Another great story, Tyler! Your first recognition of Kokanee in a river reminds me of me first awareness of them. Metolius River…fly fishing in the fall for trout. The Kokes in full spawning regalia hanging out in the side channels and braids were a wonderful sight to see. Made the trip that much more special….undulating carpets of red in gin-clear water. Rainbows and browns downstream…taking tiny egg flies.
What a beautiful area! I'd love to see more content about their lifecycle, etc. Thanks for the tip about switching to bloody tuna scent. I'll try take both my normal and bloody tuna out next time.
I think watching these vids has convinced me that Im going to need to break down and get a downrigger if I want to fish deep enough for summer Kokes. As a side note, I played football in college and have played at Western State. they used to be a good Division II team back in the day and gave us some good games.
Love watching your videos and all the great info you share. I went to WSC as well and would go fishing from shore as often as I could. I pulled my first kokanee near Iola and had been 'hooked' ever since. Just getting in to kayak fishing this season in the PNW and want to say you're a great help and inspiration!
Thanks Tyler, I was hoping you would fish Blue Mesa, caught my first Kokanee there as well as many others. Haven’t been since the late eighties, sad to see it so low but great to see that it can still be productive.
Very cool to see you fish my home waters that I fish 2-3/days/week. That is a typical catch for those of us who fish it a lot, so good job coming in and making it happen in a day. I like how you can adjust the movement of your kayak after seeing a bite. I can't do that in my 17' Lund. If I had seen your videos prior to buying my boat I would likely have gone with a kayak as well. Just had one of those 17" koks for dinner that I caught today.
Sorry you had some guy give you a blank stare after you waved. There are guys like that on the lake but there are also many of us that openly share info with others in a daily basis. Like how deep and what color.
Another great video Tyler!! Loving this content and the definitely appreciate the drive you have to get all of these videos. These are some long trips! Great work and hopefully here soon you can stay more local and get after all those sockeye!
I too remember the resident kokes in the creeks (70 years ago) fall fishing for rainbows and cutts coming up from Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington to feed on koke spawn in the creeks. You ever fish for returning fall run Sockeye in Lake Washington (Cedar River run) when state regs allowed? Always great vids Tyler, thank you!
I feel like it's always the old timers that give you the death stare. Its so weird because most of the time, they are pulling up on you to see if you are catching fish 😂
Hello Tyler, your videos are all great I have viewed several of them. It is clear how to identify kokanee on the fish finder, my question is do other species of fish appear the same? Thank you for the education concerning the thermocline, every bit of learning helps.
Heading there in a couple weeks to validate if Colorado is viable for me to pursue Kokanee. If not, might switch my focus to lake trout and Walleye. I will report back on the results.
Those were some fatties! Rude people are everywhere but I've experienced it the most (by far) in a certain town known for their cheese and good fishing. It's unfortunate to see how people are willing to treat their fellow humans over fish.
I find imaging to be only minimally useful for Kokanee. There are times it may help but I wouldn't say they really help me catch fish. ua-cam.com/video/NaK9Vyh_qxM/v-deo.html
Hi Tyler, just wondering are you using any scents on your lures. I usually apply some on my dodgers and blade or hooches but Is just a messy thing that require cleaning up after you done fishing each time. Your tough on this please.
How are you determining your depth with the snap weight? I've found one chart online with the 50/50 method that gets down to about 30 feet with a 3oz weight. How are you calculating for greater depth? Cheers
@@spiltmilt so you don't necessarily need to use the 50/50 method with snap weights I'm guessing. If you want to let out a total of say 50' of line with a 3oz weight to get down to say 25' you can let out 30' of line, connect your snap weight and let out another 20' of line and you will be at the same depth as if you were using a 3oz weight on a sinking slider rig?
If I had infinite time and money I'd hit many more reservoirs but that's not a reality. 11 Mile has big Kokanee finding them consistently is another thing. I chose Blue Mesa because it's one of the more consistent quality Kokanee fisheries in the state and I have history with the place. Sorry to disappoint.
Fish from the first half of this were donated to friends along the way. On the latter half of the trip I gutted or filleted the fish and kept them on ice until I got home.
A lot of reasons I prefer the pedal over electric for Kokanee. 1.) It's lighter and easier to load and unload. 2.) Easier to cart 3.) Faster 4.) Unlimited range 5.) More variable speeds = More fish in the kayak
That would of been great i love your content and how you explain how to catch kokanee i live in Colorado so i try to fish for them every chance i get but dnt have a boat so i wait till ice fishing starts or the salmon runs in September or October
@@spiltmilt got it, thanks for the quick response. I am moving to Pasco Washington in December - currently live in San Diego CA so I am an expert offshore or tuna and yellowtail but trying to figure out everything I can about the various salmons and walleye I will find there!
