Yale Lake, Washington Kokanee Fishing

Just outside of Vancouver Washington sits Yale Lake. Yale Lake is a fantastic kokanee fishing location, really close to the city. In this article, we look at the gear people are reporting success with, the best locations to find fish, and the depths people are reporting success at.

About Yale Lake

Yale Lake is technically a reservoir, created in the 1950s along the Lewis River. The elevation is 486 feet and the depth of the Lake is 252 feet. Yale Lake is a short drive out of Vancouver, Washington. It also attracts anglers from the Portland area, looking to target kokanee. This reservoir is a popular place for all sorts of outdoor activities.

People report the most success kokanee fishing in the spring and in the fall. Summer kokanee fishing is also popular, but you’ll need to fish deeper for the fish. If Yale Lake shuts down, as it can do on occasion in the winter, Merwin is just a few miles down the road, and its fishable all year round.

Where is Yale Lake

How to Fish for Kokanee in Yale Lake

The most popular way to fish for kokanee at Yale Lake is trolling with a downrigger. Kokanee fishing is a boat fisherman’s game. You’ll want to troll at 1.2-1.8 mph with a kokanee rig, and I list the most popular gear below for that. You can also jig for kokanee but trolling is definitely the more popular option. You need to find the kokanee, get on them, and then work that school of kokanee until they move on. Then you find them again.

Yale Lake is really big, and there are a lot more places where you can find kokanee, but these are the most commonly reported areas of success in the forums, social media groups, and fishing reports. If you’ve got a fish finder, you should be able to find schools of kokanee throughout the lake in deeper water, as long as you know what kokanee look like on a fish finder.

Most Common Depth for Finding Kokanee on Yale Lake

As it gets warmer, kokanee salmon go deeper. They can be hard to find, but depending on the water temperature, you can find Kokanee salmon from 10’ to 80’ with an average being around 30’, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to consistently find them at 30’. Electronics are very important, and especially at Yale Lake where the water is REALLY deep and kokanee depths can vary so drastically

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.

Most Popular Kokanee Salmon Rig for Fishing Yale Lake

I combed through several forums, fishing reports, and social media groups to figure out what most people were reporting having success with. Your most common kokanee trolling setups will probably work, but a little refinement and knowledge from locals never hurts. This is what people are reporting success with.

Most Popular Lure or Hoochie at Yale Lake

Squid hoochies are the most popular type of lure used on Yale Lake, though wedding ring lures are pretty popular as well as well. Pink was by far the most popular lure color on the water, with green and orange as secondary choices. Any of the lures below will work well. I personally prefer the double hook kokanee lures, as kokanee strike out of aggression, and the two hooks provides twice the opportunity to hook into a kokanee.

Most Popular Dodger at Yale Lake

There were several popular kokanee dodger colors according to the forums. According to the forums and groups, a pink dodger is the way to go. People also liked pink combos. Pink and silver, pink and orange, etc. Watermelon, pink and green, also falls into that category.

Most Popular Bait for Kokanee At Yale Lake

The most popular bait to tip the hooks with at the end of your lure or hoochie is overwhelmingly shoe peg corn. Shoe peg corn is a more firm and resilient type of corn that can stay on the hook better and longer than regular sweet corn. The corn can also absorb scent and flavor, and it provides a kokanee something soft to bite into. If they aren’t hit on the first strike, they’re more likely to strike again. I’m a fan of fire corn, which is a dyed and scented corn.

Most Popular Scent at Yale Lake

Kokanee are extremely sensitive to scents, so many anglers use a scent spray or gel to help both cover the human scent, and attract the kokanee. Gulp maggots or scented shoepeg corn can help cover that scent, but others like adding a gel as well. According to our analysis of the forums, the most popular scent is Anise, with Bloody Tuna coming in second, and a variety of garlic options coming in third.

Video of Kokanee Fishing on Yale Lake

This video showcases a good snapshot of the sizes of kokanee on Yale Lake, as well as how hot the fishing can be on the water.

Kokanee Spawning at Yale Lake

Kokanee in Yale Lake spawn primarily in Cougar Creek, and they’ve established a self sustaining salmon population in the lake. The salmon have been spawning there for quite some time. Kokanee have also been spawning in other streams and tributaries. Kokanee have been thriving in the lake since before the 1970s.

Other Fish You Can Catch Trolling for Kokanee at Yale Lake

Cutthroat Trout

There is a healthy cutthroat trout population at Yale Lake, and I’ve found they bite on kokanee rigs more than most other types of trout. Cutthroat trout are a lot of fun to catch and will often bite on the same gear as what you’d use for kokanee.

Bull Trout

All bull trout must be released

Yale Lake Bag Limits:

• Kokanee 10
• Cutthroat 5
• Bull trout 0

Yale Lake Kokanee Fishing Specific Regulations

If you are fishing with bait, any kokanee that is within legal size limits that you catch is counted as part of your daily bag limit, whether you keep it or release it.
Make sure you check the Washington Fishing Regulations to stay up to date on any changes before hitting the water.