Sockeye salmon are known world-wide for their table quality.  The bright orange meat and delicate flavour can be cooked a thousand different ways, each one delicious.  Their landlocked cousin, the Kokanee is basically the veal version of the Sockeye: A smaller version, with even brighter coloured meat, and quite possibly even tastier.  

Many anglers in the pacific northwest target kokanee by trolling, but that doesn't mean it's the only way to take these tasty gamefish.  Anglers will ice fish for them in lakes such as Wood Lake near Kelowna, where they fall for jigging spoons baited with maggots or worms.  Even other anglers will fish for kokanee with a fly rod, especially when they are feeding on the surface. 

My personal best kokanee was this 5 pounder that fell victim to a crankbait.

While the average size for a kokanee is quite small (usually under a pound) there are bodies of water where 2 to 3 pound kokanee are common and fish of 5 pounds and bigger are possible on any given day.  B.C.'s Okanagan Lake held the kokanee world record for 25 years with a 9 pound 6 ounce brute, before this was shattered last spring with a 9 pound 10.7 ounce fish from Oregon.  For info on this fish check out:  Kokanee World Record

Typical kokanee gear consists of the following:
-8 foot+ slow action trolling rod  (Kokanee has sensitive mouths and hooks can pull out on a fast action rod)
-Willow Leaf-style gang trolls
-Wedding ring spinners
-Apex Hot Spots
-Maggots, earthworms, or mealworms for bait

Anglers targetting kokanee should troll slower than they would for trout, even as slow as 1 mph.  1.5 is a good speed to start at though.  Ask around local tackle shops to find the popular spots, and keep your eyes peeled for small fish feeding on the surface in the middle of the lake once you're on the water.

While most anglers use a narrow selection of baits for kokanee, they will take a variety of different baits.  My biggest kokanee bit on a Bomber 3" Citrus Shad crankbait and tipped the scales at just under 5 pounds.  I've also caught kokanee while bass fishing in the winter months on a 1/4 oz Hopkins jigging spoon.  Don't be afraid to try different lures, but keep in mind that kokanee like brighter colours, often pinks and greens. 


This fish fell for a silver 1/4 oz jigging spoon.  Curiously, it was sporting spawning colours at a time when this year's spawners should have been dead for over a month.

Some popular kokanee lakes in British Columbia include:
Kootenay Lake
Arrow Lakes
Wood Lake (near Kelowna)
Okanagan Lake
Christina Lake (near Grand Forks)
Kawkawa Lake (near Hope)

There are literally hundreds of lakes around the province with kokanee, so if you're from B.C. or anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest and are curious as to just how delicious these fish are, do some research and see where the hot spot is near you. 

Thanks for reading!