By Capt. James McManus
I read an encouraging story on NC Angler, a local fishing report site concerning a good thing the wildlife folks have done. In this column, I have often criticized the folks for not doing enough to help our local waters. Looks like they did the right thing for Nantahala Lake. The report states that 41,000 fingerling kokanee salmon were stocked, with another stocking coming this month. Yee Haw! If you have never caught one of these little salmon you don’t know what you’re missing. I have caught a bunch of trout trolling but have never had lightning on a string like those kokes.
If you’re not familiar with the species, they are native to more northern waters all the way to Alaska. One of the strangest fish that swims in my opinion, they change from a mirror slick silver with very slight build until the fall when they grow humpy back and turn scarlet red, preparing for their annual spawning run. They are also filter feeders so they only eat plankton and other micro bugs they can filter out of the open water. This trait makes them a little hard to catch with conventional tactics, but they are catchable.
Several years ago, on the 4th of July, my wife and I took a trip up to Nantahala Lake. After reading up on them, I was determined to snag some. Small hootchies, trolled behind a small dodger, was the recommended bait with the compulsory piece of shoepeg corn attached to the hook. Well, I don’t know what shoepeg corn is so I put a gulp maggot in its place. Slow trolling at 100 feet was the ticket and to my delight, I caught three. I can tell you they eat really well and I planned more trips. Like other lakes here, people put blueback herring in the lake and, like the walleye in Glenville and Fontana, in a year or so there were no kokanee left. Thanks to the wildlife folks for being proactive in this case, I look forward to catching those little fellas again. I also hope this is a start for NCWRC to take more proactive steps with our other local lakes.
Let me know if you want go and thank you Lord for all our finned friends. Later, Capt. James.
Capt. James McManus owns 153 Charters. Give him a call for a great day on the water at (828) 421-8125.