Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon are the two most targeted fish on the west coast. They are both delicious fish and are both fun to catch, two of the main reasons they are so popular. There are many fisheries on the West Coast, from California to Canada and Alaska, that have made it their purpose to maintain a steady population of Rainbows and Kokes in the lakes and surrounding rivers.
ニジマスとヒメマスはアメリカ西海岸で最もターゲットになる魚だ。両方とも美味しくて、釣るのが楽しい。それで、この２種類の魚は非常に人気がある。カルフォルニアからカナダ、アラスカまでの北米大陸の西海岸にはたくさんの養殖場があり、その目的は湖と周辺の川で、ニジマスとヒメマスの個体数を安定的に維持することである。
But what is the difference between Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon? Rainbow Trout are a type of ocean-going trout with two branches of species. The steelhead branch spends most of their time in the ocean, while the main branch spends all of its time in freshwater. Kokanee Salmon are landlocked in lakes and even those in rivers do not have the urge to seek the ocean. で、ニジマスとヒメマスの違いは何か？ニジマスは２つの種系統を持った降海型の鱒である。１つの系統のスティールヘッド系は多くの時間を海洋で過ごし、他方もう１つの系統の主系統の方は淡水で過ごす。ヒメマスは湖に陸封されいて、川に棲むヒメマスでさえ降海しようとしない。
Rainbow Trout
ニジマス
Rainbow Trout have two branches, or subspecies considered Rainbow Trout. The main branch, simply called Rainbow Trouts, are smaller than the other branch. These are usually the fish that are talked about when talking about Rainbow Trout. They taste amazing and give a good fight on the hook.
ニジマスには２つの系（ニジマスと考えられる亜種）がある。主系は単にニジマスと呼ばれ、もう一方の系よりも小型である。これは通常ニジマスについて話すときに､話されれる魚だ。味は美味しくて、釣れたときのファイトは素晴らしい。
The second branch are called Steelhead Rainbow Trout. Steelheads are ocean-dwelling trout that are bigger and more aggressive than river Rainbows.
２つ目の系はスティールヘッド・ニジマスと呼ばれる。スティールヘッドは海洋の鱒で、川のニジマスよりも大きくて攻撃的だ。
Biology
生物学
The average size of a rainbow trout, not a steelhead, is around 2 – 5 lbs. This is a good sized fish to eat, and one can feed one person easily. When I catch Rainbows, I usually catch three or four, depending on the bag limit, and feed my family a delicious dinner. The Rainbow Trouts have an average length of around 12 – 30 inches.
A steelhead’s average weight is 8 – 11 lbs. They are larger than rainbows for sure, and because of this, they usually travel to the ocean to get more nutrients to survive with that weight. The average length is 20 – 35 inches.
A freshwater rainbow trout can have all the colors of the rainbow of their back and sides, or they can be a dull olive-brown or dark blue. Their bellies are usually silver or pale, but are always a lighter color. The colors of their scales depends on their location, maturity, and sex.
The steelhead variation tends to be more silvery and narrower in proportion, while being longer and larger.
スティールヘッドの変形は、より銀色と体型がより細く、より長く、より大型になりがちだ。
Lifecycle
生活感
Rainbows can spend their entire lives living in a river, returning to a specific point in the river to spawn. Unlike other types of fish, the trouts can spawn multiple years in a row without dying. Some trout spend part of their lives in the ocean, but they always return to the rivers and streams to spawn, or to lay their eggs. They start to spawn around 3 or 4 years of age.
Steelhead trout spend the majority of their lives in the ocean, returning only to spawn. Steelheads are larger than rainbows and are so because of the rich nutrients found in the ocean. The rivers would not be able to support a trout that big, unless the population of fish was depleted to nearly zero.
When rainbow trout spawn, it doesn’t matter too much if the parent was a residential rainbow trout or a steelhead rainbow trout. The offspring could be either a steelhead or a smaller river rainbow trout.
Both the freshwater rainbows and the steelhead can live around 11 years, but not many make it to being alive that long. They tend to average around 4 – 6 years.
