Page 1

Lance Merz

Continued on Page 2

June 2017

Walleye fishing on the Columbia River is a destination hot spot for anglers who seek this predatory fish In fact most walleye anglers will tell you that if you can catch a walleye you can catch just about any species of fish Over the past two years Departments of Fish and Wildlife in Washington and Oregon have lifted the limits while fishing the Lower Columbia Studies are showing that walleye are eating the Salmon and Steelhead smolts and they want to eliminate the species all together Only one rod is authorized per angler but there is plenty of fish to be had for all

I had the opportunity to fish with Mackrsquos Lure Pro Staff angler Ted Beach a professional Walleye angler whose knowledge compares to that of an encyclopedia When Ted talks about fishing people listen He gives various seminars

throughout Washington each year and loves to teach how to fish and there is an art to fishing this species of fish We launched in an area of the Lower Columbia just below the McNary Dam in a place called Crowe Butte We were fishing in attempts to find some fish to catch for a TV show with Northwest Fishing Reports (NWFR) Due to the harsh winter that was felt by all the current of the river was moving quite fast Instead of moving into the main current Ted sought his attention to areas of the river where the current wasnrsquot as swift Normally these areas are closer to shore and range in depths of 5-25ft We were trolling with bottom walkers with a 5-6ft leader primarily using Double Whammyreg Walleye and Smile Bladereg Super Slow Death Rigs tipped with a night crawler

It wasnrsquot long after we started trolling that the first fish of the day

came into the boat a 16rdquo walleye that knocked the funk off the boat

A slow troll downstream revealed a few more fish in the live well this was going to be a good day There are parts of the Columbia River that can be very intimidating and if yoursquove never been on that particular area of the river Irsquod recommend going out with a guide who knows the water Channels can be very shallow which can take out a lower unit very easily There are even areas of the middle of the river that can be as shallow at six inches

Ted and I fished throughout the day a fish here and a fish there The fishing was consistent but it wasnrsquot lights out for sure The water temperature for fishing was still a bit chilly (57 degrees) and the clarity of the water was color of chocolate milk

Walleye Fishing On The Lower ColumbiaBy Lance Merz

The Double Whammyreg Walleye is a crawler harness that matches the hatch

The Smile Bladereg SpinDrift Walleye lure is another alternative to catching a variety of species of fish

Page 2

Then the wind picked up It is imperative that if yoursquore operating a boat on the Columbia River that you are aware of the weather conditions at the time you are going to fish Without warning the chop on the water can produce 5-6rsquo swells and without enough knowledge of boat operations it could be catastrophic Since the wind was so sever on the main channel Ted decided to tuck into a slough which protected us from the wind Not only did we start to catch walleye be we also began catching Smallmouth Bass and Perch as well Since walleye are a predatory fish catching these other species was a good sign

The next day we decided to fish in another area of the river adjacent to the town of Plymouth Washington Ted made this decision because the forecast was calling for wind gusts of up to 22mph that day as well as rain We met with the crew of Northwest Fishing Reports and began to film the show Mike Carey owner of the NWFR jumped in the boat with Ted and I and his crew was in another boat fishing as well We launched the boat and the conditions were perfect calm with no rain We decided to take advantage of the early morning by fishing what Ted called the ldquoPlymouth Sloughrdquo a branch of the Columbia just off the main channel of the river which if needed could protect us from the gusts which were coming The fishing was consistent and again we

were all using Double Whammyreg Walleye crawler harnesses and Smile Bladereg Super Slow Death Rigs The hot Smile Bladereg of the day however was the UV Gloreg Burst which produces a tremendous amount of flash and attraction even in murky waters

We pushed the limits and decided to fish just below the McNary Dam There was only one guide boat on the water and the preferred method was to troll up to the border (a line just below the dam that no one is allowed) and drifted down All but one chute was open at the dam and the water was swift to say the least Even without the wind swells were consistent at five to six feet A few more walleye were caught in this area before the wind picked up which forced us back down to the slough and produced more fish in the rain In all 40 fish were caught in a two day period

Ted is an excellent teacher I learned a different way to rig up the walleye rod and even learned a new way to thread a worm on a hook What I learned the most from Ted was that preparation is essential when fishing for walleye As with any other fishery having the line in the water longer will eventually lead to more fish Tedrsquos boat was filled with additional tackle and riggings that made it very easily to slide off each lure to try a different color

