Kokanee fishing on Ririe Reservoir

On the ice at 6:30 this morning and drilling holes in the dark.  Head lamp was very handy.  While getting set up two schools came through and missed all the hits - but then they flashed through and were gone.  The south wind was howling and setting up the ice house was a chore.  But once it was anchored down it gave me a lot of protection.

The third school produced one kokanee, 45 minutes later I got another from a fast moving school.  All of the schools dashed through in 30 seconds or less.

The Boy Scout Troop who had camped out all night started running the four-wheelers pulling sleds.  The sled made one heck of a racket as they slid over the rippled ice.  While they were playing, the kokanee would come through at 45 to 59 feet below the ice.  When the four-wheelers stopped they would move back up to 18 to 25 feet below.  A group of shakers, kokanee from 6 to 8 inches, came through and I landed six of them.

On my depth finder I saw a fish near the bottom, down I went for it and caught a 16 inch sucker.  About 10 minutes later I saw another one near the bottom at 55 feet so down I went for it.  It fought very hard coming up and I was surprised at the kokanee over 16 inches long, the largest I have ever taken on Ririe.

I caught a few more kokanee in schools as they flashed by, returning some and keeping two more.  Then I saw another fish near the bottom and dropped down to jig for it.  It turned out to be just under 16 inches.  Today I was glad to be irritated by the Scouts as I believe it broke up the groups of kokanee and the single ones on the bottom rewarded me for my persistence.

Here is my catch for the day before I caught the last one.

A great way to spend in the wilds of Idaho.  I was able to beat the snowstorm as it came in just as I was leaving the lake.