A Bridge to Big Kokanee

Kokanee Eh? Is Presented by:
- Paulina Peak Tackle: paulinapeaktackle.com/
Central British Columbia is home to many lakes that host natural spawning or stocked populations of Kokanee. Most famous is the "Fishing Highway" of the Cariboo where more than a dozen Kokanee lakes can be found within 30 minutes of each other. In this Kokanee Eh? series I venture north of the border to target my favorite fish in foreign waters. After struggling on Bridge Lake during poor weather I decided to give it one more try before leaving and was able to turn my luck around!
Be sure and check out Ben Fougere's Family Adventure fishing channel for more BC content here: / @fougerefamilyadventures
He also runs a Facebook group for Kokanee in the region: / 236520246728780
Tackle used in this video:
- Paulina Peak Tackle Kokanee rod: paulinapeaktackle.com/shop/ol...
- Paulina Peak Performer Nickel Moon Jelly Lite: paulinapeaktackle.com/shop/ol...
- Paulina Peak Pink Microhoochie: paulinapeaktackle.com/shop/ol...
- Paulina Peak Platinum Flutterbug Gold/Moon Jelly: paulinapeaktackle.com/shop/ol...
- Paulina Peak Gold Glow 5.5" Big Eye Dodger: paulinapeaktackle.com/shop/ol...
- Berkley Gulp Maggots White: amzn.to/3Ygrx3a
- Pro Cure Water Soluble Bloody Tuna: amzn.to/3JrdsrV
- Snaps for snap weights: amzn.to/38c2tEz
As an Amazon Associate I earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links. I only link products I use and recommend.
Your purchases help support this channel and the production of new content. Thank you!

[@FougereFamilyAdventures]

I'm glad Bridge gave up some of its fish for you. They are definitely a finicky fish to catch at times. I really enjoyed following you on your journey to the Cariboo. Thanks for the shout-out. I love fishing and am excited to share my videos on our channel. Next time you're up this way, I look forward to seeing what lakes you choose to fish next. We have too many to choose from. 😊

[@ChipDarby13]

Glad you lost a couple for me to try for ice fishing 😂

[@robbysmusic8507]

I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to your videos. I watch in great detail so i won't miss anything. Now with that said, i fish paulina Lake and get skunk every time. Believe U me i mimic all the things that you teach, but keep getting skunked. I fish out of a 16' power boat, i only use the electric motor when fishing, on the fish finder they are everywhere laughing at me..... Not complaining it's just i can't figure out what the heck is going on. I know your teaching's are spot on and can't wait for your next video. If there are anyone else out there like me, give a like. All the best to all.

[@GemMorrisMV]

My first reaction is you need to be very careful about your scent. Absolutely no gasoline or sun block

[@curtisyoungren3531]

Biggest keys are speed, fish at the depth the fish are at, leader length, good corn/maggots, no bad smells as mentioned above like gas and sunscreen. That being said this year definitely seems to be a tougher year at Paulina

[@robbysmusic8507]

@@curtisyoungren3531 I have done everything you have mentioned and more I know the earlier you get there the better but for some reason I’m just having a heck of a time I don’t know what it is I’m still trying but I’ve done everything that everybody has mentioned so far thanks for the nice reply

[@lunchbox5825]

Some monster kokanee. Watching them go crazy was fun.

[@jessetharp6319]

Man watching those fish jump is nerve wracking 😂. Literally lost good size Kokanee (for western Washington anyway) exactly like that today. 10 feet from the boat he started jumping and threw it.

[@cathyglaeser2026]

I would like to see an episode devoted to fish finders.. I see stuff on my screen and I have no idea what I am looking at. Love your info!

[@greenvii1407]

Bridge lake beauties! Hope to see you back in the future.

[@tylerrandolph6193]

I got a few in the fridge from two days ago! Making me want to bake them up. Appreciate your content. Thems some hoooogssss you're landing!