That same week Bob Loomis and Richy Harrod took their shot at fishing the Lower Columbia as well They fished in an area of the Columbia adjacent to Maryhill Washington at a place called ldquoPeach Beachrdquo Trolling was the preferred method just off the main channel using Wally Popreg crawler harnesses as well as Double Whammyreg Walleye and the Smile Bladereg Super Slow Death Rig

Although there are no limits on parts of the Lower Columbia River it doesnrsquot mean that all fish have to be caught I have seen first hand where anglers will go out fishing and catch in excess of 100 fish or more in one day In my opinion catch what yoursquore going to eat Set a limit for your boat which will allow other anglers the ability to catch fish as well

A good day of fishing with Mackrsquos Lure Pro Staff Ted Beach (second from left)

Bob Loomis and Richy Harrod holding their bigger walleye on the lower Columbia River (Photo courtesy of Richy Harrod)

Continued from Page 1

Mackrsquos LureDOUBLE WHAMMYreg WALLEYE SERIES

Page 3

Irsquom not the only one who wants you to have the straight skinny on swivels and snaps

ldquoWhordquo you say ldquocould that possibly be It sounds like nonsense to merdquo Well itrsquos not Think about it for a minute The owner of the store where you buy your fishing gear wants you to know what yoursquore doing and so does the designer of the lure yoursquove got hanging out there on the end of your line

Nobody wants you or me to catch fish more than the guys who make or market the gear we use to catch lsquoem with Itrsquos the only way theyrsquore going to stay in business over the long haul A beginning angler rarely has all the answers They are especially unlikely to be knowledgeable about something as seemingly insignificant as swivels or snaps

For a number of years when I still lived in Washington State I used

Stanrsquos Space

The Skinny On Swivels amp Snaps

By Hall-of-Fame AnglerStan Fagerstrom

Part 2

When you get a dandy little Mackrsquos Lure Promise Keeperreg spinner yoursquoll find it already is equipped with a barrel swivel up front No need to worry you can tie direct to the swivel I like to occasionally use Mackrsquos Lure components to come up wih my own version of the Promise Keeperreg as you can see at the top of the photo Irsquoll tie a small barrel snap swivel to the end of line to fish with it

Continued on Page 4

to have coffee every morning with a good guy who owned a sporting goods store Being at that store often provided an opportunity to observe what a customer did with the box or the printed material that came with whatever hersquod just purchased Often times it went into the nearest trash container before the customer even left the store

What a mistake that was and is Again if you want to get satisfactory performance out of whatever tackle you buy get into the habit of reading and studying every darn thing you can get your hands on that might help

Irsquove been fishing and writing about itas well as demonstrating and showing folks how to use some of it at outdoor shows around a sizeable chunk of the world for a long long time This experience provided me the rare good fortune to get to know more than my share of the people involved in tackle building and marketing Quite often over the years Irsquove even had a chance to actually fish with some of them

Bob Schmidt the president of Mackrsquos Lure provides an excellent example of what Irsquom talking about Irsquove shared a boat with Bob on a number of occasions Irsquom aware of the keen interest he has in all of us knowing more about the products he makes and markets Itrsquos something wersquove actually discussed on numerous occasions

Have you ever taken time to study the monthly ldquoMack Attackrdquo publication Bob makes available at no charge to anyone who visits this website

Sometimes this rig can be dynamite for both large and smallmouth bass Irsquoll tie my line to that barrel swivel you see on the top end of the leader thatrsquos attached to the lure

Every article in this online presentation is written by experts Some are written by men who have designed prize winning baits for Bobrsquos company Nobody knows more about getting these products to produce Yoursquore missing one heck of an opportunity if you fail to take advantage of this information yourself

A whole lot of folks as Bob Schmidt will tell you already have The number of ldquoMack Attackrdquo readers has been growing steadily ever since it was introduced Anglers are learning from it and undoubtedly itrsquos one of the reasons for the soaring sales of tournament winning Mackrsquos Lure fish clobbering products And yes some of the information in past articles has dealt with swivels and snaps

