Kakonee without a downrigger

Ive never fished for kokanee and I was planning on getting in on some of the action at Whiskeytown lake.

I dont have a downrigger on the yak and was wondering if anyone out there had any tips/suggestions.

I've caught them up at Tahoe the last few years using a mini DeepSix - not sure what size, but it's the smallest DeepSix.  It's a bit of a bummer to have the resistance of that piece of hardware on the line with such small fish, but it's a means of getting down to them. 

Best of luck.   

diver or lead core..I use lead core with more success. Dodger, 12-18" trailer to a wiggle hoochie, hoochie, wedding ring, etc with corn and scent. $20 or so for a roll of lead core.

http://www.sinker-dropper.com/

You will have a hard time getting down deeper than 35' or so on lead core. If the kokes are still that shallow in whiskey town u can get away with the lead line. Otherwise build a cheap DR that can fit in a flush mount rod holder... search DIY Downriggers if u are interested or just PM me for a cheap and easy set up. Good luck whatever you decide

No down rigger needed at Whiskeytown. I got in to them a few weeks ago with a 5/8th's keel weight in front of a Shasta tackle sling blade and a pink wiggle hoochie on one rod. The other rod had a 1/2oz egg weigh and a red bead to a swivel on the main line, snap swivel, then sling blade (watermelon or red) and a Colorado tackle? Micro hoochie in pink, the one with the bead and chrome smile blade in front of it.
I slow trolled both rods a max of 20' down and a ways behind me. The key is to keep it around 1.2MPH, or just enough that your rod tips are bouncing with the sling blades. I also tip my hoochie so with fire corn, nothing special for me. All my kokes were between the power lines and the 299 bridge but it seems like they have moved up closer to whiskey creek. Just look for the mass of boats. If you find a school of them it's fun to get'em on a jig, just drop down and jig up or cast and jig like you would a kastmaster. All the fish I've seen this year are small, 9" to 12". They are in there, the best bite times have been all over the board, some say its 7am others don't get a bite till 10am.
Back to the point, you don't need anything special to get Kokanee at Whiskeytown right now, grab your light spinning rod and Shasta tackle sling blades with something that spins or swims and get on 'em.
PS don't use a diver for Kokanee, they don't hit hard enough to trip the release and when you go to bring them in most of the time you end up pulling the hook out of there soft mouths trying to fight the diver.
Last note, if you hook up and start reeling one in, when the line goes slack or feels like it popped off, keep reeling, they love to swim straight at the boat. I've lost lots of kokes because I thought they were gone so I reeled in fast or quit paying attention, started talking to some one, ect, then boom its back and there goes my fish!
Hope that helps

don't use a diver for Kokanee, they don't hit hard enough to trip the release and when you go to bring them in most of the time you end up pulling the hook out of there soft mouths trying to fight the diver.

You may need to catch some bigger kokes, Jeff!     Diver tripped fine for me, and losing fish hasn't been a problem.  The diver can be set very light because of the slow trolling speed. 

Good luck whatever you use.  Except a sinker release - I think that's a bit much for pristine mountain waters like Whiskeytown or Tahoe or anywhere kokes live for that matter.  IMO...   

don't use a diver for Kokanee, they don't hit hard enough to trip the release and when you go to bring them in most of the time you end up pulling the hook out of there soft mouths trying to fight the diver.

You may need to catch some bigger kokes, Jeff!     Diver tripped fine for me, and losing fish hasn't been a problem.  The diver can be set very light because of the slow trolling speed. 

Good luck whatever you use.  Except a sinker release - I think that's a bit much for pristine mountain waters like Whiskeytown or Tahoe or anywhere kokes live for that matter.  IMO...   

This ain't Tahoe  .

This ain't Tahoe  .

 

I'll leave my DS in the tacklebox when you show me around W-town.   

Thanks for all the suggestions, going to try to get out this weekend or early next week. Brand new boat in the garage, it's killing me. 

Good luck, they are on fire now, I use a Ford fender 2oz banana weight and a wedding ring, with shoepeg corn. Post how you do, I am heading to Mt. Shasta this weekend.
Jeff

I use a DR and leadcore you can get a dbl spool (20 colors ) and troll up to 80ft ... Way more than 35 like someone stated earlier

Lots of options, personally I love the downrigger.  Kokes have super soft lips and minimizing the gear between you and the fish will better your chances for getting them to the net.  Plus, a small koke with a few ounces of lead and a dodger hanging from his lip isn't going to put up much fight.  A few weeks ago I was out there with a buddy looking for his first koke and he rigged up a 3-way swivel with a 3oz cannonball  off the bottom, then a leader out the back to his dodger, then a hoochie tipped w/ my special-blend of corn.  Looked God-awful, but sure enough he was getting smacked and finally got his fish.

Also, the larger fish will be a bit deeper, I've been running at 40-50' for consistent 14"+ fish.  A homemade downrigger works fine, grab an old saltwater reel (Peen Long Beach style), attach to an old broken rod handle, 2lb lead ball and a release clip and your in business.  I rocked this setup before I got my Scotty, and it got me on the fish.

I like to use a Davis Trolling Diver with a rubber snubber which I bought at West Marine. The snubber will take the shock out of the Kokes bite and it's soft mouth. I use the snubber but a good koke rod will work. I lie a dodger over most flashers because you can troll slower with good action. Koke trolling requires a slow troll. I use primarily wedding rings but hooks will work just as well but they need to be tipped with white corn-not yellow corn. I have used trolling weights but I find them heavy and they seem to fowl my line.
Have fun! I'll be at Whiskeytown Friday 11th..hope to see you OTW.

We used Snubbers all the time in Idaho for koes. For the soft mouth.