Kokanee Notes For Sockeye Success!

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We are approaching the apex of the Norcal kokanee season. Over my years at the Fish Sniffer Magazine, more than a few readers have asked me about how to go about catching kokanee. These anglers have heard the buzz about how hard landlocked sockeyes fight, how much fun they are to target and how awesome kokanee are coming off the grill or out of the frying pan…In this week’s how to column, we are going to explore the great sport of kokanee fishing!

To catch kokanee, the first thing you need is a boat capable of trolling at speeds from 1 to 2 miles per hour and a quality sonar unit. You can catch trout and bass from the bank, but kokanee are open water fish that require cool temperatures in order to survive. As a result, bank anglers have virtually no chance of hooking kokanee, except on the rare occasion when they get one accidentally while casting a spoon or spinner when the surface temperature is cold.

Since kokanee prefer a temperature of 50 to 59 degrees they spend most of the late spring, summer and early fall holding in water from 30 to 100 or more feet deep. In order to hook these deep holding fish, you’ve got to get you lures down to them. There are two widely accepted means of accomplishing this goal.hey hit a variety of colorful offering and just when we think we’ve got a bite dialed in, the fickle fish turn their backs on lures that were working and throw us a major curve. In two words kokanee fishing is DARN FUN!

Why kokanee? Why not! Kokanee fight great and are great tasting. They hit a variety of colorful offering and just when we think we’ve got a bite dialed in, the fickle fish turn their backs on lures that were working and throw us a major curve. In two words kokanee fishing is DARN FUN!
Why kokanee? Why not! Kokanee fight great and are great tasting. They hit a variety of colorful offering and just when we think we’ve got a bite dialed in, the fickle fish turn their backs on lures that were working and throw us a major curve. In two words kokanee fishing is DARN FUN!

The first is employing a leadcore line. For the uninitiated, leadcore is just what its name implies. It is a woven line with a pliable lead core. Every 10 feet of the line sports a different color. At kokanee trolling speeds leadcore will pull a lure down about 5 feet per color, so that by counting colors an angler will have a pretty good idea how deep their offering is working.

For depths up to about 45 feet leadcore is pretty effective, yet the downside is that the line is heavy and requires correspondingly heavy tackle. This combination of heavy line and stout tackle generally overpowers the fight of even the feistiest kokanee.

A more effective and more sporting option is the use of downriggers. In their simplest form a downrigger is a spool filled with cable attached to a short arm with a pulling connected to its tip. The cable travels off the spool, through the pulley and a heavy 6 to 10 pound weight is snapped to the end of the cable.

A downrigger release, a device reminiscent of a clothespin, trails off the weight. To use the downrigger, you free spool a lure out a few yards behind the boat and then snap the line from your rod into the release. After that the downrigger weight is lowered to the desired depth. When a deep holding kokanee takes the lure, the line pulls out of the release and you are left to fight the fish on your rod without the interference of attached weight.

Simple portable crank operated downriggers are highly effective and won’t put a big dent in your allowance. For the utmost in speed and convenience electric downriggers are available. If money is not a big consideration these units are well worth the added investment.

These days downriggers are so affordable and accessible I’m not going to discuss the tackle used for fishing with leadcore line. Instead let’s take a look at the ideal rod and reel combination for downrigger fishing. My philosophy is to use the lightest tackle possible in order to get the maximum enjoyment while fighting the fish.

For most freshwater and saltwater fishing, I recommend using a fast action rod, but for kokanee the most effective and efficient rod will feature a soft slow parabolic action. Kokanee are savage little sluggers that have an exceedingly soft mouth. A soft action rod helps to cushion the fight and results in fewer lost fish.

This quartet of chrome bright kokanee were caught on tackle from Mack’s Lure. The Mack’s Double D dodgers shown here have a traditional dodger action, but with four separate attachment points this dodger can be used somewhat like an underwater planer, steering your line away from the boat and other rigs.
This quartet of chrome bright kokanee were caught on tackle from Mack’s Lure. The Mack’s Double D dodgers shown here have a traditional dodger action, but with four separate attachment points this dodger can be used somewhat like an underwater planer, steering your line away from the boat and other rigs.

The rod should be teamed with a high speed level wind reel capable of holding at least 150 yards of 10 pound test monofilament. A smooth drag is critical to success. Kokanee have a nasty habit of making a final slashing run right behind the boat. If your drag sticks in this situation you can kiss your kokanee dinner goodbye.

