kokanee tackle?

[Hawg-line-]

Ok i never really seriously targeted kokanee, but would like to this year If I was to spend $20-$30 on tackle what should i start with? wedding rings, mack smile blades, Shasta sling blades, dodgers, flasher, hoochie lures, apex, pro troll w/ e-chip, colors, sizes, anything that is a waste of money in opinion I shouldn't buy? My destination will be lake merwin and yale lake in washington. I appreciate any help guiding me down the right path, Thanks, steven

[Doc_Rhen]

Caught them on everything you mentioned last year on LBC and Odell. Probably already busted your budget there though as can be expected with starting down the path of a kokonut. Hopefully some Yale/Merwin fishermen will chime in with there preferences on those lakes but for me Glow Green and pink worked best. I think that the Apexes worked better than the pro trolls for me but I caught fish on both. My number one was a Purple Diamond mid-sized sling blade with a 1.5" pink apex tipped with shoepeg corn bathed in kokanee special.

[Splash]

For basics I would suggest wedding rings and some crappie tubes or hoochies. Buying the components and building your own is generally cheaper than buying prebuilt rigs. The investment might be more than your budget though. You've got a few months so try reading up a bit. Here's a start for you:

Merwin Report 2009

Merwin Report 2008

Kokanee Tackle Box

Rigging Hootchies

Keeping Kokanee Hooked

The search feature is your friend.

Good luck.

[Kokonuts]

Ditto DOC! Good info to get started.

Early season youll be close to surface in the top 15". AS the water warms up you have to go down with them so maybe a Down Rigger.

At Lake Merwin I use Wedding Rings, Apex or Protrolls, Hoochies (Squids). Run these behind a dodger or small Lake Troll. Pink , Green, Red, Watermelon are all good colors. Troll slowly about 1- 11/2- mph. Watch for the other boats if you have trouble finding them!

Kokonuts.......

[Hawg-line-]

great info to get me started out thinking, pretty exciting video knowing theres more fish than ever hit your lure, thanks alot for the info coming in, Is there a difference between a shasta sliing blade and say a luhr jensen type dodger or is it just the shape? I see the price can be $2 difference. Is it best to have some of both or not. and is there better colors/crome ect. for kokes? thanks again steven

[ElkTalker]

Merwin!!! No problem, buy two sep’s 4” dodgers one chrome with a chartreuse butt and one watermelon. This will cost around $12. Spend the rest of your fortune on green or green /red wedding rings and a bottle of Pro cure Kokanee Special. Add a can of shoe Peg corn that can double as bait and lunch if you don’t add the kokanee Special first so it really doesn’t add to your $30 dollar total, and you will have enough gear (if fished properly) to put some fish in the boat.
Tips on fishing Merwin.
1. Location; Merwin is big and the fish have been known to move so jump on here and ask before you go or follow the crowd.
2. Speed; fish slow around 1mph, also watch your gear before you send it back and make sure it’s working properly.
3. Depth; fish the right depth or you will be wasting your time. In the summer the fish are deep around 50-70 feet.

This should put some fish in the boat and from there you can start to add to your box. $20 here $30 there, $300 on beads and blades, 40 dodgers, 30 sling blades, a small fortune on Apex’s, another $500 to Gary of “Fish With Gary” and soon your tackle box will be worth more than the boat.
Good luck, ET
p.s most on the board are laughing at the $20-$30 dollar total, but at Merwin it can be done.

[I-Builtit]

Hey, I started fishing Merwin in a 12' boat, electric motar, trout poles with spinning reels and Dick Nite lures – I caught fish, it isn't that hard. And sometimes no matter what gear you have it isn't going to help.

[Addicted2Koke]

Originally Posted by I-Builtit

Hey, I started fishing Merwin in a 12' boat, electric motar, trout poles with spinning reels and Dick Nite lures – I caught fish, it isn't that hard. And sometimes no matter what gear you have it isn't going to help.

And now he is a kokanee fishing fool that on most days out fishes everyone!

[Smokerjet]

go buy 30$ worth of pink gibbs minnows

[pontoonbandit]

Originally Posted by Smokerjet

go buy 30$ worth of pink gibbs minnows

I second Smokerjet, at least at LBC, the gibbs put many a kokanee in the boat this year along with some decent bulls too. My grandpa had some custom jigs that he got from a gentleman in Salem that were white and orange, the was the only jig that out produced the gibbs. But he has Grandpa Mojo

[stupenny5]

I wish you guys would post pictures of the gear. I have to see to understand. Thank you for all that teach us that them lovely crome **** have different tastes. Yes they do get to me sometimes.

