Perspective. Google’s definition of perspective is: “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.”
From my perspective, today was almost perfect. Like goldilocks, I was searching for the perfect porridge mixer, not too hot and not too cold, but just right.
For those who have been following our Fougere Family Adventures, it is well known that Sarah and I have fun trying to see who will catch the first fish, the most fish and get to our limit first. Now, while this healthy competition is fun and lopsided we still have fun on the water and off the water.
Finding the right combination of what might work for kokanee can be accomplished many different ways. Sarah decided to buy some new hoochies this year while in Salmon Arm on vacation at Westside Stores. I chose to buy a few other lures for lake trout trolling so I ended up using an old tried and true Paulina Peak Tackle pink hoochie paired with a Brad’s Killer Fishing Gear dodger with red ribbing.
While fishing without bait for kokanee can be done, I decided to use kokanee corn to help improve the chances of getting bit. I had a small can of my anise corn left, but forgot to put it in the fridge after my last fishing trip. It still smelled ok and I have used warm cured corn in the past with great success, but I wanted to have the competitive edge today so I stopped in at the South Hill Shell, Quesnel and bought some of my garlic fishing corn that I started selling there not too long ago (I also sell this corn in Corlane Sporting Goods PG). Thankfully, the garlic corn from the Shell did the trick. We ended up with 15 kokanee and 2 rainbows and many other fish were hooked and lost. The one container of corn seemed like the perfect size for a half days fishing and was almost gone after only three and a half hours of fishing.
We fished a setback of 75ft and most fish were caught between 30 and 35 feet. A handful of fish were caught by raising the downrigger ball 5ft and a many others were caught with a throttle bump method or zig zag pattern. Our speed ranged from 1.5 to 1.8mph. It was great having a helper today with the downriggers. Austin decided to come along today and was very helpful setting lines and dropping down to depth all on his own.
In the end, we caught a limit of kokanee. Depending on who’s perspective you view the day from, Sarah was at a disadvantage being at the front of the boat. She was at the mercy of the person in the middle seat passing her the rod from the rod holder. From my perspective, she had a competitive advantage as I set lines on the downrigger not being able to watch my rod closely. She was also winning every time I baited her hooks with garlic corn as she was able to distract me from watching for a light strike which happened often today.
It may sound like complaining about the situations we faced happened, but it was all in good fun. Our combined perspective was a great day of fishing with family. We were able to enjoy an afternoon on the water and catch some tasty fish that will be destined for the smoker very soon.
The fish are biting and I’m excited to get back out there soon! I think it’s time to teach Sarah how to use a downrigger to help level the playing field. I also think it would make a great video for our YouTube channel showing people that anyone can use a downrigger. Learning how to use the equipment on board might also give Sarah a different perspective on the reason I love kokanee fishing so much. It’s not the bragging rights I’m after, it’s learning about what the fish want and repeating that winning combination of lures, dodgers, bait, depth and boat speed to achieve success. Everyday is different which is what keeps me going back for more.
Here’s the video from this trip. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel Fougere Family Adventures to learn more about fishing.