Many lures do come equipped with a split ring for a line tie Like Charlie said ldquoYou can use the split ring to attach your line if you chooserdquo I donrsquot The first thing I do with a new lure so equipped is remove the split ring I always tie a snap on the end of my line All I need do when I want to change lures is unsnap the one I have on and replace it with something else It only takes seconds to do so

No need to worry about snaps or swivels when you rig your lure the way this expert does The expert is Bob Schmidt president or Mackrsquos Lures As Irsquove pointed in my column nobody wants you and me to know how to use Mackrsquos Lure products successfully more than Bob does Thatrsquos why he has launched angling aids like the ldquoMack Attackrdquo Yoursquore missing one heck of a chance to increase your own angling knowledge if yoursquore not reading that monthly presentation

Page 4

Continued from Page 3

Continued on Page 5

Donrsquot as Irsquove seen some newcomers to bass fishing do hook a snap into the split ring on the lure Use one or the other Donrsquot use both

Some crankbaits come with a snap attached Why do you suppose these fast wobbling little beauties come with a stainless steel snap attached to their line I can tell you Itrsquos because that little snap lets the lure wiggle the way it must to catch fish consistently It isnrsquot as effective without it and the people who are marketing those lures know it Sometimes little things can and do often make a big difference in how many fish we put into the boat As Irsquove mentioned many times before about 10 percent of fishermen catch 90 percent of the fish I guarantee the anglers who fall into that 10 per cent know when itrsquos best to use a snap Yoursquore not likely to get into that group until you do also

My neighbor Al Brown and I launched at the public ramp on Lake Sutherland at 10 am on Monday Surprisingly we were the only fishing boat on the water all day The water initially was dead calm perfect for jigging for kokanee However the surface water temperature was 73 degrees Not good for kokanee with their ideal preference of 54 degrees Apparently that was a good reason for our boat being the only fishing boat on the water Almost always kokanee become completely inactive in such a warm water environment The only thing between aborting the trip and fishing were my two Lowrance fish finders on board Over the years this invaluable sonar technology has made the difference between failure and success Today would be no different The fish had to be deep in their attempts to escape from the upper column of warm

water I decided to head for the deepest section of the lake the east arm It didnrsquot take long to locate the kokanee that showed up on the fish finder near bottom in 79 feet of water Maximum lake depth is about 81 feet

It was a slow drift so Al and I rigged up with lighter 13 oz Sonic BaitFish (Mackrsquos Lure Co) and dropped down to within six feet of bottom Almost immediately Al had a fish on That didnrsquot take long to attract unexpected attention A bald eagle nabbed Alrsquos kokanee as it came to the surface Then the same thing happened after I hooked-up The eagle flew away with our first two Afterwards we did manage to get over two dozen more kokanee to the boat without further interference All kokanee ranged in length between 15 and 17 incheshellipexcellent size for so early in the season

When the wind picked up we upgraded to heavier jigs 1 oz Kandlefish in order to stay near bottom In 33 years of jigging at Lake Sutherland I never fished a jig as heavy as this 1 ozrsquoer It didnrsquot matter as the plankton-eating kokanee immediately slammed the jig I was jigging one of my salmon favoritesa fluorescent yellow chartreuse back with a glow white belly It was the same finish as on the Sonic BaitFish Almost all the kokanee that day were caught on this popular salmon-catching finish

Kokanee Jigging With The Sonic BaitFishtrade

(SBF)By Captain Pete Rosko

The Sonic BaitFishtrade is a great jigging spoon for targeting many species of fish including Kokanee (Photo courtesy of Mike Hall)

Any time the water temperature exceeds the comfort zone of any fish my suggestion is to locate deep water In a straight line from shore to deep water continue to follow the shoreline drop-off until it stops ldquostair-casingrdquo then flattens out Itrsquos generally at this juncture where the fish will be located Better yet if itrsquos located along a shady shoreline since most fish are light-sensitive

Over these many years I have found as a former troller that vertical jigging in fairly calm water is very uncomplicated and is more effective in catching larger and more kokanee than by trolling The secret is in interpreting fish marks on your electronic fish finder and the type of jig you use

