06_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 32
find the lake using Google
Earth. I need to know the
shape of the lake, where
the deep water is, and
where the shallow water is.
I need to know what feeder
streams come into it and
where the outlet(s) are. I
need to know the structure
of the surrounding terrain,
such as whether one side
coming into the lake is
steep and the other side is
gentle.
I also check out the lake
using my GPS cartography.
I can sit in my boat in
Central Oregon and study
lakes in any other location
simply by moving the
cursor on my GPS.
Generally, what I am
looking for is where the
current might be and
where feeder streams
come into the lake. Those
are two locators of what I
call "active" water. This is
where water mixes with the
regular lake water, adding
oxygen to the water. Fish
need oxygen. This is also
where trace nutrients come
into the lake from feeder
streams. These nutrients
act like fertilizer to the
plankton (phytoplankton)
that the zooplankton,
kokanee, and other baitfish
feed on.
I look for drop-offs, where
the lake suddenly gets
deeper. Recall that as you
go deeper down the water
column, the water gets
colder. It cannot get colder
unless it gives up heat that
rises to the surface. This
process causes mixing water movement up and
down. This process is also
good for the plankton
and, hence, good for the
kokanee.
If I am fishing early in the
season, I look for structures,
such as points of land
coming into the water. I
have found that in the early
season, kokanee relate to
structure.
Finally, using the internet
allows you to research in
ways we never could years
ago. Don’t limit yourself to
fishing forums. Searching
and finding hidden
gems can give you inside
information that many
anglers have overlooked.
The whole idea is to learn as
much reliable information
about the new lake as you
can from the available
sources. Be assured, what
has worked for you on your
local lake will also work on
the new lake.
THE SCIENCE OF SCENT
All fish have nares, which
are scent-detecting tubes
on the snout of the fish.
A fish's ability to detect
scent is flat out amazing,
often measured in parts
per million. And salmonids
are probably near the
best in scent detection.
For thousands of years,
fishermen have used bait
on hooks to persuade fish
to bite.
Some awesome kokanee
fisherman or fisherwoman
discovered a long time ago
that kokanee will bite a lure
baited with white shoepeg
corn. And that discovery
has been passed down for
many years to the present
time. What has not been
passed down is why white
shoepeg corn works so well.
It turns out that white
shoepeg corn has an amino
acid that is a bite stimulant
for kokanee, something
that yellow corn does not
have. White shoepeg corn
also manages to stay on the
