How To Jig for Kokanee

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Jigging for Kokanee can be highly effective especially during late summer when schools of Kokanee coalesce and stage in deep water before moving to the shallows to spawn. Unlike trolling Kokanee can be targeted at extreme depths without the need for downriggers or expensive dodgers. Its a perfect method for those in small watercraft to effectively target Kokanee. In this video I jig up a quick limit of Kokanee on the beautiful Deep Lake located in the Sun Lakes region of central Washington.
Tackle featured in this video:
Major Craft Jigpara Kokanee Jig 10 gram: amzn.to/3La4AIi
13 Fishing Defy 7'1" Med-light Spinning Rod: amzn.to/3DvB0uW
Daiwa Revro LT 2500: amzn.to/3RSlhdU
15 lb Powerpro: amzn.to/3QNCXpA
Seaguar 6 lb Fluoro STS: amzn.to/3eWGd4Q
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[@douglasrysewyk9045]

This individual knows his stuff.

[@jerryberg6244]

Jigging season is my favorite by far. I love to feel the bite. Getting right on top of the school is critical for me.

[@returnofsid]

My Grandpa used to refer to them as Blue Back Salmon. It's been a long time since I've heard them referred like that. I still really want to see you pick Loon Lake apart, including night jigging! I've only been able to do it a few times, last fall, but plan to do a lot more of it, this year. I've never considered daytime jigging, and I don't know why! I'm definitely going to give it a try!

[@rthyde1]

Staying on top of the schools is half the battle! I fished next to a guy that had live imaging but no trolling motor.I had spot lock but a cheap 2d depth finder.He would locate the schools then I would tie him off to my boat to stay on them. It worked and we both limited out in a couple hours! I need to upgrade to that new technology....

[@spiltmilt]

I had Garmin livescope for a while but found it was more hassle than it was worth. Love my chirp sonar

[@zacharypedersen4090]

Loved this video. Helped me learn something new about Kokanee when it comes to the late season. Thanks a bunch!

[@chrisb.3722]

Thanks! Learned a bunch from this channel and my success rate has gone up tremendously.

[@DaxHimself]

Been waiting for this one to come out since you posted on fb.

[@mikeellickson4199]

Tyler, you’re the best. Please keep the videos coming

[@mikekelly6023]

Blue back Salmon LOL that’s like calling Sasquatch a Big Foot

[@johnmace1245]

Thanks!

[@spiltmilt]

Thanks for your support John!

[@stephenjensen93]

Throw those jigs at them in the spring when they are near the surface in the early mornings. Lights out fishing fun

[@spiltmilt]

That worked wonders for me at Merwin in the spring but on most of my local lakes they really don't feed much on the surface in the spring. Instead they hang out at 20' deep on muddy flats chowing on chironomids.

[@ryanluensman9667]

I appreciate you putting links to your gear

[@NWMT]

Anyone else shocked at the $12 each jig prices in the link?

[@Tip_Of_The_Rod_Productions]

I've seen kokanee with spots before but at 4:43 that is a ton of spots on his back eh!

[@RickyPNW]

Thanks for this tutorial!! Would you say that trolling is not as effective during this time compared to jigging? I'm planning to go for kokanee end of Sept but am worried it may be too late in the season.

[@spiltmilt]

Trolling still works too!

[@RickyPNW]

@@spiltmilt Thanks! I'm glad to know trolling is still effective as far as bites are concerned.

[@shawnboisclair3696]

Nice video, I am curious with 10 fish how do you preserve the meat. I fish mostly salt but some fish freeze well while other species dont. Do you can some of the fish? Hoping with the new old town kaysk I will be getting some fresh water fishing in as well.

[@spiltmilt]

I can some, smoke some, and vacuum seal.

[@shawnboisclair3696]

@@spiltmilt nice, should have thought about smoking, you are up in the north west. I vacum seal fish too, far superior to simply a zip lock freezer bag. Thsnks for the answer.

[@privatecitizen8909]

I’m beginning to notice something. I never see any other boats on the water while you are filming. How is that possible?

[@spiltmilt]

I get up early and fish mid-week.

[@michaelr4401]

I have a depth question that's puzzling me. You were going very deep in this video, make sense with water temps. At a lake on the west side with water temps near 70 I was very successful in the 15 ft range, based on the water temperatures this seems too shallow and I was marking fish much deeper as well. This happened consistently for hours, not just first light. Any theories why so shallow? Spawn related? They weren't turning red yet.

[@spiltmilt]

They start moving shallow as they get closer to spawn. Also depends on how strong a thermocline u have (if any at all)

[@Nik-gh6gz]

Fall turnover could be a factor

[@AlpineForge9600]

Great work

[@GabeFishingSF]

What would you say is the best way to target Kokanee, bows, and maybe some lake trout in deep water mountain lakes from a 10ft folding kayak with no fish finder, no rod holder, and no pedal drive or trolling motor?

[@spiltmilt]

I would say u should invest in a castable sonar so you aren't fishing in the blind. Pretty good chance those fish are all going to occupy different depths at different times of year. There is no single best approach other than luck.

[@Jrza7x]

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely give this a try this weekend

[@kbuck8486]

What weight of jig are you using? Thanks for your time. Much appreciated.

[@spiltmilt]

15 grams (1/2 oz) if the fish are deeper I'll go up to an ounce

[@kbuck8486]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Always appreciated.- K Man

[@davidcox2197]

Going deep jigging like this wouldn't it be more accurate using a line counter levelwind reel to get over the fish?? Or can you see your jig on the finder too?

