As the summer winds down, the kokanee are now in their pre-spawn stage. That means the male kokes start getting larger snouts, humped backs and an apricot color. All third year kokanee begin their descent toward the bottom of the lake as they prepare for the late fall spawn. The rocks at the Point will be the favorite spot for hiding out. That means we will be putting our down rigger cables down to maybe 100 feet deep in 115 foot of water.
There will also be a Spanish Armada of fishing boats circling the area.
Many down rigger balls will end up in the rocks on the bottom. While it is a risky time for us trollers, it is also a great time to drift your tackle into a heavy school of hunkered down kokanee. Let’s face it, it’s worth the risk of lost or damaged equipment and tackle.
We will continue this annual ritual until early September. That’s when the maturing kokanee will turn to a red color and softer and not great to eat. That’s when more fun begins. Fall trout fishing in Stevenson Bay. For some unknown reason, the trout migrate from other areas of the lake toward the streams of the north and south forks of the Stevenson Creeks.
They are triploid trout and do not spawn. But it seems Mother Nature does not tell them and they dart for the streams with spawning on their minds.
We limited out almost every trip last year in the Stevenson Bay areas. And what do I use, yep, the Stevenson model Trout Buster with a tip of crawler on the back hook and corn on the inside hook. You put them behind a weighted Mountain Flasher that will take your offering down 20 feet right where the trout hang out. This normally works for us until we close for the winter on October 1st. Of course there are some pre-spawn kokanee that are also hugging the streams to actually go spawn. Some may be edible, but are still capable of a good fight.
Returning to this month’s pre-spawn kokanee fishing, we will most likely use pink, white, purple and pink or orange hoochies, like my Mountain Hoochies. They are tipped with scented corn and are behind a dodger. I will use my purple, silver and orange Mountain Dodgers.
So, look for a good kokanee bite for the rest of August and into early September. Then go east and find some big schools of trout. You will find my boat back there most days. It’s been a spectacular 2019 season, I think it will end with a bang!