TROLLINGhellip

It was in the early 1980rsquos that

I started to design and develop a lure for jigging It was the beginning of the Crippled Herring Trolling this type of lure never entered my mind because I previously trolled with spinners and crank baits for walleyes Then in 1987 I received a call from Ed Ruck who was a Lake Michigan charter captain and salmon troller By pure accident he told me he caught 8 of the 9 Chinook salmon that day on a 2 oz pearl white Crippled Herring A client originally purchased that lure in California but never used it as it was still in its package He pestered the skipper to try it until he finally and skeptically consented In order to save time and not go through the normal fuss of setting up special rigging Capt Ed attached that Crippled Herring directly to the downrigger weight and only three feet behind it Primarily Ed was going to convince his client that trolling a metal jig was ldquoa waste of time because it was not a trolling spoonrdquo To say the least this well-seasoned skipper was shocked at the results of the day especially after

Page 5

Continued from Page 4

Continued on Page 6

being fishless until agreeing to troll the Crippled Herring

Then there was my good buddy Larry Guerrette who relocated to Port Angeles after leaving Caribou Maine to join the Marine Corp Larry called every day a bonus day after surviving all the landings in the South Pacific during World War II Larry loved to fish for Chinook salmon but always considered doing it with little thought He generally fished by ldquodead reckoningrdquo I think itrsquos another word for not knowing what you are doing He also loved his uncomplicated 18 foot boat and mainly trolled out of it Downriggers were too much work for Larry Instead he opted for lead ball weights that he would attach to the line with a flasher Larry had no idea where his presentation was located relative to any fish in the water column That seemed to be okay as long as he was fishing While Larry was trolling I was jigging in my boat and catching big numbers of salmon Then one day Larry asked me again to fish with him It seemed as if I refused to troll with him a thousand times before his latest request This time Ed Ruckrsquos trolling experience with that 2 oz pearl white Crippled Herring must have finally registered in my sub-conscious At the time I considered my 1frac12 oz chrome Crippled Herring a good size to troll (my favorite 1 oz trolling size had not been created yet)

Petersquos playground located just outside of Port Angeles Photo courtesy of Pete Rosko

Larry would troll with his favorite plastic hoochie Before Larry unexpectedly passed away I may have salmon-trolled with him on his boat a couple dozen times Time has a way of eroding onersquos memory However one fact remains clear in that the Crippled Herring was never skunked in all those ldquodead reckoningrdquo trips with Larry in the 80rsquos I am not a professional troller like my good friend and Mackrsquos pro-staffer Mike Hall Mike is a trolling scientist However itrsquos the darting action of the metal jigs I create that catches a lot of different fish and makes me look good That includes the Sonic Baitfish As I previously mentioned the 1 oz size is my favorite to troll That is one of the reasons that a new 1 oz Sonic BaitFish will be available in the not too distant future

I mentioned trolling a 1 frac12 oz Crippled Herring behind a large flasher and consistently catching Chinook salmon However with the smaller-size Sonic BaitFish I find that the flasherrsquos action deadens the critical darting action of the Sonic BaitFish This should not be a problem with a 1 oz Sonic BaitFish that is heavier than the present 34 oz and less sizes Basically trolling with a dodger or flasher works best with a lure attached that has no built-in action Examples are plastic hoochies or flies A Sonic BaitFish has a flasher-type action built into it as it darts and rotates This results in flash and vibrationhelliptwo main sight and sound fish attractants

In Washington State I enjoy fishing freshwater lakes when I cannot fish in saltwater The Sonic BaitFish is a deadly trout lure when jigged or trolled I love keeping things simple As a result I only flat line troll in my boat with basically the same rig I jig with (On a friendrsquos boat I will attach a Sonic BaitFish to whatever trolling device is on boardhellipdownrigger planners etc) When the fish are near surface I flat-line troll When they are deep I jig Take advantage of what nature gives you On internationally-renowned Lake Crescent the silver-blue Sonic BaitFish is deadly for its unique Beardslee rainbow trout and its Crescent cutthroat trout 30-50 trout days are not uncommon when flat-line trolling in May and June with a 12 or 34 oz blue silver Sonic Baitfish over 55-75 feet of water off the Lake Crescent Lodge shoreline During July and August the trout go deep and suspend in the thermo cline layer between 80-90 feet Jig the same 34 oz blue silver Sonic Baitfish within that thermo cline for near-stop trout action The thermo cline layer is where the trout are more concentrated and larger in size

