Before my operation in May, which has kept me sidelined for the past two months, I had the opportunity to talk to Mike Ramsay about Kokanee fishing. I chose Mike because of his reputation for being successful in taking Kokanee throughout the seasons. Mike is the Provincial Director of Provincial Fish Policy and Allocations with The Ministry of Environment in Williams Lake and has written numerous magazine articles about Kokanee fishing.
Kokanee Salmon, also known as landlocked sockeye salmon, are distributed along the Pacific Ocean from California to British Columbia and are found in freshwater where they spend their entire lives. From what I have read, they can have a lifespan of up to six years, but three to four years is generally the norm, and like salmon, they are fall spawners.
During the early part of their development, they primarily feed on zooplankton and daphnia, gradually transitioning as they get older to feeding on insects and on occasion, small fish. Depending on the lake, their size can range from 25 to 50 cm.
While I have spent numerous hours chasing these elusive salmonids, what I learned from Mike has greatly enhanced my knowledge of catching Kokanee during the open water season.
Kokanee have a keen sense of smell and prefer colder water temperatures, leaving the shallows in the spring, and returning there in the late fall. During the rest of the open water season, they can be found at depths that have the desired temperature, usually around the thermocline. Because they are most often found in schools, locating them on sonar is usually quite easy. Getting them to take an offering is sometimes quite a different story. Mike has provided me with several suggestions, based on his experience, to help put Kokanee in the cooler.
He likes using a dodger as, he explained, fish are easier to play. He uses four-inch ones in silver, hammered silver, or nickel.
While there is no one magic lure or bait that will take fish consistently, he recommends using a fly, Hoochies in pink, hot orange, or chartreuse, or an apex lure, all with bait or scent. Even Wedding Rings with a couple of maggots can be effective Mike says. (As an aside, my good friend, Bill Ludtke from Clearwater fishes almost exclusively with a spinner set-up he makes himself and using this along with bait, he does quite well.)
The baits Mike attaches are corn (cured and scented), maggots, and worms. Recommended scents include Procure Tuna, Shrimp or Prawn for the corn.
He prefers trolling at speeds up to three kilometres an hour, but will go slower, although he says he catches the larger fish at the faster speed.
While all these methods work at any given time, Mike says the Kokanee are unpredictable and at times downright hard to catch.
I asked Mike about the stocking program, and he says they stock 3N, or triploid sterile fish, and some 2N diploids. These 3N fish are inclined to grow larger. He says that three pound plus kokanee can be expected in some of the more productive lakes.
Bill has caught kokanee well over two pounds this spring and summer in both Bridge and Deka Lakes, and Jennifer, at Cariboo Bonanza Resort on Horse Lake, has weighed in many kokanee over two pounds so far this year.
My apologies for not getting this article out sooner, but there is still plenty of time to employ a lot of these fish catching strategies. It is my intention to again contact Mike before the ice fishing season and get his tips and tricks for catching these great tasting landlocked salmon through the ice.
