Finally tried a fly reel for kokes!!!!!

yankemnbankem · 06-29-2009, 08:40 AM

After a fun week of catching some June Salmon and a few steelhead we headed back up to the reservoir and took the kids up for some kokes. Play day! I brought up my downrigger setup I have been wanting to use for awhile..... A Diwa Spinmatic rod and a phlueger Fly reel. Now I am hooked on the fly reel and downrigger setup. The only drawback right now is the size of the reel and the return ratio. Other than that it was pretty cool. So I am looking for a bigger reel to give me a faster return. Once I had the drag figured out It was fun letting it go down with the weight and fighting the fish and letting fish take the drag. nOt to mention when the fish bit, the reel sounded like a summer nook heading back down to sea. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZ!
koke fun at it's best! nOw back to fishing big fish.

yankemnbankem · 06-29-2009, 08:41 AM

Oh, we ended up with 15 kokes.

Loneangler · 06-29-2009, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankemnbankem

After a fun week of catching some June Salmon and a few steelhead we headed back up to the reservoir and took the kids up for some kokes. Play day! I brought up my downrigger setup I have been wanting to use for awhile..... A Diwa Spinmatic rod and a phlueger Fly reel. Now I am hooked on the fly reel and downrigger setup. The only drawback right now is the size of the reel and the return ratio. Other than that it was pretty cool. So I am looking for a bigger reel to give me a faster return. Once I had the drag figured out It was fun letting it go down with the weight and fighting the fish and letting fish take the drag. nOt to mention when the fish bit, the reel sounded like a summer nook heading back down to sea. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZ!
koke fun at it's best! nOw back to fishing big fish.

A fly reel is also a lot of fun for macks and large trout on the downrigger. I use Martin MR72 Multiplier fly reels for this type of fishing. The retrieve ratio is 3:1.

Pelhament · 06-29-2009, 12:51 PM

If you get a mid or large arbor fly reel the return rate will be a lot better. That sounds like a blast though!

yankemnbankem · 06-30-2009, 06:27 AM

thanks for the replies! I was hoping someone would suggest a reel that they have used. I was thinking of winding some filler on the arbor first and then my line to speed up the ratio but...... koke fishing is only so serious than you go crazy.

O Tshawytcha · 06-30-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankemnbankem

thanks for the replies! I was hoping someone would suggest a reel that they have used. I was thinking of winding some filler on the arbor first and then my line to speed up the ratio but...... koke fishing is only so serious than you go crazy.

I found some Okumas on sale with a large arbor that have a sick drag and use them for kokes with the spinmatics. PERFECT!

Sorry I don't remember the model but they were about 30-35$.

SilverFly · 06-30-2009, 09:12 PM

I was up at Merwin with a buddy last week and we talking about how to get em on fly gear. I own a couple Cabela's brand "SLA" (super large arbor) fly reels and I think they would work great for Kokes. Very smooth drag that would work great with downriggers with fast line pickup due to the large arbor. Nice looking reels and reasonably priced too.

The outfit I'm thinking about trying for Kokes is an 8' 4wt med/slow action flyrod. Then load a SLA reel with a very light braid (say 15# Fireline) and a short, fast-sinking head. Pretty sure it would work fine on the downrigger, troll by itself, it would still cast, and could even work jigging vertically.

Cap'n Ron · 06-30-2009, 09:22 PM

Great...now i gotta go buy more stuff!

trollin4trout · 07-01-2009, 10:47 AM

One evening(dusk) two years ago at Merwin a guy went by us in a canoe, heading towards the dam with a fly rod. He was excitedly telling us how the kokanee would be coming to the surface after dark and that fly fishing for them was a blast!

He didn't say he would kill me if I told a couple of friends so there you have it!

Of course you have to be camping there with your boat at a dock or campsite to be able to be on the lake after dark.

BTW- at East Lake last year over the 4th we were trolling flies on the surface along the east shore at dusk- the kokes seemed to just flood into the <10ft water we were in- we caught kokes right and left this way right up to the one hour after sunset deadline.

Jim

Loneangler · 07-01-2009, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankemnbankem

thanks for the replies! I was hoping someone would suggest a reel that they have used. I was thinking of winding some filler on the arbor first and then my line to speed up the ratio but...... koke fishing is only so serious than you go crazy.

Check my response again. The Martin reel I said I use is a multiplier fly reel with a 3:1 ratio. I have 4 of them that I have purchased over the years beginning in the late '70s and every one still works fine for either fly fishing large lakes or trolling with fireline, etc. The 3:1 retrieve ratio makes a big difference.