I've been
going over my fishing notes, figuring out what makes Kokanee attack lures. They
strike a lure for basic reasons of hunger, reaction, anger, spawn and
territorial behavior. Salmon are attracted to the lure by degree of action,
smell, noise, water displacement, size, color and visibility. A primary
understanding of this will allow you to be successful under all conditions on
any water for the fish commercial fishermen called Blue Back and American First
Nations call Kokanee, the Red Fish.
There are
few natural stocks of Kokanee and most have originated from hatcheries. Kokanee require much less time in hatcheries
to reach a suitable size for planting than species like rainbow trout. Allowing
increased production provides greater benefit to the numbers available to the
angler and increased efficiency to fisheries' operations. This accounts for the
growing increase of Kokanee waters and stocking projects available today.
Hatchery
sourced fish display of mixture of all the genetics of their species. Anglers
should also be aware that Kokanee have a one- to seven-year life span. The
biological rule is they trend to source, i.e. two-year cycle source parents
have mostly two-year cycle offspring. Most four-year cycle fish, because of their
size, are preferred for hatchery production. Generally speaking, fish stocks
can, and do, produce all life spans and sizes with trends representing the
source. Kokanee, with good food and proper environmental conditions, can become
trophies, legends and giants close to 10 pounds!
Food
resource is next in determining the quality, size and maturity of Kokanee. Environmental
stability is critical for both food and survival of this keystone species of
salmon. Algae negatively affects food production, destroys oxygen levels,
reduces food resource and chemically pollutes fish stocks, especially sensitive
species like Kokanee. Planktons, "tiny, microscopic organisms," provide the life
diet for this salmon. Algae, a plant mater, feeds on nitrates provided either
naturally or by pollution, which depletes this food resource for planktons. As
algae blooms grow, they increase water temperature, reduce both sunlight and
oxygen required for all aquatic life, and warms water beyond normal
temperatures, destroying conditions that maintain all fish stocks.
Temperature
is the most critical environmental standard for prolific Kokanee fisheries. Natural
lakes provide a great stability, but with spawning, they can overproduce
numbers and result in smaller sized Kokanee. Notably, reservoirs have the
greatest environmental changes and can cause extreme loss in numbers of fish
available to anglers. Morbidity from temperature accounts for the largest
percentage of Kokanee loss in all waters. Ideal temperature for Kokanee is 42
to 54 degrees Fahrenheit. Current studies show that even adult fish are not
able to recover from catch and release and will die when surface temperatures
reach 70 degrees. Winter draw down in reservoirs has adverse effects as the
temperature stability is compromised, causing notable losses. Predation from
other fish also has a negative effect on the numbers that reach a mature size.
Populations can, and do, survive in viable numbers on most waters, but angler
harvest and water management practices inherently have the greatest effect on
the quality and numbers in Kokanee stocks.
It is very
important to note that food resource and temperature stability are the
differences between a 10-incher and a 10-pound giant. These two environs do not
account for stimuli needed in action, smell, noise, water displacement, color
and visibility in the most successful offerings used to capture this salmon. Attention
to these details may well be the difference between the finest salmon dinner
you will ever enjoy or a cup of veggie soup. My heroes would rather clean fish
at the dock than dazzle with lavish stories. So I won’t expound further with
Latin terms or a more aggressive lesson in physiology. Now, on to the more
serious details on equipment, attraction and presentation.
Equipment
choices are critical, after all you never know when a fish of a life time will
volunteer for a trip in your boat. Topping the list is a quality sonar or fish
finder. Kokanee anglers must know the precise depth, speed and location of the
salmon to be successful. Be sure to read the instruction manual and be familiar
with operating and reading the unit. The depth cursor is a handy feature to
average the depth of fish and being able to see the exact depth of your downrigger
ball is also paramount to ensure proper presentation. Rainbow usually print in
open water as a ladder of fish arcs. Kokanee, in open or deep water, will print
as a group of closely scattered dashes. I hope these tips help you to
understand what you see on the locator. One final item: "fish finders do not lie.