[@Stittsy1963]

Nice video, as always! Those were huge fish too! I wish we had that size around here in the Tacoma/Olympia, WA area. :)

[@bruced1429]

As for the trout in the Cariboo, they are mostly the Penask strain which feed on insects in their larval stage, chironimids etc. Catching them on Kokanee gear is rare. I have done it , but no many on Kokanee gear. Troll a fly on a sinking line and you will not keep the rainbows off.

[@thecount1001]

Bruce, do you use just a fly, or a dodger in front on a regular trolling rod? do you have to use a fly rod? i'd like to get up to these lakes (from the Island) but i'm not a chronomid fisherman.

[@bruced1429]

@@thecount1001 I have finshed many lakes in the Cariboo and what I found was by using a medium sink fly line on a fly rod trolled with either a dragon fly nymp or a six pack , which is just a black and yellow chenille fly , black front yellow rear, caught rainbows 80 % of the time. I finshed chronomids when I lived in Kamloops and fished the lakes in that area. When they were on hatch the fishing was hot. That was not all the time. Another good trolling fly is the black leech cut short so you don't get short strikes. If you start with these flys you will catch rainbows . What I do when I come to a new lake which has kokanee and rainbow I set one rod on down rigger at 20 ft for kokanne and use a fly rod and troll a fly , soon enough one will catch a fish then I decide , kokanee or trout. One thing you should do is go to the BC Freshwater fishing societies web site and look at all the lakes and regions and you can select a region then a species and it will show you all the lakes in the region with the stocking numbers and types of rainbows or kokanee. There are so many lakes in the Cariboo you will never fish them all. What I do is fish 2 new lakes and 2 old lakes on each trip. I had a place near 70 mile so it was easy. Now I live in the West Kootenay but still make a trip or 2 each year to fish the Cariboo.The Fougerie Family have a good you tube channel to watch . He is from Quesnel and knows lots of lakes etc. Good luck. Bruce

[@thecount1001]

@@bruced1429 many thanks mate! yes, i have found the channel from those folks, also excellent. i really want to get off the Island and fish this area more. salmon fishing shuts down for the summer on the Island now due to harsh conservation measures and our trout are tiny in comparison.

[@adamsnyder9347]

I always imagined anglers in Canada would have to turn around and say “sōrry about that!” When they lost a fish.

[@no_regerts5176]

Sewerie!

[@no_regerts5176]

I feel like fish can sense cortisol just like they can sense a hot boat. They always seem to bite with those in blissful ignorance. Just like the guy that couldn’t control his boat!

[@spiltmilt]

Haha 😂 facts

[@fishwhistle9666]

Glad to see you got some outta there. Fished it for the first time last yr late and all the big ones were red

[@macsmith2092]

Thanks for sharing your opinion on the lunar phases and your experience with barometric pressure changes. When i do pourly, I'm always analyzing what i might have done wrong.

[@user-wo7wk8zj2t]

Great videos, nice you caught some at Bridge on your second chance. Enjoyed our discussions when we met at Sulphurous resort. Coincidentally after you gave me a couple of hottchies from paulina peak , the next day on Sulphurous we caught 8 good size kokanee. I will be ordering more of those lures. Good luck and hope we meet again.

[@spiltmilt]

Nice meeting you! Hope we cross paths again in the Cariboo in the future.

[@clarkfelt4098]

I’ve been using gulp maggots without adding the smell (waiting for it to arrive from your link) and have been doing pretty good as is. I’m VERY excited to see what they are like with the bloody tuna. As always, thanks for the tips. They work very well in Utah waters.

[@uncagork]

What brand of net are you using in this video? Looks like a carbon fibre handle.

[@samueljanze5834]

Love ypur channel, when I start losing them like that even with a proper kokanee rod I will actually start using a rubber snubber just after the dodger. Noticed a massive change more in the boat when they bite lite.

