Suttle Lake kokanees & brown trout Labor day 2012

B
bernduffy
Spent a week camping on Suttle Lake. Had family staying nearby at Black Butte Ranch, so I was off and on the lake, but managed to hit it every morning as early as 5:30. Firstly: there are a ton of fish in this lake, both kokes and browns. Secondly: I've never had to work so hard for so few in the net. Re; kokanee. Caught 15, the largest being 7". You heard that right. I threw back the first few before realizing this was all I was going to catch. Caught mostly on different kinds of wedding rings tipped with corn soaked in tuna oil. A little anise scent on the lure seemed to help. Brass/nickel willow leaf and Ford fender lake trolls worked. My dodger and hootchie collection were useless. Also needed to put on extra weight to get down to the 30' feeding zone. So with 2-3 ounces of lead and lake trolls, I was hardly feeling the little kokes when they hit. Should have brought my downrigger. Still, it provided good action while I hunted for the real game: German Brown Trout.

My fish finder was marking dozens of these bad boys in all parts of the lake. Many of good (12" and up) size. They are obviously gorging themselves on the abundant kokes. The problem is, as many of you know, this has got to be one of the most cautious, hard to catch species. I heard of others having success with rapalas and Zinger type jigs. I tried both for hours before throwing the tackle box at them...for a solid week. Seriously: I would mark 20 tightly schooled browns, half of them bigguns, and wouldn't even get a bump. no matter what I was presenting. Then, on day 6, having given up on Mr & Mrs Brown, I was trolling my kokanee rig...when, you guessed it: my lightest rod bends in half with a 13" brown. Great fight on light gear lasted about 5 minutes. A lot of fun which somehow made the whole week worth it...know what I mean? How strange is the mind of a fisherman...? We'll work for 6 days without success and in five minutes it all turns around.
And how strange are these trout, taking a wedding ring with corn! Don't they know what they're supposed to go for? We need to set up a computer on the bank so these guys can get online and learn what they are supposed to be hitting.

Seriously, one guy told me that with the powerboat noise (remember, I was there around Labor Day) the browns settle in and don't come back to biting until mid Sept. If that's the case, I'd like to get back, cuz that lake is loaded.


Beautiful dry weather. Water temp 62-65. A few days saw strong winds as early as 10am. Water clarity approx 10 feet. As many as 12 Ospreys working the lake, taking lots of kokes (and keeping the browns down).

Culinary notes: The little kokes were absolutely delicious. The brown was surprisingly bland and needed a lot of help: lemon, fish sauce , etc.


Final thought: living on the shore and fishing every day? I could get used to this!

Cheers,
Bernie

Suttle Brown.jpg
 
J
JeannaJigs
Nice brown! We used to fish there a lot when I was growing up but I haven't fished it in a good 10 years. I do remember the kokes being minnows even then. Still fun though.
 
B
bernduffy
JeannaJigs said:
Nice brown! We used to fish there a lot when I was growing up but I haven't fished it in a good 10 years. I do remember the kokes being minnows even then. Still fun though.

And here I was thinking you took all the big kokes, Jeanna! It's a tough fishery. One of the upsides: you don't have much company! A great lake to relax on in the morning or evening.
 
troutdude
troutdude
bernduffy said:
And how strange are these trout, taking a wedding ring with corn! Don't they know what they're supposed to go for? We need to set up a computer on the bank so these guys can get online and learn what they are supposed to be hitting.

One of the best lines on here, ever! We'll be happy to tell 'em what to hit!!! LOL
 
troutdude
troutdude
How far behind your boat, was your trolling rig? 100' works for 'bows (at least early season, when the fish are spread out and shallow).

I've heard that 200' is good, for browns. But, I'm thinking 250' for ones that are really spooked out (like they are at Suttle right now).

Not too mention, less weight would be needed--at that distance--to get into the 30' deep strike zone.
 
B
bernduffy
Yes, good point, Pat. I was averaging 35 to 50 pulls (@ approx 2 feet) which had me out 75 to 100 feet. 250? So now you tell me?! Don't some lake trolls just flatten out after 100 feet...or am I wrong about that? Anyway, I think I was down 30 ft after adding all that weight. I tried speeds from .5 to 2 mpg. Downrigger for sure next time. Although that ignores your point re getting more distance from a spooky fish. But then, I'm pretty good at ignoring the basic point someone's trying to make. Years of practice.
 
Last edited:
troutdude
troutdude
I'm not sure who Pat is; but it looks like you're asking me.

That's how I usually roll w/ a troll...counting reel revolutions (or pulls). I'm not sure, though, about the rig flattening out after 100 feet. I use inline banana weights for depth. But, if it doesn't get down to the correct depth at 200 (or 250) feet; then all of that effort is for naught.

Varying your speed, was/is a great way to troll. Far too many peeps, just go one speed all day long (and it's usually too fast). You will usually pick up more hits, when varying speed--because you'll eventually hit the speed that the fish want. Plus, when the fish hit...you can set your speed accordingly; at least until the bites drops OFF.

Oh...ha ha ha...just got it! Pat MCMANUS!!! LOL
 
B
bernduffy
Yeah, sorry: I assumed you were voting for yourself. Although I hafta tellya yer avatar isn't going to go over well with the Tee Partiers. Having cocktails with Aliens, illegal or otherwise, is political death on that end of the spectrum. At this point I'm ready to vote for Pat...whoever the hell that is.

Back to more imp stuff: I'm not sure it's a particular speed they want...I think its the CHANGE in speed that gets them interested. I also have surprisingly frequent hits with lake rainbows after 3-4 quick cranks when trolling. The change from horizontal to vertical trolling seems to light up their fire for some reason.

Carry on,
Bern
 

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