[Cap'n Ron]

Originally Posted by ElkTalker

another $500 to Gary of “Fish With Gary” and soon your tackle box will be worth more than the boat.
Good luck, ET
p.s most on the board are laughing at the $20-$30 dollar total, but at Merwin it can be done.

Elk talker is truth talker!

I wish I could stick to 30 bucks for the season. It would make a whole lot more sense then what I did last season! But I know I will succumb to the fever and spend $30.00 before the ice even clears from the boat launch. I just put the finishing touches on a kokanee rod that I built and will be doing another one later this month. Also, I was at the grocery store tonight and noticed they had shoepeg so I picked up 2 cans. The fever is already coming on and its still January. ARRRGH

[Hawg-line-]

the $20-$30 is because koke fishing is a new prospect for me, I've already spent a fortune on kings and steelhead... my main foray. but I will fish for anything that swims... especially if it tastes good. and I think the family would enjoy it and thats what fishing is all about. of coarse theres always a chance I could get hooked and spend a fortune on koke gear too...man I really need to win a lottery

[Splash]

Kokanee are like crack. If your already talking about them it's too late, the addiction has taken hold. On the plus side this forum is a tremendous support group.

[Brookiebuster]

No offense to anyone.
P.M. sent

[FallRiverGuy]

If I had to go with only a handful of lures I would get a UV Sling Blade, a Seps watermelon dodger, A Vance dodger in chrome with green tape, an orange Apex, Pink R&K hoochie and a red wedding ring, green wedding ring and a jar of Gulp Maggots. If you want to jig then a pink/white Gibbs Minnow. That is close to $30 and they will put fish in the boat.

[SilverBullets]

Well, all I got to say is good luck! $20-$30 might get you started for one trip, but after you catch the koke addiction that amount every week is more like it. You'll be transformed into a mad scientist making up all sorts of scent con-cations and be on a mission to either buy or make the perfect kokanee lure. It never ends! Your hands will turn pink from the corn dye, and your friends will accuse you of smelling like garlic or even worse the new pro-cure scent "carp spit". Once you get set up with a few hundred lures, it's time to invest a small fortune in dodgers. If that isn't enough, then it's time to look into jigs. Now your at the point of no return... the store bought lures are not worthy anymore, so you go down the path of custom built tackle. There's no stopping you now! The amount of tackle you now have is beginning to overload the boat and you start taking out seats so you have more storage space. Save yourself before it's too late!!

[Hawg-line-]

Originally Posted by Silver Bullets

Well, all I got to say is good luck! $20-$30 might get you started for one trip, but after you catch the koke addiction that amount every week is more like it. You'll be transformed into a mad scientist making up all sorts of scent con-cations and be on a mission to either buy or make the perfect kokanee lure. It never ends! Your hands will turn pink from the corn dye, and your friends will accuse you of smelling like garlic or even worse the new pro-cure scent "carp spit". Once you get set up with a few hundred lures, it's time to invest a small fortune in dodgers. If that isn't enough, then it's time to look into jigs. Now your at the point of no return... the store bought lures are not worthy anymore, so you go down the path of custom built tackle. There's no stopping you now! The amount of tackle you now have is beginning to overload the boat and you start taking out seats so you have more storage space. Save yourself before it's too late!!

Oh Yea!!! I love the smell of overindulgance in the morning



One more silly question... what month does all the fun kick off, for a (for now) non-kok-a-nut like myself, I don't mind cold but i don't need an inch of snow on my rod while I'm trolling like in a pic I saw here. I also don't have downriggers so later in the year when I need to start going deep how much weight do I use?

[Splash]

For Merwin April or May is a good time to start. You can run a dodger or small flasher setup with a WR 75-100' behind the boat with no weight. On light gear this can be good fun.

[moknots]

Wow, great input. Hawg Line, welcome! The guys on this board are generous indeed. Kinda like taking a drink from a stocking truck!

Bare bones for me means a dodger, some crappie tubes in bright colors (25 for $1.99 - $2.50), and wedding ring spinners -- green #1, red and green #2, red #3, and gulp maggots. The only way to keep this under $30 is to not fish with the above, becuase if you do, you're going down the slippery slope towards a stuffed tackle box Silver Bullets (and everyone else) nailed that!

Start in April near the surface and follow the fish down as the water warms. To keep the depth thing simple, make sure every rod has the same "drag" (line diameter and attractor), and use different weights (1/2, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 oz) and line length to hunt for the fish. Keep track of how much line you let out with a depth counter reel or by counting "pulls". Have fun.

[dlm]

Originally Posted by Silver Bullets

Well, all I got to say is good luck! $20-$30 might get you started for one trip, but after you catch the koke addiction that amount every week is more like it. You'll be transformed into a mad scientist making up all sorts of scent con-cations and be on a mission to either buy or make the perfect kokanee lure. It never ends!

