Do you shut down when a koke is on?

[Bluknight]

When I'm koke fishing (Merwin and Yale) it has been my practice that when a fish is on I shift the trolling motor in to neutral, land the fish and then get back under way. This obviously leaves the other rod with no trolling speed. I am running downriggers if that makes a difference.

I am wondering if I'm decreasing my chance at catching fish on the other rod that is in the water or if it really does not matter. My theory in stopping the troll is to decrease the strain on the fishes mouth being reeled in.

Any thoughts from you kokanee slayers on how you run your boat is appreciated.

Bluknight

[salmontroller]

Originally Posted by Bluknight

When I'm koke fishing (Merwin and Yale) it has been my practice that when a fish is on I shift the trolling motor in to neutral, land the fish and then get back under way. This obviously leaves the other rod with no trolling speed. I am running downriggers if that makes a difference.

I am wondering if I'm decreasing my chance at catching fish on the other rod that is in the water or if it really does not matter. My theory in stopping the troll is to decrease the strain on the fishes mouth being reeled in.

Any thoughts from you kokanee slayers on how you run your boat is appreciated.

Bluknight

That's pretty much what I do..see no harm in letting the gear dangle for a few minutes while bringing the fish in. However, few times left power on and picked up a double from an apparent school. Overall, I feel better shifting into neutral for a bit. Lately, the kokes have been so aggressive they are hooking up with t wo hooks sometimes. Day before yesterday, forgot my landing net..but. we reefed 16 of 17 over the side if you can believe that. All 12-16"! Again, I think this time of year super aggressive as get ready to spawn. Would not want to try that trick in June or July. Good luck.

[FallRiverGuy]

When solo I always shift into neutral. It will depend on several factors if I go into neutral when fishing two rods. If my set-back is long I keep power. Short set-backs in deep water I would feel ok abut kicking it out of gear. If I am fishing next to the bottom I never want to loose power. If the wind is blowing and I am trolling into it, I'll keep power.

[dlm]

Originally Posted by FallRiverGuy

When solo I always shift into neutral. It will depend on several factors if I go into neutral when fishing two rods. If my set-back is long I keep power. Short set-backs in deep water I would feel ok abut kicking it out of gear. If I am fishing next to the bottom I never want to loose power. If the wind is blowing and I am trolling into it, I'll keep power.

all of that. I have even been known to throw it in reverse, such as last week trolling with the wind alone and hooked into a brown that was not cooperating.

[sucker]

When fishing with downriggers I just slow the boat to about 1mph ; easy as I troll with an auto pilot electric with a wrist controller. I have tried stopping but find the fish is more likely to run under the boat and get tangled in transducers and downrigger cables. It is a lot more fun with the motor shut off but find a low speed forward motion helps keep the fish behind the boat and out of trouble.

[Doc_Rhen]

I keep under power but then I usually have three other lines in the water to keep organized. We lose a few but I don't think that we would increase our landing percentage much by going to neutral.

[moknots]

Many good inputs. One more idea -- turn hard into the fish that is on to slow that side of the boat and keep the other side fishing if the situation calls for it. The outside rod will keep fishing and stay out of the way even if you reduce throttle to near nothing (outside fishes faster). Lots of variables, but I generally don't go to neutral

[dlm]

Originally Posted by moknots

Many good inputs. One more idea -- turn hard into the fish that is on to slow that side of the boat and keep the other side fishing if the situation calls for it. The outside rod will keep fishing and stay out of the way even if you reduce throttle to near nothing (outside fishes faster). Lots of variables, but I generally don't go to neutral

This also keeps the fish away from the downrigger cable on the other side of the boat. We always immediately pull up the downrigger that the fish was caught on just to get it out of the way. When I am alone, I hit the button on the electric as soon as I have tripped the release and/or taken up any slack between me and the fish.

[SilverBullets]

We just keep trolling. I can't count the number of times while reeling in one rod, the other goes down. It seems the majority of hits come close together while trolling through schools.

[chukardave1]

I will keep trolling also. Maybe decrease the speed if I had been going a little faster to entice the bite. Moknots makes a great point about turning into the fish. That worked well this past weekend when we had a fish on. We were fishing in a very small/tight area and the fish battle might take a couple, three minutes. No one was steering so I just put the boat into a turn, not real tight, but enough I didn't have to worry about where we were headed nearly as much. Also picked up a couple doubles that way.