As much as I prefer jigging over

trolling I will fish with my trolling friends for one basic reason That is to show them that a metal jig can out-fish traditional trolling lures Also the metal jig almost always will catch the largest salmon As a former offshore guide in the Gulf of Mexico I also experienced this phenomenon with swift forked-tail species like barracuda mackerel tuna and wahoo Before the Sonic BaitFish was created I flat line speed-trolled 1 to 2 oz Crippled Herrings and Kandlefish against the premier tolling plugs of other tackle companies including Rapala In every outing these metal jigs were dominant fish catchers One of the consistent main bite-triggering

Page 6

Continued from Page 5strikes came on the inside turn when the metal jig flutters swiftly backwards on a slack line then darts forward as the line suddenly tightens again Conventional trolling lures do not have this type of action Note The Sonic BaitFish is a hybrid body of the Kandlefish It has an optional line attachment on the top of its back for increased vibration when vertical jigging

My philosophy to fishing is to make

it easy and enjoyable for everyone Life can be too complicated Fishing is the escape from the pressures and complexities of the world That includes designing fishing lures for young and old alike Versatility and effectiveness are part of the Sonic BaitFish Itrsquos the only lure type that can effectively catch fish whether cast jigged or trolled

In closing I like to share a final tip

about this coming ldquoodd yearrdquo pink salmon sport fishing season Over the years it has been my experience that the blue silver finish is the best color for pinks and not pinkpearl white Deviate from trolling for pinks and cast a blue sliver Sonic BaitFish with the line attached to the nose Once your line hits the water engage your reel and twitch (not jerk) your rod on a tight (not loose) line The resultant action will drive those pinks crazy Incidentally I use this same technique when casting for large Chinook salmon off the kelp beds west of Port Angeles The 13 oz size is a favorite of mine Cast the smallest lure to effectively reach your target The lighter the lure the slower the fall for giving any suspended fish more time to see your lure

As always thanks for subscribing

to the Mack Attack Your confidence in fishing Mackrsquos Lure Co products is sincerely appreciated Pete Rosko

Over the past 10 years a huge ldquoKokanee Crazerdquo has been ignited within the angling community throughout the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia regions Kokanee are second only to Rainbow Trout as the most popular game fish in British Columbia But really whatrsquos there not to like Theyrsquore plentiful fun to catch and they taste exceptional

All you need to get started are some fundamental techniques and the basic understanding of a Kokaneersquos biology More than often anglers tend to misunderstand Kokanee fishing tactics and pursue them like when pursuing Rainbow Trout There are some similar techniques between the two but a Kokaneersquos nature to strike your lure is much different than a Rainbow Trout

Biology of a KokaneeTo start letrsquos look at the simple

biology of a Kokanee Kokanee are landlocked Sockeye Salmon Like Sockeye Kokanee mature between 3 to 5 years of age and then die once they have spawned They feed almost exclusively on Zooplankton They strain zooplankton from the water by means of many fine combs on their gills called ldquogill rakersrdquo They will also eat tiny plants insects and freshwater shrimp when available Due to the location of their food source Kokanee will spend most of their time suspended mid depth in the lake It is important to note that Zooplankton is light sensitive which means on brighter days the Kokaneersquos forage will descend in the water column and the Kokanee will follow

Kokanee Fishing 101 The Basics

ByDanny Coyne

Continued on Page 7

A Kokaneersquos size depends on genetics but they are also density dependent which means their size can be contingent on how many other Kokanee are within the lake competing for food Typically the less Kokanee in a healthy lake the bigger the Kokanee will be Kokanee are also prey for other predator fish such as Rainbow Trout and Char On average a mature large Rainbow Trout or Bull Trout will eat two adult Kokanee per day So itrsquos vital that whatever gear you present while fishing for Kokanee you do not mimic a threat similar to these predator fish

Kokanee are very sensitive to water temperatures They prefer water temps ranging from 45F to 54F with 53F being optimum Any prolonged exposure to temperatures greater than 60F can be fatal to the fish This is one of the many reasons why Kokanee do not handle catch and release well

Locating KokaneeKokanee can be scattered

throughout the lake so where they were one day doesnrsquot mean they will be there today Using good sonar will stack the odds in your favor to locate the fish Kokanee are a schooling fish that makes them easy to locate once you travel over top of the group Areas in the lakes in which you want to target are areas with currents wind blown points tight narrow contour lines and large points that come out into the main lake These are all zones that you will locate Kokanee due to their food source being pushed into these areas

