I always enjoy trying new things when it comes to kokanee fishing. Sure, you can follow the KISS principle and use something pink while trolling 1.2 to 1.4mph, but what’s the fun in that?
Today, I tried getting up early, which could have been earlier had I not stayed up late the night before. Since I am usually waking up around 05:30am anyway, I figured a little earlier would be a great idea to try and beat the heat that was forecast for the day. I set my alarm clock for 4am which proved easier than it felt later in the day. It was nice to wake up to the birds singing songs of a new day coming while I prepared my breakfast and loaded my gear quietly into my boat as to not wake the neighborhood.
Thanks to the cooler Cariboo weather over night, I wanted to be on the water before the sun got too high in the sky. Historically I have not done well on my local lakes until later in the mornings around 09:30 and 11:30am. Now, maybe this is due to a direct correlation between waking up later on the weekends and taking my time getting to the lake. I was looking forward to cooler morning temperatures under blue skies with no wake boards kicking up swells that are best hit head on.
When I left the house, the weather dictated I bring a sweater and dress in my waders, but I knew that the sun would eventually require shorts and sunscreen as it broke over the horizon.
The lake was peaceful and calm first thing in the morning and while I’d like to say it was just the fish and I enjoying the clear skies, I was able to share the first minutes of the day with a local seagull having a bath at the launch and posing for a photo. There was also a kayak who beat me onto the lake and I later was able to meet and talk with the angler of a very cool Old Town kayak that was rigged and ready for some serious fishing.
The calm waters had me reaching for my jigging rod that was already pretied with a Big-Nasty Tackle trout and pout spoon, or as I like to refer to them a rattle jig. As I reached over to grab my Shimano Fishing rod and spinning reel, I reminded myself of my goal. I wanted to catch my five kokanee and get home before the temperature rose to uncomfortable levels and the wake board boats came out for the morning.
I decided to troll with my Scotty Fishing Products downriggers and rod holders. I also decided that I would use the same set-ups from our last fishing trip and see if the kokanee were still interested in our offerings. I was using both of my Luhr Jensen downrigger kokanee rods. One rod had my favorite line counter reel, a Diawa Lexa 300 and my other rod had an older Ahbu Garcia level wind reel. While I love the line counter option on the Diawa, I love the thumb release more on it for operating the downriggers. It makes life easier.
My starting lineups were a Gibbs Fishing dog tail dodger and a small pink Mack’s Lure hoochie on one rod. My second rod had a 6 inch red tape Macks Lure sling blade paired with a pink micro hoochie made by Paulina Peak Tackle. For those who don’t know the story, this pink Paulina Peak hoochie is the last one we have and Sarah loves using it, because more often than not it catches fish and usually puts up a good fight at being the best lure for kokanee in our tackle bag.
I trolled around for at least 30 minutes without a hit on either rod. I was starting to think I should have slept in and came out later in the afternoon as I sometime do to help beat the heat. My target depth was the same as our last outing, which was 30ft. I was questioning if I should be up higher in the water column as the early morning bite could also be close to the surface. I was also noticing that the lake was changing since my last trip. There was cotton wood fluff and pollen floating on the surface of the lake in spots. My Garmin Striker 4 fish finder was also showing more debris floating in the water and the fish I was marking seemed dormant and not interested in moving toward my downrigger ball like they normally do. Again, had I woken up too early. What was all the fuss I kept hearing about waking up early and going fishing?
I ended up getting a few hits on my pink Macks Lure hoochie and none on the Paulina Peak Lure, so I decided to retire the micro hoochie for the morning and bring out a new 1.8 inch Old Goat Lures OG1 orange UV Lure to help wake the fish up and it did. I caught equal numbers of kokanee on the OG1 which kept the morning interesting.
I kept searching the water column for active kokanee and eventually found the magic depth. For me, 18ft off the downrigger with a further setback than I usually do (I like 75ft) of 100ft was the ticket to chunky fish. Once I found the sweet spot, fish started hoping on board for a ride home to my freezer.
The total fishing time was an hour and a half, which was perfect. By the time I had my boat loaded up, and after talking with some people on shore, the temperature had risen from 7 degrees to 16 degrees. I was happy to have my shorts and sandals to switch into for the ride home.
As the sun continued to rise, I could feel the heat coming and I was happy to be going home. I was able to put all my gear away before the real heat came and was prepared and ready for my afternoon siesta that I had planned to have the night before.
While I could get used to early morning adventures like today, I am still processing the pros and cons. While it is not fun getting up early, which feels like I am preparing for an early morning coho trip on the Vedder River, the fishing pressure on the lake was something I could get used to. The calm waters, lack of boats and watching the rising sun made getting up worth it. Not to mention, the afternoon siesta is something I could get used to on a hot day. In fact, it is something I look forward to doing again one day soon.