Ice Fishing for Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee salmon are a type of cold-water fish found throughout the world and have been stocked in lakes and reservoirs around the United States.. These smaller salmon are sockeye salmon that traveled inland and through a series of events were landlocked in fresh water. These fish generally grow to be 1-4 lbs and are delicious. They start to get really aggressive in the late February to early March time frame, which is right in the middle of ice fishing season, and its a great time to chase kokanee salmon.

I’ve been ice fishing for years. I had to largely teach myself. My dad claims he has a super power where he can shut down any lake during ice fishing season. I’ve seen him do it too, so naturally we didn’t do much ice fishing growing up. Luckily that wasn’t a genetic trait, but I was left to my own devices for learning. I put in a lot of work, and have chased a lot of different species, and I’ve gotten good at it. I still don’t take my dad, but the information I’ve learned should get everyone without a curse onto some fish through the ice.

Where to Ice Fish For Kokanee

The hardest part is finding the kokanee. It’s not like trolling where you’re covering a lot of area. You need to find the schools of salmon, and fish while they’re in the same place. Then the fish can move, so you may want to move. Moving is a lot harder when you need to move a tent, all your gear, sleds, and then make another hole, so here are some tips to get you on the kokanee faster.

Kokanee like to hang out in deep water where they can find an abundance of zooplankton, their main food source. Knowing where the deep channels in the water are is big help, and that’s a great place to put your ice auger to work. Another really common area in reservoirs to find kokanee under the ice is 40-100 yards out from a dam, which is where the water is often the deepest in a reservoir. Once you find the kokanee, keep fishing that same spot as long as the bite is hot. Kokanee school together, so if you find one, there are man more to be found.

You’re be able to ice fish for kokanee in various places throughout the US and Canada where it gets cold enough to ice over. A lot of kokanee lakes are at higher elevation, so ice fishing is a likely possibility. All of Utah’s Kokanee Lakes generally freeze over, but some in more temperate places, such as Oregon and Washington don’t always freeze over. You’ll be able to consistently find places to chase kokanee through the ice in Montana, Idaho, Utah, and BC, and other lakes and reservoirs throughout the west.

Jigging: The Technique for Catching Kokanee Through the Ice

Jigging is when you raise and lower your fishing rig in the water by moving the tip of your pole up and down, creating action in the water to entice a kokanee salmon to bite. There are two common mistakes people make when jigging for kokanee.

Common Jigging Mistakes

1. Jigging too fast or aggressivley
2. Not keeping tension on the line when letting the line down

Jigging too fast or aggressively will scare the fish away. Your goal is to have enough movement that it makes your lure or dodger, or whatever you’re fishing with have the right action. Think of the speed you’d want that lure or jig to go if you were trolling. You want to jig at about that same pace.

Going to fast can often lead to the second problem, which is not keeping tension on the line when lowering the line back down after lifting it back up. This has less to do with creating the right action, and is more about not losing fish. Kokanee will often bite when you’re dropping the line back into the water, so you want to keep your line tight enough to feel the bite. You want to be in control both raising and lowering the line through the ice.

What to Use for Ice Fishing For Kokanee

Kokanee tend to strike out of aggression, not because you’re imitating their food. A kokanee’s primary food source are the little plankton that are in the water, and I doubt you’ll be able to put one of those on a hook. Instead, fishermen try to get the kokanee salmon just mad enough to strike, without creating so much motion and action that they run away, no matter how you’re fishing for them. Your fishing gear for catching kokanee through the ice should accomplish that goal.

Use What You Use For Trolling Kokanee

Your kokanee trolling setup can also work for jigging for kokanee through the ice. You have your dodger, with a kokanee lure or hoochie about 8-24 inches below the dodger, then tip the last hook with either a maggot, a wax worm, or some scented shoe peg corn.

Best Ice Fishing Kokanee Rig

At my job I’m a data analyst. I crunch numbers, so applied that to my fishing research. As I’ve done my writing and research, I’ve gone through several forums and groups to see what people are reporting having success with. The most popular rig for ice fishing is a Pink dodger, wedding ring lure about 12″ below the dodger. Then, tip the hook on the lure with a single pink gulp maggot. This is obviously not the only way to have success, but its what most guys are saying they pull kokanee on the ice with more often than any other setup.