淡水のニジマスとスティールヘッドの両方の魚はだいたい11年間生きる。
Kokanee Salmon
ヒメマス
Kokanee Salmon are actually land-locked Sockeye salmon, a different ocean-dwelling fish. Kokanee salmon, or Kokes, spend their complete life in fresh waters. Some populations are completely stuck in the lakes they live in, while others have access to rivers and streams. Some even have a way to the ocean, but do not choose to return there.
Kokanee salmon, although related to Sockeye salmon, are a lot smaller than their ancestral species. Because the lakes and rivers don’t have enough nutrients, or in their case plankton, the Kokes cannot get as large as the ocean-dwelling Sockeye salmon.
The average weight for a Kokanee salmon is only 1 lb. Some can get up to 3 – 5 lbs, but that is not very common. Most that get close are caught by humans or eaten by other fish, usually rainbow trout.
The average length of a Kokanee salmon is 9 – 12 inches.
ヒメマスの平均サイズは9-12インチ(22-30cm)である。
Kokanee salmon are silver fish, but only until its time to spawn. When that time comes around, the males turn a deep red and start to develop a hump on their back. Their jaw becomes hooked and they get some wicked looking teeth.
When the males turn red, their meat begins to ripen. This is because as they start to get ready to spawn, their bodies begin to die. The red is the first indicator of a dying fish, so when it starts, their meat deteroriates.
The life cycle of a Kokanee salmon is pretty standard. Starting at an egg placed in a stream, most Kokanee salmon start life off in a small stream. Once they get big enough, they travel to a lake or a river, if they aren’t already there.
Once they arrive there, they usually spend the rest of their lives in that one lake, occasionally getting hooked by a fisherman, or chased/ attacked by rainbow trout.
Kokanee salmon never enter a saltwater body of water in their lives. They spend 100% of their time in freshwater and most populations are completely stuck in a lake of some sort.
ヒメマスは生涯において､決して海水に入らない。100%､淡水で過ごす。大半の個体は
完全に何らかの湖から抜け出さない。
There are many fisheries that place fish into lakes to get a population going. These fish will face many hardships after being introduced to a new lake.
Sometimes the food sources aren’t enough to support a large number of them. There is also the fear of rainbow trout eating them.
あるときは、食物源が大量の魚を維持するのに十分でない。また、彼らを捕食するニジマスの脅威もある。
Differences between Rainbows and Kokes
ニジマスとヒメマスの違い
Trout and salmon are very similar, but they are different species of fish and thus have their significant differences
鱒と鮭は非常に似ているが、彼らは異なった種であり、かなり異なっている。
Diet– Rainbow trout are omnivores, meaning they eat plants and meat. Usually, rainbows eat insects that fell into the river, but they also eat mice and frogs, and are known to eat other fish. Rainbow trout, especially the steelheads, love to eat Kokanee salmon. They do not eat other rainbows, however.
Kokanee salmon are strictly plankton eaters. This can be hard on them because the plankton are very sensitive to levels of oxygen. If the levels of oxygen are depleted enough, then there can be a wipeout of the Kokanee salmon’s only food source. Many winters, the Kokanee get very close to this point, but somehow every year, the plankton come back for the spring.
Caudal Fin (tail) – Rainbow trout’s tails are not notched very much. They are more square than they are forked. Kokanee salmon, on the other hand, has a very notched tail. The dorsal fin on the Kokanee is more of a right triangle, starting from the point of the fin. On a rainbow, the tip is created by an obtuse angle that gives it more of a sloping look compared to the Kokanee’s drop-down fin.
Location – Kokanee can only be found fresh water such as lakes and some rivers. Most Kokanee can only be found in the North Western parts of America, including the USA and Canada.
Rainbow trout have been introduced to every continent on the planet, with the exception of Antarctica, successfully. Rainbow trout can live in freshwater lakes and rivers, but can also thrive in the salt waters of oceans and seas. The freshwater branch are small enough to live in some streams as well.
Kokanee salmon and rainbow trout are very similar in some ways, but in others, they couldn’t be more different. They are both extremely tasty fish and are fun to catch. Try your luck with catching these and see just how fun they can be to catch and eat yourself!
Are Trouts a type of Salmon? Salmons are different than trouts but are both part of the same family and genus. Because they cannot reproduce together, they are considered separate species, as long as because of behavioral patterns and physical attributes.
