Northwest Fishing Magazine July 2025 Volume 4 Issue 10 - Flipbook - Page 17
If I am combat fishing
along the river, the same
technique.
KOKANEE: Sounds like you
have really come a long
way. But are you ready to
take your learning to the
next level?
DUDE: Let’s get ‘er done.
KOKANEE: As I take you
through all this new stuff,
the best way to orient
yourself is to reflect on
each concept as it applies
to what you have already
learned.
DUDE: I have been reading
all I can. But there is a lot
of bad information out
there that is passed off as
expert. The one person who
really seems to give reliable
information is that Fish
With Gary guy.
KOKANEE: I would agree with
you on that. He gives it to
you straight. But consider
this: he is really smart, but
he is no kokanee.
DUDE: So for trolling, the
standard setup is using
a dodger as an attractor
with a lure attached a
short distance behind it –
really short. Of course, the
exception is the apex type
lure, which needs room to
move – so more like 18-20
inches. Some kind of scent
is applied to the lure. This
setup is unknown in nature,
so why does it work to
catch kokanee?
KOKANEE: For that, I need
to take you back in history
to the time of King Nerca.
He was the originator of
“not in my neighborhood.”
Essentially, anything that
invaded Nerka’s space
was run out of Dodge. His
aggression became both a
rallying cry and a lifestyle
for the entire species ever
since.
DUDE: Really?
KOKANEE: To us, lo these
many generations later, it is
not fake news. And getting
run out of Dodge is how
the “dodger” was named.
DUDE: I don’t have to believe
that, do I? No need to
answer. Coming to the
attracting dodger for a look
see is a far cry from actually
biting the lure.
KOKANEE: Glad you are
staying focused. Technically,
the dodger’s disturbance
action provokes that
attraction response. Getting
the fish to react to bite
stimulants is the trick.
Notice I said stimulants –
plural. You want the fish to
have a biting response to
the bite stimulants.
DUDE: So break it down for
me, please.
KOKANEE: For kokanee, the
first real bite stimulant
is scent. And not just
any scent. It has to be
the kind of scent that is
both compatible with the
kokanee’s natural biting
response and sufficient on
the other hand to overcome
that initial attraction
response. While you may
be 100% successful in
attracting the fish, you
still don’t eat dinner if the
fish does not bite. And you
need that biting response
to be so powerful that it
becomes to main focus for
the fish.
DUDE: So what is the second
bite stimulant?
KOKANEE: The second is
visible, contrasting color.
DUDE: So why is scent first?
KOKANEE: Scent is dispersed
into the water. We salmon
species are known for our