Mack’s Lure Wedding Ring

Mack’s Lure Double D Dodger 4.4 Inch – Pink

Berkley Gulp! Alive! Waxies Fishing Soft Bait

Other Popular Ice Fishing Rigs

Various dodgers are popular, though pink is the most popular, or pink combinations, like pink and green, pink and silver, etc. If you’re fishing lake’s with smaller sized kokanee, some guys like using a KastMaster as a dodger. Instead of the wedding ring, you can also try squid or shrimp hoochies, an ice fly, or a lot of guys like the glow hook. Jigging spoons are another popular one, again, usually in pink. Another common response is the Swedish Pimple. A lot of guys also like to add additional scent to the kokanee, because kokanee are very sensitive to smells. Garlic and tuna are the most popular ice fishing scents.

What Depth for Kokanee Through the Ice

Kokanee like to lurk in tannin-rich, deep lakes and ponds, waiting for their food, zooplankton. The easiest way to find how deep the kokanee are schooling at is with a fish finder. It’s just plug and play. If you don’t have a fish finder, we recommend starting at 10 feet, then move down in 5-10 foot increments. It’s especially handy when you have another person so you can fish at different depths, so you’re able to find the kokanee bite twice as fast.

Ice Fishing Fish Finder

Ice fishing fish finders use a transducer and sonar technology to find the fish in the water. These sensors then talk to the computer, and mark the fish on the screen at their current depth. You can know in an instant the right depth to fish at, or if there are any fish there at all. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find the right depth for kokanee without a fish finder, only to realize that they just weren’t in that water column. If you want to up your odds for success ice fishing for kokanee, get a fish finder.

Garmin has been producing the best ice fishing fish finder in recent years. They’ve got great technology paired with their established GPS system. Having a carrying case to help protect it from the elements is also a really nice feature that I like in the Garmin. It really is a great all in one package. Then you see if there are fish in the water. If the schools of kokanee aren’t showing up, you might need to move to get better action. Once you find the school of kokanee though, you’ve generally got some hot and fast fishing.

Garmin Striker Plus 4 Ice Fishing Bundle

Catching Other Fish While Jigging

Jigging for kokanee through the ice might lead to you pulling up more than the chrome kokes. The jigging motion also can attract a variety of other fish. You’ll generally find a lot of trout in the same waters where you’re fishing for kokanee. Rainbows, browns, cutthroat, and a host of other fish bite on the same set up that kokanee love. Generally speaking though, if you’re there fishing for table fare, kokanee just taste better than most any trout. If you’re close to limiting, throw back the trout and keep the kokanee.

Ice Fishing Safety

Above all, stay safe while you’re out fishing. Videos of people falling through the ice, or stories of guys not coming home from ice fishing are always sad, and they always freak out my wife. I then have to remind her that I’m not stupid. I know how to be safe on the hard water. Make both of our lives easier and stay safe. Here are some tips to both keep you safe, and to convince your spouse that you aren’t going to be doing a polar plunge while you’re out chasing kokanee.

• Research where you’re fishing
• Test the ice
• Avoid ice over moving water
• Let a friend know where you’ll be
• Avoid taking a vehicle on the ice
• Bring a buddy
• Have life saving gear with you
• Keep yourself dry and warm

About Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee salmon are landlocked sockeye salmon, which means they don’t return to the ocean and live their entire lives in lakes or reservoirs before spawning in rivers, streams, or gravel close to lakeshores. These salmon are delicious and are really strong fighters, making them a prime target for anglers, and the popularity of this fish is growing. Kokanee are a schooling fish that feed on zooplankton in the water. They tend to find where these plankton are at and then they congregate and feed all in that one area. These plankton, and the kokanee that feed on them, like to hang in water that is around 50-55 degrees, so these salmon are usually only able to survive in deep alpine lakes and reservoirs, and can be found from depths of 10 feet, all the way down to over 100 feet deep.

Conclusion

With a little preparation, ice fishing for Kokanee can be a great experience. Having a passion for fishing, I always enjoy the opportunity to share my experiences with others. It’s understandable that it may be challenging to ice fish for kokanee. They are hard enough to catch without the water being iced over, but the payoff is worth the effort. They’re a lot of fun, and really tasty.