Strawberry Kokanee

[trueblue2]

Grandson (17) came down from Boise to go fishing with me for a few days. Went to Strawberry Friday to see what we could find. Have not had much success with the Kokanee on that lake, but we decided to give it a try. Got on water about 9:00a which is late for us and headed out to the middle of Strawberry Bay. Dropped the lines on the downriggers and BANG! A 19" Koke. For the next hour we kept getting good hits, but loosing the fish before we could see then. Wind got bad so headed back into narrows. Lots of other boats back there hiding from the wind, too.

Not much going on except for lots of small bows and cuts on jet divers, so decided to try Soldier Bay hoping the wind might not be so bad there. Back in with two down riggers and one 30' jet diver (with release). Set down riggers at 30 and 35' staggered behind boat. One cut after another, most 18 to 22". Finally picked up a faint sonar hit down about 55'. Turned up gain a little for a better look. Was really curious because surface temp was 56 deg and didn't expect anything that deep when waves were so high.

To make a long story short, they were Kokanee and lots of them. Decided to use a favorite flaming Gorge rig and dropped the riggers to 50 and 55'. Spent rest of day till 5:30p catching Kokanee and a few nice cuts. Kept our limit of Kokanee and released all cuts. Jokes were all between 17 & 19". Would like to include pics, but not sure how to get them from my computer to this iPad.

Anyway this was first time to limit on Kokes at the berry. Grandson was most happy as was Grandpa. A very good day indeed! trueblue
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[ReelMasta]

Wow very nice trip... love those kids, and the kokes.
You don't hear too many stories of successful Berry flavored kokanee. When you say favorite Flaming Gorge tackle, are you using dodgers and squid?
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[trueblue2]

Yes, but I use the 9"flasher instead of a dodger. Try a short 14" leader to the squid ... It gives it more action. I like the silver with lavender strip flasher, but other colors could do as well. I just didn't try any other colors. Good luck if you go.
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[ReelMasta]

Thanks, we use the 5.5" RMT dodgers. Last year I switched to using Serpent Spoons up at the Gorge followed 10-12" back. Those dang squid are too much pain the but for me. Trying to retie them exactly like the factory is very difficult. I guess just toss them after a few fish is an option. So just use spoons instead. We do just as well and way easier to tie up.
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[trueblue2]

I tie my own squids using 25# fluro and larger hooks. Much cheaper to buy squids in bulk than the already tied. I also use Christensen's spinners and my own special spinners for the Kokes. Use to use spoons but don't much any more.
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[TheScout]

Are you still running that trophy that's in your avatar?
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[trueblue2]

I still have the same Trophy, but I added a new T Top from Atlantic Towers, so it looks a little different. Love the boat and love the TTop!

My favorite waters are Starvation, the Gorge, Strawberry, Powell and Columbia River at Buoy 10.

Please say hello if you see the boat .... Trueblue2
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[TheScout]

Those trophys are SWEET! My dad runs a 2302 wa and we love it too! He would really love a hard top but also talks a lot about adding the t top. We are going to be at strawberry a lot this summer and we always like to make it to the gorge. I'll keep my eyes open and say hi for sure! I'd love to talk to you about your hand tied squid rigs...we also make some of our own but I'm curious why you don't run spoons anymore?
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[trueblue2]

I do run spoons occasionaly, but for last several years the squids & spinners really out produce. At first we used just the pink/white squid, but now there is a UV pink/orange/yellow that is super hot!!! I've picked up some walleye on this one @ Starvation.

The serpent spoons work better for the laker pups for us at the Gorge. Seems like the lure of choice changes each year.

How have you done at the Gorge this year? Except for bows it's been a little slow for us.

On the Trophy, ours is the 2002WA, 21'7". Bought it at the boat show in 2007 and there was a 2302 beside it that someone bought just before we got there. Like the 2302 very much. The extra 2' makes a difference, but at the time I didn't have the HP to pull one. We travel a lot and take the boat nearly everywhere we go. Heading to Flathead in Montana in a couple of weeks. Getting excited.

My spinners aren't exciting, but they work. Will be glad to share the design with you. Trueblue2
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[Lunkers]

Thanks for the update and the tips
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Awesome, sounds like you nailed it!
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[pookiebar]

What size squids do you use?
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[trueblue2]

Thanks, it was a great day made more special because my grandson was there. I just went back to the original post and added some pictures of my grandson with the fish at the Strawberry cleaning station.

As a side note, we went back out Tuesday and nada!! Same place, same lures, same depth, same speed ... no Kokes. When we caught the limit last Friday there was high wind and we really got tossed around. Wondering if the extra up and down gave some enticement to the Kokes???
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[trueblue2]

I use the smaller squids in 1 1/2 or 2" sizes. If you can get glow or UV, they produce much better. Trick is to use a short leader behind a flasher so the squids have lots of action. Kokanee scent is essential.

Just so you know, I went back out 3 days later and struck out on the Kokanee. Got 30 or 40 Cuts, but couldn't buy a Koke.

Good luck
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[pookiebar]

That sounds about right. The schools will move around a lot and with a lake the size of Strawberry finding them consistenty gets difficult. The best way would be if you had a lot of time, like an entire summer, you could make a list of target areas. I am sure there are guys that have done that but I don't have time like that now.

But that is what I did as a guide in AK. There you had an entire 50 mile straight to search, but we had about about a dozen areas we knew the baitfish and therefore salmon could get congregated. We would just spread out and in the morning and let one another know what we were finding. Once someone found the school it turned into a commute on I-15. []
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