As Captain Kyle Sandy motored away from Mile High Marina, the bustle of McCall faded into the peaceful stillness of our alpine surroundings. And after weeks of near-triple-digit heat in the Treasure Valley, the cool mountain air felt incredible!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upon arriving at our fishing grounds, Kyle, his wife Kathryn and I deployed four rods on downriggers, plus a surface runner. Our target for the day\u2014and the Sandys\u2019 target just about every summer day at Payette Lake\u2014was a cooler full of Kokanee salmon<\/a>. Our setup included a buffet of locally-made Kokabow dodgers and lures tipped with Kyle\u2019s personal recipe of cured shoepeg corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyle and I chuckled at the absurdity of fishing with corn. \u201cI\u2019ll never understand why they like it so much,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t want to fish without it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyle and Kathryn are the owners of Fish and Fur Outfitters<\/a>, a guide service that offers Kokanee fishing trips, coyote hunts (the \u201cfur\u201d side of the business) and snow goose hunts (for those who prefer feathers). I was excited to learn more about their operation\u2014especially considering that just a couple years ago, no one would have dreamed of guiding on Payette Lake<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For years, Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) has sought to balance the populations of Payette\u2019s two primary game species\u2014Kokanee and Mackinaw (lake) trout<\/a>. Kokanee are popular with anglers because they are great table fare and are usually easy to catch with the right trolling setup<\/a>. Mackinaws, on the other hand, are unique trophy fish<\/a>, capable of living 50-plus years and reaching epic sizes. Payette has produced fish over 40 inches<\/a>, and bigger monsters likely exist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kokanee and Mackinaw are often found together, but when the balance is off, the fishery suffers. If too many lake trout are present, they eat all the Kokanee and struggle to grow for lack of food. Further complicating the Payette situation is an abundance of northern pikeminnow, which also eat Kokanee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent years, Southwest Regional Fisheries Manager Jordan Messner and his team have ramped up IDFG\u2019s Kokanee stocking (1.8 million between 2020 and 2023, Payette\u2019s first stockings since 2014) while removing hundreds of Mackinaws. The strategy appears to be working\u2014for the past two summers, Payette has offered steady Kokanee catch rates for guides and recreational anglers alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to see it bounce back,\u201d Kyle said. \u201cObviously it helps us and what we offer, but this is such a cool fishery. I think having it back on the map is good for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kokanee can be finicky, and it took us a couple hours to dial in a consistent bite. We had a lot of noncommittal drive-by hits early, but a location change by Kyle and tireless lure experimentation by Kathryn\u2014including adding two double dodger setups\u2014turned our morning around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was classic Kokanee fishing. After 20 minutes without a bite, BAM! We would double or triple up, creating a whirlwind of rods, lines and nets. Before we knew it, we\u2019d boated a limit of 14-to-17-inch keepers. We were enjoying the picturesque weather and finishing off a second limit when I popped a bouncing rod off the downrigger clip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis one\u2019s not a Kokanee!\u201d I announced. Sometimes, a non-Kokanee at Payette means an annoying pikeminnow (we caught several). But the weight of this fish and its big, side-to-side head shakes told a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNice Mackinaw!\u201d Kyle shouted as the fish came into view. \u201cBarely hooked, too. Be careful!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n