Previous Next

A three day weekend is too valuable to waste on choirs – right? Well, my wonderful wife JoAnn said “let’s go camping and fishing at Yale Reservoir”. You better bet I jumped at that offer! We packed up the trucks, grabbed the dogs, and make a leisure Friday drive down to our campsite. Pitched the tent and watched a movie then it was off to bed for an early start on the water.

Yale always fishes pretty good for kokanee, the big question is how big will the fish be? In years past they were dinks, and then the past few years started to push 12-13” which in my opinion is a nice kokanee to catch, especially if there are good numbers to be had.
We had the boat in the water by 6am Saturday and Sunday. The water level is down but there is plenty of dock space and the nice thing about May fishing is the crowds are not quite as thick as in the summer.

I decided to run two downriggers for the deeper fish and two leaded lines for the top side. This seemed to be a pretty good plan. I ran a variety of my favorite gear, dodgers and various hoochies, etc. Corn, of course. The magic trolling speed was in that 1.2-1.3 range. We marked fish everywhere, more across from the Yale Park boat launch, less up by the dam. We caught fish down to fifty feet but most fish came from the leaded line rods.

The size of the fish this year? Well, not great, 10-11” was the best we could do, but there are a lot of them and I just ate one for dinner. Like eating a miniature sockeye salmon, right? Delicious!

We had two days of amazing sunny, warm weather. This was May? Wow! Check out Yale for lots of steady action on smaller kokanee. The kids will have a blast! Oh, and here’s a suggestion from a NWFR member I met at the launch – if the fish get finicky give a bare hook and a bead (with a piece of corn) a try!

thaxor

5/18/2021 2:23:55 PM

Was there a month ago and couldn't buy a bite to save our lives. Good to see things are getting better.

salmonbarry

5/18/2021 5:54:33 PM

Great report Mike and glad you and JoAnn were able to get away for a few days! Need to get up there and try that lake one of these days!

Ben Eggertsen

5/18/2021 6:21:11 PM

Another fun read and excellent report Mike! What a great way to spend a nice weekend.

Mike Carey

5/18/2021 7:34:01 PM

thanks guys, fun weekend for sure. We hit it just right!

greenrowboat

5/19/2021 7:27:12 PM

Nice looking Koks- all scales intact means no bruising on the fillets to show up after defrosting later. Must have a C&R net- soft. I was researching the other day about bleeding salmon to improve their taste- getting all the blood with lactic acid and adrenaline (and bacteria) that give an "off" taste to the meat. Haven't heard much about that around here -- have you? but up North it is big for top-dollar draw; https://www.paradigmseafoods.com/post/understanding-the-importance-of-bleeding-salmon
----- http://www.alaskakingsalmon.com/bleed-that-fish-for-the-best-taste/ -------- http://www.thedutchharborfisherman.com/article/1121bleeding_fish_results_in_high_quality_price

What a nice wife- I have one of those also.

Mike Carey

5/20/2021 7:34:28 AM

I give them a tap on the head to stun them, cut the gills and bleed them out in a bucket, then into the cooler. Seems to work pretty good for me. JoAnn was a trooper, up at 530am each day

greenrowboat

5/26/2021 4:09:03 PM

Sorry for taking so long to reply. Same here, 75% effective; https://www.paradigmseafoods.com/post/understanding-the-importance-of-bleeding-salmon I bring RO filtered water from home that I may add a ball-point pen end to my water pump line to also pressure bleed and I gut right away before icing in cooler on boat. https://www.alaskawideopen.com/single-post/2017/03/30/Cleaning-Salmon ----Sanitary.... Long as they are below 40*F- which stops the stomach bacteria (enzymes) from eating through the walls to the meat. I see so many pics of Kokes laid out (80-90) on a hot table or metal surface on a boat- kick-starting the decomposition there and hastening the pre rigor time. Not counting the additional handling; http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Training%20and%20Events/EH/FPS/ProvFishInspMan_Sec6.pdf 30-32 of 62--- https://thefishsite.com/articles/salmon-a-guide-to-handling-and-quality https://www.kellysfreshfish.com/premium-grade#troll-caught

Thanks for the answers and your time, Gary

Mike Carey

5/26/2021 5:14:15 PM

Great info!

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save