Kokanee Salmon Location?

[TroutFishingBear]

Where do you guys seem to find kokanee salmon during the winter months? I am asking because they are the baitfish in our huge laker lake here in colorado, blue mesa. I've heard where the kokes go the big lakers follow. Does anybody know where to find kokes in the winter?

[bigbrown46]

I have caught kokanees at green mnt williams fork dillion. they have all seem to be caught through the ice in about 25-45ft of water mostly in the marinas and around the dam

[colorado_]

I assume you are asking about what type of conditions to find kokanee?  My home water is 11 Mile and what I've heard/sort of witnessed for myself is that the kokes go where the little organisms are.  I've seen a lot of them in the off color water - whitish off color, not murky or muddy - both on my line and fish finder.  Generally they hold over the channel in 30-50' of water.  Not sure if I told you anything but that's all I know.  So my guess would be they hold at those depths over the Gunnison River channel.  If you have any luck finding them on Blue Mesa, let me know, I'd love to get out there and get some macks with you some day.  Long drive from the Springs...you've got a lot of water to cover so my advice is to quit your job and start fishing now if you hope to cover that water in your lifetime!!

Good luck!

[iceintheveins]

From my understanding they tend to suspend and are roamers in schools. Almost like crappie in some ways because they eat plankton and shrimp, rarely if ever anything else like another fish. They are hard to find mostly because they roam so much. Being over the channel helps. In Blue Mesa, I think the best spot would probably be Iola Basin a few miles away from the inlet, over the Gunnison Channel in about 30 feet of water. These are just guesses based mostly on from what I have heard about kokes, as I have never targeted them through the ice. I will stick to rainbows and lakers.

Tyler