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Todays trip I targeted Kokanee. My goal was to see if I could actually catch a limit of Kokanee and avoid catching the trout. I found kokanee early and had 2 in the boat with no trout. Thought it might go well, but the difference between where the trout and kokanee are hanging is only about 6 feet. Trout were at 20 and kokanee were at 26. In all probability some of the fish at 20' were kokanee but to achieve the goal you could not target them. 2nd pole was not used. I ended up catching 4 kokanee of keeping size (3 inters will not be counted) and 4 trout. 3 of the trout were caught while deploying the down rigger. I could not put in my set back and get the flasher/scent spinner to 30 feet before I had a trout. IMHO the "bait rule" is stupid for people who are trolling. I get it when still fishing and you want to discourage people from gut hooking and sorting looking for bigger fish. But when you are trolling fish do not swallow the hook any more than the fly fishermen who are trolling flies behind their pontoons. The three trout were released unharmed and I kept on e at the end (caught at 30 feet) to round out the meal. Got blown off the water or I would have finished my kokanee limit before I headed home. If you want a quick limit of trout pull a flasher and an NTO Scent Spinner at 15 feet. You won't be able to make 3 trips around the lake.

Combo that produced today was the gold Arrowflash flasher and a black kokanee sized scent spinner combined with orange beads. Scent was Procure Bloody Tuna and Garlic and of course shoepeg corn. Seahawk combo instantly caught the trout (2 of the three that were caught while deploying). Had to switch it out quick.

Here is the video of the day.

2outside

5/28/2019 1:19:54 PM

Thx. Nice report but rules are rules as I’ve learned

Widgeonmangh

5/28/2019 1:28:51 PM

Are rules that are ignored by most still rules? Curious what they accomplish? Difficult to imagine a rule that is more often ignored.

hewesfisher

5/29/2019 6:12:32 AM

The trout bait rule was implemented for the very reason you indicate (got that straight from WDFW some years ago), and eliminating that rule was defeated by comments from anglers during last regs update go round. Problem was WDFW wanted to eliminate the rule entirely not just restrict to still fishing. I've never "gut hooked" a trout while trolling, and while I agree with you, it's still the "law" and is still routinely ignored by anglers trolling - I see it all the time when fishing Roosevelt. :-/

Widgeonmangh

5/29/2019 6:19:22 AM

Yep it is the law, and yep it is routinely ignored by anglers trolling everywhere. Hopefully they will improve it in the future.

MoonValley

6/11/2019 11:26:32 AM

On my favorite fishery, I've trolled a mix of flies and bait at different times. I've found that some of the trout do tend to suck the hook well down into their guts. Because of that, I've switched away from using bait on that fishery unless I'm specifically out to fill the frying pan. On the whole, I prefer using flies as it extends my day, and leaves open the possibility of catching larger fish.

Like you, I routinely see that rule ignored, or outright flaunted. I talked to two guys who had motored down the lake and set up on someone else's doc - without permission -- and were slamming the trout with Power Bait. When I asked how many they'd caught, they said "over a hundred". I believe that number was somewhat alcohol-enhanced as these guys were working their way through a case of beer, but in any event they were way over the line. When I mentioned the rule, they told me they had "a special exception" and essentially encouraged me to mind my own business.

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