Solid Gold Fishing in The Mother Lode
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In general, though, kokanee salmon fishing almost always includes boating. As spring slowly turns toward summer, fishing picks up for kokanee and the salmon will quickly seek deeper depths, as the water warms. Late spring to early summer finds the kokanee at depths of 20-40 feet. Mid summer-time temperature will further move the kokanee down to deeper depths of 60 feet, plus. Late summer trolling for kokanee can be deeper than 100 feet! Now comes the good part - how to catch them. Use a light action six and a half or seven-foot rod coupled with a light action-spinning reel. Light action rods will flex easily and the shock-absorbing action of the rod works better to prevent the little salmon 'hook shakers' from getting away. Tip: A long handled net will definitely put more fish in the boat. The longer the handle the better, and net them quickly!
Tip: Most of my last seasons success comes from using Uncle Larry’s Spinners. The hooks on the Uncle Larry’s spinners are tied directly to the leader line rather than attached to the lure body. This eliminates 'rigidity', making it harder for the fish to shake free. Kokanee salmon are soft-mouthed and have a ton of energy. They can (and often will) throw the hook before you can get them to the net.
To your light-action rod and reel add eight-pound monofilament for the main line. On the end of your main line tie a slow to medium-action flasher or dodger. My favorite dodgers are the Sep's Pro Silver, Sep's Side-Kick Watermelon, and Shasta Tackle’s- nickel green Sling Blade. If I use a flasher, my choice is the Sep’s Pro Willow Leaf (silver).
Next, tie a 14-20 inch six-pound test leader to the flasher or dodger, then tie your favorite lure to the leader. Some very good lure choices are: Uncle Larry’s Spinners; Sep's Kokanee Kandy; Mack’s Wedding Rings; and Shasta Tackle Hootches, to name a few. With spinners like Uncle Larry’s and Mack’s Wedding Rings, etc., the leader is already provided. There are many other good products to try, also. Be sure and give the UV products a try. The UV product is designed for deep trolling and gives off a glow. The colors of your lures should be in yellow, oranges, pinks, reds, purple, and blues. If I could only pick two colors, I would choose orange and pink, because these colors catch kokanee most of the season. Chrome dodgers with pink, green, or red colors work well, also. Tip: Sometimes it is difficult to find the correct lure color for the kokanee. You go through the color spectrum and still catch nothing. Important: Try changing the blade color. I have found that using a spinner with a matching colored "spinner blade" often does the trick when nothing else will. Now you are almost ready to put the lures in the water, but wait! There is still one more important step. Adding scent to your lure is a must! The Pro-Cure Company makes many good scents and their success is commonly reported. Ok gang, now it’s time to do some kokanee fishing. You read, earlier, about cool surface water during first spring. Most trollers are fishing for trout, now, because the kokanee have not yet reached their peak bite. Even so, anglers will catch an occasional kokanee at this time, trolling with just a lure, and using no weight. A quarter-ounce lure trolled 80 feet behind the boat will run at a shallow depth of around 7 feet. Later spring weather drives the water temperature up and the kokanee go deeper. Now the kokanee bite becomes more consistent and gains more attention of the trollers. At this time, the kokanee are not real deep, yet, allowing you to use a sliding sinker, some lead-core line, or a downrigger, to get the lure down to the fish. I suggest using a small dodger or flasher at this time.
Once we get into early summer, the kokanee have moved to depths of 35 feet and will continue to go deeper every week, all summer long. Now is the time for downriggers. I use a manual Scotty Downrigger. These devices are convenient and very productive. If you have a fish locator (I use the Fish-Graph by Eagle) and it shows fish heavily at a certain depth, lower or raise your downrigger to put your lure just above the fish. Fish finders also show the bottom depth and are a great tool to keep your tackle safe from hang-ups. Tip: If you don't have a fish-graph, watch for groups of boats on the lake. The reason they are grouped is usually because there are fish in the area. A trolling motor, or trolling plate, will be needed to keep your boat at speeds under 3mph. For kokanee, the best trolling speed is around 2mph. I have caught kokanee at speeds up to 3+ mph, at times, but I recommend keeping your boat in the 1.7 to 2.3 mph range. If you aren't sure of your trolling speed, just go very slow. Trolling motors are gas powered, or electrically powered. I own a small boat and effectively use a Minn Kota electric trolling motor. A heavy boat usually uses a
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About the Book
(Basic to Advanced)
Solid Gold Fishing in The Mother Lode is all about catching fish: record-size largemouth and smallmouth bass; trout; catfish; kokanee; crappie; land-locked striped bass; and king salmon. Through a lifetime of fishing experiences, the author has learned the knowledge and transferred years of his techniques and strategy to details in this book. Still-fishing, jigging, trolling, bank-fishing, night-fishing, lure casting, it’s all here, and plenty more! Your final results will be a fun day, with a limit of fish! This book has flow and heart and names fishing locations and products that William, personally, is successful with. And talk about dozens and dozens of good tips, this book is a "cover-to-cover school book" when it comes to successful fishing techniques. Another purpose of Solid Gold Fishing in The Mother Lode is to get people out of the house and into the natural wonders that our Mother Lode countryside offers. Plenty of wide open spaces will give your body and mind a place to relax. Spend a day or a weekend enjoying the history of the small towns. Visit the museums and antique shops to get a first-hand look at the products used back in the gold-rush era. Finally, yes this book delivers good, solid details, on ways to attract fish and get them to strike your bait or lure. But, not all of the book is advanced fishing. Included, is a chapter just for the kids and parents to get them catching immediately, and in a way that saves parents money! Oh yea, do you like hiking and camping when you fish? Don’t worry, hiking and camping is included for your convenience. Now it’s up to you. Come on, have fun!
About the Author
William is blessed to have grown up in California's Mother Lode area. By the age of eight, fishing was one of his favorite things to do. He had two ponds within hiking distance from his house, giving him thrills catching bluegill, bass, and crappie. William's mother was a real help back then, as she realized his passion for fishing. When he would ask her to drive him to a lake, river, or stream for some trout fishing, she was happy to take him. Today, fifty years has gone by since those days, and he still lives and fishes close to where he grew up. Old School Basic Fishing was his first book on the fishing basics. Solid gold Fishing in The Mother Lode, his second book, is more advanced: naming locations; seasons; products that work; techniques; and a bunch of good additional material! Since William's first book came out, to present time, he has done fishing seminars, fishing shows, scouting, reporting, local TV and radio, and became a part-time columnist. Naturally, his knowledge of fishing continued to grow doing all those fishing interviews and reports! Fishing is still his favorite sport, and, believe me, he has learned to catch fish quickly. William admits, it took a lifetime of 'trial and error learning' what you need to do, otherwise, he wasted time, and, time is important. William really enjoys fishing with friends. Getting a half-day of great entertainment, fun, and a few fish dinners, too... he laughs, what a sport huh? It does not get any better than fishing, if you ask William. He likes to read about fishing, watches it on television, and talks about fishing with people he meets. .