fly fishing for Kokanee

[harley]

good morning-I am Harley-I am new to this Forum-I live in Abbotsford,British Columbia,Canada-I really enjoy flyfishing-I have fished for trout both in rivers and lakes for many years,now I am trying to target Kokanee on the fly-I have been trying but have only had limited success to say the least-my question is,does anyone have or know of a fly pattern and or method to catch these rascals on a at least "semi" regular basis---thank you for takeing the time to reply- :blush:

[Abalone]

chiromonid

There was an aritcle I found somewhere that talked about using Chiromonids for Koks.

Kokanee ordinarily only eat Zooplankten but in the early spring when you see them rising they are after Chiromonidis.

Do a Search as I am sure that article was from B.C. Angler.

I always thought it might be fun but too many other things going on that time of there year.

I think it will be great to have someone on the Flyfishing board on IFISH from Canada. I love it up there.

So Welcome to IFISH Harley.

[harley]

thanks for the reply to my question Abalone and for makeing me feel welcome-to me fishing is a 24hour 7day a week love-just when I think that I have learned a little I realize that I have`nt even started--thanks again! :wave:

[FallRiverGuy]

I second the chironomid. I knew of a fellow that caught kokanee in Crane Prairie with a black chironomid fished slowly along the bottom. I have also heard of kokanee being taking with a fly in East Lake with a shrimp pattern. Kokanee will target Mysis shrimp if they are present. It is the mysis shrimp that makes the kokanee so large in Wallowa Lake.

[mandinga]

harley,
I have found some limited success with chiromonids, egg patterns and black and brown buggers.

If you are fishing in a stream you may want to look for trout behind the kokanee. When I fish for kok's I am actually usually fishing for BIG browns and rainbows. Those BIG browns will follow the kok's out of the lake and up into the river...feeding on all the eggs behind the kok's.

Look behind a school of kok's for those big trout...if applicable.
Just something to think about.

[BuKuBass]

Early! in the spring, the Kokes can often be found near the surface in shallow water. During this time I've caught them quickly stripping a Light Spruce fly.
I'll even tell you where Brian; the very NE corner of Paulina in 12-14 feet of water.

[FallRiverGuy]

I gotta bring my fly rod in the spring it seems. BuKu, to the North of the red slide?

[BuKuBass]

The extreme NE corner; east of the RS, north of the lava flow. at one o'clock in this pic. (http://www.diadav.com/travel/oregon-02/images/d1-crater.jpg)

[Fish Eater]

For some fast action, catch & release, the last 2 weeks in October, Paulina is a good one at the outflow, with bright colored streamers, the brighter the better, and as fast as you can retrieve, hang on!..............L

PS: if it starts to snow, don't hesitate, get off the mountain to La Pine, pronto.

[harley]

BuKuBass-thank you for takeing the time out of your busy day to post your secret spot--but--you are giving out too much information--now I won`t be able to get the spot--too many people will be there now :shrug:

[BuKuBass]

Then it'll soon be a case of: "The place is so popular that no one goes there anymore"...Yogi Berra
Do you really think that that's the only place on over 1500 acres where you'll find kokanee? Besides, the more people trying to catch them, the fewer there are going after the big browns at that time of year. I'd rather hook into one double-digit GB than a slew of 2 pound kokes.
Beware, the frequent blizzards tend to pound down the backcast.
The same tactic works at Crescent, Wickiup, and LBC.
"Where never is heard,..."

[lilnorthfork]

Welcome Harley :cheers:
Buku - I wonder if Yogi was flyfishing when he said... "a lot can be seen by observing." :smile:

[Abalone]

So what's it like fighting a Kook on a light weight fly rod.

The only time I have caught them was using heavy stuff with heavy rods. Fished odell lake 100' below the boat using leaded jigs. Always thought those little fish fought hard considering. Figured they'ed be great on a 4 wt. or smaller rod. Lots of lakes have them. Suttle, Crane prarie, Yale etc. might be an overlooked fly fishing opportunity.

Steelhead gear on a downrigger with Ford Fenders, wedding rings not my idea of great sport.

[FallRiverGuy]

Kokanee are crazy great fighters. Kokanee will often jump into the side of my boat, some times more than once. I have even had one jump in the boat. I use ultralight gear(similar to a 4 wt rod) with a downrigger and the least amount of junk on the the line. A 16 inch kokanee on light gear is pure joy for me.

This year I need to see if I can use my fly rod in my downrigger.

[lilnorthfork]

They are especially fun in moving water. Hooked a few one fall on the Metolius on my 3wt. with 3# tippet... actually landed one. I thought that poor rod was going to explode. lnf

[harley]

gosh-I think that the word fishing has a lot of meanings--one of the most important ones to me is haveing fun--in "most" cases I do not feel that a person can compare different species--fishing to me is 24/7 and at times it is fun to talk,think it,join forums to share it,and sometimes it is kind of a challenge to target a certain fish--tie a fly--and then venture out and see if you can match wits with it and if you are lucky enough to catch one,enjoy the pleasure in seeing it swim away after it has given you the thrill that you were seeking in the first place--this is the prime reason to go--only speaking for myself--this why my original question was "is there a fly that works for you" and to thank the persons that have helped answer that question--Regards--Harley--