[@spiltmilt]

I've tried snubbers in the past and they didn't do a thing for me but I did notice the snubber rods caught far fewer fish. I believe hook quality is more important.

[@shawnclements14]

I tend to prefer a stiffer rod and a snubber. I like having the power over this fish. It's a lot harder to keep the hooks pinned when the fish is bouncing and jumping all around. A stiff rod I can keep the pressure on them and they don't get the chance to bounce off the hook

[@bradmclaughlin9023]

Caught my first kokanee last weekend!

[@spiltmilt]

Heck yeah congrats!

[@glpf5]

Thanks for the continued great content Tyler, I hope Sidra is doing well. How much, if any, leader are you running between your main line and the dodger? Thanks again for the great content.

[@spiltmilt]

The mainline is tied to the dodger, so I guess 0"

[@Badkharma21]

i was planning on retiring to Kamloops and your videos are helping solidify that plan! thanks for sharing!

[@spiltmilt]

If you enjoy Kokanee fishing. Kamloops is a great option.

[@colbysteffenhagen1703]

Awesome content as always! What reels are you using nowadays? Looking to upgrade one of my reels. I like the Abu Garcia Max, and planned on picking up another one, but curious what you’re enjoying now. Thanks!

[@spiltmilt]

I am using the Daiwa Lexa 100 LC but the Abu Garcia Max DLC are great too,

[@brilintube]

Thanks Tyler, I’m enjoying the Canada vids, keep up the good work. At one point in the vid you said that you put on a 3 oz weight and let out 40 ft. How much of a lead were you letting out before putting the weight on, and how deep do you think that your weight was at? I assume that you were going approximately 1.25 mph + or -. I’m still trying to figure out the whole snap weight thing. Thanks

[@spiltmilt]

Just the 3 oz. So I let out 30' of line, snap in the 3 oz weight, and let out an additional 40'. That's it.

[@hamborghiniii]

You mentioned you let out 40 feet of line 1st and then clipped on your 3 ounce weight, how much more additional line did you let out to get to 25’?

[@verdeanpetersen8350]

I have added a treble hook on the trailer, seams to help.

[@lickitysplitquick]

What procure scents do you use for the gulp baits? And are you using the gulp baits exclusively now, or just when you are traveling?

[@spiltmilt]

I use Procure water soluble scents. I've pretty much switched entirely to Gulp except when I can't find it, which is often.

[@kevinchurch9296]

I know you have your reasons for not using snubbers but I wonder if would keep some of the ones getting away. Where I fish in Idaho and Montana we use them and it increases our catch rate. Maybe because our fish run a little smaller and have soft mouths?

[@spiltmilt]

If anything i bet I’d lose more with adding more play into the line

[@thehonfleur]

Any Spots on that lake you recommend someone in a pdl kayak to focus on? I'm gonna be staying at the resort on the East/South side of the lake. Bought a bunch of dodgers from Paulina peak, thanks for the recommendation.

[@spiltmilt]

The large basins south and nw of the big island is where I marked most of my fish.

[@thehonfleur]

@spiltmilt thanks man!👏

[@MrScoutDude]

Noticed "Early on in the video" you weren't using any weight or downrigger set up. Were you just letting your gear drop back and sink? Were the fish that close to the surface so you didn't really need weight to get it down to them?

[@spiltmilt]

I was using snap weights. I usually edit out the part where I remove the weight during the fight to keep the video from getting too long

[@MrScoutDude]

@@spiltmilt Great editing then for sure! 😄 New to the Kokanee game so I appreciate what you do. Keep up the great work! Went out on one of my local lakes yesterday. The Kokanee definitely won that round.

[@thehonfleur]

Great vid! What LB leader are you using on your hoochies?

[@spiltmilt]

10

[@thehonfleur]

@@spiltmilt Thanks brother

[@deej9367]

Have you tried the wiggle hoochies? Ive had incredible luck with them for kokanee.