If you're not seeing fish, it is because they are not there, so go look for
fish at another location.
There are
many different types of trolling rods that are suitable for this adventure with
salmon. Ultra-light rods are popular, but may not be the complete answer for
Kokanee angling. Oh, yes "you can use an ultra-light trolling rod and be
successful using a basic lure with long line or downrigger presentations. Ultra-lights
are rated for lighter action and lure weights of ¼ to ¾ ounce, which doesn’t
include weights from dodgers or trolls, and the water resistance these rigs
produce. The soft mouth of this fish further compounds problems in maintaining
hook ups. Fish after fish can be lost due to line slack when the rod is
incapable of maintaining proper tension on the setup. Matching the recommended
rods, action and lure weight to trolling setups is a step toward the solution
to increase your catch rate. Rods rated from ¾ to 1 ounce in medium action, with
a fast taper and soft tip, are excellent for the presentations used in trolling
for Kokanee.
Most often,
a good quality level wind is desired, but consideration to a line counter style
reel is valued with downriggers and long line presentations for precise trolling.
Main running lines are generally a match to the presentation used and 10 pound
test is often preferred. Kokanee are not line or leader shy but color defines
their world and clear line is best. Ponder the line diameter, larger line size
translates to more water resistance or drag when trolling, so thin diameter
line is a plus for main trolling line. Planning and purpose should be given to
rod, reel and line for any complete and effective angling presentation. This is
especially true for Kokanee, as precise depth presentations are critical to
success.
Attractors
are available in many sizes and styles for Kokanee angling. Basic groups are
flashers (rotate in a circle), dodgers (side to side action) and inline trolls
(spinner blades). These are some favorites you won’t want
to leave at the dock: the Sling Blade™ and the Double D™ Dodger. Both made in
the U.S.
with stainless steel, they give the best flash and optimum weight for the
perfect presentations. The Sling Blade™ is best at speeds of 1 to 3.5 mph and
can be tuned by slightly increasing the length-wise bend. The Double D™ Dodger
is not recommended for tuning and performs best at speeds of 1 to 2 ½ mph. The Double
D™ has five attachment points that allows the dodger to swim out from under the
boat, thus giving superior offerings for spooked or shallow fish, and work
excellent as a side planer when fishing multiple rods. Different attachment
points also causes the Double D™ to have slightly different actions for
perfecting presentations. The Double D™ and the Sling Blade™ come in several
fish attracting sizes and colors to match water conditions and fish preference.
Remember, the golden rule for dodgers and flashers is your leader length; "longer
leaders will result in slower action, shorter leaders put out a faster action
and heavier leaders benefit from increased lure action.
Smile
Blades® are versatile in size, flash, and vibration, and will enhance any lure
or bait. Better yet, they come in great
colors, including the three new UV
colors: "copper, lemon lime and purple haze Preferred sizes for Kokanee are 0.8-,
1.1-, 1.5- or 1.9-inches. As a reminder, rig these with a small bead placed on
your leader first so they will spin properly. Smile Blades® can be changed
easily on leader rigs and trying different sizes or colors is highly
recommended for success. Smile Blades® spin at much slower speeds than metal
blades and effective speeds are effective at speeds as slow as 1/4 miles per
hour. Kokanee can't resist a Smile Blade®.
Lures are
the hope that every fisherman has at the end of their string. Kokanee offerings
range from ¼ to 6 inches in effective sizes. Lures have five categories: top
water (floating lures), jigs (Rock Dancer®), crank baits (Wiggle Hoochie™),
spoons (Sonic Baitfish™, Cripplure™, Hum Dinger®) and plastic baits (hoochies
or squids). Thus far, I haven’t caught a Kokanee with a top water lure but
anything is possible (and it's on my bucket list). Organizing your lures by
category will help in selection of effective presentations and give you
versatility, which is key to success.
