Kokanee Hoochie Skirts
Use kokanee hoochie skirts to make your own kokanee lures, or replace the skirt on damaged lures or hoochies you may have. It’s smart to have spare skirts in your tackle box to keep you out fishing longer.
Best kokanee Hoochie Skirt Size
Kokanee tend to like smaller hoochies. The size for most commercially made kokanee hoochie skirts range from 1.5-2.5 inches long. The smallest commercially available pre-made hoochie lure is probably the Rocky Mountain Tackle Micro-hoochie. If you’ve got a pair of scissors, you can easily take a 2.5 inch skirt down to a 2 inch skirt. Most people don’t think of cutting their hoochie skirts, but you can experiment and see what size the fish in YOUR lake are biting on. It’s not the same lake to lake, or even day to day.
Best Color Kokanee Hoochie Skirts
The most popular hoochie colors are:
- Pink
- Orange
- Green
- Purple
- White
- Blue
Kokanee salmon seem to have different favorites at different lakes. I’ve also found that kokanee respond to different colors at different times of the year as well. In the spring and early summer, pinks are usually the winner. As summer progresses, orange and pinks do well, followed by greens. In the later season, purple and blue work well. White is extremely popular during ice fishing season. Honestly though, any of these colors can be the favorite of the day. Unless I have insider or local knowledge, I tend to start with pinks, regardless of the time of year, and then tweak and adjust from there.
Shop Our Amazon Affiliate Store For Kokanee Hoochie Skirts
Below are a series of links from our Amazon affiliate store. Amazon has a bunch of good hoochie skirt options, and some not so good options. We’ve tried to put together some of the better options and color choices out there. We also like that these come in some bulk packs. I tend to do a lot of kokanee fishing, and go through more of these than most people, so I like the bulk options. Just a reminder, we do get a kickback if you buy something from out affiliate links, and honestly, that money will probably end up being spent on tackle.
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 and streams. 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.
It’s pretty much impossible to stick a single plankton to a hook. In kokanee fishing you’re not trying to imitate their food source. Instead, you’re imitating little critters that might be competition to their food source, and an annoyance. You’re trying to get a kokanee salmon to strike out of aggression, and a squid hoochie is perfect for that. Pair these with a kokanee dodger for maximum success. If you like making your own kokanee tackle, check out our guide for DIY Kokanee Dodgers.
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Kokanee Candy Recipe
A recipe for sweet kokanee candy bites, a great meal, snack, or appetizer. This recipe also works with most other salmon and trout. This recipe is perfect for small “scrap” pieces that come off of your fillet, collars, or you can always slice up a fillet. What is Kokanee Candy? Kokanee candy is a sweet…
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Best Kokanee Downrigger Rods
This article looks at the best rods for targeting kokanee while fishing with a downrigger. There are a number of different variables to consider, such as if you’re fishing from a big boat or a kayak, length, durability, cost, and just downright effectiveness. This guide should help you determine what to look for, along with…
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Kokanee Salmon Snagging in New Mexico: Your Ultimate Guide
If you’re an angler looking for an exciting adventure this fall and winter, New Mexico has something special in store for you—kokanee snagging! This thrilling fishing season runs from October 1st to December 31st and offers the chance to catch kokanee salmon in some of the state’s most picturesque waters. In this blog post, we’ll…
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Best Downrigger Release Clips for Kokanee
People have asked me about downrigger release clips for their kokanee fishing usually after having a day or a week of dragging kokanee around a lake without having any fish pull the line out of the clip. Kokanee are a different beast. This article looks at why people have these challenges, and the best clips…