Some anglers use line as light as 4 pound test while others use line as heavy as 12 pound test. Kokanee are not line shy, so what line weight you use isn’t a really big issue. I prefer 8 or 10 pound believing these weights are a good compromise between strength and fine diameter.

Okay you’ve got a boat equipped with all the proper toys and a nice light action downrigger rod. What about lures? This is where kokanee fishing really gets fun. Kokanee are aggressive, but they are also fickle. They will readily strike small spoons, spinners, flies and hooks adorned with brightly painted resin known as “bugs”. A few kokanee anglers make use of flasher blades in certain situations. On the other hand, virtually all kokanee anglers rely heavily on 3 to 6 inch dodgers to both add action to their lures and to attract ‘kokes into the spread with the vibrations they emit.

When using lures such as flies and bugs that have no built in action, you want your lures riding within 14 inches of the dodger such that they derive action from it. Lures such as spinners and spoons that have their own action can either be rigged close to the dodger or as far away as 48 inches.

Snelled spinners are winners when it comes to hooking both kokanee and trout. This rainbow pounced on a Mack’s Lure Wedding Ring Spinner equipped with a Smile Blade.
Snelled spinners are winners when it comes to hooking both kokanee and trout. This rainbow pounced on a Mack’s Lure Wedding Ring Spinner equipped with a Smile Blade.

The distance to rig lures that have built in action behind a dodger represents a controversial issue within kokanee fishing circles. I like to put them from 24 to 36 inches back, but the best approach is to answer the question yourself through experimentation.

The folks at Mack’s Lure have some very interesting kokanee offerings that should be highlighted in any discussion of kokanee gear. Most of us are familiar with Mack’s line up of traditional Wedding Ring Spinners and the updated Wedding Ring equipped with a “Smile” blade.

The Wedding Ring is a well known kokanee killer, so there’s little to be said beyond that your kokanee fishing arsenal should feature multiple Wedding Rings in various colors.

Truth be told, I believe that flashers are just as effective, perhaps more effective than dodgers when it comes to tempting sockeyes, yet many anglers refuse to use them because of all the drag a conventional set of blades produces.

If the weight and drag of old school flashers turns you off, give Mack’s Flash Light or Hot Wings flashers a try. These rigs utilize a Mylar like blade material and offer 80% to 90% less drag than traditional metal blade flashers. If you’re committed to going light, Mack’s flasher systems are must have gear.

The final item in the Mack’s line that I’ve used with great success is their 4.4 inch Double D Dodgers. These dodgers offer action similar to that of a traditional herring style dodger, but multiple attachment point all you to walk the dodgers away from the boat, thus spreading your lines, cutting down on tangles while helping you to cover more water with a wider trolling spread.

While I’ve yet to run any of their gear personally, I hear very good things about the kokanee products offered up by Paulina Peak Tackle of Reno, Nevada. The Paulina Peak Tackle lure and blade lineup boasts three deadly offerings at this time, the Kokanee Katch Micro Hoochie, the Kokanee Katch Spinner Magic and Big-i Dodgers.

These kokanee were harvested using Paulina Peak dodgers paired with Paulina Peak Micro Hoochies. Paulina Peak Tackle, headquartered in Reno, Nv., has gained a following quickly across northern and central California and is garnering rave reviews from both guides and anglers.
These kokanee were harvested using Paulina Peak dodgers paired with Paulina Peak Micro Hoochies. Paulina Peak Tackle, headquartered in Reno, Nv., has gained a following quickly across northern and central California and is garnering rave reviews from both guides and anglers.

The Big-i Dodger line up consists of both herring style dodgers and slim profile dodgers. All of these blades feature a range of killer color combinations and of course each of them is embossed with the iconic Paulina Peak all seeing eye!

Lure and dodger color is often very important and kokanee being the fickle souls that they are, change their preference from day to day and even from hour to hour. This is why a veteran kokanee angler’s tackle box boasts a rainbow like array of different colored lures and blades.

Whatever style and color of lure you decide to use it is important to tip it with a piece of shoe peg corn. No one is certain why you need to use corn. Some say it adds a pleasant smell to the lure. Others contend that it gives the salmon a target to strike.

Many veteran kokanee anglers treat their corn with Pro-Cure Wizard Kokanee Killer Korn Magic. This product toughens the corn and adds strike inducing amino acids to it. Beyond that you’ll want to fill several small containers with corn and add a different scent to each one. Some days they want shrimp flavored corn other days they prefer anise. Anise, krill, shrimp, herring, sardine, garlic and night crawler scents are all proven performers.