You can really tell when you have gone over the edge when you are in a store, ANY STORE, and you look at what is on the shelf and start thinking "how can I adapt that to catching kokes". This affliction is why most of us stay out of kitchen gadget shops.....

[twisted lines]

Originally Posted by Hawg-line-

the $20-$30 is because koke fishing is a new prospect for me, I've already spent a fortune on kings and steelhead... my main foray. but I will fish for anything that swims... especially if it tastes good. and I think the family would enjoy it and thats what fishing is all about. of coarse theres always a chance I could get hooked and spend a fortune on koke gear too...man I really need to win a lottery

Salmon / Steelhead ? You don't know what a (Fortune) is yet! Don't forget the leadcore line. Just say NO don't do it.

[SilverBullets]

Originally Posted by dlm

You can really tell when you have gone over the edge when you are in a store, ANY STORE, and you look at what is on the shelf and start thinking "how can I adapt that to catching kokes". This affliction is why most of us stay out of kitchen gadget shops.....

And if I might add...never, I repeat...NEVER step foot into a craft store!! Pace yourself in the tackle shops. At first try not to go in more than once a week. Limit yourself to only one of each thing, then work on size options. Next comes the color phase. After you get every color nailed down, then you'll want to replenish with fluorescence's and glows. Oops, I forgot you'll need to have a good selection of UV lures also. You'll know when you have enough lures when the tackle shop calls and asks if you could bring some back because they ran out.
If you get to the point where you feel things have got out of hand with your tackle addiction remember, we're a support group...we're here for ya!

[Kokonuts]

These guys are Right On!! My fishing buddy says I have more Kokanee gear than Most the Tackle Shops.......PUT TOGETHER!
....KOKONUTS!

Of course he loves fishing with me, never has to buy anything!...

[ElkTalker]

Originally Posted by Splash

Kokanee are like crack. If your already talking about them it's too late, the addiction has taken hold. On the plus side this forum is a tremendous support group.

If kokanee is like crack, then I’m your dealer!!

Using these guys as your support group is like holding an AA meeting in a bar. Good luck and remember to just say no!!! ET

Don't forget to smoke it

[Hawg-line-]

Originally Posted by ElkTalker

If kokanee is like crack, then I’m your dealer!!

Using these guys as your support group is like holding an AA meeting in a bar. Good luck and remember to just say no!!! ET

Don't forget to smoke it

yea!!! how do you say no with pictures like that? your not a dealer your much higher in the rankings, more like a kokanee lord smuggling hundreds of pounds out of fresh water lakes everywhere

[Rick on Rogue]

When running dodgers, which are the best weights to use and how do you attach them? Do you put them right on the front of the dodger, or up the line a ways? I have found that running them right at the dodger tends to quiet the action a little, and I have always felt , more is better when talking action.

[SilverBullets]

Hey Elk Talker
Thanks alot... that picture gave me a relapse! I had to go out to the freezer and get a fix of smoked koke

[Billy Boy]

Could someone talk about the need for downriggers (how important are they), lead core line, corn, and rubber snubbers?? Nice information, keep it coming.

[chukardave1]

I prefer to fish for kokes(trolling) with downriggers no matter what the depth of the fish. The fish tend to be smaller and I feel any weight used to get your stuff down deeper just takes away from the fight. I don't use snubbers just really light action rods to absorb the wild fight put on by even a small fish. I also try and use the smallest presentation that will get bit. Again wanting to feel as much of the fish as possible. 0000 dodgers and spinners with a 24-30" leader or up to a 00 dodger with a mini hootchie and an 8-10" leader. Those are my two go to set ups. Colors will vary sometimes hourly.

The shallower I fish the further the setback I use before hooking to the downrigger. Deeper fish, 30-40'+, I go with a shorter set back.

Just my take on pursuing the little silvery devils

[Igor]

It gets you to the correct depth without using weight on your line. Also, you never know how deep your are when using a weighted fishing line.

Originally Posted by Billy Boy

Could someone talk about the need for downriggers (how important are they), lead core line, corn, and rubber snubbers?? Nice information, keep it coming.

[SilverBullets]

Originally Posted by Rick on Rogue

When running dodgers, which are the best weights to use and how do you attach them? Do you put them right on the front of the dodger, or up the line a ways? I have found that running them right at the dodger tends to quiet the action a little, and I have always felt , more is better when talking action.

