Downrigger for Kokes...

[Photobby]

I've never targeted Kokes before. I have a down rigger on my 12' boat, how far back from the ball should I run my gear? I plan on running flashers & dodgers with spoons, squid and wedding rings.... I have fish finder, so I'm not worried about picking a depth, just not sure if the gear should be back 10' or 30' from the ball and release. Also, should I bury the line in the release, half way back or just at the tip...

Thanks guys and gals!!

Tight lines.

[natetreat]

An article for you to check out...

http://washingtonlakes.com/ReadArticle.aspx?id=99" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RiverChromeGS]

doesnt matter too very much, I am successful every time on samish for limits of kokes, and i run my gear about 20 feet behind the clip, and about half way in the clip. They wont trip the clip anyway so as long as u can get it out it doesnt matter. Good luck, the downrigger helps SO much for kokes. SOO much!@!!

[CoyoteCrazy]

I prefer using light gear, test, poles, etc.. So use a down rigger ball with and extra eyelet and run your trolling gear from the ball and then trail your lure 6 to 10 feet behing your ball. When the Koke strikes and pops your line free( use a lighter clip for kokes and trout) the only pull you will feel is the fish. You can troll with a heavy flash to draw them up but when they actually bite you can feel the fish and not your trolling gear. I use my ultra light on and have been very successful.

[hanapaa808]

I prefer using light gear, test, poles, etc.. So use a down rigger ball with and extra eyelet and run your trolling gear from the ball and then trail your lure 6 to 10 feet behing your ball. When the Koke strikes and pops your line free( use a lighter clip for kokes and trout) the only pull you will feel is the fish. You can troll with a heavy flash to draw them up but when they actually bite you can feel the fish and not your trolling gear. I use my ultra light on and have been very successful.

So are you saying you have your flasher on your dr ball then the clip? So the only thing you are reeling up is your lure?

[RiverChromeGS]

that works really well if your running a lure with its own action so you dont have to reel in a dodger or gang troll. however i run hoochies or straight corn, so i need a small dodger on my line. But if your running a spoon, wedding ring or anything like that, coyote's technique of running the attractant off the ball and the gear seperate is a great way to do things!

[The Quadfather]

photobby, what lake are you going to fish? It says that you are located up by Stanwood? You should give lake Cavanaugh a shot. The koke population is huge. If the water temp. has come up from winter, then it will turn those kokes on. From previous years, I am sure that it was game on by April. Just check the historical reports.
Don't worry about small clips, just look for a slight break in the rhythm of your rod tip while trolling. An ever so slight change. Snap it out of the clip yourself when you sense the fish, and then gentle on the retrieve. They have very soft jaws.

[Mike@Bills]

I fish Kokes on American Lake and I prefer the little scotty clips and I put the line all the way to the back and most the time the fish will pull the line out of the clip. I do 28 pulls the hook into the clip.

[Toni]

I fish American and last year I would do about 30-40 pulls out of the reel for 15 feet and below. I use small clips and put them toward the back of the clip. My friend used their salmon (Scotty larger than mine) clips and he set them at the light setting, they worked fine.
This year we are putting the line further back from the ball. I use dodgers or I might try a Dee's flasher.

If you can't jerk it out of the clip it is too tight. If it releases before you get your ball down or with a slight tug you might want to set it further back in the clip. This, you will have to experiment with to find what is good for your rig.

[TomD]

Okay, Gang... I'd like to probe a bit further if I may...

I have a Black Box on my boat, and it's really a salmon boat that I also use for kokes. In years past, I have had good success with a string of blades attached to the downrigger ball, then the lure about 5-7 feet up the cable, 6 pulls out from the clip, just behind the end of the attractor below. The logic was that the Black Box is more effective when the gear is closer to the cable and sockeye and kokanee weren't downrigger shy. If I'm not worried about the bottom or in clear water like Chelan, I'll run the ball (12 or 15 lbers) down 20 feet before attaching anything to the cable, just to get them down away from everything.

In the last couple of years, I am finding that it is more effective if I omit the string of blades and just run a dodger/flasher/maclite and the lure, either at the ball or stacked 5-7 feet up as before.

I've seen one post in this thread about using an attractor on the downrigger ball... how may other folks do the same for kokanee?

[The Quadfather]

I fish Kokanee a lot and always with a downrigger. To me you are putting way too much gear and thought into the proccess. You are prob. on electric riggers, so maybe the ball doesn't matter.. but I say go with a 6lb ball. If you are fishing that high in the water colum, no need to get a bicep workout with 15lb balls.
I don't use any long stringers of pop gear/blades. I just go with the smaller Sepps or Rocky Mountain flasher/dodgers etc. follow that with about 12-18" of 6lb mono, attached to any of the various Kokanee spinners, "Kokanee Killer", mini apexs, appropriate pink or red colored stuff. Usually if they are prolific in the lake you are in then you don't have to do much to bring them to your gear. Also, it has always felt to me that the people who have paid money for "The black box" are the ones that encourage it's use, and those who don't use one are happy without the box. I fall into the category of I don't have one. I do admit that I have braided rigger line, so prob. less electricle noise than wire, but in the end I just think that kokanee fishing is kept pretty simple.
Good luck, I await to hear others thoughts as well. Toni is a "Kokanee Allstar " curious about her presentation.

[Toni]

Well, in Oregon they do use those ball attractors. I had the opportunity to experience these in April the day of the wounded vet fishing day I helped with. I was on a boat that fishes Oregon and Lake Merwin. This multi-blade attractors was actually the clip he used for the line. I made the comment that maybe this was too much bling for Tacoma. The female vet we had aboard said "Tacoma can't get enough bling". We caught one fish but it was the largest of the day.
When does too much flash scare fish away?
What I do is have my line between 20 -60 pulls behind my clip. I don't think the multi-blade attractor would be close enough to my lure that it would matter.
One day this month I was desperate trying to catch this years elusive American lake kokanee and put a multi-blade attractor (lake troll) on my line. It didn't help either.
I believe if you think it works, use it. At this time I don't think it helps me.