The Koke Bite was INSANE

We went up to Bullards again due to poor coastal conditions on 3/22/2025. There were a bunch of kayakers including Joe (did not see him. only talked to him on the radio) As I launched I saw a few follks landing kokes very near the launch. Marked a bunch of school and in a few minutes I landing my first fish then followed by nonstop action. My good Gopro died on me so I had to use a gopro with bad audio. I recommend turning on the caption.

Glad you have a fun catching day.  Thanks for the video Moo.

I was out there on Sunday, missed seeing you all by one day! They were still on the chew!!!

I would have liked to see video of the lunch spread I missed out on while I stuck it out at the far end of the lake. I heard about leg of lamb, BBQ ribs, Kokanee and a Korean noodle dish.

I would have liked to see video of the lunch spread I missed out on while I stuck it out at the far end of the lake. I heard about leg of lamb, BBQ ribs, Kokanee and a Korean noodle dish.

You should've came in for lunch and fish again as many people did. There were so much food. I didn't come prepared for a large group of people so each folks only had one bite of what I brought 

Fun video!
Looking forward to the trip in May.

Was at Bullards last weekend 4/12/25. Caught one trout and no Kokes. Tried a couple different hoochie/dodger combos that normally work great. Depths from surface to 50'. Didn't even really see many fish on the finder. Fished near the dam and up the right side coast about a mile. I've heard they tend to be closer to the river this time of year. Can anyone confirm?

Was at Bullards last weekend 4/12/25. Caught one trout and no Kokes. Tried a couple different hoochie/dodger combos that normally work great. Depths from surface to 50'. Didn't even really see many fish on the finder. Fished near the dam and up the right side coast about a mile. I've heard they tend to be closer to the river this time of year. Can anyone confirm?

BB can be a bit fickle this time of year. You just have to keep searching till you find them. They do tend to hold in the same spots year after year though. Tip: Don't be afraid to go into the coves. A friend and I  fished it last Saturday 4/12. We launched at Dark Day. There were quite a few schools between the ramp and the buoy line. Landed several Kokes there in 30 minutes. We left that area and headed to my go to spot. It was loaded. Spent the next 3 hours there. Ended the day with 2 Rainbows to 13". 1 skinny 14" Bass and 27 Kokanee to 13.5". All safely released so I can catch them again for the fish-n-chill tournament coming up in May. Our fish came from 25-35' down.
Kevin

 I'm by far no expert but here are a few key things when targeting Kokanee: Depth, Trolling Speed, Presentation, Lure/bait, Weather.

Having a fish finder and a line counter reel on a soft action rod are what work for me.

I fish with two rods and start fishing at staggered depths, usually 10' apart. I do not use a down rigger. I prefer the sliding weight method.

Pay attention and let the fish tell you what they want. Just because you read a report that someone used X bait at X speed at X depth last week doesn't mean that that's what will work today for you.

For me Depth is most important.  90% of the fish I catch come from the surface down to 40'. These are generally  the active feeding fish. When you mark fish, don't drop down and blow right through the middle of them. This will usually spook them and scatter the school. Drop down a foot or two above them.  Often you'll see two schools at once. Ignore the deep school and go for the shallower school first. Make a pass or two. if it doesn't produce then drop to the deeper school.

Trolling Speed can be critical. I usually start slow, 1.2 or less and then bump it up a point at a time until I get hit. I rarely fish faster than 1.6 but sometimes faster works. Once you get hit, make a note of the speed and stay there. Many times I've found that going 1 point faster or slower than the speed they want that day will result in no hits.

Presentation can change day to day or even hour to hour. Some times they only want a slow subtle set up. The next they go wild for something aggressive. I always start with the subtle stuff and work my way through my terminal tackle toward the aggressive until I find what works. My Subtle tackle starts with a dodger with slow action and muted colors. Aggressive is fast action and bright colors. Remember, you can bend most dodgers to change the action. Leader lengths, both in front of the dodger and between the dodger and your lure play a roll too.

Lure and Bait. If you use a lure with little or no built in action like a Hoochie and Wedding Rings, shorten the leader length between the dodger and the lure to 12" or less. For lures with built in action like Wiggle Hoochies and Flutter Bugs, I go with 12 to 18". I've found that certain lures and colors work well at certain lakes. Typically I'll start with something with Hot Pink. Then change colors till the kokes tell me what they want. Lure size can change too. If you find that you're getting hits on a certain color but only getting short strikes, try down sizing the lure, add more or less bend in the dodger or perhaps increase or decrease your speed a point.
For bait, I primarily use Shoepeg corn with the oil from a can of tuna. I always bring a tub of corn cured with Minced Garlic and another cured with Anise extract.
All my lures have two hooks on them. I put one kernel of corn on each hook. Any more than that may affect the action of the lure. You can also add dye to the corn. Pink, orange and green work well at times. I also carry two jars of Powerbait Maggots. One in Pink and one in Chartreuse. On occasion this is all they will hit.

Weather. Kokes can be caught all year around. I've caught them while it was snowing and raining as well as on scorching 100*+ days. I've found that they do bite better with a little wind chop on the water. I will fish the shore line the wind is blowing against. This is because the wind will usually push the plankton that direction. Regardless of the time of the year the kokanee are light sensitive. In the morning, they tend to be shallow and then move deeper as the sun comes up and the water warms. This is not always the case though, sometimes there will be a plankton bloom when the water warms and the Kokes will be gorging themselves in very shallow water. Moon Phase can play a factor too. I fish any chance I can get so I don't worry about it too much but a full moon bite is normally slower as they tend to feed all night and are not as interested in the morning. More aggressive lure tend to work better during these times as the bite is from reaction and you've just pissed them off!

Well I hope this helps those of you new to kokanee fishing or struggle a bit. let me know if you have any questions or need spacifics on set ups.
Kevin

That's the Kokanee bible right there.
What frustrates me about chasing marks is you see a mark at 30 and lower it to 30, then see marks at 40, lower it to 40 and the next marks are at 20'....

Many times I've found that going 1 point faster or slower than the speed they want that day will result in no hits.

+1 to this. I have limited experience but I noticed this trend.

Great write up 👏

Great hookup and report. Need to get back up there this year for tasty silver bullets

That's the Kokanee bible right there.
What frustrates me about chasing marks is you see a mark at 30 and lower it to 30, then see marks at 40, lower it to 40 and the next marks are at 20'....

.          Yeah , it can be frustrating! That’s one reason I prefer to fish with two rods. Especially when starting my search or I’m on water I’m not familiar with. With two rods and a 10’ stagger in depth, i don’t have to make as many adjustments. Once I’ve established a pattern of depth that get the most hits, I’ll usually adjust them to within a foot or two of each other.     

That's the Kokanee bible right there.
What frustrates me about chasing marks is you see a mark at 30 and lower it to 30, then see marks at 40, lower it to 40 and the next marks are at 20'....

If you combine turning, lead weights (especially same weight size but different setback), speed changes, and dodger size/lure size difference (for resistance purposes), you can “hunt” the water column. Erratic patterns catch more that straight line adjustments imho