For your
information, a quick side note about hook size and color: using larger hooks
increases the hook gap, hooking fish better and ultimately puts more fish in
the boat. Using too small of a hook or treble often does not penetrate deep
enough, and is the primary reason to losing fish during the fight. Inactive
fish side swipe the lure, hooking them on the lip or face, generally outside
the mouth. Active fish will bite, taking the lure or hooks inside the mouth. Hook
size is relative to fish size, and if you’re losing fish, try a different sized
hook.
Kokanee
respond paramount to color, size, vibration, action, smell and speed in
presentations. The color of your offering is the most important piece of this
puzzle. Kokanee prefer fluorescent or bright colors over most natural colors. UV
colors further enhance color and help improve appearance in the blue/green
spectrum that aquatic life visualizes. This works much like a neon does for
drawing attention from us. Attention given to the dodger and/or flasher and the
lure are critical factors for any presentation. Flash color is a big factor in
attracting fish and, yes, silver is a color. Note here that chrome, silver and
stainless material affect the intensity and brightness of the flash. Stainless
is preferred because of its light weight and superior flash in dodgers and
flashers. As a rule, brighter solid colors work well from the surface to about
20 feet of water and complex or multi colors work best from 20 to 60 feet of
water. My favorite colors for deep water are blues, glows and darker pinks. A
personal favorite is Fire Tiger and Fire Tiger Glow early in the spring. Adding
bait to the hooks is another sure method and adding color can make even bigger
differences in the number of hook ups. Here’s an idea: replace the hooks on
your rig with a Glo® Hook. The very best presentations have details and color
always works.
Size rules apply
here and is important and very effective with squid presentations ranging from
1.5 to 3 inches. The profile or size of the squid lure is decisive for time of
year and time of day with differences noted at as little as ¼ inch. Active
Kokanee will take a large profile lure when feeding and a small profile lure
when inactive. Inline spinners like the Smile Blade® produce both flash, vibration
and profile to aid in attracting fish to this offering. Again different sizes should
be part of your arsenal.
Smell, given
thru bait or scent, enhances any presentation. Maggots (real or artificial),
shoe peg corn, earthworms and a variety of scent products are preferred baits
for Kokanee.
Action is
another critical factor, as it incites feeding behaviors and instinctive
strikes. Differing degrees of action can be imparted to the lure using dodgers
and/or flashers, crank bait style lures and spoons. Speed kills, for sure, when
triggering Kokanee. Faster presentations are often key because they increase
lure and attractor actions. Most often, speed becomes the effective and
preferred key during the warm summer months, but is critical year round. Consider
this: Kokanee, like all fish, move away from, or out from under, the boat. This
is apparent when fish are shallow or spooked from a motor, sonar noise, boat
traffic or unstable weather. Keeping the lure in front of them is the game.
Compounding
this is the consideration that Kokanee feed, strike and move on a horizontal
plane. They rarely move more than 2 feet vertically to chase or bite a lure. Adding
a black box for electrolysis will aid in condensing active fish at the depth of
the downrigger ball with the lure. Thus, precise depth presentations are most
critical to success. Speeds of 1 mph to 6 mph will get the job done, but the
speed is often determined and limited by the presentation. Dodger presentations
do not work well with higher speeds because of water resistance and loss of
action. Whereas lures like spoons or crank baits fished alone will produce at
higher speed.
Kokanee are
followers of current like all salmon. Natural lakes have an up and down welling
of these currents, and fish will often be at depths of 100 feet of water or
greater. Reservoir impoundments have currents on or near the river channel.
Deep open water is a preferred Kokanee habitat, so begin looking in these areas
for fish and note the proximity to these structure keys. This might not be the
entire story, but it gives anglers a start on where and how to look for fish.
Well, that's
enough for now. Remember, lifting people up in life is better than pushing
people below your place in the world. Now get out there and catch a bunch and
if you should see my boss tell him or her I’m working hard. I’ll see you at the
lake!