I got to fish with a great group of guys, father and sons of our new lure sponsor, Reli Lures. Mike (dad) and sons Isaiah and Nathan are hardcore! They had me up and at the county boat launch at 4:30am. I’m usually the one getting other anglers to arrive earlier, so I guess turnabout is fair play. I will say, that 3:30am wake up alarm was brutal!

We put together our gear and cameras as this was a filming day for a future video on Spring Kokanee Fishing Lake Stevens. Lines in the water as daybreak arrived and we began our trolling patterns. We ran six rods today, two stacked downriggers, a lead core long-line, and a dropper rod.

Our strategy was to keep it shallow and we worked the surface down to 25 feet deep, although we did occasionally drop one rod deeper to see if the deeper fish were biting. They weren’t.

We ran a variety of dodgers and sling blades, with Reli bead/blade rigs. Isaiah told me these are made with high quality components including UV beads. I have to say, they are some of the nicest quality bead/blade rigs I have ever seen. I didn’t manage to sneak any off their boat, maybe next time!

The action came in spurts all morning with a good bite around 8am and again around 11am. The best location seemed to be the west side of the aerator but I can’t really say it was significantly better. Due to honey-do items waiting for me I had to call it a day at 11:20. We ended up with 12 kokanee in the boat and lost another six or so. Two size classes for us – 10-11” and 12-13”. Mike was telling me yesterday they lost a nice 16” fish so there is a third, larger class waiting to be caught.

If you’re looking to add some high quality bead/blades to your kokanee arsenal give Reli Lures a look. They have a special going on with free shipping on orders over $20 and all orders shipped the same day. I feel good being able to promote and endorse a small local lure manufacturer. I wouldn’t do it if the products were average. Isaiah has some great gear. Check them out!

Thanks to Mike, Isaiah, and impromptu camera man Nathan (you did a great job!) for a fun morning on the water!

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