Got on the water about 10. Our first visit ever to the lake. A guy on the dock was pulling out, said he was fishing all morning and it was slow. But we had our first hit (in the bay not far from the Honeysuckle beach launch) on the first pole we put out, while still putting the second one out. Got it almost to the boat and it got off. That would be the story of the day. Probably boated ~20% of our hits, some got off during the retrieve, others got off inches from getting the net under them, others got off just as we netted them. Kokanee have soft mouths and these are big Kokanee and it seems their weight gives them an advantage, as compared to the smaller bluebacks in Pend Oreille.

We ran 3 poles (2 of us in the boat but only 1 of us had a 2-pole permit). 2 were on downriggers and one was sticking out the side, using a jet diver to pull it down. The outside line only got one hit all day and he got off about halfway through the fight. Would have been real tough fishing without the downriggers. Got fish from about 35 feet to 55 feet.

We tried various lures but pretty much settled on orange wedding rings, that's what they seemed to want. The dodger used made a big difference too. Sling blades in green or white seemed to work best.

We would fish for up to an hour or so with no hits, then find a school of them and get a hit or two or three, maybe boat one if we were lucky. Later, rinse, repeat, that's how the day went. Not knowing anything about the lake, we basically circumnavigated the main area of the lake, attempting to learn it. Got bites and fish in several areas. But at the end of the day, about 7:00pm, the score was 7 good sized bluebacks in the boat, 1 small one released, and one trout.

The fish were beautiful, nice size, great fighters, and deep orange meat, almost red. So while the blueback fishing is quite a bit slower than it is in Pend Oreille, you get something better for your efforts.

The parking area is a bit difficult for a larger truck & trailer, and late in the day, the area is congested too. If you have a long pickup and tandem trailer, I'd say park on the road leading to the launch. I'd avoid it on weekends, too. It's the main public access to the lake and swim area and on a summer weekend day, expect a zoo. If you have a smaller setup, go up to Sportsman Park instead.

dwh4784

6/25/2015 2:08:00 PM

Getting off that lake in the afternoon on a weekend is a nightmare. We would usually end up just backing our trailer down the middle and loading up between people that were clearly planning on being parked there for awhile. Haven't fished Hayden in years but there were nice bass and really BIG crappie in there also.

Cozmo4196

6/25/2015 2:24:00 PM

Nice work. I'll be out most of late next week and through the holiday weekend. What was the average size of the fish you landed?

manukabay

6/26/2015 11:47:00 AM

They were all in the 14-15 inch range, not huge, but really fat. Each one is probably 2-3 times the weight of an average Pend Oreille blueback.

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