# Causey Reservoir 7/26



## Jeff

My dad, my brother in law (modemer) and I decided to go and beat up on some Kokanee at Causey yesterday. It was a first time going there this year, and we were quite impressed with the changes they have made.

Here is the #1 change:










It's about time they got an outhouse there  Yay!

As Orvis pointed out previously, if you have to launch your boat from a trailer, you're pretty much done fishing Causey. This is what they put up in front of the boat ramp area:










They leveled out the boat ramp area, which is great, because it was a huge muddy mess last year, and they laid down tons of gravel to keep away the mud! Here is a picture of the new improved launch area, with my porta-bote chillin there waiting to be put together:










We got the boat put together, and were ready to rumble! So nice not having to put it together while sinking into knee deep mud 










We fished from about 8:30 until 2:30. In total, we caught 7 kokanee. 14 inches seemed to be the average, and they all seemed a lot chubbier this year than last year. My dad caught 3, brother in law (modemer) caught 3, and I caught 1 (yes I suck).

Here is how we caught them. First off, I've included a handy dandy Causey map, for those interested:










Since it would be challenging to attach downriggers to a porta-bote, we usually just either toss on a bunch of weights or long-line it. We started out with the usual kokanee type setups which worked well last year: weight, dodger, snubber, and random kokanees lures (bright orange/pink triple teaser types, I was using a Rocky Mt. Tackle lure). My dad decided to be rebellious and put on pop gear with a pink and white rooster tail. After a few hours, he was catching fish, and modemer and I were not, so we gave in to his non-kokanee style tactics, and then we caught fish too 

Pop gear + pink and white rooster tails + long lining (exactly 150 feet of line seemed to be the magic number, all 7 fish were caught at that length) seemed to win the day.

There weren't many people fishing there, only 1 other boat, and 1 guy in a float tube, so most the day we didn't see many people, other than the usual cliff jumper crowd, but then when we were done fishing, and began heading back to the boat launch area, we were suddenly reminded it was a holiday weekend, as we saw about 50+ kayak / canoes over in the kayak territory area. We're just happy they were staying away from our fishing area  Back near the boat launch area, there were another 20 or 30 people sitting along the shore swimming and such. It took us a while to get past them all. You'd think if you saw a boat coming, you'd get out of the way, but I guess that's asking too much of the general public. My next invention is going to be a porta-bote fog horn. That should clear the way 

Here are 4 of the 7 fishies we caught (modemer took his home). These were all after I got home. Someday I'll remember to take pictures of the fish before we gut them, someday.










All in all, it was quite a nice day of fishing.


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## k2muskie

fatbass said:


> Excellent report! Thanks for taking the time. |-O-|


OUTSTANDING REPORT...ditto +1 on this report...by far, the best I've seen to date on this forum. Well done and congrats on the Koke :wink: :wink:


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## Crash

Thanks for the map and outline. Thaks for the post. Good looking fish.


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## Grandpa D

Is the boat launch open to where a motor boat could be backed in and launched?
From your pictures, it looks like you have to carry the boat to the water.

Good to see the Koke action is picking up at Causey.
I would like to try fishing there in the evening sometime this week.

Thanks for the pictures and the great report,
Grandpa D.


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## Jeff

Hi Grandpa D,

Because of those poles they put up, you would have to carry your boat to the water. There is no possible way to back a trailer down to the water.


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## waltny

I think they put those up due to alot of people getting stuck down there last year. As you mentioned it was nothing but mud and the "ramp" is a nice upgrade. Even with the wakeless rules and only allowing smaller boats there are those that still insits on breaking the wakeless speeds, so its a good idea to have the poles up limiting those larger boats. Also I dont think there is alot of space for them on Causey anyhow.


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## Pavlik

I think that the boat ramp was not designed for us fishermen to use. It was designed for the use of DWR. Notice the padlocks on the backs of 3 of those posts. They are removable. I think that it was put there so that they can back their planting truck in, and put a boat in the water to do salmon surveys in the fall. Good job on the kokes.


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## REPETER

porta bote huh? where do I look into getting one of those and would yo recommend it? Great report, I'm sure we'll have many more to enjoy coming from you. Those Kokes looked tastey! :mrgreen:


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## Jeff

I love my porta-bote and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. The fact that you can throw it on top of your car, and don't need a trailer, and can put it together and launch it from just about anywhere is great. The boat is much more stable in the water than a comparable sized aluminum boat, and it is just about impossible to sink. You can completely fill it up with water, and it will still float.

I found mine for sale on craiglslist, it's the 14 foot version (there are 14, 12, 10, and 8 foot versions), and I got mine for $900. Brand new they cost a lot, I believe the 14's go for around $2300 or so. Checking craigslist and KSL would probably be your best bet. You can find them frequently on eBay as well, but shipping would most likely be pretty expensive.

The official website is http://www.porta-bote.com, and you can find lots of random info about them there. I believe you can also contact them from their site to find a local dealer, or have one shipped directly to you.


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## waltny

Pavlik said:


> I think that the boat ramp was not designed for us fishermen to use. It was designed for the use of DWR. Notice the padlocks on the backs of 3 of those posts. They are removable. I think that it was put there so that they can back their planting truck in, and put a boat in the water to do salmon surveys in the fall. Good job on the kokes.


Sounds viable and pratical about the polls and ramp....


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## REPETER

Nice! thanks for the info! if the plywood on the floor of my inflate-a-boat doesn't work :lol: well let's just say I'll be looking into it for sure.


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## Pavlik

I just did some searching around the net. Those porta botes are kind of hard to come by. The ones out there cost a pretty penny. You got me interested though... I think that I will drop by Cabela's the next time Im down that way and check them out.


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## Modemer

To answer fatbass' question, I smoked my Kokes simply on a Cedar plank soaked in water, Nothing else. It gave them a good flavor. Next time I think I will spice it up a little. 

Jeff, What are you thinking giving away our trade secret. :evil: Such as small pop-gear about 18" long, no weight, a snubber, about 16" leader and a rooster tail with a pink spinner on it. Oh, don't forget to let out a full 150' of line too. We were trolling on speed 2 on our Minn Kotta. I've checked the ground speed before on my GPS and its about 1.5 MPH.

What’s next Jeff :?: Giving them a picture with the layout of the lake with the cliff divers and kayakers? :shock: 

The fish were about 14-15” long and about 8-9” in girth. The females had a pink/red hue to their skin and had a lot of eggs in them. The best part is trying to get them into the boat. Their mouths are so soft the hook will rip out of their mouth with little pressure- hints the snubbers. If the fish jump out of water, 99% of the time the hook will come out. We also use 2 people with nets to net the fish since we lost so many last year at the boat. Water temprature was 65 F.

I hope this post helps. Everyone has the right to a quality catch. >>O


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## DIPPER

Great report! That is where I have always caught them too. I have also got a few in the kayak zone....Nice boat :mrgreen:


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## LOAH

That sounds like a lot of fun. Nice to see a report involving a porta-bote.

I've heard about them being used, but never saw a pic.

Good report. Thanks for the details.


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