Odell Lake kokes slowly warming up

Bite will start as water temps warm

By Rob Endsley / Fish Frontiers Editor

ODELL, Ore. – Odell Lake is one of the West’s top-producing kokanee lakes, yet it hasn’t received a kokanee plant since 1958 – or any hatchery plant, for that matter – since 1963. Excellent natural production and a mess of plankton, the koke’s primary food source, have kept the population of landlocked sockeye stable for decades in this central Oregon mountain lake.

A huge food base of plankton and great spawning habitat are what keep the numbers of the silver-sided fish stable. Plankton is prolific throughout the west end of the lake and that’s exactly where the koke’s can usually be found.

“The area from Princess Creek to West Bay is where 90 percent of the action takes place,” says Jim Kielblcok, owner of Shelter Cove Resort (800-647-2729).

The west end of the lake is also the best place to take shelter from Odell’s notorious afternoon winds that whip the lake on a near-daily basis. A 3- to 4-foot chop usually sends boaters into Shelter Cove and West Bay, which is exactly where the kokanee can be found feeding on plankton.

Still under lockdown
The problem this year isn’t a lack of fish, however, it’s that the lake and the surrounding Cascade Mountains are still enveloped in a record breaking winter. Odell still remains partially frozen, and with water temps ranging from 32 degrees in the morning to 39 degrees late in the afternoon, the fish just aren’t biting yet. That will change quickly, however, with an increase in water temperature of just a few degrees.

Kielblock, who has owned the resort for 11 years, sees water temps creeping up every day and noted that the koke bite should really take off when the water gets between 42 and 44 degrees.

“Even with the cold water we’re seeing right now there’s still a few fish being caught, but once the lake gets into the low 40’s I’d expect to see some darned good fishing,” he says.

Odell Lake guide Mike Jones (541-285-4987), who works out of Shelter Cove Resort, has already marked massive schools of kokanee on the west end of the lake, but hasn’t seen many biters since the opener due to the frigid water. Jones has been fishing the lake since 1964 and has only seen a couple of winters like this one in his forty plus years on the lake.

With the longest winter most people can remember hitting the eastern slope of the Oregon Cascades, it’s looking like Odell will be the only fishable kokanee lake with open water on it for at least a couple more weeks. Until the ice burns off the rest of the lakes, you can bet a lot of eyes will be on Odell.

Vertical jigging is a great way to catch kokanee early in the season. (Fish Frontiers graphic library)

Jigging to trolling
Jones will start the season by jigging Nordic and Pt. Wilson darts in blue, white, and fluorescent orange. After locating schools of koke’s he’ll drift over the schools, casting the jigs over the masses of fish and letting the iron fall, with just a slight twitch of the rod to get the jig to flutter. Jones prefers to avoid anchoring early in the season because the kokes are constantly on the move, and it’s necessary to keep up with the fish to produce steady action.

Much later in the season, around the 4th of July, is when Jones will start trolling for kokanee.

“The schools are spread out by then and you’ve got to cover water to find them,” says the guide of the change in technique.

His go-to trolling rig is a Sling Blade flasher with a green Christmas tree pattern on it, followed by a Kokanee Apex.

“I switch out the hooks to a black size 4 wide gap on the back hook and a size 1 red wide gap on the front hook and I’ll tip the front hook with Berkley Gulp! Corn, maggots, or Pautzke’s Fire Corn,” notes Jones.

Jones really likes the Fire Corn because it doesn’t spoil. Anglers on Odell regularly throw spoiled corn overboard and the kokes eat it, killing them. A second advantage is that it stays on the hook much better, especially when trolling.

The Odell guide will use a rod designed for kokanee rather than a rubber snubber, which is commonly used to keep hooks from pulling out of their soft mouths. Using a soft enough rod to keep the hooks from pulling out alleviates the need for a snubber.

Some trolling recommendations from Jones: “Don’t ever take your motor out of gear, never set the hook, and never quit reeling, and you’ll land 90 percent of the kokanee you hook.”

Aside from the west end of the lake kokanee can also be found from Kelly Bay to the railroad slide on the southeast shore of Odell.

“Occasionally when the fishing drops off on the west end of the lake people will find fish on this shoreline,” Kielblock says.

Shelter Cove Resort has the largest selection of kokanee tackle in the state, some of which is specifically designed for Odell. Kielblock teamed up with tackle manufacturer Silver Horde to produce the Gold Star Hammer dodger. The dodger has really taken off in recent years and will be introduced with a UV coating and glow tape for this season, a change that Kielblock thinks will really produce. The Hammer dodger can only be found at Shelter Cove Resort and, as Kielblock notes: “People are calling from all over to get their hands on these things because they work so good.”

In addition to the dodgers, Shelter Cove also has the largest selection of kokanee jigs in Oregon, with fifteen different varieties in stock. “The biggest sellers are the Nordic and Pt. Wilson Darts in white and pink, pink, and orange and it’s usually best to tip the jig with corn,” added Kielblock.

There are several different approaches to jigging on the lake depending upon what the fish are doing. If fish can be seen on the surface it’s best to set up off to the side of the school and cast ½ jigs into the boiling fish. Suspended fish can either be targeted by drifting or anchoring, using 1 ounce jigs to get down quickly. Line counter reels make it easy to drop jigs directly into suspended schools of kokanee, using sonar to locate the depth where the fish are holding.

Lodging
Shelter Cove Resort and Odell Lake Lodge, on the east end of the lake, have improved boat ramps and both charge a $5 launch fee. Launches are also available at Princess Creek, Trapper Creek, and Sunset Cove. Campgrounds are located at Princess Creek, Trapper Creek, Sunset Cove, and Odell Lake Lodge (541-433-2540).

Shelter Cove Resort has 13 shoreline cabins with their own docks, 75 RV spots with hookups, guide services, and a marina with 130 boat slips. Complete with the largest selection of tackle in all of Oregon, Shelter Cove is one stop shopping for fishing on the lake.

Rules/regs
Odell has a 25-kokanee limit and the action for these great-eating fish occurs from opening weekend in late April thru October. In addition to great kokanee fishing, the lake also offers excellent mackinaw and rainbow trout fishing. The Mackinaw in the lake have been known to reach weights in excess of 30 pounds and rainbow over 20 inches aren’t uncommon.
--FF