Anyone know Inconnu?

[alacringa]

Looking for advice from anyone who has taken Inconnu on the fly. I'm figuring streamers are the best bet, but I'll be in their range in a week, and would like to try for them. I'm comfortable with the trout, etc., but Inconnu seem to be a bit of an enigma.

[Iceman4]

Use big heavy streamers and fish them just like a pike. I've never caught them on the fly, but I've caught them fishing big spoons and other "pikeish" lures. They're quite aggressive, if you're in the right water just fish as though you're going after pike. We kept an 8 pounder for eating once and found 10 little pike in it's belly.

[KegRiver]

Quiet a coincidence that you would ask about Coony's now.
I hope to head north tomorrow to do some fishing and was thinking about trying for Coony's while up there.

But, I've never targeted Coony's before.

Anyone know what sort of depths they would be at this time of year, what sort of structure they prefer, where do they hang out, near shore or in deep water?

Pike will be my main goal but I would like to take a few Coony's just for the experience.

I will be fishing off shore in Great Slave and my boat is a 18 ft deep V so I can handle some rough water to get what I'm after. If that is required.

A little advice would be appreciated.
I am familiar with the Lake and the Pike, I've fished there many times before. But only for Pike and Walleye. I'll be East of Hay River, in the Fort Res area.

[Iceman4]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

Quiet a coincidence that you would ask about Coony's now.
I hope to head north tomorrow to do some fishing and was thinking about trying for Coony's while up there.

But, I've never targeted Coony's before.

Anyone know what sort of depths they would be at this time of year, what sort of structure they prefer, where do they hang out, near shore or in deep water?

Pike will be my main goal but I would like to take a few Coony's just for the experience.

I will be fishing off shore in Great Slave and my boat is a 18 ft deep V so I can handle some rough water to get what I'm after. If that is required.

A little advice would be appreciated.
I am familiar with the Lake and the Pike, I've fished there many times before. But only for Pike and Walleye. I'll be East of Hay River, in the Fort Res area.

I've caught them in that area before, at the mouth of the little buffalo about 20 minutes before Fort Res, it was in spring though. We were 200-300 yards from shore in 4-8 feet of water, casting and trolling spoons. I would guess they would be farther out now though, but I would imagine they would still be in that area, would just have to get the depth right. The locals we talked to were very helpful and there were usually a few boats out on the water.

[bobbypetrolia]

Fished for these guys for two years up there. Good ol' Tundra Tarpon!!
Best luck we had was fall. Best gear we used was streamers and double bunnys on a full sink line (a must). Spinning gear was a white grub/jig. Find where a stream runs into a lake and then drops off immediately. Cast from shore out into the lake and let it sink. When you think you've let it sink enough, let it sink some more. Strip (or retrieve) back to you uphill (up the dropoff), if this makes sense. This was the only technique that produced results consistently. We tried everything! Trolling the mouths of these little feeder creeks/streams was a close second.
Hope this helps, they are elusive, to put it mildly!! Best of luck!!
Any questions I will try my best to help!

[yetiseeker]

I lived in Whitehorse for a few years and were able to hook into a number of Inconnu (Shee fish) in the time we lived there.

We found most of the Inconnu right on the mudline - the part where the river would dump into a lake where the mud and fresh water meet. We found that most of our catches were a by-catch while fishing for lakers. In the mud line, we found that downriggers, down to flashers, and teasers were the ticket. However, we also found that in Lake Laberge, one or two feet off bottom up on top of a shelf (this time of year up north - target 40 to 50 feet is as deep as you need to go) - again on the flashers/teaser combo.

As these fish can be big and aggressive (up to 25lbs or so), match the available forage and and you should have luck. Herring up to 8" inches seemed to attract them best IMO.

Good luck!