Today was another spectacular day of kokanee fishing.
We started with a variety of scents on the same gear we have been using for the last few trips to the lake. Each scent got a few strikes, but one scent in particular was the hot ticket. Surprisingly enough (or maybe not too surprisingly), our new trial of scent “?” was working as we had hoped.
We started fishing around 16:00 and the first hour and a half would be the most productive. We must have lost just as many as we landed. Today was a good time to brush up on our techniques of reeling in and landing a kokanee.
We were targeting a speed of 1.4mph which was the easiest to maintain in the wind. I used the “drift with the wind” technique most of the time to help make our trip more enjoyable. Drifting with the wind is great. There is no need to steer the boat too often as the wind and my trolling motor kept us pointed in a straight line. All that’s needed while employing this technique is the occasional throttle bump to increase speeds and trigger more bites. Also, when gusts of wind arrive, there is no need at all to throttle bump as mother nature does it for you.
Most kokanee were caught at 8ft off the downrigger with a 75-100ft setback (hopefully we can purchase another set of line counter reels one day to achieve better accuracy). We used 4 inch Luhr Jensen Dodgers paired with pink P-line hoochies. The Gibbs bling blade and Paulina Peak blade on top of the hoochies continued to perform as expected.
Today was a prime example of when and where to fish on any lake. When we arrived at the lake the wind was blowing waves towards the south end. Typically, on calmer windy days, we will fish the end of the lake where the wind has been blowing. Now, depending on the lake, the wind can also dictate where most fishing will take place (at least on our boat). We quickly headed for “cover” in the northern bays of the lake. There, the wind doesn’t have enough time to “touch” down on the lake and because of this the water was extremely calm. We simply drifted with the wind until we hit the rougher areas and then turned around and headed back with our gas motor.
At the end of the day, we would later notice just how protected we were in the northern bay. The wind was blowing strong and white caps were starting to form. Thankfully, past experiences served as a reminder as to where my trailer should be in the water. This time, I paid closer attention to my trailer lights and managed to get the boat on the trailer without any collateral damage.