Do Kokanee and Rainbow taste the same?Theyare both fish and have fish tastes and textures, as they are both known as oily fishes, but the actual taste is different. Kokanee meat is sweet, while rainbow trout meat is savory.
(That Always Seem to Work for Me! ボクにはいつもうまく行くようだ!) by Malachi Rhyker ヒメマス釣りの21の秘訣
Kokanee Salmon are a type of land-locked Sockeye Salmon that was trapped in a lake or small stream sometime around 15,000 years ago. The North Western Americas are covered with lakes filled with Kokanee. They taste great and are fun to fight, so it’s no wonder that they are one of the most popular fish to target in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and in British Columbia.
Kokanee are aggressive fish, a factor that has to be taken into consideration when trying to target them. I have been fishing for Kokanee for a few years now, and I have a few tips that I would love to pass onto new anglers trying to catch a few.
Kokanee trolling can rarely be done without a dodger or two on your lines. The dodgers reflect sunlight towards the fish and attract the fish towards the boat. By bending the dodger a little in the middle, you are able to give the dodger action of its own. It will be able to swing back and forth and get the kokanee to come closer.
A hoochie is a very effective Kokanee lure, and there isn’t much reason why. The Kokanee seem to love hitting the little plastic limbs/ tentacles that are on hoochies. And because the hook is right in the middle of the limbs, the kokanee are usually hooked pretty well.
Having multiple lines in the water will make it seem like that your hooks and dodgers are a school of fish. The Kokanee Salmon will follow your ‘school’ around until they get irritated enough to strike out.
Kokanee are zooplankton feeders, so it is a mystery why the fish love to bite Kokanee. There isn’t much rhyme or reason to why, but because it works, corn is used very often. Regular white shoepeg full kernel corn can be used, and the cheaper, the better.
ヒメマスは動物性プランクトン給餌者であり、なぜ魚がヒメマスに食いつきたがるか？はミステリーだ。それは何故か？について訳も理由もない。これはドジャーとタコベイトは効果があるので、コーンは稀にしか使われない。Regular white shoepeg full kernel コーンが使われる。安ければ安いほど､より良い。
The corn is the correct size, but the real reason that the corn is used is because it can retain smells very well. The real tip here is soaking the corn in another substance and getting a strong foreign smell that will irritate the Kokanee down to the fish.
Experiment wiht different smells, but be sure to use garlic for at least some of your corn. The Kokanee don’t really like the smell of garlic. It’s too strong for them, and it doesn’t smell like anything else around them. Because of this, the Kokanee will become aggressive towards the corn.
これと違った臭いを使った実験として、少なくともコーンにニンニクを使え。実際にヒメマスはニンニクの臭いが好きでない。あまりにも臭いが強くて、彼らの周辺のどの臭いとも違う。これが理由で、ヒメマスはコーンに攻撃的になる。
3. Downrigger
ダウンリガー
A downrigger is the piece of equipment that will be able to get the line down deep into the depths of the lake. There is a very heavy weight connected to the boat that will drop straight down. There is another little piece connected to the weight that can be clipped to the line. This will take your line down to the depth and keep the lures running around that point.
When the fish bites your hook, the line pops off of the weight and is able to be freely reeled up. The weight can be brought back up and the line reattached. The process repeats itself but keeps everything very constant.
Downriggers have only one downside. They are expensive to buy. They run for around $500, but can get up to $1200. There is an easy solution to not having one, though.
Attaching a 1.5 oz weight to the line will allow the line and lure to get as deep as you want the line to go. Using a regular salmon weight can also get the line down deep as well. Just attach it just before the dodger and the leader. The weight will add more weight when trying to reel in a fish, so the fish will seem bigger than it actually will.
Another alternative is using a weighted line. A weighted line is a line with a lead core that is covered in, usually, a braided line or a different material. This keeps the line sensitive, but because of the lead, the line will sink and will be able to act as a downrigger and get the line deep enough.
代替は重いラインを使うことだ。重いラインとは、普通、鉛を網糸か他の材質で被覆したラインのことである。ラインの感度は維持されるが、鉛なのでラインは沈み、ダウンリガーの役目もし十分深く沈下する。
When fighing a fish, the line will add more weight and it will be more dificult to get the fish up to the boat. While this seems line a downside, I actually enjoy the challenge to get the fish up. Especially with their soft mouths, it is a challence to get the fish up without tearing their mouths.
