A very late report but it helps to validate this lake as a great kokanee lake for quality fish, not the normal 9"-12" fish you find almost everywhere else.
Got a day off from work and took a buddy out to Hayden to try our hand at for kokanee. Launched early @4:15 and was surprised we were even close to the first ones out on the water. I had only fished this lake once before but I caught the biggest koke of my fishing career @ 16" so I wanted to try again. We spent a lot of the morning searching for schools and fighting some pretty stong winds. We were running 3 rods and 2 downriggers @ 45' 55' & 70'. Marked some good groups of fish deep and that is where we picked up most of the fish between 60-75'. Average fish size was 17 1/2 with 1 12" picked up on the way back to the launch. Lost probably 6 - 8 fish at the boat and threw some smaller ones back thinking we could limit out on big ones. (Before we realized it was 15 fish a person) It was a great day for both of us to consistently catch 1#+ kokanee sine he normally fishes Pend O' for small kokes and I amd used too Lake Merwin kokes over on the westside. The kokanee limits seems excessive for the quality of fish in the lake. I hope it continues to produce quality. Dodger and hoochie in pink was the best producer, but also caught them on a modified clear/orange apex and a white kokanee fly did well.

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