07-03-2024, 11:24 PM
(07-02-2024, 04:02 AM)elkantlers Wrote:(07-01-2024, 02:38 PM)BYUHunter Wrote: Sigh. Results on the end of your hook are not equivalent to biological studies.
One guy can go with the right setup, speed, depth, colors, scent, etc. and kill the Kokes, and another guy in his Bayliner will sit there convinced that there are no Kokes in the lake. Additionally, if you know anything about Koke fishing, just because they bit on a certain rig, spot, or depth last year, or even yesterday, it doesn't mean they will today.
It isn't just Kokes either. Every year, somebody bemoans the state of Otter Creek claiming that there are "no trout left", because the trout are all so stuffed from the natural feed in the lake that they do not want to eat. I had a guy filling my ear about the glory days, as I sat and watched hundred and hundreds of fish on my live scope.
Don't go spamming the DWR with complaints because you're not catching fish. Let them do their gill net study and see.
I get it. But I have fished EL for Kokanee probably as much as anyone in the last 10 years. I can see a decline.
E Antlers, Thanks for your observations. I love that lake, but usually don't get down there until fairly late in the season (usually after mid August when the fish at Jordanelle are well into red). I know that you are there often and see differences year to year. The last 3 years, Strawberry has really declined, with maybe some improvement this year over last. Has E Lake's decline coincided with the northern lakes? I fished it last year 3 or 4 times, in August and September and I was more successful than on Strawberry and the fish on Jordanelle were well into the spawn. Is it still declining? Hoping to get down there again this year at the end of the season. Thanks again for your watchful eye down there. Hopefully it will turn around - I think the northern lakes are starting to rebound.