Dannyrsquos wife Marina showing off two kokanee caught on a Pee Weetrade Wiggle Hoochietrade

Page 7

Since Kokanee can range from all depths of the water column using downriggers will assist greatly in getting your presentation to the desired depth If you donrsquot have downriggers using a variety of inline weights will aid in getting your gear down deep enough to where the Kokanee reside When using weights be sure to always count out how much line is being put out and the speed in which you are trolling this way you can duplicate the results once you get into fish

Kokanee TackleThere has been a lot of innovation

and advancement in Kokanee tackle over the past decade The old Gang Trolls and Ford Fenders which were once favored by anglers are now quickly becoming a thing of the past Instead of using heavy metal gear that weighs down your rod anglers are now switching to ultra light tackle options with medium slow action rods Using this lighter gear allows one to play the fish and absorb the Kokaneersquos aggressive fight with increased amount of fish being landed rather than lost

LuresThere are a variety of Kokanee

lures on the market today and majority of the tackle that we present to a Kokanee are not imitating something natural that they will eat Instead Kokanee lures are created in a way to ldquotick them offrdquo and get them irritated to entice a bite Kokanee are like aggressive little bulldogs that will attack anything

that is unnatural that comes into their respective space that is as long as they donrsquot feel threatened by it Rather than discussing every Kokanee lure out there it is best to mention that there are essentially two categories that all Kokanee lures fit into A lure that has itrsquos own side-to-side action and a lure that runs straight through the water The important part to note is the length in which you run your leader behind your dodgers as it differs between the two types of lures A lure with its own action yoursquoll want to run three to four times the length of the dodger so the lurersquos action isnrsquot interrupted by the action of the dodger A lure with no side-to-side action yoursquoll want to run it 2 to 2 frac12 times the length of the dodger to transfer action from the dodger to the lure

A few popular types of lures are

Action Lures bull Mackrsquos Lure Wiggle

Hoochietradebull Hum Dingerreg Spoonbull Crippluretrade

Non-Action Lures bull Mackrsquos Lure Smile

Bladereg Kokanee Hoochiebull Wedding Ringregbull Pee Weetrade Spinner Hoochie

Kokanee are attracted to a variety of colors ranging from hot pinks fluorescent red bright orange and chartreuse Using UV and Glow colors are excellent during low light conditions and when fishing deeper water

Downriggers will assist greatly in getting your presentation to the desired depth

The Sling Bladetrade can be bent to increase or decrease action

Continued from Page 6

Continued on Page 8

Dodgers amp Flashers

As a dodger travels through the water it moves side-to-side creating flash and water displacement (sound to a Kokanee) Dodgers get the Kokaneersquos attention and call the fish in from a far Once the Kokanee comes in itrsquos your lure that encourages the strike Using larger dodgers in lakes with high predation can repel Kokanee as mentioned above larger dodgers can mimic a predator fish Itrsquos a good idea to have a selection of four to six inch dodgers within your arsenal to provide you with options Using larger dodgers in cloudy water will help the fish find your gear while in clear water conditions selecting a small 4-inch dodger can produce better results

Choosing a dodger that can be ldquotunedrdquo is a good idea The Mackrsquos Lure Sling Bladetrade Dodger is one of the most popular Kokanee dodgers on todayrsquos market because it can be bent to add or reduce the action The added bend creates more action that the dodger will transfer to the lure and the more ldquothumprdquo will be created to attract the fish in

Using inline flashers such as a Mackrsquos Lure Flash Litereg 4-Blade Series can be a great tool for when long lining without downriggers or when the fish are scattered and not as tightly schooled Since inline flashers have rotating blades and run straight through the water they will not add action to your lure Selecting a lure with itrsquos own action or with a spinner is crucial when using this type of attractor Leader lengths vary between 15 to 30 inches depending on water clarity when there is less water clarity use shorter leaders

Scent amp BaitTipping your lure with a piece of

bait will help close the deal once the Kokanee approaches your lure Popular Kokanee baits are Pink Maggots (real or synthetic) dyed-

