Northwest Fishing Reports

Let's start a thread about your tips and tricks for Kokanee fishing. I'm not looking for your favorite lakes or anything like that but your best producing lures, dodgers, do you modify your dodgers add extra bend, down riggers, flat line, leader length, bait, scent things like that.

I will start. Lures: Wedding ring build them myself with separate beads and a willow leaf blade. Blade color silver or brass depending on the sun light conditions. Bead color chartreuse, red second two hook set up with 24" to 30" leader.
Dodgers: Classic style with no modification color 50/50 hammered gold and silver next 50/50 brass and chrome.
All most always fish off a down rigger.
I use a lot of different scents but Dick Nite Kokanee is my go to but nothing beats a good swipe of Kokanee slime on your dodger try it. I scent my dodger not my bait or lure that way it is easy to wipe off your dodger and change the scent you are using.
Bait: Shoe Peg Corn Green Giant brand. I will open a can and divide it in to day use baggies and freeze what I'm not going to use that day. Also use Gulp Maggots in pink and naturel. Most of the time I bait just the top hook but some days when you are getting drive bys or you see fish on the finder but don't get bit try baiting both hooks.
There you go fishing bears secrets for fishing for Kokanee. Next?

PS I started this on GF so it will be a contest on how many chime in. I will let you know.

rotate terminal gear every 30 minutes until you find what the fish want.

fish one side of the boat with small pieces of shrimp for bait, and the other side with a different bait, or no bait save for corn. Again, experiment to find what the fish want. That includes one line with a thin blade spoon which sometimes will save the day when other gear isn't working.

Not sure what these fish want some days will drive you crazy, using shoe peg corn Jolly Green Giant can be found at Walmart and Fred Meyers buy a few cans. I also run just corn and add scent later if no bites. The type of the blade on my wedding rings can change day to day and from smooth to hammered. I prefer hammered the fish seem to like it. Leader length from 8-15" has worked well.

Maggots in pink and natural as well here, have not tried shrimp yet...hmm. Seps dodger and sling blades here color varies by cloud cover, bending the sling blade will help the action.

Main thing is to change up your speed, if your marking fish but not getting bites and you are seeing other boats with there nets out. That simple turn or speed up and slow down might get it done. Most of all have fun and keep a trying never give up as that pole may start dancing at any moment!!

Picked up a couple of cans of shoepeg last week and haven't even moved them off my desk, so their presence is a constant reminder of great times to come.
Am going to experiment a bit with one can - and sprinkle some Pautzkes Fire Cure over it and let it sit in the fridge for a day or so in a zip bag. I have a couple of colors, but will probably use Orange. Will likely divvy it up (assuming it turns out as hoped for) into small zips and freeze for future use. Will do the same with the other can of untouched shoepeg, so that I have a small zip of each to take each trip. Will also have various oil scents on hand to experiment while fishing.
Am looking forward to hitting American Lake this spring, along with Clear near Eatonville and the first rain free weekday morning that comes along will put me on the water. Also intend to hit Riffe a bit later in the spring for some of those 20"+ silvers
Enough cannot be said for having a smorgasbord of offerings - from bait to dodgers to terminal gear, though often times the minute you think you've figured them out, they change their minds about what is appealing.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is electronics. Use them if you have them. Find the fish, find the thermocline, use the electronics to monitor your speed, changing up every 15 minutes or so until you've hit the proper gait. Bows usually will hit best between .9 - 1.5 mph whereas kokanee like it faster; 1.5 to 2.2
onmygame

Onmygame, that fire cure is powerful stuff you will find a little goes a long long way. I have never froze corn always kept it in the fridge for 1-2 weeks max once I add anything to it, might have to try that. I put the whole can into a glass container and take what I need for a few small bags and run that for a week or so sometimes only last a few days this allows the fresh corn to remain in its juices till I use it. I find this will last a month or so. Great ideas and learning some new things along the way.

I wonder, I have the same issue of not needing near as much of the corn and I hate to waste it. So it doesn't freezer burn or lose firmness?

The glass jar gave me an idea - take a bundle of paper, light it and put it in the glass jar, then close up the lid. The flame will burn up all the oxygen and should allow the corn to stay fresher in the jar. I've done this with eggs, seems like it would work for corn.

Contact with air will cause freezer burn, and frost free freezers expedite the process. Burping the air out of the zip bag should eliminate the burn issue.
As to retaining firmness, am in hopes the Fire Cure will toughen the kernels in addition to coloring and scenting them, though the suggestion of simply refrigerating it makes sense.
I hope to get out at least a half day per week - and suspect no matter the bite, the season will end before the pile of corn does.
Its easy and inexpensive to replace, so if the quality of the bait appears to be compromised in any way, shape or form..I'll just replace it with a fresh batch.
onmygame

Use a small foodsaver canister for your corn.

Great idea on the canister, I just got a food saver a few months ago and tried a bag for my corn and hit the seal button just prior to sucking the juice out it does well and leaves no air, down side wait to long and you loose juice. I found that the juice plays a great part in my mix.

I think the flame would work as well on the glass canning jars and I have a few of the small ones that I can utilize...hmmmm. Maybe roasted corn will entice the bite?

The Fire Corn will toughen them up just play with the amount. One thing I don't mix them the day before like some guys, I just take what I need a hour or so before I go unless there some in the fridge from prior fishing.

I know that this is a little bit off topic from this thread, but would corn be good for still fishing for kokanne

Toni wrote:I have used salt to toughen the corn up. Lots. Also keeps it much longer.
Corn can work for still fishing just not in the chum.

Rock salt Toni?

I like the sea salt myself and got that tip from Toni a couple of years ago and have never stopped using it, I have tried the killer korn but did not like the way it came out YMMV. CJ, Toni and Mike did a video on still fishing at Clear lake it's on youtube or check the video section above.

Will have to try the salted corn, also just bought fire corn to try this year. My best luck has come from marinating in tuna juice from a "tuna in water" can.

My hottest lure last year was a diy wedding ring with tiny clear glass "seed beads" and small willow blade.

To my surprise, my homemade "blade" dodger kicked butt last year. I photo copied a store bought dodger blade and stenciled it onto some much thicker brass sheet. The thicker heavier spoon blade made a much wider slower arch in the water, throwing my lure at least twice as far left to right. I made 3 more this winter.

nice, I appreciate do it yourself gear! Care to share a picture? (I understand if "no")

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What I do wrong?

here is my list of my things I do while kokanee fishing,

*Pick out random lure and dodger from box, probably something thats never seen the water before
*Put corn on the hooks that has not been cured and apply some random scent before it hits the water.
*Attach the rest of the sets ups that have worked before and apply scent I know works.
*Reel in fish all day on the weird setup that never has been fished.

ALWAYS TRY NEW THINGS.

Also boat control is important. I dont do a lot of turn but I am constantly changing speed.

And keep your bait cold.

In regards to saving your corn, use Vodka! It toughens it up and the alcohol preserves scent free. I recently used corn from this summer and it was fine. I also like to add a lil krill, krill powder and anise. Another tip, anchor corn with a maggot, live or fake (Berkelys), it will keep bait on the hook in case kokes nibble it off but not get hooked.