I've seen the chain weights used both ways. Like chukardave1 mentioned downriggers are really the way to go...they take all the guess work out of the equation. Instead of taking up valuable time hunting for the correct depth, with a downrigger you can literally look at your fishfinder and drop your presentation down and hit em on the head. I can see the downrigger ball on the sonar screen, and adjust my depth to be right above them as I'm trolling. I've used weights before, but I didn't like the fact that you really never know what depth your at. If you do hit the sweet spot it's really just plain luck. With downriggers you can hit the right depth the minute your out on the water. Alot of days kokanee fishing there's a morning bite when the sun first comes up for around an hour and if your spending that time trying to figure out the depth your going to miss alot of fish. I also use downriggers up high in the water column mainly because if I troll through an area with floating surface debris and it fouls my line it doesn't matter because it generally stops at the clip... leaving the dodger and lure free to do it's thing.

[Sakana]

I also like using downriggers, which I have 2 Scotty electrics, but I don't like to stack when fishing with more than two people. Last year I tried using my salt water trolling rod and my Tekota LC reel w/20lb braid and clip a release on a 28 oz ball sinker. I just drop the ball down to what ever depth I want as I see it on my FF, then I just keep track of the depth on the LC after bringing up the ball to reset. This way I don't have to stack or buy another DR and no tangles.

[Hawg-line-]

ok obviously electric downriggers are great but what about manual ones? are they pretty easy to use also? or a pain in the butt. is the electric part only for raising the ball so you can be doing something at the same time, what does stacking mean? school me on why the differences (boom length, horizantal vs vertical spools, electric vs manual) and anything else I don't know, so I can spend even more money

[Fourteen]

Originally Posted by Hawg-line-

ok obviously electric downriggers are great but what about manual ones? are they pretty easy to use also? or a pain in the butt. is the electric part only for raising the ball so you can be doing something at the same time, what does stacking mean? school me on why the differences (boom length, horizantal vs vertical spools, electric vs manual) and anything else I don't know, so I can spend even more money

They electrics are about $ 500 . I paid about $ 170 for my manuals . I think my Scotties are not difficult to use at all . The weights are are only 6 lbs. which makes it fairly easy to pull them up .

[SilverBullets]

Originally Posted by Hawg-line-

ok obviously electric downriggers are great but what about manual ones? are they pretty easy to use also? or a pain in the butt. is the electric part only for raising the ball so you can be doing something at the same time, what does stacking mean? school me on why the differences (boom length, horizantal vs vertical spools, electric vs manual) and anything else I don't know, so I can spend even more money

I use the Scotty 1060 Depthking manuals with 8lb balls. These are very easy to use as long as you aren't fishing for macks down deep or going after kokes in the warmer lakes like down in California where the target depth may get to as deep as 100' by mid summer. Where I fish I'm usually no deeper than say 50'. Check out the tips and tricks video's on Vance's Tackle web site...he covers alot of the questions you asked.

[twisted lines]

Originally Posted by Hawg-line-

ok obviously electric downriggers are great but what about manual ones? are they pretty easy to use also? or a pain in the butt. is the electric part only for raising the ball so you can be doing something at the same time, what does stacking mean? school me on why the differences (boom length, horizantal vs vertical spools, electric vs manual) and anything else I don't know, so I can spend even more money

I see it now, you meant thirty a week! your getting closer.
I bought Electrics first, then bought manuals still have them all and used lead line the first month of koke catching last year.

[Aufish101]

When I started out Kokanee fishing, it was with a fly rod(6 weight) and lead core line. It works great for fish that are 30' or less. Then I switched to down rigger. On one trip, there was one down rigger being used and one lead core, they both produced fish equally. This was at Paulina.

Then I started jigging and that's what I do most now. I also make my own jigs.

Last year I mostly trolled with lead core at Wickiup. Most fish were caught at 15' or less. I did jig at LBC and Crescent.

For tackle, a few jigs, lead core line, dodger, wedding rings, crappy tubes, hoochies, you should be set for most lakes.

Aufish101

[tjbfish]

I would get one of each color of Sepps kokanee candy. They will routinely outfish a wedding ring at Odell.

[Addicted2Koke]

Originally Posted by tjbfish

I would get one of each color of Sepps kokanee candy. They will routinely outfish a wedding ring at Odell.

Did a google search and couldn't find "Sepps Kokanee Candy"...Where would one find it?

[Fourteen]

Originally Posted by Addicted2Koke

Did a google search and couldn't find "Sepps Kokanee Candy"...Where would one find it?

Try Sep's.com then go to the candy lures link .

[I-Builtit]

Originally Posted by Addicted2Koke

And now he is a kokanee fishing fool that on most days out fishes everyone!

Just as it's better to be a self-made millionaire…you know, rags to riches, with fishing I think it's better to start with the simple stuff and work your way up to when you'll have to be a millionaire to buy all the stuff!