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Fourth and final day of fishing at Hayden for this round (sniffle). I had been riding pretty high off my limited out day so I slept in again and shot for the 10:00 bite (It was also forecast to snow/rain with 35 degree temps). Same thing as the previous day- headed to the sweet spot, lines dropped, trolled into position and fish on! Consistent bite until 2:00 when I tucked my tail and ran from the rain. This excludes a 20-30 minute period with pounding rain and 20 mph winds, white caps, could barely move my hands or keep a straight troll line. I would of left then, but I saw a break in the distance.

Two things that have seemed to pay off for me are thinking about the wind and water temps. The wind had been blowing with the storm system out of the SW. To me this seemed to move the plankton (KOKANEE FOOD) to the east shoreline/west facing points and bays. I hit these areas hard doing the same thing for three days and hooked many fish. The flats/bays I've been fishing also seem to warm up quicker, which should increase productivity and fish activity. When the bays were cold from rain the fish moved out to the warmer open water. Just my two cents, but thinking about this stuff may help you some time!

My success rate absolutely tanked Sunday, so I had to give it a 4. This is based more on my angling abilities than fish cooperation. I ended up around 8/22, with 6 kept and two fish in the 10 inch range released ( leaving some for the rest of you :D). Should have been at least 10 landed, which would put me in the .500 batting range but still... I want to increase my fish landed to fish hooked ratio. Last year during my first season of kokanee fishing I didn't lose a single fish (spoiled!).

These may just be excuses, but here are some thoughts on fish lost and things I've been tweaking with. I got some actual kokanee rods thinking this might help as I lost several fish my first catching day right at the top. I was thinking my medium rods were too stout and I needed something lighter that wouldn't pull them to the surface... har har, some of these kokanee cannot be prevented from hitting your gear and running straight to the top. Those fish almost give me a heart attack!

The lighter rods seem to prevent this somewhat, but are harder to pull from the rigger clips, and almost seem to have too much play. I am getting more used to them, but think I lost some fish in the process. They are, however, very nice for reading action and bites and if the fish really pull the bend is awesome. With the rigger clips, I've been letting the rod sit a little to make sure the fish is there because I've lost a couple grabbing too soon... maybe I need to grab sooner anyway to increase hook sets? Not sure, need to find a happy medium there.

I've been tweaking with my net handle length, first I added length to it and it was too long and unmanageable solo. Then I took it down to the original length and it was too short for the light rods I bought... lost two fish I definitely should have netted Sunday because I couldn't reach them, they were literally about 1 inch from the net rim. Watching a fish swim away through the net mesh is rough! Its hard to find the right handle length, especially with a lighter rod, but I will say longer is better. Kokanee do not like the boat!

Along with the netting fiiasco, I have learned some other things about kokanee. I lost some fish pretty far out/soon after clip release. I would feel them tugging away, slowly reel, feel one firm head shake, and then nothing. If I feel this now I freespool my reel and let the fish run. This is a great technique and I got more fish up to the boat this way at least. Kokanee are light and easy to bring in, but finesse seems to be the way to land more fish.

With my medium rods I had been trying to get the fish in as quickly as possible by pulling them to the boat and getting the net under them. Many fish I've landed are thrashing around... this is not good. For my own sense of peace, when a fish does this next time I will put my rod tip down and hope for the best with finesse letting the fish swim and run. Like I said, kokes don't like the boat! Some I had on would be calm until about 20 feet out then start the trashing and/or running, some I landed even ran straight under the boat. Oh what fun!

Well, thats enough rambling, if you're still with me thanks for reading and see you all in Chelan!

Tight Lines.

walleygator77

4/30/2014 7:50:00 AM

Nice Catch of KOKES and report but no details, would you care to share?

ncwflounderer

4/30/2014 8:02:00 AM

To fix your netting problem, try ditching the net unless its the larger fish, just hoist the fish in to the boat the first chance you get. It works.

downriggeral

4/30/2014 9:30:00 AM

Fishman_Kuzan Sounds like you are by yourself? landing big feisty kokes can be a challenge! I flip smaller ones in the boat (over the back by the motor, they may fall in the motor well if they come off (and then jump back in the lake). I don't like my kokanee rods too long. I have a 7' and a 7' 6". I discovered Chamberlain releases and really like them. You can adjust the rod tension and release tension separately; this helps a lot. Smooth reels with lite drags are a must and I am a fan of braided line although you will get a lot of discussion on that one.