The decency is gone because people view others as competition now. Same things is happening in the hunting world unfortunately. More and more people are getting into the outdoors these days.
That’s awesome that you were able to get some fishing in at blue mesa this season. They didn’t even open the boat ramp this season. I doubt it’ll ever return to its former glory thanks to the wastefulness of California.
Caught my first Kokanee this last weekend after watching your videos for a year now. 😁 Donner Lake CA
Congrats!
Another great story, Tyler! Your first recognition of Kokanee in a river reminds me of me first awareness of them. Metolius River…fly fishing in the fall for trout. The Kokes in full spawning regalia hanging out in the side channels and braids were a wonderful sight to see. Made the trip that much more special….undulating carpets of red in gin-clear water. Rainbows and browns downstream…taking tiny egg flies.
What a beautiful area! I'd love to see more content about their lifecycle, etc.
Thanks for the tip about switching to bloody tuna scent. I'll try take both my normal and bloody tuna out next time.
Once my wife retires … think I’ll go on a kokanee tour myself! Thanx for a great idea! 👍👍
That small one was no slouch at all. Gorgeous fish!
Keep the content coming
Beautiful fish I remember when I used to ask you for fishing advice! Still watching your videos lol 😂
First two fish r. GORGEOUS
I think watching these vids has convinced me that Im going to need to break down and get a downrigger if I want to fish deep enough for summer Kokes. As a side note, I played football in college and have played at Western State. they used to be a good Division II team back in the day and gave us some good games.
Great stuff as always! You should come up to Montana sometime, we have some good Kokanee up here as well 🙂
Love watching your videos and all the great info you share. I went to WSC as well and would go fishing from shore as often as I could. I pulled my first kokanee near Iola and had been 'hooked' ever since. Just getting in to kayak fishing this season in the PNW and want to say you're a great help and inspiration!
I am jealous of your kokanee vacation. I need to plan one of those in the next couple years. Thanks for sharing
I aspire to be half the fisherman you are, love your vids!
Thanks Tyler,
I was hoping you would fish Blue Mesa, caught my first Kokanee there as well as many others. Haven’t been since the late eighties, sad to see it so low but great to see that it can still be productive.
Very cool to see you fish my home waters that I fish 2-3/days/week. That is a typical catch for those of us who fish it a lot, so good job coming in and making it happen in a day.
I like how you can adjust the movement of your kayak after seeing a bite. I can't do that in my 17' Lund. If I had seen your videos prior to buying my boat I would likely have gone with a kayak as well.
Just had one of those 17" koks for dinner that I caught today.
Sorry you had some guy give you a blank stare after you waved. There are guys like that on the lake but there are also many of us that openly share info with others in a daily basis. Like how deep and what color.
Another great video Tyler!! Loving this content and the definitely appreciate the drive you have to get all of these videos. These are some long trips! Great work and hopefully here soon you can stay more local and get after all those sockeye!
In exact location 2 days ago ,good fishing👍good video
I too remember the resident kokes in the creeks (70 years ago) fall fishing for rainbows and cutts coming up from Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington to feed on koke spawn in the creeks. You ever fish for returning fall run Sockeye in Lake Washington (Cedar River run) when state regs allowed? Always great vids Tyler, thank you!
I think that was before my time. I have fished them in the Gunnison River and Speelyai Creek. They are very aggressive.
Awesome catch! Hope to see you at strawberry reservoir when I'm out on my old town. You're gonna catch some big boys!
I caught good numbers of fish but nothing giant
So awesome you did blue mesa!
Felt great to be back.
I feel like it's always the old timers that give you the death stare. Its so weird because most of the time, they are pulling up on you to see if you are catching fish 😂
Awesome kokanee 👍👍
Thanks Ryan 👍
Hello Tyler, your videos are all great I have viewed several of them. It is clear how to identify kokanee on the fish finder, my question is do other species of fish appear the same? Thank you for the education concerning the thermocline, every bit of learning helps.
I lived right by Blue Mesa for years but, never fished for Kokanee other than the fall run. We focused on those dinosaur Lakers.
love your trip. would also like to see some of the parasites.
Heading there in a couple weeks to validate if Colorado is viable for me to pursue Kokanee. If not, might switch my focus to lake trout and Walleye. I will report back on the results.
It’s been fishing well this year from what I’m hearing
You should fish for spawning kokes in the rivers this fall.
Opening a beer will trigger a bite even better than eating something!😉
If I open enough of them my troll speed and direction becomes even more irregular!
@@spiltmilt "Always on the turn" 😁
Where I live we have Kokanee beer, I can always catch a couple of those at least
Great video as always . Is 4yrs the max on kokanee.
Its the average a tiny few will go to 5 years unless they are triploid then hens can live up to 6 or 7 years.
