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Red Hot Kokanee Bite at Stampede Reservoir

Not many other lakes throughout California can say that 75-100 fish by late morning is the norm.  Non stop action is to be had at the beautiful gem of a reservoir nestled about 15 mins northeast of Truckee.  Currently I’m mainly fishing Stampede Reservoir due to the incredible catch ratio and the lack of heavy boating pressure.  Typically we see Bald Eagles and Ospreys diving down to grab a quick meal everyday.  And, oh yes, the fishing is spectacular!!!!  I do not update these fishing reports regularly as its much easier to report on my facebook page Tight Lines Guide Service.

If you are interested in getting in on the action, call now at 888-975-0990 or book online at www.FishTightLines.com

deckfull of Stampede Kokanee 6/29/19

6/28/16 Kokanee

Today we went to an undisclosed lake in the eastern sierra’s for some Kokanee fishing.  I say undisclosed due to its small size and no plants.  The lake is self sustaining.

Clients did not wanna get up at the crack of dawn so I went out early and caught 3 nice Kokanee before they arrived.  Lost 2 fish also.  Not bad for trolling with just 2 rods and netting them myself.  I was stoked before my clients arrived.  My clients arrived at 6am and we were fishing by 6:10 after filling out the required captains log.  As I was explaining that if we lose 50{7a4ac4d41b4460d34b281f63b723a7d44734ea67a7ce96d64bb383ade0b55738} of the fish we hook today, we are doing good, we hooked up and lost it.  Then lost another one.  And another one.  Not long after, we boated our first fish.  A fat 14″ Kokanee.

By 9am, I believe we had 2 limits in the box then we had a quiet spell for about a half an hour.  All this time I was marking waypoints of the schools of fish I was marking and we had a pretty good circle of waypoints and made my way through em.  It was like a light switch turned on.  From 9:30 on, we netted 15 fat Kokanee and lost another dozen and we had a boat limit of 25 fish before 11am.  3 times, we didn’t even have a line in the water because I could not get the lines out quick enough before we hooked another fish.  We were putting on a show for the other 3 boats out there fishing and left them scratching their heads.

Back to the ramp for some pictures and fish cleaned by a little after noon, and while the valley was sweltering in 100 degree temps, it might have reached 80 degrees here.  Oh, how I love the high country in the summertime!!!

Top lure today was a pink Radical Glow Tube behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle Pink n Purple 4.25″ dodger with either ProCure’s Kokanee Special or Garlic scented shoe peg corn.  Depth was 20′-40′ and target depth of water was 40′-60′.  Trolling speed was 1mph GPS speed.

To get in on the action, call Capt. James Netzel toll free at 888-975-0990 or book online at https://fishtightlines.com

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6/18/16 Stampede Kokanee

Stampede Kokanee

Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. I’d have to agree, with forecasted 20 plus mph winds my clients still wanted to fish. Ugh!! Gonna be a rough one today. But we ended the day with a huge tangle of everyone of our lines but had 10 Kokanee plus a nice cutthroat in the box! Not bad at all considering the conditions.

4.25″ Rocky Mountain Tackle Company Dodgers teamed with double glow pink planktons were the hot bait today. Best depth was 30’deep in 45′ of water.  ProCure’s Kokanee Special scented shoe peg corn.  Trolling speed was tough with the wind.  Tried to stay at 1.2mph gps speed when we could but not always possible.

To get in on the action at Stampede Reservoir, call Capt. James Netzel at 888-975-0990 or book online at https://fishtightlines.com

6.18.16

6/17/16 Stampede Kokanee

5/17/16 Kokanee

Started off cold this morningand a tough bite.  Marked a ton of fish, they were just not in the mood to bite.  Switch up the presentation and lures a bit and started to catch fish.  Losing a bunch too.  About 9 am, the bite really turned on and we hooked numerous fish but failed to get most of em in the boat.  Then the wind started to blow and by 10:30, the wind started to howl!!! Makes for a tough day trying to keep at 1mph with a 20 plus mph wind.