魚とファイトするとき、ラインは重さを増すので、ボートに魚を巻き上げるのがより難しくなる。ここでラインがダウンリガーのように見えるけど、実際には魚を上げることを楽しむことができる。特に口の柔らかい魚に対して、口を切らないように釣り上げることはチャレンジングだ。
5. Reel in Slowly
ゆっくりリールを巻け
Kokanee Salmon have very soft mouths. And because of this, there is always the worry that the hook set and reeling in can rip the hook out of the Kokanee Salmon. Make sure that as you reel in, or think that you might have a Kokanee Salmon on the other side of the line, that you set carefully and not too violently, and that you reel in gently.
But be careful: not enough tension will allow the fish to be able to get away and twist out of the hook. The tension will allow you the control you will need to get the Kokanee towards the boat.
Anyways, its more fun to slowly reel in a fish than just cranking in until you get one on the boat. Because these fish take a little more finesse to get them to the boat, they are very fun to fight.
Another easy way to reduce the amount of stress put on the Kokanee’s mouth is by using Monofilament fishing line. Mono line, as it is very regularly called, is made of a semi-clear material that has the most stretch out of all types of lines. As the name implies, it is made out of one material and is very durable because of this. The clear color makes it a good choice for a fishing line.
The stretch it has is just enough to still be very sensitive but also has enough give that it will stretch as the hook sets. This helps as the fish is started to be dragged along behind the boat. The give will allow the hook to be set gentler and the hook not pulled out as the boat continues and the fish starts to fight.
Because Kokanee Salmon have very soft mouths, when they jump out of the water, they might become unhooked and get away. If you can get the Kokanee to the surface, there is always the chance that the Kokanee will be able to get off the hook.
Having the net right there ready will help to get the Kokanee Salmon into the boat and not let them get away. This will also help with making sure that they Kokanee don’t try to get under the boat or to somewhere that the line can break or get tangled.
A longer net is usually. You will be able to get the fish further from the boat. While that can be both a good and a bad idea, it will be beneficial if the Kokanee has less time to get off the hook. Make sure the mouth of the net is wide as well. This will make scooping the fish up easier and make it more certain that the fish won’t get away.
Another great mystery of fishing is why Kokanee hate pink. It is a known fact that Kokanee strike things that annoy them, and pink is the color that has got the most success, so Kokanee anglers use it frequently.
The best lures for Kokanee are usually pink and imitate bait fish. There are also many Kokanee baits that are purposely dyed pink because the color is just so successful. A pink hoochie lure with a piece of scented corn will catch the most amount of fish in an average year.
Although pink is the best color, some anglers don’t use it as often as other people. They use reds, oranges, and some light purples. I’ve talked to a few anglers on the water, and although they swear by pink, they are usually using an orange or red. Not sure why, but I guess experimenting is sometimes good. Who would have thought.
When trolling for Kokanee, don’t change the type of gear that you’re using. It’s good to use a variety of lures, but try to make it a rule of thumb to keep each rod consistent with the type of lure that is used on it. This will make things easier, because a hoochie set up is slightly different than a spoon setup or a different kind of lure.
Instead, change the color of the lure. If you’re using a pink wedding ring, switch to a red wedding ring, or change the color of the blade that circles the lure. Sometimes bronze will work better where silver or nickel fails.
Changing lures is less effective because the hoochies work the best. It’s as simple as that. There is also the option of using different baits. Instead of corn, try dyed-pink shrimp, or dyed-red maggots. Colors matter more.
Kokanee Salmon like deep water. Because of this, they are usually not that close to the shore. Try around 50 feet away from the shore when trolling. If you aren’t getting any bites, go deeper than you had been trolling.
After changing the depth, change how far out you troll. Sometimes moving a few more feet out into the water will be enough to get the fish to start biting. Keep on getting trolling at varying distances and depths until you get one that works well. If there are other people on the lake trolling, try trolling the same distances as them. If they seem friendly enough, ask them, but be sure not to fish where they are. It’s very annoying.
If you’re having more troubles catching Kokanee, go to your locat fish shop and ask people there if they know where the Kokanee Salmon hang out at. Its different at every lake.