[@spiltmilt]

I have but prefer to just run smaller hoochies close to the dodger

[@deej9367]

Cool. I can't argue with your success 😁

[@codygray7791]

How far back is that flutter bug from flasher? TIA

[@spiltmilt]

11”

[@Steve-kf6pi]

Heh I’m trying to book a trip to that lake. Would you recommend July or august for more stable weather and better koke fishing

[@spiltmilt]

Early August

[@Steve-kf6pi]

One more question please… with Bridge being shallow compared to Rosie or chelan are the kokes muddy flavored ?

[@oleksandrobzhylov8445]

I have a question. I live in Western Idaho and recently started kokanee fishing. After watching your videos, I began to catch more kokanee. The past couple times going fishing the amount of fish I caught dropped. It seems they have gone really deep. The few I caught had eggs in them. Are they spawning is that why it's harder to catch them? Are there months where they don't catch as well? Maybe you have a video about this, and I missed it. Thank you in advance!

[@spiltmilt]

Yes they will go deeper as water temps increase. Additionally, they seem only to respond to more aggressive presentation such as spinners, spoons, and such later in the season. They shouldn't be spawning yet but will begin spawning in another few months and are actually easier to catch than but less desirable to eat.

[@oleksandrobzhylov8445]

What season is the best to catch them?

[@spiltmilt]

April to August is prime Kokanee season

[@oleksandrobzhylov8445]

Thank you for the information. I appreciate it

[@johnnyjohnson5235]

I like you am getting tired of using corn and have bought some Berkeley maggots. Curious as to what pro cure scents you use ?

[@spiltmilt]

Water soluble scents from Pro-cure

[@anthonyalviar5676]

Have you fished Loon lake in Stevens county wondering what the secret is to catch kokanee there I’ve been out a few times and have not caught a single one.

[@spiltmilt]

They are scarce in there this year but big!

[@verdeanpetersen8350]

They get wild at your boat that's hard to net.

[@darrenm3682]

How did you do at Ruth? I was wanting to try Ruth in the next few weeks. Thanks

[@spiltmilt]

It was very slow and a lot of pike minnow

[@bruced1429]

I fished Ruth for 3 years and caught some big kokanee and never a pike minnow . I will be there this year . There are some large rainbows in there

[@michaelmoeller6155]

Can you explain how you add (clip on) the weight

[@spiltmilt]

Explained in this video Why I Love Snap Weights for Kokanee Fishing kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3-0nGCKZcaJpsk

[@michaelmoeller6155]

@@spiltmiltThanks for the quick response. Great information

[@Badkharma21]

CKOUS's!

[@reapergrim76]

First! 😊

[@ronlee597]

What color of gulp maggots…does it matter?

[@spiltmilt]

I used pink here but it doesn’t seem to matter

[@augustmathews650]

I found the big ones snap my second hook off a lot…..

[@spiltmilt]

What lb test you running?

[@augustmathews650]

@@spiltmilt I use the gamakatsu pre made, 12lb I believe It’s always the second hook. It’s happening once they are out of the water rolling in the net. That’s prob why. Still, when they destroy 2 I have to re rig the whole lure and waists time when the bites on. Big kok problems….. lol I should just learn to tie my own but I’m not very confident in my tying ability’s

[@bartribotta1118]

Hello Tyler another great vid. So I am not sure if you remember my request. I was hoping you fished Tahoe on you kokes across America. Also i mentioned that most use large ford fenders there. Although that works well it does take the fight out of the fish somewhat. You mentioned to let you know if I get a chance to use the little dodgers and how they work. So here it is.. I tried the brad ones several colors no bites. Switched to a smaller willow leaf one worked great. Most fish 40-80 ft and the average fish 13-16 in. One was 20 in which is unusual I feel. Also you did a vid on fish being able to see color. I always believed they could not but your vid said they could do I have that right.. thanks again