We ended the day with 10 Kokanee to 16″.  Top presentation was a Dick Nite spoon behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle 4.25″ pink n purple dodger with ProCure Kokanee Special scented shoe peg corn.  Best depth was 30′ in 45′ of water.  Trolling speed between 1mph to 1.3 mph gps speed.

To get in on the action, call Capt. James Netzel at888-975-0990  or book online at http://FishTightLines.coom

6.17.16

6.26.16 Stampede Kokanee

Stampede Kokanee

Today I had the privilege of taking an Air Force Veteran out on a guided fishing trip for some Stampede Kokanee.  The morning started of cold with a light fog on the water and a very calm breeze.  Beautiful summer time conditions.  But it also started out slow.  It was more than an hour before we got our fist bite but fish did not make it to the boat.  In fact the next 3 fish did not make it in the boat.  Oh boy, thought it was gonna be one of those days.

Around 6 am, we boated our first Stampede Kokanee.  A fat 14 incher that lept out of the water several times and was so active, was difficult to net.  Made me look like a rookie netter. lol  We put the next 2 fish in the boat back to back, then lost a couple.  But the bite had definitely turned on.

Between 8am and 9 am we put 7 fish in the boat and lost just as many.  A great hour of fishing.

To get in on the action, call Capt. James Netzel at 888-975-0990 or book online at https://fishtightlines.com

Top producer today was a pink Radical Glow Tube behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle 4.25′ pink n purple dodger with Garlic scented ProCure shoe peg corn.  Trolling speed was 1mph gps speed.  Fish caught between 20′ to 35′ deep.  Target water depth was 75′

6.26.16

6.25.16 Stampede Kokanee

Stampede Kokanee

Today  I had the privilege of taking out Mark Fong, a write for the Fish Sniffer magazine, and his buddy on a guided fishing trip to Stampede Reservoir for the famed Stampede Kokanee.  I got there at 4:30 am and was surprised to see that I was not alone.  In fact 3 other boats had already launched.  Knew then it was gonna be a busy day on the lake.

Started off in front of the launch ramp where there were already 3 boats working the area.  Didn’t mark many Kokanee and no bites so I trolled on to look for fish.  I don’t like to use the big motor and make a big move because you will drive over fish and not know it.  Plus trolling is the best way of finding a school.  Well it didn’t take long and bam!!!!  A kokanee pulled off the release and soon after, a 14″ fat Kokanee in the boat.  We didn’t even get that rod re-rigged before we had another bite, then another bite.  Both fish came unhooked.  But we were starting to get noticed by the other boats.  I look back to see that there were about 7 boats now working their way from the launch ramp to where we were.  Yep, gonna be one of those days.  I placed a way point on the school and decided to move on to search out another school and found one shortly thereafter.  I marked that school and since I was doing a live on the water report on Sep’s California Sportsman radio show in about 30 mins, I headed to where there was good cell coverage and started making tight turns to keep the cell service in range.  That made me get noticed again by the other boats on the water which was about 15 boats now and they started heading my way.  I made a figure 8 for about 45 mins while on air and there were about a dozen boats within 200 yards of my boat.

I leave after the radio show and head back to my waypoints marking the schools to find that the schools are not balled up tightly anymore and are on the move.  That’s good news!!!  Means fishing is gonna get real good.  And boy did it.  From 8am to 9am, we put 5 Kokanee in the box and lost about the same.  Then the bite turned off like it always does while Kokanee fishing and we drew blanks for about 30 mins.  The other boats must have been struggling too because they all became very spread out looking for some fish.  I didn’t have that problem, because I had over a dozen waypoints marked where schools are and sooner or later, they would be on the bite again.  You just gotta keep hitting em till they bite.

