Went camping with some friends at Sun Lakes State Park over Labor Day weekend and decided to take my first crack at Kokanee fishing. The wife and I hit Deep Lake both Saturday and Sunday evening and had fair success hooking into the fish but miserable luck getting them into the boat.

We were marking lots of fish at 50' and also down on the bottom. It was difficult for me to get my gear down to the correct depth since I decided to leave the down riggers at home and have never really trolled without them. Our most successful setup seemed to be with a Luhr Jensen Kokanee Troll and a Brass+Orange wedding ring tipped with white power maggot. The hot spot seemed to be in the area where "6" is marked on the canyon walls.

We caught about 5 fish each day during the 2 hours we were out. I thought that was pretty decent considering I didn't really have a clue what I was doing and really had no idea what depth I was fishing.

This was also the first time I ate Kokanee and it was surprisingly good. I definitely think I will be giving Kokanee fishing another try and will hopefully be more prepared next time.

P.S. Be careful at the launch. The ramp is covered with a think layer of algae that makes it slick as ice. While I was there I watched a few people eat it and one guy almost lost his Jeep Cherokee because his 4 wheel drive wouldn't engage.

salmonbarry

9/5/2014 10:52:00 PM

Thanks for the report and I am surprised they haven't fixed that yet. I posted a report back in May where I almost lost my truck on that ramp too and had hoped the park would have sanded it or scrubbed it down better. I have always wondered what the kokanee fishing was like later in the year there as we have a ton of success with them in May but are about 9-11 inches and heard they get big. Also you are probably marking lake trout on the bottom as the locals tell me they are in there. The only tip I would give you is on your set up, trail a treble stinger as it has increased by catch ratio tremendously since I did that!

the doc

9/7/2014 5:46:00 AM

i use a kahle hook, followed by a #4 red gammi octopus, about 2" back. when fighting the fish, do not keep your rod up in the air. keep it low to the water, and perpendicular to the fish. use a very soft rod. when the fish are pulling. DO NOT REEL! when they give you slack, take it up. use a long handled net. the closer they come to the boat, the crazier they get. also, i used to use a snubber. but, with the tika koke rod, i no longer have a use for em. the hooks, that come with the wedding rings, are WEAK. LOL. some are so tiny. so. # 6 kahle, and 4 gami. you should see a good catch ratio. im going out today, to try still fishing for them. my catch ratio is not bad this year. so far, 116 in the boat.

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