My youngest son called on Thursday evening to let me know that he had Friday off work, "Did I want to go fishing?" "Of course!", said I. And so we did! Took awhile to get the boat in order and get the gear together, but headed out for Lake Stevens to do some Kokanee fishing. Arrived at the lake about 9:30 AM, overcast day, temp at outset was 63 degrees. Launched at the city boat launch and went straight out from the cove, began fishing in 100' to 150' of water. Marking a lot of fish near the surface, but began fishing at 35' off one 'rigger, 45' off the other. Silver Les Davis flasher w/ pink beads and smile blade on one rig, red & silver sling blade w/ pink hootchie on the other, both tipped with white shoepeg corn w/ bloody tuna cure. Had a few rain showers, but mostly stayed dry. Water temp on the Garmin was 74 degrees.
It has been about forty years since I last fished for Kokanee. My father-in-law and I fished many of the NW lakes for them back in the late 60's and early 70's, before it became an "in thing" to do. Used to fish long lines with leaded lines and 3oz. or 4oz. banana weights. Used to tie my own wedding ring leaders, with what we called the American Lake fly... a hook wrapped in fl. red wool. Always fished with maggots... the real ones... wiggly and tough to hook. Was introduced to Kokanee fishing by former owners of Bill's Boathouse on American Lake, Bert and Mary Thomas... Bert was a close, personal friend of my father-in-law. I moved south in the mid 70's and became primarily a fly-fisherman. My father-in-law passed away in 1981, and I just never went back to the Kokanee, although I dearly loved fishing for them. Now, recently retired and having invested in a boat with downriggers and a fish finder, I am all in... and Stevens will be my "Home turf"! Last time I was on Stevens was 1972... my father-in-law fell out of the boat trying to land a Kokanee and nearly swamped the boat in his panic to get back in... aw, great memories!
Back to the present... Wes and I began trolling in a large oval, staying in the deeper waters. Didn't take too long for our first action, a Rainbow of about 9"... then another, each on a different rod. About 10:30, had a good hit and landed a 10" Koke on the pink smile blade. Then more Rainbows, then about 1:00 a really decent hit and reeled in a 12" Koke hen. Landed two small Kokes, obviously next year's fish and released them unharmed. Caught a total of eight small Rainbows and released them all. All fish we caught were at the 45' depth, though we tried various depths from 25' down to 80'. Left the lake about 2:30 so Wes could get home to get ready for work the next day. All the fish were infested with copepods, clinging to every fin and particularly heavy on the gills. Saw a lot of Kokanee splashing on the surface, probably trying to dislodge their unwelcome parasites. Of the two Kokes we kept, one (the smaller) was a buck, the other a hen. Judging from the size of the egg skeins, spawning is a long way off. Should be some good fishing later in September to October.
Spoke with several fishermen on the lake and at the launch, was told by them that Kokanee fishing has been dead for several weeks, so feeling pretty good about our first time out, and feels great to be back in the hunt for these wonderful fish! PTL!

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