rod with a level wind reel with lead core line. You can use mono or braid, but you will be clipping on more weight to your rudder. (You can also use a diver doohickie. ) Attach a rudder then a flasher such as a Jack-o-Diamonds or Cow Bell, then about 4-6 ft. of 6# or 8# leader. *Some people insist on using one of those surgical tubing snubbers as Kokes have very soft mouths. For terminal tackle, there are many options, but I almost always end up with my go-to lure- the Wedding Ring (red or green). Super Dupers also work good or Dick Nights. Attach a piece of worm, and then a piece of white corn on the hook. You can count the pulls on your reel or mark your line with fingernail polish every 10 or 25 feet. Depth is important!

The Macs are a different thing altogether, and probably will be a challenge in a kayak. For those you go deep! You have got to get as close to the bottom as you can (and not loose too much gear).  Troll pretty much the same as above but with a heavier leader and use a Kwikfish or a Wardens U-20 Flatfish.

Now I have given away all my secrets... But none of this is anything you won't read on Ifish.com anyway... Good luck!

Erik

Browneysvictim has real good information.  I use a down rigger for trolling for Kokanee.  I also like the wedding ring with a lake troll flasher.  For the Mac's I also use a lake troll with a broke back rapala lure on my salmon trolling rod with a line counter.  With this set up I run 12-16 oz. of weight on a slider to get down to the bottom.  Seems like I pick up the Mac's at 100 feet.  I usually launch my kayak at sunset cove and peddle to the west end of the lake and ride the wind back.  The wind picks up early so you want to do a early morning launch.

Yeah, the info here is right on.Was @ Odell last month ,caught some fish ,but was kind of frustrated.It was pretty windy and I dont have an anchor yet so jigging wasnt working well.Some of the PBers would anchor(80-100ft) and run their kickers in reverse to hold position.Trolling w/downrigger was better but was still a challenge(never used one before).There are literally clouds of fish on sonar in west bay..finding the biters was the challenge.Ithink there is a learning process for kokes on downrigger..they dont pull the line off the clip...missed alot of bites.(striking too hard?).The frustrating part was going to the fish cleaning station with 3-4 fish and the place is packed with people that had 20-50 fish!The old-timers have it dialed.Saw 2 macs caught...incidental while koke fishing(one 34'').Said it fought like an old boot lol.Hope for no wind..try jigging. W/O downrigger try break of day and late,dont forget white corn.

What's a Mac?

Here's a pic of the my "Big Mac" that I caught on Sunday.  I got up there a little late launched about 8:00 am and had a few hours of nice fishing.  The wind came up late morning and it was victory at sea by noon. 

Dana

Way to go Dana, that is one fat fish. 

Man, nice work Dana!

Dang, that thing has a big fat belly. 6 more inches for an AOTY mac, you'll get it soon i know...

Thats a fat fish nice one!

Wow, does that thing have a couple Kokes in its belly?  That thing is fat!  I want to try that.  Are you going there again soon?