Reply by: Murphy      Posted: 5/29/2012 8:13:58 PM     Points: 1497    

Rubber snubbers definately make a difference along with lead core. I usually hold at least one of my rods so i can really put it to them! But to ultimately answer your question, yes i loose quete a few usually right at the boat, scrappy little bastards! Sure is alot of fun though. Oh and i got into the habbit of sharpening all my hooks after i started looking at them through a microscope from the factories. It s amazing the claims hook companies make through my eyes!

 Reply by: albow      Posted: 5/29/2012 8:40:39 PM     Points: 154    

They have soft mouths so yeah, you have to have a little finesse. I use mono which stretches some as opposed to braid, think that helps. Softer tipped fiberglass poles too.

 Reply by: MDS1      Posted: 5/30/2012 9:35:28 AM     Points: 57    

Thanks for the replies that makes me feel a little better atleast. When you say that you use lead line is that instead of using downriggers or do you use some type of lead line leader? It seems that we lost the majority of them at the surface, I assume that is common because they get in the air to create slack.

 Reply by: itchyreelfinger      Posted: 5/30/2012 11:03:19 AM     Points: 906    

I read an article about Kokes written by a presumed guru of salmon fishing. His stance was that if you land more than 50% of the kokes you hook, you are doing great! Super soft mouths. I ditto the comments here. finesse and sharp hooks.

 Reply by: wolf_tracker      Posted: 5/30/2012 3:57:50 PM     Points: 568    

@ MSD1...

Im lazy & still waken up so I start the day with lead core & see how it goes see if i can caught any thing first after about an hour I set downrigger out BUT I leave 1 lead core line out untill I see whats going work for that day which will & can & has changed throught the day never know whats up.

Use snubbers Im firm beliver helps keep fish on longer when they start doing 360's on yea tryen net them.

2cents worth: Knock motor out of gear to slow it down & make a turn into the direction of the fish @ idle speed be cearfull not to leave motor outa gear to long kinda bump IN / OUT to control speed & direction

 Reply by: rdailey      Posted: 5/30/2012 5:23:23 PM     Points: 592    

We do something similar to what you are saying. As soon as a fish is on we go to neutral but I run a stern drive and trolling plate so I think the plate kills the boat forward momentum pretty quick.

That was a good point. I didn't think about the boat continuing to move ahead..

 Reply by: MDS1      Posted: 5/30/2012 8:22:35 PM     Points: 57    

This is all good information. I did not think about the speed of the boat being important. The snubbers, ... do you put them between the flasher and the spinner or whatever you are using?

 Reply by: daveb      Posted: 5/30/2012 8:47:40 PM     Points: 1    

The kokes are very resilient and will fight to the death to escape your lures. As mentioned by others keeping hooks sharp is vital. I would recommend re-rigging your gear with best hooks you can afford. Eagle Claw Lazer Trokar are the best I've used. Another thing to consider if you are downrigging is your rod selection. I've found that since my brother and i have switched to light or ultra lite rods we have significantly improved our hook to land ratio. The flexability and action of these rods absorbs the fight in the fish more effectively than heavier rods reducing the chances of mouth tears and loosing fish, not to mention the satisfaction of feeling the full fight that every kokanee has to offer.

 Reply by: M M      Posted: 5/30/2012 9:07:40 PM     Points: 20    

Wow, Lots of great info guys. I'm a bit new to trolling and posts liken these help me a lot. Thanks for shearing your experience.

 Reply by: wolf_tracker      Posted: 5/30/2012 10:46:39 PM     Points: 568    

@MSD1...

Connect snubber to lure leader. I ONLy use Gamakatsu hooks for Kokanee. However every one has a "GO TO LURE" of choice same goes for line, leader lengh..ect. Pick your posion & develop confidence in it over time.

Leader:
I have allways start long & go short just clip it off as day progress & find action I m looking for.

Blades:
Bigger blades swing slower where as smaller blades swing faster.

Color:
Mix it up as day progress & youll find what works.

Depth:
I pick smal range like 10 foot & work with it see what happens. Example Ill foucse on say 25 foot depth then drop deeper & work 25 too 35 foot depth range then go to 30 too 40 foot range.

Trolling:
When you turn ALLWAYS remmber your inside line will slow down more than your out side line. Therfore your out side line willl rise & at same time your inside line will go deeper.

I use a Z patteren. follow shore line then turn out toward channel go to deeper water than turn back toward shore at an agle when you hit shallow water turn directly toward deeper water. My train of thought is this, with every turn I am changing the depth my luers are at this may only be a few feet but that alone can trigger a strike. You ever notice some times you get a strike while turning boat? Well that tells me my lures may be too deep or shallow. So which line triggered strike in-side line OR out-side line is KEY! Ajust my lures to match that strike.

 Reply by: AZXplant      Posted: 5/31/2012 7:50:34 AM     Points: 587    

I'm starting to get the itch to catch some kokanee after a great weekend at Glendo.

When I started fishing for kokes, I had the same problem. Leadcore line was the worst, and when you have 3-4 colors out it seems like we lost 1/2 the fish. I've learned a few things over the years and now only loose maybe 5-10% if that.

Double hooks are a must, or at least real sharp treble hooks. Double hooks like those on APEX or wedding rings are the best. Two hooks for tipping w/corn or wax worms and I rarely loose fish. Trebles on Arnies are good, but I have to keep them sharp. For small spoons like Dick Nites or Needlefish I use a very small trailer treble (sixe 16 or so) and crip the eye down to keep it over the main hook. On lakes like Woford that spoons work the best, this is the best way I've found to keep more fish. Very often I look in the net and they are barely hooked by the trailer.

Snubbers are good for when I'm fishing with p[lanar boards and snap weights, which I greatly prefer to lead core. I can get the stretch from the mono and still get the lures down. Once the snap weights come off, there's no extra weight and the fight is easier. Plus, the weights are off by the time the fish sees the boat. The best is to use light tackle. BPS has some Okuma konanee trolling combos that are excellent, but to get the bait down you need a downrigger.

May have to head to Blue Mesa here real soon!