10 am rolled by and the water skiers started to launch and I knew it was gonna start getting rough with waves from the skiers.  Luckily the bite picked up and at 11am, we decided to head back in with 12 Kokanee to 14″.  Could have stayed and braved the skiers but my 2 clients had their limits and I had enough for a dinner.

Disclaimer:  Losing fish is part of Kokanee fishing.  If you are losing only 50{7a4ac4d41b4460d34b281f63b723a7d44734ea67a7ce96d64bb383ade0b55738} of your  Stampede Kokanee, you are doing it correctly.  Sometimes you don’t lose em at all, rarely happens, sometimes you cannot get those guys in the net.  It happens, and remember is better to hook and lose the fish than to not hook the fish at all.

Top producer was a Rocky Mountain Tackle Double Glow Pink Plankton spinner behind a Rocky Mountain Tackle 4.25″ Pink n Purple dodger with ProCure Garlic scented shoe peg corn.  Fish were caught between 25′-50′ and trolling speed was 1mph to 1.2mph gps speed.  Target water depth was 85′.

To get in on the action with a professional fishing guide for Stampede Kokanee, call Capt. James Netzel toll free at 888-975-0990 or book online at https://fishtightlines.com

6.25.16

6/21/16 Stampede

Mia, Tyler, and Annika Howell and proud father and grandfather fished Stampede Reservoir today for 13 fat Kokanee to 16″.  Had the opportunity for boat limits but, as many know, these feisty fish are sometimes a challenge getting into the net.  We marked and caught fish everwhere we fished but did best staying close to boat ramp.  We watched as boat after boat launched and drove right over the school of fish that we were fishing on to go searching out a school in their favorite spots.  Well, this year is different from normal years.  The Kokanee are hanging out where they should have been a month ago and are not eager to move.

TACKLE

Double glow Rocky Mountain Tackle pink plankton was top getter behind a pink-n-purple 4.25″RMT dodger with ProCure’s Kokanee Special flavored shoe peg corn.  Also caught em on orange RGT’s and small Dick Nite spoons.  Caught em 20′-45′ down but 25′ was best depth.

It was a beautiful day today at Stampede, maybe hitting the high 7o’s while those in the valley were sweltering in 100 degree heat.

Get outta the heat and into some great Kokanee action with Tight Lines Guide Service by calling toll free 888-975-0990 or book online at https://fishtightlines.com

6.21.16

Stampede Kokanee

6/13/16 Stampede Kokanee

Today started off very foggy to where I used the radar to see so I would not run into the other boats out on the lake today.  During the foggy morning, the Kokanee bite came very quickly and we had a nice 14″ Kokanee before I was able to get all the rods fishing.  Within the first half hour, we boated 3 Kokanee and lost 2 others.  Then I made a bonehead decision and wanted to check out the area that was hot last week.  The rule is, don’t leave fish to go find fish.  Wasted a half an hour going to check the area out as we did not get a bite or see very many Kokanee.  We returned to where we first started catching fish and soon boated 2 more fat Kokanee where we saw another boater who said he heard my report over the weekend and wanted to try his luck.  I asked him what he was using and he said hoochies.  Guess he did not listen to the whole report because the hot bait has not been hoochies.

We covered the area in front of Jay’s cove pretty well and continued to catch fish.  We were up to 8 Kokanee by the time the fog burnt off, then the bite really slowed down.  My client asked me how long are we gonna stay fishing.  I answered saying “till you can talk me into going home”. lol  He said another half hour and he’s good.  Well, I guess the fish did not hear that because the next half hour we boated 4 more fish, released 2 or the smaller ones and put on ice 2 nice fat 14″ Kokanee.  Reeled in all the rods, cleaned the fish, and we were off the water by 11am.  Right about the time forcasted for the winds to really pick up.

