Jigging for Late Season Kokanee

by Jack Naves

In the middle of summer, kokanee roam like grazing cattle over open water feeding on plankton.  Catching them can be as easy as showing up and trolling popular lures like spinners or squids. As summer progresses, the bite gets tougher.

Late summer and fall, when kokanee start to resemble miniature crocodiles, most folks give up on chasing them and switch to other pastimes. These pre-spawners can be finicky - catching them on trolling gear can be unpredictable. They will typically form tight schools and stage outside of creeks or rivers where they will spawn later in the fall. So how do you get them to bite?

Jigging, or ‘spooning’, is an old s...