(06-19-2021, 05:56 AM)Therapist Wrote: I have been very interested in the thoughts being posted here. A couple of things. Kokanee, being a landlocked Sockeye Salmon, will seek the coolest, most oxygenated water they can find, i.e. close to the thermocline in most of our waters. I would imagine that due to the early hot weather this year, Jordanelle is beginning to stratify sooner than normal. I don 't do much fishing for salmonoids, but if I were, I would take some time to graph some of the deeper areas of Jordanelle to try and locate those schools to target. Where do you find Kokes at Flaming Gorge and Strawberry in the summer, 40,50, 60 etc feet. Same at Jordanelle now. Surface temp is approaching 70+, so they are heading deep, you just have to use your electronics to find em.
As to wipers. They are NOT a warm water liking species. Their temperature range is more inline with Stripers than White bass. Study Wayne Gustavesons Lake Powell striper posts regarding behavior in warm water. Very similar to the Kokanee. Once a Striper hits 2-5 lbs, they cannot tolerate warm water. They seek out the cooler oxygenated water close to the thermocline and only venture into the warmer layers of the water column for short foraging sessions before returning to the depths. We associate them with warm water because we find them fairly shallow at Willard, but they do disappear for periods, only to be seen when they chase shad close to the surface during the summer. They don't have super deep water to go to at Willard, what, 20-25 ft,, but that is where they go when it gets above 70 in the summer.
Spend some time with your electronics to locate places where these fish go to get out of the heat and follow the forage. Wipers will feed on the kokes, but they also feed on crayfish and perch. At Willard, they do quite a bit of damage to the crayfish in the spring before the shad and YOY crappie are available.( gee, you think that may be a reason that you catch a bunch close to the rocks up there ????)
I think that DWR has thought all this out very carefully and have developed a plan that is based on the SCIENCE & BIOLOGY of the species they are working with. Do some reading and on water exploration to increase your success !!
From my reading, Kokanee prefer water in the low 50F range, with 53F being optimal. They do not tolerate temperatures 60F or above, and I read they'll die if in those temps for any length of time. Yesterday at Strawberry the surface temp was 64F, it remained fairly warm down to 20', ie, above 60F, IIRC. It then started dropping. At 30' it was 54.7F, while at 35' it was 52.2F. A few days ago the sharp break was between 35' and 40' at Jordanelle. I fished it pretty hard for a few hours with no results. Well, except for a good sized brown and a smaller rainbow.
I, too, believe in science and biology, so won't be fishing top water for Kokanee.
Single main, no kicker. 