New to the area..questions

[nixerx]

Hey everyone.
I just moved here a month ago and im gearing up for some fishing. Hows the bass in GP? and whats the attraction to these little kokanee fish? Ive never heard of em. Is GP good for Kayaking?

thanks

 

[troutdude]

Welcome to OFF, and to our area.

GP is a great place. I've fished it OFF, and on, since the mid 1960's. But, mostly for trout and sometimes kokes. Kokes are a landlocked sockeye salmon. They are just about the best fish I've ever had SMOKED! Plus, you can keep 25 kokes per day. There are also large Chinokanee too (landlocked Chinook). A fellow OFFer got one last month, that was in the 10 lb. range!

I don't recall seeing any Yaks out there. It's a big lake. But, I do know that peeps fish from Yak's, canoe's, etc. It's do-able.

WORD: Almost every single day, a strong wind whips the waves up at 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. So, keep that in mind when you're planning to go.

 

[wozniasm]

What TD stated is true regarding the wind. Hagg may be better for kayaking. They have bass once it warms up a bit.
Hagg may be a bit out of your way...

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

There are small mouth in GP, its fun to fish for them after the koke bite dies off. The lake also offers decent trout fishing and there is a possibility of catching landlocked chinook, which some get very large

 

[nixerx]

Thanks for the replies guys. What kind of wind are we talking about? Serious chop?

I have to wait to get my license as Ive only been here about 2 months and I guess to get the resident rate you have live here for 6months. Its killing me but its a lot of scratch for a non-res.

 

[Combat Chuck]

I think my draw to the kokanee is the chaotic bite. Being able to troll 2 rods a person only adds to that. You can troll through a school and have 4 rods go off... then your throwing rods and kokanee down as fast as possible to get the other fish or get back down as fast as possible. Sometimes its just hilarious how often your hit and keeps everyone in good spirits. That and... they're tasty! Lots of smallies around... just look for stumps.

 

[rainORsnow1]

Easy answer for the draw to being a koke head is they are picky biters. People will go out and catch ten their first time out and think,"what the big deal?" They find out the time they go out and they hit the morning bite and it seems like they'll catch them all day and then, bite shuts off and they end up not catching anymore but they'll see the seasoned vets rolling by nailing fish after fish. I was one of them. Still am sometimes. The reward is when u figure out the bite and can follow the biters all the way down the water column and keep em biting. Plus they are the best tasting fish. Man o man are they good. And I don't eat fish very often at all.(Yes a fisherman who doesn't eat fish, I know)
Plus there are other lakes in Oregon that produce giant kokanee and green peter has been known to kick out some good fish in past years. Here is a link to the willowa state record. nexthttp://fishwisher.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/sept-11-oregons-world-record-kokanee-lake-wallowa-lake/

 

[troutdude]

Thanks for the replies guys. What kind of wind are we talking about? Serious chop?

It comes down the gorge, from the NE usually. Yes, it can be choppy enough to make a kayak outing less than fun. That's why I mentioned it. It often produces sizeable white caps; and can get rough.

You can just about set your watch to it. It kicks up as early as 9:00 a.m. But usually strikes about 9:30 or 10. Sometimes, a bit later. I'd say it's hit about 80% - 90%, of the days that I've fished there. So, it's a rare day when there is no wind.

So, its a good idea to be close to shore by mid-morning, in a cove, or a place that you can take out, and hike back to your vehicle. You can call Linn County Parks & Rec, if you want more information.

 

[C_Run]

I took my kayak up a few times last spring and began to get the hang of koke fishing. I also located some smallmouth bass under the overhanging brush. I mainly stuck to the arms. Start early to avoid the wind. The draw for koke fishing for me is the quality of the eats. The challenge is to not lose them once you've got one hooked. My wife has instructed me to get more this year so I expect to be going back up. Good luck to you.