Did Everyone Stop Fishing?

[Rokpyl]

Well, not ME!!! Went to Berry Saturday past and caught this mixed-bag limit. The King took a rolled 'chovy at 95', the Kokes took a Father Murphy Spinner Bug toplined with a setback of 150', the trout took an Apex E-chip, also toplined. Fish tacos, anyone?

By rockuscpilus at 2012-04-10

[HiTechKoke]

Looks like a good smorgasbord of activity. Looks like we are in for a good run of good weather now with 80's predicted this week. Tks for the update and pics.

Kevin

[Cariboo Brad]

I am fairly new to kokanee fishing.
When you are toplining does that mean with no weight or flasher? Any info/tips on this method would be appreciated.
I fish out of a 12ft inflatable and have no down rigger, have had some success with lead core flyline on 6weight rods going 2 to 4.5 colours to get down. Might have to add a 1oz inline weight.
Tried a little 3.5 inch plastic green/silver flasher with an echip last year and it worked alright, for this year picked up a 4.5in silver/brass gibbs dodger and a 5.5 in bluefox matrix spoon in watermelon/brass I took the hooks off. Figured to try it as it was marked down to $4.

I have been using the two smallest sized apex in green, pink, orange. Any good colours I am missing? Have used small hotshots but don't seem to be as effective. Someone told me to rig very small spin'n'glo's with red/green beads with a #6 red gamagatsu, has anyone done this successfully with a recipe for construction?
What are some good lures as well.
My lake up north (Bridge) where we have property won't have the ice clear for awhile yet, was may 16 last year and I am getting impatient.

Thanks and nice fish. 2 to 4lbers are what I am getting on Bridge lake, someone got one 6.75lbs 2 years ago.

[Rokpyl]

Wow! So many questions! Unfortunately, there isn't enough room on this site to sufficiently answer them all! If I were you and really wanted more information on fishing specifically for Kokanee, look on this site's home page and click on "Articles". There you will find articles from publications that address all the aspects of Kokanee fishing. The best one is "Catching Large Kokanee" by Phil Johnson. It gives good intel on lures, dodgers, speeds, etc. It does, however, indicate that downriggers are essential. Hogwash. I started fishing for Kokanee over 20 years ago with a friend from work, in his BASS boat!!!! I used lead weights with a setback sufficient to get my Needlefish (with NO CORN!) down to the depth they were at. We were fishing in August, so they were fairly DEEP! I usually caught several, in addition to trout, so the bottom line is that you can catch them simply by being creative and innovative. Yea, downriggers will increase your catch ratio for obvious reasons, but short of using dynamite, you can catch any fish you want simply by studying their habits and using whatever it takes to get your stuff to them. Good luck!!!
Rokpyl

[HiTechKoke]

I am fairly new to kokanee fishing.
When you are toplining does that mean with no weight or flasher? Any info/tips on this method would be appreciated.
I fish out of a 12ft inflatable and have no down rigger, have had some success with lead core flyline on 6weight rods going 2 to 4.5 colours to get down. Might have to add a 1oz inline weight.
Tried a little 3.5 inch plastic green/silver flasher with an echip last year and it worked alright, for this year picked up a 4.5in silver/brass gibbs dodger and a 5.5 in bluefox matrix spoon in watermelon/brass I took the hooks off. Figured to try it as it was marked down to $4.

I have been using the two smallest sized apex in green, pink, orange. Any good colours I am missing? Have used small hotshots but don't seem to be as effective. Someone told me to rig very small spin'n'glo's with red/green beads with a #6 red gamagatsu, has anyone done this successfully with a recipe for construction?
What are some good lures as well.
My lake up north (Bridge) where we have property won't have the ice clear for awhile yet, was may 16 last year and I am getting impatient.

Thanks and nice fish. 2 to 4lbers are what I am getting on Bridge lake, someone got one 6.75lbs 2 years ago.

This time year it is definitely toplining as the trout and kokanee are in the top 20 foot range since the water is cool. As summer comes on and the water gets to warm then they are deeper and then in late summer at some lakes we are down 80 to 130 feet for Kokanee. Trout are more flexible and the Kings are generally always deeper. Some general rules in lakes are usually trout, kokanee and Kings in their respective deeper depths but rules are always there to be broken so where the fish are biting is where you will catch them.

Apex's, spin-nglo's and the flashers all sound good. There is so much tackle out there to consider but a lot of your success is knowing how to present what you have for that day for those fish so changing up presentations can be key on a tough bite. Check out the sponsors section for some links to some of the manufacturers or go to kokaneemart.com for a good place to review Kokanee gear.

Kevin

[Cariboo Brad]

Thanks for the replies guys
tight lines!
I will post my luck on Bridge lake when the ice comes off