Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service
My first try at fishing Mason Lake was one of those experiences that will definitely leave you humbled. I haven't fished for Kokanee since I was a kid in Montana where cowbells, wedding rings, and dragging a couple of five-gallon buckets was all you needed. I'd done the requisite homework of watching a number of YouTube videos to see what people are successfully using, and headed out equipped to cover several options.
The fact that there was only one other boat fishing should have probably been my first clue that the Kokanee weren't going to cooperate. I looked about as out of place as a cockroach on a cake, but didn't catch on. About ten minutes into having lines down, my 8-month old lab puppy decided to do a Greg Louganis off the transom, so knocking the kicker into neutral before she ended up in the prop was about the only excitement I had all day.
The weather was chilly and dark early due to a heavy marine layer which eventually gave way to sunshine.
I started with one flat line and one downrigger. Throughout the day I would mix that up, sometimes running two rods shallow or two on the wire. For most of the day, the sonar showed pretty steady returns of good quality between 25 and 50 feet, so I spent a fair amount of time running two lines at 30-40 feet. The sonar display showed faint lines for the one of the downrigger balls, so I knew I was dragged those lines right through the thickest of the sonar returns. I trolled at a variety of speeds, and even rigged a large drift sock to slow the troll down to 1.0-1.4mph.
Tackle-wise, I used a little of everything including wedding rings, dodgers and cowbells, Brad's Kokanee Cut Plugs w/tuna, and a variety of little Kokanee-specific baits like the Koke-a-nut and Plankton lures. Every hook was tipped with shoe peg corn. One rig got a dose of white corn "Smelly Jelly".
My total catch for the day was two fish of about 5", both on the shallow rods. One of them gave no indication he'd been hooked, and I have no idea how long I dragged that little bugger around the lake. The other one gave away his presence by creating just a brief interruption in the action on the rod tip.
I've not seen any reports for Mason Lake at all, so I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the last joker to catch on to the secret that those fish just won't come out to play.
Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service