Captain Dave's Guide Service - Captain Dave will put you on Columbia River salmon - including Summer & Fall Chinook and Sockeye, and Lake Roosevelt Kokanee and Trout. Catching fish isn't just his passion - it's his lifestyle. Call Captain Dave to start planning your trip now!
Went to Loon Lake to try jigging for kokanee at night. Fished from about 9 pm to 1 am and caught 7 kokanee, 1 tiger trout and 1 rainbow. We fished in 3 of our usually places in about 32 ft of water and all three were very slow fishing with only one spot had us marking fish on the sonar, which happens to be where we caught almost all the fish. Poor fishing could've been a result of a full moon. Very few boats out on the lake for this time a year and the boats we did see were not catching many fish either. Although the fishing was slow, most of the kokanee we did catch were around 16 inches and had to be netted! Will be trying it again Fourth of July weekend and hopefully, will have good things to post.
My fishing buddy were out there the following night. It was only my second time out for kokanee, whereas he's fished them for years. It was a full moon for us, too, but the fish didn't seem to mind. IMO, we were on their schedule and just had to wait them out. Between 9:00 and midnight we only got 2 kokes, a couple small tigers and 2 beautiful 13" crappies. Very slight takes during this period as schools came through but we couldn't hook up. At about 2:30 A.M. it started. Tons of action on the fish finder and fish that would hold long enough for some hook-ups. Being new to this I struggled, getting only 3 kokanee out of easily 30 takes, but my buddy got after them, getting a dozen by himself. Most were nicer fish like the ones in you pictured. Oh yeah, we didn't have a net either but will definitely take one next time! They go crazy at the boat!
raffensg64 Thanks for your comments. It sounds like waiting it out paid off for you guys. I'll definitely try to stay out there longer next time and either find the schools of fish or wait for the bite. I know it can be a ferocious bite once you get over a school of kokanee!
Captain Dave's Guide Service - Captain Dave will put you on Columbia River salmon - including Summer & Fall Chinook and Sockeye, and Lake Roosevelt Kokanee and Trout. Catching fish isn't just his passion - it's his lifestyle. Call Captain Dave to start planning your trip now!