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I need some advice, if anyone is willing to humor my silly idea.
Let's say I'm dumb enough to try and fish for kokes at the Berry, from my tube. (Okay, I am dumb enough and have half-tried a couple of times in the past.)
I realize that the latest reports suggest that the kokanee bite has slowed a bit, but if I strike out, there's still a good chance of hooking up with some cutthroat at the 30-50ft depths.
Having no electronics, riggers, or very much kokanee tackle (or knowledge), I'm left with slow trolling and vertical jigging.
If I use a heavy inline barrel sinker a couple of feet above the dodger to get it down, am I going to ruin the action? Would I be better off vertical jigging with brightly colored spoons?
If slow trolling (kicking speed), how far behind the dodger should I rig my lure?
If jigging, I plan on getting into an area where schools might be more likely to pass through, hopefully keeping busy with cutts between schools.
Any specific spoons I should use? Any thoughts?
Any info is appreciated. In the end, I could get a wild hair and keep driving, or even head to an entirely different region, but at this time, I'm pretty set on Strawberry. It's been too long since I've eaten fresh salmon.
Thanks in advance.
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It seems, at least locally, the most popular lure used to jig for them are Buzz Bombs. They are quite heavy by themselves and you shouldn't need any other weight.
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I have a hair that's almost equally as wild: I'm going to try for koke from my kayak. Next year, probably.
My plan is to use a "downrigger" consisting of a two-pound weight on heavy braided line, with a clip release. I'll just lower it by hand and tie it off to a cleat.
Having watched some TwoYube videos, I'll be using a flasher with a 12" leader and some sort of squid or light spoon, and a Gulp maggot, that rig set about 25 feet behind my downrigger weight. As my kayak has zero motor noise, that should be far enough to not spook fish.
Trolling speed for kokes seems to be anywhere from 0.5 to 2.0 mph - which is perfect for my 'yak.
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I put a down payment down on a koke slaying machine! So you'll have to join for some real koke fishing instead of playing around with a tube 
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I had the same idea on my toon although I have a trolling motor. I tried it with a dodger followed by a pink squid and only caught trout. Not sure of my exact depth but it was fun to have it out while I played with the fly rod.
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What I might do if I was craving kokes, but had only the tube as you do, would be to try for them in another lake besides Strawberry. There are 2 that I know of that may work for that. The other problem is that you are running out of time as the spawning run is not terribly far away.
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No, the barrel swivel won't hurt you at all, many kokes have been caught with needle fish and other small spoons. The suggested 12 in. is a good place to start, for spoons a little closer for squids(8-10in.) As for speed... 1.2 to 1.8 depending on the day. I am not sure what speed you can maintain. Without electronics it will be a uphill battle, but not impossible. You would have a better chance earlier in the year when they are not as deep. Hope you catch some!!
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I would grab yourself a 3 way swivel and clip on as many big weights as you need to reach your running depth. I've seen other people do that for lake trout and sure it would work with a dodger/squid set up... here's a video that will show you. at the 1:15 to 2:30 mark he shows you the setup. .
https://youtu.be/nUWFP2Z3ZXc
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Thank you, I appreciate the responses.
1. Strawberry because I really love BL cutts as well, plus the kokes and rainbows get massive.
2. I've set a goal and I need to at least give it my best effort. If I blank, I blank, but at least I tried.
I'll be there tomorrow. If you see a weirdo in a Fish Cat 4 where he shouldn't be, feel free to buzz me and say howdy.
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I'm planning an early morning trip myself. I'll be on my blue and grey toon. Probably on the SC side.
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This can be arranged![cool]
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I do not know if you have a fish finder on your tube or not, but fishing for kokes over the years, I have found that has been my most important tool, (I know that sounded stupid, anytime you go fishing the fish finder is going to be your most important tool) that being said, if you can see what depth they are at, and you have a method of getting to that depth (line feet counter reels are awesome)
you have a 1/3 rd of the battle won. The other two of the triangle of suck or success, would be speed and lure selection. I have caught them, and heard of people catching them from a dead stop going to trolling speed, And I have caught them at speeds any were from 0 to 2 mph. Lure selection is another constant mystery, trial and error situation, but I would start with squids (uv pink or Orange) 8" behind a dodger/sling blade etc... You will enhance your success if you tip it with a power bait maggot soaked in liberal amounts of Mikes shrimp scent (Thanks Gale (Packfan) for that tip it works wonders).
Now here is my Disclaimer for Strawberry,
I loath that body of water, I have caught countless amounts of Kokes at the Gorge and porcupine using the above techniques, And the numerous times I have targeted Kokes over the years at Strawberry, and only to be successful a few times. If they gave me a truck load of millions of pounds of dynamite, and choice between blowing up Strawberry Resevoir or ISIS, lets just say it would be a hard decision.[frown]
My suggestion is pick another lake with Kokes.
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They will be showing up in the shallows along the dam any day now. This cold front might have been enough to bring them in. They will also be turning color so they may not be much for eating.
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My only depth finder is the length of my rod.[crazy]
I just dip a rod's length straight down and repeat. Phathom counter, I suppose.
Other than that, I'm running blind out there. Should be fun! Hopefully it works out.
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I've enjoyed them while they've been a little pink, so I'm fine with that. They're dead anyway, whether I catch them or not so I don't see a reason to release an edible fish.
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Why use an inLine sinker? Use a buzz bomb and jig for them, they drive the Kokes nuts and are super easy to use... A little difficult to find in UT, but for so,e reason super easy to find in CO and WA. Here is a link
http://www.buzzbombzzinger.com/buzzbomb.html
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Kochanut makes a good point on the buzz bombs. We have used pink Tazmanian Devils and jigged them like buzz bombs.
You and I and Rocky should hit the pig, and try some different things.
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Big surprise, no kokes ]
In fact, I really put myself in a spot where the fish just didn't want anything. 3 cutts on the day and one chub, plus I caught some line with a dink bow on it.
Biggest cutt was 21", smallest was about 9".
I think I kicked farther than I ever have in a day. From the Aspen Grove day use area (the free parking side), all the way to the narrows, back and forth over there about, then all over the shoreline on the way back (gave up on kokes at that point).
It stormed hard for a little while right when I got to my farthest point from my car. Didn't last too long though and I was dry when I got back.
Thanks for all the tips and to those of you that tried to talk me out of it, you were right.
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Sorry didn't see your post sooner, tried it before and it's tough to get deep enough trolling on a toon. I would have suggested jigging but without electronics it's hard to know where to try that. Next winter let me know and I'll get you on some through the ice or next May I can take you trolling in the boat. I might talk you into Porcupine or the Gorge though. Glad you tried it, it's the best way to learn. Later J
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I actually was able to get down pretty well, surprisingly enough. Had to do some math to figure out what depth I was running, but not too bad.
On a good steady kick, my line ran about 45 degrees. That told me if I wanted to run 30' down, I'd need 45ft of line out (I think).
I trolled at many depth between 20-45ft. I think my speed may have been a bit low to get the desired wobble though.
Tried squids, spoons, tubes w/chub tails, and some others. Nada. No hits at all on my trolling rig. Very .
Ah well. I tried.
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