What's a triloyd
A Kokanee with 3 sets of chromosomes that render it sterile
Those were some fatties!
Rude people are everywhere but I've experienced it the most (by far) in a certain town known for their cheese and good fishing. It's unfortunate to see how people are willing to treat their fellow humans over fish.
Another great video Tyler, thank you. BTW, "common decency" isn't so "common" any more unfortunately.
Paulina this weekend he surface temp of 53.2 but the fish were sitting in the 25-35 range. Would you suppose that was purely cause of the sunlight?
Likely a concentration of zooplankton at that depth
If I know the surface temperature, is there a "rule of thumb" that'll give me a starting depth for the desired 53-54 degrees Fahrenheit?
Not really it varies widely by lake
You utilized a depth temp gauge early in the vid. Is there a link? Or is that a Helix accessory? Thanks.
Fish Hawk TD Sensor: amzn.to/3xEZY6A
Another great video, do you recommend side or down imaging for Kokanee fishing out of a power boat?
I find imaging to be only minimally useful for Kokanee. There are times it may help but I wouldn't say they really help me catch fish. ua-cam.com/video/NaK9Vyh_qxM/v-deo.html
Another great video have you ever smoked them!
I smoke them all the time.
Hi Tyler, just wondering are you using any scents on your lures. I usually apply some on my dodgers and blade or hooches but Is just a messy thing that require cleaning up after you done fishing each time. Your tough on this please.
I don't I find it to be too messy and haven't noticed much benefit. Well scented fresh bait seems to suffice.
Do you put a bend in your Paulina Peak dodgers? Or are you using a different dodger on the dropper line?
They come with a bend in them.
How are you determining your depth with the snap weight? I've found one chart online with the 50/50 method that gets down to about 30 feet with a 3oz weight. How are you calculating for greater depth? Cheers
I use this tool liveprecise.com/tdepy.html
@@spiltmilt so you don't necessarily need to use the 50/50 method with snap weights I'm guessing. If you want to let out a total of say 50' of line with a 3oz weight to get down to say 25' you can let out 30' of line, connect your snap weight and let out another 20' of line and you will be at the same depth as if you were using a 3oz weight on a sinking slider rig?
Typically I let out 35', cip in, and then reset my line counter and go from there. I don't adhere to the 50/50 method and never have.
You are in Colorado and not going to Eleven Mile reservoir,???? I dont understand that, there used to be about a 5lb average in that lake.
If I had infinite time and money I'd hit many more reservoirs but that's not a reality. 11 Mile has big Kokanee finding them consistently is another thing. I chose Blue Mesa because it's one of the more consistent quality Kokanee fisheries in the state and I have history with the place. Sorry to disappoint.
yeah thats too bad, i havent been to 11 mile in 30 years, was hoping to see it again.
I was really hoping you’d stop here. Never got to fish when I lived down that way for work. Loving this series!
No strawberry video?
Patience it's coming
What do you do with all the Kokanee you catch while you’re on the road?
Fish from the first half of this were donated to friends along the way. On the latter half of the trip I gutted or filleted the fish and kept them on ice until I got home.
The hardest fish to catch is the last one!
💯 percent true
How long is your leader after your dodger
6 to 8”
Why are you using a pedal kayak over your electric kayak?
A lot of reasons I prefer the pedal over electric for Kokanee.
1.) It's lighter and easier to load and unload.
2.) Easier to cart
3.) Faster
4.) Unlimited range
5.) More variable speeds = More fish in the kayak
You goin to fish wolf ford res or Dillon
No wish I had more time and funds to hit more places.
That would of been great i love your content and how you explain how to catch kokanee i live in Colorado so i try to fish for them every chance i get but dnt have a boat so i wait till ice fishing starts or the salmon runs in September or October
I keep hearing you say something about coke pods? I am sure that's wrong but what is your talking about?
Copepods. Parasites that commonly attack Kokanee and trout
@@spiltmilt got it, thanks for the quick response. I am moving to Pasco Washington in December - currently live in San Diego CA so I am an expert
offshore or tuna and yellowtail but trying to figure out everything I can about the various salmons and walleye I will find there!
No bank no
Spilt Milt video? Stop everything and watch!
REa
The decency is gone because people view others as competition now. Same things is happening in the hunting world unfortunately. More and more people are getting into the outdoors these days.
I get the competition factor but Kokanee are so rarely limited I just laugh when people get upset about other people being out Kokanee fishing.
@@spiltmilt completely agree with you.
Elevation sucks the life out of you !!! I would of chose to use the electric motor 😁
That’s awesome that you were able to get some fishing in at blue mesa this season. They didn’t even open the boat ramp this season. I doubt it’ll ever return to its former glory thanks to the wastefulness of California.