Because Kokanee Salmon usually group together in a school, having access to a fish finder will be very valuable to your fishing experience. The sonar-using device will be able to find the fish easier than solo fish. Once you know the location of the school of fish, troll over that area a few times.
ヒメマスはグループになって回遊しているので、魚探は君の経験に非常に価値がある。
A fish finder can also be helpful in finding out how deep the water is in a certain area. One of my friends uses his fishing boat to pull his kids around on water skiis. He uses the fish finder to tell if its deep enough to let them ski safely. If you can use it for multiple things, that can make the purchase even more worth it.
A fish finder can get kind of expensive, but they are very worth the price. Find one online for a reasonable price. Amazon sometimes has surprise deals on fishing supplies, so check back regurlary on Amazon.com.
Because Kokanee group up in schools, troll a little faster over the areas that you spotted a school with your fish finder. This will make them more aggressive and more likely to strike.
Kokanee Salmon school up because it gives them a sense of protection, but this actually will make them safer. Kokanee are sought after by many fish-eating species of fish.
Because they are so skittish if a faster lure comes by a lone fish, they will get spooked and will swim away from it, rather than striking. Because of this, more fish will be aggressive and will be more likely to bite the hooks.
Many trolling guides and anglers tend to go for the sharp turns that will lower one side of the boat and lift the other. If you have lines on each side, one of your lines will be lifted and the other will be dropped. While this is a good method of fishing, there is an even better way of trolling.
Traveling in the pattern called “Serpentine” will get you the best results. By going back and forth, the lines will both be dropped and lifted quite frequently. This can get you seasick, with this movement, but the fish will probably bite frequently enough that you will be able to get a rest in between.
The ‘S’ shaped path will turn more fish towards the boat as the dodgers will be able to reflect more light in more directions. This will also make your artificial school of fish seem more like a school of fish trying to swim away from a predator.
Keeping a constant speed can quickly become the downfall of your trolling experience. The fish will not be interested in a lure that has one set action. By changing the speeds at which you go, the lure and dodger will have a variety of actions that will attract the fish.
When I go trolling on the lakes, I usually change the speed in a range of about 1 MPH. This is a pretty big range, and it doesn’t have to be so dramatic with your experience. I usually start around 1.5 MPH and make my way up to 1.8 MPH. if I don’t have that much luck, I slow down again until I catch something, or I’m going 0.8 MPH.
The speeding up of the boat, consequently, will increase the speed of the lures on the boat. By going slower, the lures will slow down and not travel as fast. Kokanee strike when the lure is falling, so when the boat slows down enough, the kokanee will strike more often.
One of the quickest ways that your fishing trip can go down the drain is with tangled lines. Sometimes its unaviodable. The fish fights towads another line and snags it before you have time to get the other rod out of the way, or you just didn’t notice.
あなたの釣り旅行がうまく行かなくなる(down the drain)手っ取り早い(quichest way)方法の１つが、糸の絡みである。これはときどき避けられない。魚がもう１本のラインに向かってファイトし、ロッドを除く時間が無かったり気が付く前だったりして、ラインが引っかかってしまう。
One of the most common ways that a fishing line can be entangled with another is because of the wind blowing the lines into each other. When trolling, make sure never to go sideways into the wind, else you risk getting the lines messed up.
Making sure that you always travel with or against the wind will help with keeping your lines untangled and ready to twitch if a fish strikes. The wind can be a great hinderance to fishermen, but there are easy ways to get around the wind’s bothersome personality.
When trolling or jigging for Kokanee, the action of the lure is very important. If the lure or bait is not properly presented to the fish, the fish may very well ignore the hook completely. The most important action that the Kokanee are most likely to bite is when the lure is falling.
When talking about jigging, this is a very good thing to hear. The jig is usually falling, so there is a lot of opportunities to present a falling hook and bait to the Kokanee Salmon. Jerking the jig up slightly and letting it fall back down will both make the lure seem alive and get the action that you will want.
For trolling, making the lure fall isn’t always easy. But it is possible. The lure does drop a little when the boat turns in its path. It drops significantl when doing a very sharp turn, such as a U-turn.
Kokanee are most likely in a school with a few other fish. Because of this, the fish are going to be more aggressive. They are going to bite, so now the goal is to get the bigger fish to bite first.