[ElkTalker]

Originally Posted by moknots

Many good inputs. One more idea -- turn hard into the fish that is on to slow that side of the boat and keep the other side fishing if the situation calls for it. The outside rod will keep fishing and stay out of the way even if you reduce throttle to near nothing (outside fishes faster). Lots of variables, but I generally don't go to neutral

Unless I have doubles or triples, Then I just slow down.

On a side note, If possible I like to turn toward the sun. This makes it more difficult for a kokanee to see the net coming.

ET

[Bluknight]

Thank you to everyone for the input. I will be trying these new techniques today on what is likely my last trip up there this year. Normally I would be putting the boat in the water about now but I have my 12 yo nephew in town and apparently they don't get up before 8!

Oh well - hopefully I'll be posting some pics in the Merwin thread tonight with the great success.

Thanks again

Bluknight

[Cannon]

Originally Posted by Bluknight

When I'm koke fishing (Merwin and Yale) it has been my practice that when a fish is on I shift the trolling motor in to neutral, land the fish and then get back under way. This obviously leaves the other rod with no trolling speed. I am running downriggers if that makes a difference. Bluknight

The last two years we have continued to troll unless it is real rough. My hookups and landing have not decreased due to not shifting to neutral. But, in saying that, my trolling motor is operated by a TR1 autopilot so I don't have to mess with the motor while landing a fish. While fishing into the wind, I will hit idle down which maintains my direction but slows me down substantially.

[Akatrout]

I used to go to neutral but now I just keep on movin on. It seems like going to neutral just isnt necessary as I have the majority of my fish boated in under a minute. If it is a bigger fish that is going to put on a significant fight then maybe, but how often does that happen with kokes? Another thing to consider is if you have alot of line out with a reel with a low retrieve ratio, you may have to keep the boat moving to keep resistance on the fish otherwise they may head for your boat, outrun your reeling ability, create slack, and get away. My anyway.

[Snapset]

I keep moving. It keeps the other lines straight. More importantly, it gets the hooked fish to the surface quicker, which tends to keep them from going as nuts on the surface. It also helps prevent slack in the line.

[marshworm]

Everytime I find myself having a weak moment and start wondering about the sensibility of me trying my hand at trolling for kokes as well as jigging for them you boys bring me back to my senses.
Wow that was scary!
Got myself really close that time!
Thanks guys

[dlm]

Originally Posted by marshworm

Everytime I find myself having a weak moment and start wondering about the sensibility of me trying my hand at trolling for kokes as well as jigging for them you boys bring me back to my senses.
Wow that was scary!
Got myself really close that time!
Thanks guys

Come on over to the dark side..........

Not only do you get to vary your fishing technique, you get to spend a ton more money on downriggers, poles, flashers, dodgers, hootchies, spinners, tubes, lures, nets, clips/releases, kicker motor, pole holders, gps for speed and marking schools (or channels at wikiup), sea anchors ......

Gee did I forget anything...probably

[Snapset]

Originally Posted by marshworm

Everytime I find myself having a weak moment and start wondering about the sensibility of me trying my hand at trolling for kokes as well as jigging for them you boys bring me back to my senses.
Wow that was scary!
Got myself really close that time!
Thanks guys

You sound like one of those guys who wants to know if he has a fish on before he gets his gear to the boat.

[marshworm]

Originally Posted by Snapset

You sound like one of those guys who wants to know if he has a fish on before he gets his gear to the boat.

Yup thats me, been that way since 1957 when Dad first took me to Diamond. Also I'm not sure but trolling doesn't look to me like it would be very condusive to taking naps....especially if you're by yourself!

dlm,
yea ya did ferget to mention that new kicker you bought last spring!

Any idea how many kokes per gallon you're gettin now?....

[jzell]

Am weary of my depth + setback. Always go into neutral. My fishing partner and I want to THROUGHLY ENJOY the fish fighting on the end of the line. I see no reason to keep going forward. Doubles are nice, but generally we catch them and ENJOY the fight...one fish at a time.

jz

[pharmseller]

The fish I catch are SO BIG I have to keep the motor in gear to prevent being towed backward!

P

[Cannon]

Originally Posted by pharmseller

The fish I catch are SO BIG I have to keep the motor in gear to prevent being towed backward!

P