Jigging For Kokanee

Introduction

When someone mentions jigging for kokanee in British Columbia, most people think about ice fishing. But this vertical method of fishing is becoming more popular during the open water fishing season because it is effective and saves fuel in the process. YouTube is a great source to visually see how people are jigging for kokanee.

Jigging for kokanee when a boat motor is not running is enjoyable because an angler can spend time outdoors, taking in the sounds of nature and not the sounds of a running gas motor.

Getting Started

To begin, an angler must find a school of kokanee to target. This can be accomplished by trolling around and marking schools of active kokanee. Fish finders, like a Garmin Striker 4, are useful tools that help make finding the fish easy. Once you locate a school, mark the GPS location to help you find the fish later, in case you get blown off the.

When the fish are shallow in the water column (20 to 30 feet), they can be boat shy when the motor is running. Kokanee that are shallow in the water column tend to dive deeper as you stop over top of them with a motor running. Turning off the motor is key. Drifting over shallow schools of kokanee with a quiet watercraft does not seem to scare them off, except in clear water.

If the school is deeper than 30 feet, a running motor does not seem to bother them, and they are usually more willing to bite. Using a motor to stay on top of the fish can help in the wind. Electric motors with anchor lock features are ideal for this type of fishing, but gas motors can also be effective when the operator of the boat pays close attention to boat position while using a fish finder.

 

Rods & Reels

When jigging for kokanee, the type of rod used is different than the softer trolling rods, specifically designed to catch kokanee while trolling. A great crossover rod and reel combo is the Okuma Kokanee Aveon set up. This set up can be used while trolling and jigging for kokanee and does it at an entry-level price point. The line counter reel helps when jigging and the rod is stiff enough to jig a light lure effectively.

Using a rod with a stiffer back bone and less flexible tip is ideal. A softer, kokanee-specific rod is not needed because kokanee will usually be hooked in the top of the mouth, which makes it harder for them to shake loose. Most entry-level rods can be great for this fishery, as they tend be stiffer in nature. Spinning reels are easy for everyone to use, but do not record depth like a line counter reel can. Knowing the depth kokanee are feeding at while using a line counter reel can be effective for those on the boat who cannot see their jig on a fish finder.

Jigs & Flashers

In calm water, an ice fishing flasher and ice jig presentation can work well to catch kokanee. While an ice fishing set up works, using a jig by itself can prove to be more user friendly. A jigging lure can be cast out freely and allowed to drop to depth. Also, a jig is normally heavier than an ice fishing set up and can get to the zone where the kokanee are before they swim away.

Some great colour choices are pink, orange, chartreuse and green. The colour blue also works well at depths over 40 feet.

Some great lure choices are Buzz Bombs (large and small), Kokanee Slammers and Big Nasty Tackle Trout-N-Pout spoons. There are a few things to consider when choosing the right lure for the job. Most jigs come with treble hooks and work well where allowed. A treble hook often finds itself buttoned up inside a kokanee’s mouth, which normally helps reduce the number of fish lost and converts it into a quick limit on the lake. Buzz Bombs are a great lure choice when the fish are rolling and prying themselves off your jigs. The design of a Buzz Bomb allows the jig to slide up your line and prevents a kokanee from prying on the lure and getting off. Kokanee Slammers are great for jigging in the wind and offer added action when drifting while jigging. When kokanee bite these jigs, they usually inhale them because of their smaller profiles. Big Nasty Tackle Trout-N-Pout spoon have the best glow available in the industry and glow at depth for extended periods of time. The glow produced by these jigs intrigues curious kokanee and usually gets hit hard when they get closer, because of the small rattles they have inside the lure.

 

Baits & Scents

Popular baits to use for kokanee when vertical jigging are scented corn (garlic, anise and krill), gel scents and synthetic plastics like Berkley Gulp maggots. Ice fishing baits also work well for vertical jigging. Scent dispersal in the water is more concentrated while vertical jigging and smaller baits like mealworms and pink maggots can excel when corn is not working. The smaller legs of a mealworm can also provide a focal point on the hook for a kokanee. Mealworms store well in the summer heat when left to breathe in the open air and can have a longer shelf life compared to corn when left out on the boat.

Techniques

When the lake is calm, most people assume jigging will be the best. This is not always true when kokanee are shallow in the water column because kokanee spook. The kokanee ripple (a slight breeze) is a much-needed environmental tool to help catch more kokanee. Position your boat to drift in the direction of the most active fish. Not only can your boat drift slowly and quietly across multiple schools of kokanee, but you will also save on fuel costs. Always use a jig weight that allows your line to be as vertical as possible in the water. This allows you to target the exact depth, or slightly above, where the kokanee are holding.

When the wind picks up, switch to a heavier jig to stay in the zone longer. Lighter jigs will end up swinging out of the strike zone in windy conditions and become “trolled” high in the water column. Heavier jigs can be cast in the direction where your boat is drifting. Once above the lure, it should mark at depth, and you can use your fish finder to follow your jig and the fish below you.

Deploying ice fishing techniques will help to entice a bite while jigging. A small, subtle jig and a five-second pause might work one day and another day the kokanee might only want bigger jigs, aggressive jigs or something in between. The key to jigging is to count the time between jigs while letting your lure come to rest and finding the magic presentation style of the day that the fish are interested in. The cat-and-mouse game can also be played to entice a bite – reeling up past active kokanee and/or dropping down past them to help push territorial kokanee to strike. Another effective method of jigging for kokanee would be using a bow-mounted electric motor with an anchor lock feature or having a person captain the boat and using the motor to keep all lines vertical in the water column.

 

Landing Techniques

Kokanee often exhibit acrobatic tendencies when reeling them in while jigging. They love to roll and dart in an attempt to escape. When hooked in the top of the mouth, kokanee can be reeled in quickly with minimal drag settings. A quick retrieval can turn into a last-minute fumble for the net. Having a net person helps, or a net ready within reach, but directing a frantic kokanee into a net while floating stationary is sometimes harder that it seems. Steer the fish into the net with steady pressure. A boat that is trolling would have pressure on the fish while steering them into the net and this technique is similar but feels awkward with higher-than-normal drag settings on a reel. Shorter nets can also be helpful because kokanee usually end up beside your boat when reeling up from depth.

 

Get Out There & Get Your Jig On

Jigging for kokanee is a fun, economical method of fishing for a great-tasting, renewable resource. If saving on the fuel bill and enjoying drifting around on the lake sounds appealing, then give this fishery a try. There is something special about holding a fishing rod and feeling a kokanee hit a lure jigged off the side of the boat.