Fly Fishing For Kokanee Salmon

One species that is usually chased by trolling fishermen is also accessible to fly fishermen. Fly fishing for kokanee salmon is not only possible, but during the right conditions, its a fast, fun, fishing experience. This article will tell you everything you need to know about fly fishing for kokanee salmon, from the gear you’ll need, to the when, where and how to fly fish for for kokanee salmon.

Fly fishing is a lot of fun and is growing in popularity. It’s also a great way to enjoy nature, spend time with family and friends, and get some exercise. If you’ve never fly fished before, this article, the video below, and the gear we highlight, should help you be able to hit the kokanee rivers and streams confidently. Here are some tips to help you get started.

About Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee salmon are sockeye salmon that are landlocked in fresh water. They primarily feed on Zoo plankton and are generally found in larger lakes that can maintain a cool temperature, or have enough depth to maintain a cool temperature. Kokanee are native to many lakes in the western United States and Canada including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho in the United States and British Columbia and Yukon in Canada. Populations of kokanee salmon are also found in Japan and Russia. 

Additionally, kokanee have been introduced to many other lakes in the United States including in those states mentioned above as well as in Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico in the west, as well as in New England, New York and North Carolina in the east. Kokanee have also been introduced to lakes in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada.

How to Fly Fish for Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee salmon like a long and slow retrieve when you’re fly fishing. For Kokanee trolling speed, that is about 1-1.8 MPH, which is a bit slower than a lot of other fish. You can apply that same knowledge to fly fishing for these guys. Kokanee like it slow. Kokanee usually aren’t top feeders, especially when they’re spawning, so you’ll want to focus your attention in deeper pools and longer stretches of streams or rivers. Like when you troll for kokanee, you aren’t really trying to imitate a food source, instead, you’re trying to be big and flashy and get them to strike out of aggression. egg pattern flies, nymph and bead head flies.

What Do You Need to Fly Fish for Kokanee Salmon

You’ll need an eight-weight or nine-weight fly rod, which is strong enough to cast large flies into the wind without breaking them off too easily. A reel with a smooth drag system will allow you to retrieve fish without pulling too hard on their line and breaking off hooks. A landing net will help prevent tangles when landing fish. Most importantly, you’ll need flies that entice a kokanee to strike out of aggression.

What Flies Catch the Most Kokanee Salmon

There are many different styles of flies available for catching kokanee salmon. You can choose from traditional dry flies, like wooly buggers, or wet flies like nymphs and streamers. Wet flies are generally more effective than dry flies when it comes to catching kokanee salmon because they provide more movement and flash underwater.

When fly fishing for most species, its important to understand the diet of the fish you’re targeting, but this isn’t entirely true for kokanee salmon. Instead, you want the kokanee on attack mode. Kokanee seem to be most likely to strike things that are pink, red, orange, or green (generally in that order), and things that are shiny. Egg pattern flies and nymph flies do really well for kokanee fly fishing. The San Juan Wet Nymph Flies are probably among the very most popular for fly fishermen specifically targeting kokanee salmon. These are the right color, and have the right shine and flash in the water to entice a kokanee salmon to strike at these out of aggression.

San Juan Wet Nymphs Flies

The Bassdash Nymph fly kit has bright colors and flashy material. Additionally, this kit has some pinks, and pinks just seem to connect will with kokanee. Whether its dodgers, hoochies, lures, or flies: pink is just the magic color for kokanee. That doesn’t mean its always the color for kokanee, but I’ve certainly caught more kokanee with pink than with any other color.

Bassdash Nymph Fly Kit

Where Can You Fly Fish For Kokanee Salmon

Some states, regions, or lakes close off tributaries or entire lakes to kokanee fishing to protect kokanee during the spawn, so you’ll want to know where you can fish, and when you can fish it. That said, anywhere there is a lake or reservoir that has kokanee, during the fall you can catch salmon in the rivers and streams that flow into the lake, putting them in reach for the fly fisherman. The most popular places to fly fish for kokanee are in Colorado, Montana, and Idaho.

Fly Fishing for Kokanee During the Spawn

You almost certainly won’t catch any kokanee during the summer months fly fishing, though there is a chance to catch some kokanee in early spring and ice off times fly fishing on lakes or reservoirs. Come September in most areas the kokanee start to run back to their spawning grounds, up the rivers and streams, to lay eggs and die. This is the golden opportunity for traditional fly fishing for kokanee.

Use an 8-10′ Leader. Attach a 2-3′ Tippet. On that tippet, attach a couple split shot and then your first fly. Then another 2′ tippet, and a second fly. Pay attention to depth. If you’re not getting any bites, you’ll want to go deeper. Go too deep and you’ll snag the bottom, at which point you can either remove one of your weights, or you can adjust depth, or where you’re sending your fly.

Trolling a Fly For Kokanee

You can troll a fly from a boat when fishing for kokanee with a downrigger. You can use a fly with an 8-18″ leader behind a dodger or a flasher. A dodger gives the fly extra movement or action in the water, and creates noise and vibrations, which makes a kokanee salmon want to strike at your fly. Lures, hoochies, and flies are great options for trolling.

Ice Flies for Kokanee

Ice flies are popular for jigging for kokanee, either through the ice or just from a boat. Flies are extremely versatile and are good for all types of kokanee fishing. Ice flies are a heavier fly, often with a weight, generally tungsten or lead, which allows for good jigging action. These can be jigged with a dodger or flasher and are really good for enticing kokanee to strike. All in all, flies are among the most popular options for ice fishing for kokanee.

Final Thoughts

Kokanee are aggressive fish that can be caught on fly in a variety of different situations. I love kokanee fishing because catching them is challenging and rewarding and kokanee are probably one of the very best tasting fish you can pull out of the water. Kokanee fishing is a great way to start fly fishing and get familiar with the techniques while having a lot of fun with it! It’s also an opportunity to experience a salmon run up close and personal without having to travel to Alaska.