Late in summer, kokanee salmon start to get edgy. With spawning season not too far off, the fish get all bunched up into tightly-packed schools, and in those close quarters, the salmon become aggressive. And, that, my friends makes them particularly susceptible to one of my favorite kokanee techniques: jigging.
While trolling is, bar-none, the most popular way to catch kokanee, there are times when jigging is the way to go – especially in late summer.
To jig kokes, I like to rig up with a light jigging stick and conventional reel spooled up with 8-pound braided line. With a Double Uni Knot, I’ll attach a 6-foot section of 8-pound fluorocarbon leader to the end of the braid and then a jig to the end.
As far as lures go, I’ll drop ½- to 2-ounce spoons like Crippled Herring, Buzz Bombs, Revenge Spoons, Bomber Slabs and Hopkins Smoothies. Fluorescent colors like flame red, orange, chartreuse and chartreuse/lime green seem to be best but I’ll also carry some silver/orange and silver/chartreuse as well.
The trick to this whole game is to locate the big schools of fish. Good places to begin your quest are the faces of dams, river channels and major points. The fish will be suspended – usually 40 to 100 feet down this time of year — depending on the lake and time of day. Sometimes an armada of boats will gather in areas where the fish are concentrated and you can also find salmon schools that way.
Once you’ve found a big pod of salmon, get on top of them and try to stay there. Electric motors are handy for this and so is a GPS unit. When I spot a big school, I’ll mark their location with a waypoint. The schools are always moving, but if you mark them every time you see them on the fish finder, a pattern will often develop.
Note the depth at which the salmon are holding and drop your jig down to them. Line counter reels are very useful here, but you can also chart your progress by releasing 1-foot “pulls” of line off the reel until you get into the strike zone.
It’s important to try to maintain as much of a vertical angle to your lines as possible. If you’re drifting too quickly, the lines will sweep out behind the boat (and they’ll rise in the water column) and it becomes very difficult to keep track of how deep you’re fishing.
Keep the lures just above the school — due to the locations of their eyes, salmon see things above their position much better than below, so you want your jigs to dance in an area where they have the best chance of being noticed. Plus, if you drop your lure below the fish, there’s a much higher probability that you’ll foul hook them.
Proper Technique
With bad technique, you’ll end up snagging more fish than you hook in the mouth. The proper jigging method involves keeping the rod tip pointed towards the water and imparting very subtle lifts of the wrist. You don’t want your tip to move upward more than about 6 or 8 inches. Any greater swing of the rod than that is going to cause you to snag too many fish.
After you lift the lure, let it fall at a controlled rate. Most strikes occur as the spoon is fluttering back down, so it’s extremely important to keep the line tight on the drop so you can feel it when a fish sucks up your jig.
Wally J Taubenkrau says
Odell lake in Oregon the best for kokanee
Will Trump says
I’ve searched the internet for 1.5 oz. glow-in-the-dark Crippled Herring in solid colors of chartreuse and white. Do you know where I can find these particular jigs?
JD says
My first stop would be the Luhr Jensen website. If it’s not there, it probably doesn’t exist…
Capt Pete Rosko says
Regarding the 1 1/2 oz Crippled Herring, download the Rapala website since Luhr Jensen is now carried by Rapala after its sale in 2005. Then, scroll down to the Luhr Jensen site and click on “spoons”. The glow-in-the-dark is available in most sizes but the 1 1/2 oz size. I love the 1 oz size and it has the glow finish. You can also try Cabelas. Hope this helps…Pete ([email protected])
Capt Pete Rosko says
You may also contact Mack’s Lure in Wenatchee, WA. It carries the Sonic BaitFish that is deadly on kokanee. The glow-orange, and glow-chartreuse, are very productive kokanee finishes.
Tyler says
Here in Montana we would be caught dead using buzz bombs for our main jig. Maybe as a flasher with a rat finkie tied below it about 6 inches. Usually glow in the dark Swedish pimple with a glow on the dark rat finkie tied below it 4 to 6 inches. I also have used diffrent color variations tear drop jigs ( the size of rat finks) yellow and orange or pink and yellow, usually I do great with those set ups.
JD says
Why wouldn’t you be caught dead using BuzzBombs?
Tyler says
There is nothing wrong with buzz bombs they are very picky though thru the ice. They also have extremely soft mouths (meaning soft bites). Plus they really don’t get huge. So the smaller the hook the better.
sean says
i think the grammar correction was missed jd lol
whit says
hey were can i find some monsters
JD says
Flaming Gorge or Wallowa Lake
garrett says
hi so how do you set up line to jig? just a buzz bomb and jig it up and down? also how do you chum and use a hook and shoe peg corn?
devon brown says
what kind of reel do you use
JD says
Shimano Curado 101
Tim says
what lake produce big kokanee in Washington?
JD says
Wallowa Lake in Oregon has got monsters!
JD says
Unfortunately, nobody makes a true light tackle koke jigging stick…yet. Try light bass rods like Shimano’s Clarus CSC60MLA or GLoomis’ CR722C
george says
can you tell me which rod is the best for light jigging?
JD says
Yep….Buzz Bombs. The concept is the same as when you fished in the Sound…just the fish are smaller…
Dave says
Buzz Bombs? Seriously? I used to throw those at kings and cohos when I was kid up in Puget Sound. I never associated those slabs of metal with a dainty fish like the koke. Interesting.
Wes says
Hey JD. I was wondering what type of rod you are using in regards to power and action. Thanks!
Wes says
Hey JD. Great article. I just stumbled upon your website. I’ve jigged for Kokanee before with average success at Stampede when the trolling bite isn’t on. I was wondering what type of rods you are using in regards to power and action. Thanks!
fishwithjd says
Hmmmmm….
rudy says
I like the jigging technique on the Feather River for salmon as it is VERY productive. The only odd thing is that most of the salmon try to spawn with the jig as they come in backwards being hooked in the butt.
Rudy