New Micro Fishing Line Turns Defeat Into A Draw

When it comes to catching kokanee at night, Don Ostlund is considered a master fisherman.

Those who fish with him take it for granted he’ll be top gun by the time he cranks up his motor sometime after midnight and heads for his trailer house at Granite Point Resort on Loon Lake. If the fishing is good, he’ll be the first to take a limit. If it’s tough, he’ll catch more than anyone else in the boat.

In all the years I’ve sat staring at my rod tip in dim light I’ve only beaten him a couple of times. Those, I suspect, were flukes.

When he invited me to fish with him a few days ago, I eagerly accepted even though the wind was bending trees in my back yard. Maybe the wind will die, I thought, and the water will be calm at night. As every still-fisherman knows, turbulent water makes it extremely difficult to detect the delicate mouthings of the kokanee.

The wind didn’t die and big waves rocked Ostlund’s boat as we tried to find a quiet cove an hour after the sun had set. Finally, we settled for a cove where the waves were only 6 inches high. Ostlund spotted kokanee on his sonar screen and we dropped a couple 25-pound anchors.

This time, I hoped, I had an equalizer. I had added 50 feet of Berkley’s new high-tech, braided microfilament line to the monofilament on one of my spinning reels. I tied 3 feet of 10-pound-test monofilament to the end of the line. My terminal rig consisted of an in-line sinker and a No. 6 glow hook.

The fine diameter microfilament line, unlike monofilament, doesn’t stretch. It would, I figured, transmit the slightest movement of the line, even if a kokanee only breathed on the hook.

Night fishing had been poor for a couple of weeks. There were times when even Ostlund couldn’t catch more than two or three of the 13- to 14-inchers. So we were expecting slow fishing. And the kokanee fulfilled our expectations.

We baited our glow hooks with maggots and corn. Before lowering them to the bottom we “charged” them with a camera flash unit. The hooks glowed as we dropped them overboard and set them 6 inches off the bottom.

Time passed as the boat continued to rock and we slowly lifted and dropped our hooks. By lifting the rod tip slowly, we increased our chances of sensing the extremely delicate takes of the kokanee. Unlike trout, kokanee don’t grab a bait and run, creating a sudden tug. They mouth a bait, usually not moving it enough for an angler to feel the take.

Once in a while a kokanee will clamp down on a bait and move. Its movement is easily detected and the angler can set the hook. Beginners and anglers who have trouble detecting the soft kokanee mouthings catch fish at those times. Experts like Ostlund seem to have a sixth sense. They usually know when a kokanee has touched a bait and they jerk their rod tips up instantly.

It’s necessary to have fast reflexes. When a kokanee detects a hook, it quickly drops the bait. Experienced night fishermen strike fast when they think a kokanee has the bait. Ostlund says he even strikes “on suspicion.”

Periodically, Ostlund and I charged our hooks. Each charging with a camera flash unit lasts 10 minutes. Hooks charged with a flashlight or lantern glow only about half that time.

Finally, I hooked a kokanee and lifted it over the boat’s side. It flopped around in the dark, tangling my line. But at least I had the first fish. A little while later Ostlund hooked a fish and lifted it aboard.

The temperature dropped and the wind continued to kick up waves. My legs and feet began to freeze and my fingers felt a little numb.

By 1 a.m., I was one fish ahead of Ostlund. Is it possible, I wondered, that I would beat the master?

At 1:15, we agreed to fish 15 more minutes. Suddenly, Ostlund jerked up his rod. A minute or so later he lifted a 14-incher over the boat’s side. Time ran out and we pulled anchor.

I didn’t beat the master, but I tied him. I felt good as I drove home and finally groped my way to bed at 2:30.

Did the new high-tech, braided microfilament line help me detect the takes of the kokanee? I suspect it did, but I won’t make up my mind for sure until after I’ve still-fished for kokanee at night several more times.

At least, Ostlund seemed impressed. He wanted to try some. He always has an open mind when it comes to fishing, and he’s willing to do some experimenting.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Fenton Roskelley The Spokesman-Review