One tactic to do this is to troll deeper. The bigger Kokes are going to be deeper in the water. They can survive here because the other species that try to prey on Kokanee will not be able to kill them or eat them.
But this tip is about how fast you’re traveling. The bigger Kokanee are going to be able to swim a little faster than the smaller Kokanee. This means that you can troll faster than you originally thought you could. Instead of trolling around 1.5 mph, go for a little faster. 1.8 or almost 2 mph .
This will help you catch bigger Kokanee, which are more fun to fight, and more meat to eat.
これはファイトが楽しく、美味しい大型のヒメマスを釣るのに役に立つ。
18. Line Counter Reel
カウンター付リール
A counter reel is a device that can accurately tell you how much fishing line you have let out of your reel. This is very helpful for trolling and jigging, the two main methods used to catch Kokanee. If you pair that with a fish finder, you will be able to know exactly how deep you will have to drop the line, and you will be able to get the line down exactly down that far.
For trolling, the drag the water has on the line will have to be taken into consideration. There are a lot of things online that can tell you how deep the line will go depending on the weights you have on the line, the type of line, and how fast you are going.
Jigging for Kokanee Salmon is best done on the bottom of the lake and worked up to the surface. It’s not always a good thing to let your hook touch the bottom of the lake, so paired with a line counter and a fish finder, the line counter reel can be a very useful tool.
Kokanee Salmon are land locked, so they are stuck in the lakes. They can be caught year round, so get out to your lakes! In the winter, you can go ice fishing. While this adds more expenses with more needed equipment, you’ll be able to use that equipment for any type of ice fishing.
During the late spring and early summer months, go jigging and try your luck with dropping jigs on Kokanee Salmon schools you find with your fish finder. Once the Kokanee start going deeper in the later summer and early fall, try your luck trolling for the fish.
In any kind of Kokanee Salmon fishing, this applies very strongly.
ヒメマス釣りのような場合、これがうまく適用できる。
Trolling– If you have five lines out, have one at the recommended depth and distance behind the boat. For the other four, change it up in increments of 10. One 10 feet deeper, one 10 feet shallower, one ten feet further back, and the last 20 feet further back from the original.
Jigging – In jigging, you have one rod that is action-focused, and another suspended in the water with bait. Jig starting at the bottom, but once you have a depth that works well, drop another line down at that depth and let it sit and be bit.
Ice fishing – When Ice fishing, its a good idea to have as many holes as you can, and to space them out every 10 or so feet perpendicular from the shore. The first should be about 10 feet under the ice, and the next four down another 10 feet than the last. If the lake is shallower, put the rest a few feet above the bottom of the lake.
A lot of the Kokanee Salmon require a few specific pieces of equipment to be most effectively caught. Even if it is just a boat, it’s really good to have. Actually, especially if its a boat.
For trolling, and although it isn’t exactly required, a downrigger would be a very good sale. Consider buying quite a bit of leaded fishing line, and also a few weights. There are small salmon downrigger clips that can be easily attached to a line and will get the hook down to the correct depth.
Another piece of tech that would be very useful would be a fish finder. The ability to see the bottom of the lake would be amazing to have. The fish finder isn’t a bad purchase because of how useful it can be. It can help out with jigging and with ice fishing.
Is Kokanee a salmon or trout? Kokanee Salmon is actually land locked Sockeye Salmon, an ocean and river species. They tend to be smaller than Sockeye Salmon, and they act more like trouts, but they do not breed with either. Kokanee Salmon are considered a separate species than Sockeye Salmon.
What do Kokanee Salmon like to eat? Kokanee Salmon are strictly zooplankton eaters. Despite constantly biting lures, Zooplankton, very small organisms floating in the water, is their only source of food. Many types of fish eat Kokanee, though. Kokanee Salmon are also known to eat very small insects, but that is a lot less common. Kokanee Salmon have gill rakers that make eating other things harder.
Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon are the two most targeted fish on the west coast. They are both delicious fish and are both fun to catch, two of the main reasons they are so popular. There are many fisheries on the West Coast, from California to Canada and Alaska, that have made it their purpose to maintain a steady population of Rainbows and Kokes in the lakes and surrounding rivers.
