Idaho Kokanee

[KokaneeReaper]

I was wondering if any one had some good areas to chase some koke's in idaho i have heard a few things about anderson ranch and was hopeing to here some first hand reports on the area or some diferent lakes a little closer to malad. thanks for the help
[signature]

[BrianID]

I couldn't tell you too much about the west side of the state. Maybe kodiak or someone else that knows that area will give you a little more info. If you search through some old posts you will find a little info about kokanee in SW Idaho.

As you may already know there are a few kokanee in Devil Creek Reservoir. I'm not aware of any other reservoirs close to Malad that currently have kokanee.

Montpelier, Ririe, Mackay and Island Park are Eastern Idaho kokanee reservoirs that come to my mind. I've also caught kokanee out of Ashton and Palies Reservoir. There might be one or two other reservoirs in Eastern Idaho that currently have kokanee but I can't think of any at the moment.
[signature]

[JoyRide]

If you wanted to do Montpelier Res I could probably hook up with you. The Kokes aren't that big, probably 12 to 14 inches, as they were planted in 2004 and 2005.
[signature]

[Aluma165]

Kodiak: Good thread. I'm focusing on trolling LP and Arrowrock as well this year since they are so close and I'm now set up with a boat. Haven't previously except for trout and an occasional koke off the bank. Do you use a finder to try and spot them first? I'm contemplating a downrigger and some deep trolling to see how it works out. I've got an entry level Lowrance (came with the boat package) that works well at C.J., especially down to 50-75 feet or so. May upgrade that with more experience.
[signature]

[Aluma165]

Sorry, my post above. Forgot to sign in!
[signature]

[flygoddess]

Not to hi-jack the post but Aluma165, what or were did you come up with that name? I am thinkin' Alumicraft 16 1/2' boat. Stupid I know but I use to own an Alumicraft.
[signature]

[Aluma165]

Hi flygoddess, yes my boat is an Alumacraft 165 Navigator Sport with Yamaha 60 and 8 kicker purchased in October. So far it's been a great little boat that fits nicely into one side my garage. Went with the 165 (16' 7"; 90" beam) to stay on the smaller trailer. Plenty of room and power. I like the deep V and its a very stable platform. My one regret is opting for the 8 hp. Should have gotten the 4 hp. (my dealer recommended the 4 and I should have listened better) Would have been easier to handle on and off since I want to use it as a kicker and with a small cartop. The 8 is not a monster, it runs beautifully (about 70 lbs) but for me it is a bit awkward lifting on and off the boat. I'll probably switch to the 4 by summer.
Kodiak: I've seen a few positive reports from the dam area just in the last few days. I'll try there next when the weather permits. Want to throw down pop gear deeper and try a few other things. Sure like to hook up with a few kokes for the smoker but bows will do.
Question for anyone: Marking kokanee. Can you tell these guys when they are schooling such as mid-channel/deeper at certain times or water temps? I've read a couple of articles that suggest some serious koke fisherman really have it pinned down.
I marked a school of smaller fish at around 50 - 70 feet mid-channel up toward Mack's Creek as I was turning around.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

I'm no expert on the kokanee be we seem to find them between 20 and 70 ft. and for some reason we would not mark any big schools even though they must be there. We will mark single small fish in most cases but we would catch fish every time that we marked them, sometimes we would get two on at the same time. I talked to a guy that mainly goes after the kokes, be told me that just because you only mark one or two fish doesn't mean there isn't a big school below. He said it had something to do with the sonar not picking up or getting a good signal from the kokes, I think he said it had something to do their swim bladder. In my experience kokanee school over deeper water like you described and they like bright colors. I've done good with wedding ring lures that have ly blades and I always use dogers or sling blades. Every lake is different and just because you have one lake figured out doesn't mean the same things will work everywhere you fish for the kokes, at least that is my experience. I'm sure others will have different thoughts on this subject but hopefully this info will help. WH2
[signature]

[Aluma165]

Thanks, WH2. I seem to remember reading the bladder thing also regarding kokes somewhere in the past. Any experience with green v. red wedding rings? Smiley blades? Not sure what those are. I picked up a variety of wedding rings last week and a couple of different flasher setups. Going to use a flasher and wedding ring on a downrigger next trip. Thought I'd try a seps or cowbell flasher & wedding ring; tip with worms, corn, marshmallows, etc. I'm sure it will take experience on this lake and also trolling for them. I'm short on both! Occasionally caught a koke or two with a string of bows off the bank.
Catching 19 - 20" bows at C.J. Strike last fall seemed easy compared to this; marked them and flatlined rapalas. Couldn't miss. If we were marking fish they were hitting.
[signature]

[flygoddess]

Thanks Aluma. I loved ours also and my little Nissan 4 banger could pull it easy. Had a 25 four stroke Merc. Alas we sold it and got two 11 1/2' pontoons (basically cause my husband and i go in different directions-I go where the fish are and he.... well enought[]) Miss that motor though on larger waters. Thinking now about a porta boat.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

If I had a choice, green would be the color but like I said every lake is different. I have all the colors and red can work at times. There are at least two types of blades that are used with the wedding rings, the ly blade are the type that have two blades that turn on the lure instead of the single blade that is used on a lot of the wedding ring lures. If you haven't seen them, I will take a picture of one of mine and post them for you to see the difference. I guess corn is legal in Idaho? I've read a lot of info about white corn working good and I've used worms with some success but usually just a bare hook. The Double Whammy wedding ring is also worth trying. I've fished CJ Strike for sturgeon a few years ago but have never tried fishing for trout there, were you fishing by the dam? WH2
[signature]

[JoyRide]

Mack's Smiley Blade Lures

[url "http://www.mackslure.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=kokanee_pro"]http://www.mackslure.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=kokanee_pro[/url]

Look around the site and you will see several uses for these blades.
[signature]

[Aluma165]

Thanks for all your responses. Dang, I am ready to go! Regarding C.J. we trolled down toward the dam. We marked fish all along both sides and when we were marking fish they were hitting.
I have a couple of the wedding rings with two blades so I'll experiment around with all and different colors. I'll look for shoepeg corn in the next couple of days. With the crazy weather here right now (changes hour to hour) but Monday's forecast is good and Sunday looks pretty decent too. I'll be out one or both days if not before! This afternoon would've been great but being a hockey fanatic I can't miss the Idaho Steelheads tonite in their game with Stockon. We beat them last night but Stockton came back strong and really went down swinging by two goals. Tonite's a whole new game and promises to be a fight to the end.
[signature]

[hlfmoon]

Island Park resev. used to have a good popultion of kokanee. I have not fished it scinse the last draw down. So I am not sure about now
[signature]