Page 8

cured shrimp and dyed-cured White Shoepeg Corn Be sure not to put too much bait on the hook as it will take away from the lurersquos action Once piece of corn or two small maggots on each hook is adequate

Anytime Irsquom Kokanee fishing Irsquom adding scent Yes you can catch Kokanee without it but if you really want to increase your odds in catching more Kokanee using scent is key Consider this Kokanee are said to have a hundred times greater sense of smell than a Bloodhound Dog Sockeye Salmon will make a run up a river over 1000kms to the same water in which they came from based on scent alone

Not only does adding scent to your bait and lure provide a scent trail that helps the Kokanee hone in on your gear and tempt them to strike but it helps mask any other unwanted smells that may repel a Kokanee Letrsquos face it our human smell is not a natural attractant to Kokanee and neither is sunscreen gas or that stinky sandwich we had for lunch

Some of the popular attractant scents are ShrimpKrill Super Gel Kokanee Special Super Gel Bloody Tuna Super Gel Using scents that are irritants to Kokanee such as Garlic or Anise will also help yield results when the fish arenrsquot as active Kokanee tend to attack these irritant smells out of sheer aggression

Trolling Speeds amp TacticsEstablishing the correct trolling

speeds is necessary when it comes to Kokanee fishing Much slower

speeds are used when trolling for Kokanee Unlike when fishing for Rainbow Trout where the average speed is over 2mph speeds for Kokanee range from 8 to 18 mph Kokanee tend to follow your gear for miles around the lake until something changes At which point the Kokanee thinks your lure is getting away or they get annoyed with it and strike This is why itrsquos important to troll in a way that it puts erratic action onto your presentation Trolling tactics such as ldquoSrdquo Turns stop and go speed up then down or even bringing your

Always use scents when fishing for Kokanee

Continued from Page 7

SLING BLADEtrade SUPER GLOW 4rdquo

downrigger up one turn and then back down will all help persuade a Kokanee to strike your gear Kokanee fishing can sometimes be challenging but once you get your presentation just right to the conditions you will have a lot of fun bringing them into the boat Some days will be much easier than others but keep applying these basic methods and you will have consistent results The important thing is to get out and give Kokanee fishing a try experiment and most of all have fun

Page 9

Question of the Month

Have a question Wersquod love to answer it Contact us at MacksLureMack-sLurecom if you have a question you would like to see featured

Q What is a snubber and how do you rig it

A A snubber is essentially a rubber band that helps reeling in a smaller more aggressive fish Itrsquos designed to act as a shock absorber which minimizes the chance of losing a fish when reeling it in In addition to using a snubber using a good monofilament line also gives a needed stretch to help hold that fish on Monofilament line gives the most stretch and a snubber compliments its ability especially if the rod doesnrsquot match the type of fishing Another ideal situation

The staff at Mackrsquos Lure is always committed to providing a quality product We want your input If you know of anyone who would like to be on the mailing list to receive the Mack Attack please forward their email address to AlMacksLurecom Photos stories and comments are welcomed and encouraged Please forward all content materials to MediaMacksLurecom THANK YOU

Mackrsquos Lure Pro Staff Jerry Brown of JB KingFisher Adventure guide service displays an array of the Smile Bladereg Shad Slammer

Send your photorsquos to mediaMacksLurecom for consideration to be included in a future Mack Attack edition or on Facebook

HOT DEAL OF THE MONTH

Check out the new video of the Mackrsquos Lure Shuttle Hawktrade a down rigger release system that offers more of an advantage of stacking multiple lines on a down rigger Click Here for video

If you have videorsquos to share wersquod love to see them Send your video links to AlMacksLurecom

of using a snubber is when fishing deep Fishing deep gives more elasticity to the line which will hold the fish on as well How do you rig it From the main line attached a swivel and then attach the snubber which attaches to the top of the dodger Itrsquos just a preference but you can attach the snubber either above or below the dodger

Photo of the Month

As the shad begin to flow up river the Mackrsquos Lure Smile Bladereg Shad Slammer is the perfect lure to use Not only does this lure catch Shad but it catches other fish as well such as Trout Kokanee and Panfish Enter code ldquoSlam10rdquo and receive 10 off of the Shad Slammer

Enter code

Slam10

Mackrsquos Lure Smile Bladereg Shad Slammertrade

Video of the Month