Any info on terminal tackle is appreciated; even generalized helps. See you at Chelan this weekend; it's going to be a blast...and the weather report WOW! - Alan

downriggeral

4/30/2014 9:32:00 AM

PS Looks like you did give the tackle general details in the top....it's all an experiment from there!!
Tight lines - Alan

Mike Carey

4/30/2014 12:19:00 PM

I'm inspired to add Hayden to my bucket list. Need to talk at Chelan... btw, you mention hook sets. My recommendation is don't set the hook after releasing from the DR. The fish is either hooked or not. You'll just yang out the hook jerking the rod back.

Fishman_Kuzan

4/30/2014 1:10:00 PM

Walleyegator and Al- any info you want just PM me, I don't mind sharing just not specifics to the world wide web in my reports.

I'd like to see the flipping done before I give it a shot... what do you consider a big fish? Many of these are 14 or above.

Mike, you definitely should fish it. Its gorgeous like CDA, which you beat me to fish! I was thinking about taking a break from the kokes for their bigger cousins this trip. By hook set I guess I meant the extra tension provided by clip release, I definitely don't jerk the rod otherwise. There is discussions on where to set the line in the clip and if deep or shallow provides better hook ratios.

Will talk to you all in Chelan!

walleygator77

5/1/2014 11:47:00 AM

Fishman-Kuzan I think PM stands for Personal Message and I am not to High Tech but how would I do that? And as far as Kokanee getting off before you can get a net underneath them, I drastically reduced the # of Kokanee getting off by doing two things 1) Using Bigger Hooks like #2 or #1 and even having a #4 treble as a trailer or stinger and 2) Extending my net by adding a 7foot extension. But you and I know that Kokanee just get off no matter if you are doing everything right and have all the right size gear on, it's just one of those things you just shake your head at and get your stuff back down as fast as possible, I am heading to Hayden Tomorrow 5/2/14 early.

Fishman_Kuzan

5/1/2014 6:03:00 PM

Walley- PM is indeed private message. I've sent you one with info on how I fish Hayden. When you log in and it directs you to your opening form page, there is a tab near the top that will show your message inbox. To send a PM you click on the username you want to send the message to, and then on the users profile there is a tab for sending a private message. A bit jealous you are going to get to fish Hayden with nice weather, have fun!

d_sinsley

5/1/2014 7:09:00 PM

Hey, been following these reports. I have fished kokes for years now. Last year we enjoyed our first Hayden kokes. Went once this year but only caught one. Anyway, I don't know if you know this or not so forgive me if I am stating the obvious but do you use snubbers? A long while ago we used rubber bands between our flashers and the leader to our wedding rings. Now we have switched to elastic snubbers or surgical tubing. I haven't used them on dodgers but I believe the results would be the same. At any rate it cushions the shock on the paper mouths of kokes. Our catch rate increased tremendously. If your not using snubbers I would recommend giving it a shot. And as for hoisting fish there is a bit of a trick. you have to get rod tip low then in a smooth fluid motion you hoist not jerk the fish out of the water. Its like a catapult and even if they come off the momentum usually puts them n the boat.

IdahoJoe

5/9/2014 8:41:00 AM

Thanks for the report. Hayden has been tough for me and I dont know why. Ive trolled along the shorlines from Windy Bay to O'Rourke bay. My set up is simple and Ive always limited out on wolf lodge with it so maby you can help. I run one manual downrigger with a 000 U.V. dodger followed by a wedding ring or kokonut tipped with either a maggot or shoe peg corn that I add scent to. I also run a flatline with a 40 foot jet diver in front of a lake troll and wedding ring and this has caught all my fish. Any tips on color of dodgers/flashers and wedding rings etc... would be appreciated.

Fish Dawg

6/17/2014 9:34:00 PM

Love my Frabill extendable handle coated/knotless net (especially when I'm fishing alone). Can use it at the regular length or extend the handle depending upon circumstances and it's compliant for areas that require knotless due to release regs.

Tight Lines and thanks for the report!

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