I've never fished Padden before, but have wanted to try and see if I could find the kokanee there for quite some time. Decided to finally give it a go, called Russ Elgin to see if he wanted to join me. We met up and headed north.

We started the morning chasing kokanee, but were having zero success. Using all of the typical kokanee gear ad tactics I've had great success with at every other lake in Western Washington. After a bit Russ and I decided to give up on the kokanee and target rainbows. We had steady, consistent action with the rainbows. Russ using a variety of his God's Tooth Spoons, I used God's Tooth Spoons and Dodger's and a Diamond Flash Spinner. On the spinner I put on a Gulp Pinched Nightcrawler, the God's Tooth Spoons I was fishing bare. Action of all of it.

After a while I was over by where Padden Creek empties into the lake, my line at 5-7 feet down with the dodger, spinner, and Gulp crawler when I got a takedown. Soon as I started to reel in the fish, I knew it was acting like a kokanee. Kokanee typically shake, spin, and roll the entire way in, where trout will typically pull and tug. Got the fish to the surface, and sure enough, a kokanee with a gulp nightcrawler!?!? Ok, that must have been an accident. A short while later, another fish on, and all be darned if it doesn't feel like another kokanee.... yup, it is! What the heck! I pull up both lines, switch to all kokanee gear, and again, nothing. Decided after a bit the kokanee must have just been 2 accidents and put back on the trout gear. A short while later, bam, another kokanee on the spinner and gulp worm. Now I pull up the other line, but the dodger back on and a God's Tooth 50/50 kokanee set up with a gulp worm, and sure enough, that line grabs another kokanee! Russ in the meantime, not having gulp pinched nightcrawlers, just goes bare hooks with a God's Tooth Kokanee set up, and he gets one!

We had a great time, tried for kokanee and missed, switched to rainbows and got steady action then out of the blue started hitting kokanee with 100% trout gear. So, I guess in the end we hit our target species of kokanee, but got them targeting rainbows. Report says targeting rainbow, which we were when we got out kokanee. Targeting the kokanee in typical fashion got us nothing. Reverse psychology I guess.

On the kokanee, they were small and skinny. They are within weeks of spawning, still in good shape, but are only running 10-11 inches, the biggest being 12. Due to this, Padden won't be a lake I would recommend making a kokanee destination, given the much better quality of kokanee in the other nearby lakes. But if you happen to be there, the kokanee are an option.

Video below shows most of the action for the day.

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