Kokanee Candy
What is your favorite snack… your guilty pleasure? For me it used to be zingers. Now that I am older it is a piece of toasted wheat bread with some Nutella. For big browns, bulls and lakers it is the Kokanee salmon. I am sure most of you have eaten Kokanee a time or two over the years. They are mostly planktivorous filter feeders and usually have a nice pink meat and taste amazing. For Mr. Brown Trout there is nothing better to snack on. Kokanee have thin skin and tender bones and are easily digested compared to many other forage items.
Why is it then that we automatically start pounding the shoreline whenever we fish for browns when the Kokanee are in usually in deeper water? It is because we have watched or read about others who pound the shorelines and this is the traditional way to catch big browns. It is time to start thinking like a trout.
The Kokanee is a landlocked version of the Sockeye salmon. They usually average 9”-14” but can get to 20” and beyond. The ones that we are particularly interested in are smaller, schooling size fish that brown trout can fit easily down their gullet. The Kokanee is a plankton feeder that is very temperature sensitive, (they love 54 degrees) and will hold in the thermocline during the warmer months and be spread out surface to bottom other times of the year.
Kokanee are fall spawners and unlike most trout, all spawning adults die after they spawn. They will move up creeks and tributaries when the time is right. You may also see them spawning on wind-swept lakeshore shoal areas. They usually spawn a little earlier than browns, typically September/October time frame where most west-coast browns spawn October/November and sometimes even into December depending on elevation and water temps.
How often do you hear of big browns being caught by Kokanee fisherman? This happens all of the time. Why? Because the Kokanee anglers have their gear in the Kokanee schools and guess what is usually lurking below? These accidental browns are usually caught on flashers and gang trolls… not even trophy brown trout gear.
What lures imitate a Kokanee? I always tell people to think like a fish. Watch a Kokanee in the water and find some crankbaits/hardbaits that match the size, shape and color of what you are seeing. Kokanee are not fat so you will want a thin profile bait. Have you ever watched a Kokanee dart around? What does it do when it stops? Does it sink or rise? Most of the time it suspends. Match the hatch!
I will leave you with a story. I am sure some of you have had this same thing happen to you. I was fishing a lake in Oregon that had both Kokanee and big browns. While trolling for browns I inadvertently hooked a Kokanee of around 10 inches or so. As I got him close to the boat a GIANT brown came up behind the Kokanee and tried to eat it. I have had this happen with big browns 4 times in my life. The brown had the Kokanee in its mouth for a second and then it turned and swam off. I will never forget the teeth closing around the Kokanee and try to picture that image when I am 20 hours into a tough trophy trout trip to keep me going. I hope the next time you fish a lake that has Kokanee salmon and big trout you will try to think outside of the box and try some lures and techniques that match the candy that they love.
Mark Knoch
