Summary
Kokanee fishing can be a blast, but at times can be frustrating. The frustration comes if you are doing things wrong and do not understand the basics of Kokanee fishing. Below we will give some tips that should help you get started, or help you fine tune your Kokanee fishing.
1: Kokanee fishing is best when performed from a boat:) Kokanee can be caught from the shore but it is quite uncommon. They spend their time roving the lakes looking for Plankton or small shrimp. This food source is rarely found near the shore.
2: As mentioned above, Kokanee are gill rakers as such they roam the lake looking for plankton to sift through their system. Plankton are most plentiful in water that is 50-55 degrees. This is why people are always asking about the depth of their catch. Kokanee want to be at the depth that is that temperature. Getting there usually requires down riggers, or some kind of clip weight that can be used to troll with your lure at that depth.
3: Using the correct tackle is a MUST. Kokanee are not eating what you present to them, they are reacting to it and striking out. Tackle that gets a response and an attack out of a Kokanee is key. We like to use dodgers, and squid primarily from Rocky Mountain Tackle of Utah. We have photos of these items below:
4: Speed is critical. We troll anywhere from .5 MPH to 1.7MPH, that is very slow. We like the dodger to sway back and forth, not roll completely over. When trolling do NOT go in a straight line, make turns and serpentine movement with your boat. Often Kokanee will follow for many yards, then strike when they see something change, like speed or direction.
5: Change Change Change, if something is not working, then change the color, the depth, the speed, the dodger…change.
6: If you find fish and catch one, mark that spot and go back and back and back. Kokanee are in schools so stick to that location and fish them.
Summary:
Go get some, troll the right gear, the right area and with the right tackle. Do not go to fast and stick to a spot if you are catching them.