Late Summer Kokanee Tactics

The Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee fishing in British Columbia continues to become more popular every year.

This highly sought-after renewable resource, the kokanee salmon, can be caught many different ways as the seasons change. Targeting kokanee in the late summer months provides an angler with the opportunity to catch these fish when they are nearing their largest potential size in the targeted lake. Catching a colour-changing kokanee with scale loss is not unusual as mid-August approaches. Kokanee follow similar behavioural patterns as sockeye salmon and tend to school in larger numbers compared to earlier in the season as they prepare to move to their spawning grounds.

Locating Active Kokanee

To find active kokanee, a fish finder can be used to locate kokanee suspended along the thermocline. Look for areas with creeks that offer good spawning grounds and fish in the bays of the lake close to these areas. Another indicator of popular kokanee locations will be increased boat traffic in an area that normally does not see high concentrations of boats.

 

Trolling For Kokanee

Anglers can be successful by targeting the thermocline zones during the late summer months. The best way to target specific depths for kokanee when trolling is to use a downrigger, and there are a few different downriggers available for anglers. Scotty Fishing Products makes both manual and electric downriggers and are readily available in Canada. Cost-effective manual models start with the Scotty Lake troll model as an entry-level downrigger and models increase in value up to the Scotty 1085 model for intermediate anglers. The Scotty 1085 downrigger boom offers the option to run heavier downrigger balls, with the option to double stack lines for increased water coverage near the thermocline. Electric downriggers can also be used, but they’re not always needed as average target depths usually range between 30 to 40 feet.

Trolling Techniques

Deeper target ranges and aggressive kokanee offer an opportunity for a shorter set back presentation behind the downrigger ball. A simple set back rule for late summer kokanee is to have a set back that matches the target depth or is slightly longer than the target depth. By doing this, an angler can drop to depth quickly when trying to get back into the zone and reduce the potential for tangling on the downrigger line. The older, mature age class of kokanee tend to prefer higher trolling speeds or a combination of speeds. Trolling speeds between 1.8 to 2.5 miles per hour are common during late season kokanee fishing, but when a fish is hooked, slowing the boat speed down will help landing ratios. Techniques like S-turns in the water will speed up one presentation and slow the presentation down on the opposite side of the boat, which can trigger a bite. Throttle bumps (speeding up slightly then slowing down) can also be a useful tool for late season kokanee. Kokanee will follow a presentation for long distances until a change occurs and this is why S-turns and throttle bumps are important techniques to use.

 

Terminal Tackle

Faster trolling speeds require the use of different gear and/or techniques compared to the slower speeds used in the early season fishery. Dodgers, like a Mack’s Lure Sling Blade or a Gibbs Dogtail Dodger, can be fished at faster speeds because these dodgers do not roll as easily compared to other dodgers at higher speeds.

Lures that do not have their own action, like small hoochie lures or micro squids, are typically fished on a short leader length of six to 12 inches late in the summer. A shorter leader helps throw the lure around in the water, which tends to aggravate late season kokanee into striking.

Lures that have their own action, like an Apex lure, Gibbs TKO, Old Goat lure or wiggle hoochie, are typically fished on longer leaders of 24 to 36 inches. These lures work best at higher speeds and entice more strikes when allowed to dance around in the water behind a dodger.

The late summer kokanee fishery also offers anglers the opportunity to be creative in their presentations because the aggressive nature of these fish will have them biting at almost anything that gets their attention. Wiggle corkies are a notable example of a non-typical lure that works to entice a bite. Popular colours to use are pink, red, orange, chartreuse and green.

Scents & Attractors

Garlic and anise are good scents to use in the late summer. These scents stimulate a kokanee to bite because they irritate them and they bite out of aggression.

Scent can be used in a few different ways. Typically, corn is used as a scent chamber and holds scent well. When baiting a hook, use only one piece of corn per hook. This will help to not take away the action of the lure. Shoe peg corn is the most popular corn used in the kokanee fishery. However, peaches and cream corn is gaining popularity in the summer months because it is readily available in Canada and the larger kernels hold more scent. Gel scents are also a popular scent to use, but anglers need to be aware of the long-lasting smell left on their tackle from the sticky nature of these scents.

Changing scents often can sometimes help increase catch rates. If you’re not getting a bite after trolling an area, change the scent you are using first. Then, move to a new section of the lake, if you’re still not getting bites, to help increase success, because lingering, unwanted scent in an area can turn the bite off.

Scents that some anglers try to avoid on their gear are sunscreen and bug spray. Wearing vinyl gloves while baiting hooks can help reduce unwanted scents and increase the odds of catching the fish of a lifetime.

 

Jigging For Kokanee

Each year, more anglers in British Columbia are learning how to jig for kokanee due to higher fuel costs. They are finding this method to be both enjoyable and effective.

While a fish finder is not required, it will help an angler locate active schools of kokanee and stay on top of the school for longer periods of time. There are a few ways to jig for kokanee once the school is found. Vertical jigging when using a fish finder is best. This method is like ice fishing and the behaviours of the kokanee can be monitored and methods adjusted if you’re not getting a bite. Some days, a small jigging motion followed by a pause will work, while other days a more aggressive jigging pattern will entice a strike.

Jigs like the Big Nasty Tackle Trout-N-Pout glow spoons, Buzz Bombs and Kokanee Slammers are good choices. Some colours to try are pink, orange, blue, green and glow. Popular baits include scented corn, mealworms and live and synthetic maggots. Keeping your jig vertical in the water will help detect a bite and using different weighted jigs can help maintain your jig’s vertical position in the wind but is not always necessary. Sometimes, drifting with the wind and trolling while jigging can be highly effective.

Landing Techniques

Kokanee have soft mouths and during the late season it pays to keep this in mind.

Double snelled hooked lures and a slow retrieve speed help when trying to land a kokanee. These fish tend to jump and roll around, so a loose drag combined with a soft kokanee-specific rod, like a Luhr Jensen kokanee downrigger rod, will help absorb the thrashing and reduce the chances of the hook coming out of their mouth. A slow retrieve will help kokanee expend energy away from the boat and this will make netting them easier as they approach a long landing net. Kokanee that are brought in too quickly to the boat have a higher chance of getting away.

Kokanee anglers are encouraged to retain all kokanee caught until their limit is reached, due to their high mortality rates. The stress from warmer water temperatures is hard on these fish and because of this, barbed hooks are typically used (where allowed) to help with landing success. Rubber nets like an Ego Slider net make barbed hook removal an effortless process so the angler can get their presentation back in the water quickly.

 

Keeping Your Catch Fresh

As the days get hotter during the summer, keeping your catch fresh becomes more important than ever. Bleeding, gutting and storing kokanee on ice is the best way to keep them fresh. Cooling them down can be done a few ways, depending on the scenario. If you’re close to home or a freezer, ice packs or coolers packed with frozen bottles and water work well. The best way to cool your catch quickly and keep them cold is ice cubes. As the ice melts, it will cool the fish and the water left behind stays cold for a couple of days until the fish can be processed for consumption.

 

Should I Go Kokanee Fishing?

The question, “Should I go kokanee fishing late in the summer,” is always up for debate. Some anglers believe a kokanee becomes inedible once they start changing colour and losing their scales. This is not true. Kokanee maintain their firmness and oils well into their early spawning stages. Not only are they fun to catch because of how aggressive they become, but they are also the biggest they will be in their lifecycle. Warm summer temperatures make it easy to introduce new anglers and children to this great fishery. Should you go fishing? Absolutely.