[@spiltmilt]

You could but it does slow the drop of the jig by quite a bit and since I can see the jig on the graph I know exactly how deep I am

[@davidcox2197]

@@spiltmilt I can understand that too, spinning much faster dropping down to jig. I think I will follow your lead on using the graph to watch the lure on screen. I spent last winter selling off a lot of old hobby stuff and now in process of buying a 16 ft nice console step thru aluminum boat of some sort. Been loading my tackle boxes in mean time. I been out of fishing for 12 yrs up gold mining in nevada, now I want to spend more time fishing than mining. These mountain lakes are closer than going mining in Nevada.

[@adrianb4439]

Tyler, do you find treble hook works better than a single hook to jig for kokes? Or double assist hooks/ inline hooks oriented in opposite directions?

[@spiltmilt]

For jigging yes. I find the double assist hooks tangle more often

[@erichunter14]

Do you like to keep the stock hooks on most your jigging lures or do you like to switch those out like you do trolling gear?

[@spiltmilt]

Stock works for me

[@mikebarriga]

Thank you! I’d like to see some links to products you use in the bio.

[@spiltmilt]

There are links in the description. I always post them

[@mikebarriga]

Don’t I feel dumb haha! Thank you so much for what you do. My son and I enjoy your videos.

[@TwoStageTrigger]

My season just closed for the spawn but I always get skunked when I try to jig. Do you Anchor in place, or just try to hold over the school by peddling?

[@spiltmilt]

Sometimes I drift and sometimes I try to hold in place. It varies.

[@johnstack4316]

Is that a tiny rubber band where you tie onto the jig? Appreciate your excellent videos.

[@spiltmilt]

No. Just a split ring

[@waynewithers5529]

What a beautiful place. What reservoir is this?

[@spiltmilt]

Deep Lake, WA

[@scottfriend8433]

So would ice fishing gear/tactics work for this approach?

[@spiltmilt]

Yes although I often downsize my gear in winter

[@ronaldfleeger7734]

What's the difference-- Hovering over the fish in a boat or standing on the ice. Which ice-fishing jigs could have worked on this video?

[@scottfriend8433]

I’m thinking along the lines of dodger and hoochie or smaller jig heads.

[@spiltmilt]

The major difference with me between open water and ice fishing is that it's much easier to maintain vertical jigging when on the ice than on open water. This allows me to downsize my gear whereas I feel I need to have heavier gear in open water to better maintain vertical jigging position. Additionally, Kokanee under the ice tend to be less aggressive because of the colder water so my jigging cadence is slower and fish are often shallower as well. You can definitely vertically jig with a dodger and small jig which I've done very successfully thru the ice.

[@scottrouwhorst881]

Nice

[@kyleoden3015]

I wonder if something like a 1/4oz vmc twitching jig would work for kokanee

[@spiltmilt]

It might

[@Chuck_D]

How long is your 6# leader and do you tie it directly to your braid or with a swivel of some kind? Thank you Tyler!

[@spiltmilt]

2-3' direct tie using a uni to uni knot

[@Chuck_D]

@@spiltmilt excellent! Thank you again sir!

[@wasachevyguy]

It would be fun to fish vertically with a type 7 full sinking fly line like this

[@spiltmilt]

Doubt that would be effective at 80'. You'd never feel the take but I know plenty of folks that catch Kokanee on the fly in spring.

[@brilintube]

What frequency do you like to use on the Humminbird when jigging for Kokanee?

[@spiltmilt]

83/200

[@kyleanderson8300]

Why does Deep lake have numbers spray painted along the rocks down the lake?

[@spiltmilt]

No idea 🤷‍♂️

[@JohnPhillips-qw4db]

In my opinion , jigging Kokanee is way more fun than trolling. No comparison.

[@spiltmilt]

Sidra would def agree with you.

[@BillyMonjobRobert]

What lake is that?

[@spiltmilt]

Deep

[@finaddictsnw]

How do I message you?

[@spiltmilt]

Spiltmilt AT gmail.com

[@rogermezenen6505]

Here, it’s illegal to fish for fall Kokanee. Can’t directly fish for them during the spawn.

[@spiltmilt]

In lakes that depend on wild spawning populations it makes sense to protect those fish but for most our lakes they are just planted so its just a waste to close the fishery as the spawning age fish are just going to die and not create offspring.

[@chriswebster9632]

Thanks!

[@spiltmilt]

Thanks for your support Chris!

[@chriswebster9632]

@@spiltmilt You are very welcome. Glad there is a new avenue to support your ventures. I was at that very lake a day later and doing a traditional troll at 60 ft. Caught a few. Then really started getting hit at 23-30 ft not too far from the launch. Never thought they would be in 60+F and still biting. Meat texture was starting to change a bit though. Keep the great vids coming

[@thorn11]

Thanks!

[@spiltmilt]

Thank you for your support!

[@thorn11]

You are very welcome! As a passionate angler myself, I truly appreciate the detail, passion, and educational value your videos bring to all Kokanee anglers. Thank you!

[@FinsandFur1961]

Thanks!

[@spiltmilt]

Thank you Gary for your support!

[@FinsandFur1961]

@@spiltmilt My pleasure I Truly love the channel and learn a lot .! Keep up the great work.

[@user-ft6qj3qb7k]

Thanks!

[@user-ft6qj3qb7k]

been following you for some time and have enjoyed the tips etc. Have been chasing Koks since the late 60s and still learn from you Thanks

[@spiltmilt]

Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it.

[@bradfordevans658]

Thanks!

[@spiltmilt]

Thank you!