Top set-up was 4.25″ Rocky Mountain Tackle dodgers in Pink-n-Purple trailing a small Dick Nite spoon with ProCure Kokanee Special shoe peg corn

Trolling speed between 1.0-1.2 gps speed

Target depth was between 30-40′ deep

To get in on the Stampede Kokanee action, call Capt. James toll free 888-975-0990 or book online at https://fishtightlines.com

Be sure to “Like” our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Tight-Lines-Guide-Service-194867967227/

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Mixed Bag Today at Stampede Reservoir

6/1/16  Mixed bag today at Stampede Reservoir

Today started of very foggy and chilly at Stampede Reservoir.  Okay, it was cold!!  We started off todays scouting mission by trolling to all the usual hangouts but marked very few schools.  Just a Kokanee here and there.  It was slow and by 9am, the fog had burned off and we had 3 Kokanee in the box.  One of them being a nice, fat 16 incher!!!  We also lost a few fish.  We then ventured out towards the dam to see if we could entice a Mackinaw to strike.  Wasn’t long before we had a double hook up.  Thought at first that the fish was snagged on the other line but soon they separated and we knew we had a double hook up.  Both fish fought hard but one, by the way it was fighting, had to be a nice Mackinaw.  We netted the smaller of the 2 fish to see that it was a beautiful hold over 18″ Rainbow Trout.  And not long after that netted a nice 6 to 7 pound Stampede Reservoir Mackinaw.  Now that we had 3 species of fish in the box, we decided to head back towards the launch ramp because the wind was starting to howl.  We caught 2 more Kokanee and another hold over Rainbow on the way back.  By now, there were white caps and it was getting rough.  The wind was blowing perpendicular to the launch ramp and trailering the boat was gonna be a chore so we decided to head in with 8 fish.  Just a little short of 2 limits.

Top set up today was a teardrop Goldstar glow in the dark dodger in pink splatter pattern trailing an Orange Radical Glow Tube with Pro Cure Garlic scent

Trolling speed was 1.5 gps speed

Target depth was between 15′ to 60′

To book a trip with Tight Lines Guide Service call Capt. James Netzel at 888-975-0990 or book online at https://fishtightlines.com

Mixed bag at Stampede Reservoir

Mixed bag at Stampede Reservoir

 

Stampede Kokanee

June 6th 2016 The Stampede Kokanee bite has busted wide open!!!!

Today started off slow as we were on the lookout for schools.  Marking a few Stampede Kokanee here and there and catching a few we continued to search in all our usual areas.  Was getting disappointed because I had 5 clients on board and after 2 hours searching, we only had a couple Kokanee.  Lost a few too.  Started searching in some other areas and found a massive 300 yard long school.  Ran through the school for 2 hours back and forth only catching a few.  The rule is you don’t leave fish to go find fish so we stuck it out.  Then around 10am, it was like the dinner bell rang.  Doubles, triples, even a quad hookup.  By 1pm, we caught 20 quality Kokanee to almost 16″.  Most of them being in the 13-14″ range but fat like footballs.  After 5  clients caught their limits and knowing that I was gonna be filleting fish for a while, we decided not to go for my limit.  All the usual baits were not working very well which was very odd, but I was given a tip from another angler from a previous trip to try Vance’s Sockeye Slammer of which I have never used at Stampede.  For all those that believe guides know everything, for todays trip, I learned a thing or two.  A big thanks to Richie Hight for the hot tip.  Although his location to find em was wrong! lol  It sure did pay off.  With all the information I give out, it sure is nice to get something in return.

Top presentations were Rocky Mountain Tackle 4.25″ dodgers trailing a small Dick Nite spoon with ProCure Garlic scented white shoepeg corn.

Trolling speed was 1.2 gps speed

Depth was 30′ to bouncing the bottom in 50′ of water or less

13327606_10155568026957228_401798487036707820_n 13406735_10155568025977228_8494776323925157368_nCapt. James Netzel

Tight Lines Guide Service

888-975-0990

www.FishTightLines.com

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