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Utah's kokanee — red fish fever |
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By Dave Webb Mature kokanee salmon in Flaming Gorge, Strawberry, Porcupine, Causey, and other waters congregate near stream mouths in late summer. They change color as they prepare to spawn. After the spawn they die in the inlet streams. Kokanee are popular with anglers, and fishing for them is usually good during the summer and early fall, until the mature fish have moved into the streams. Then the action will slow a bit. Kokanee usually look much like a rainbow trout, silver-green-blue in color. But as they begin to spawn (about Labor Day) they turn purple and then dark red to bright scarlet, with a green head. As they move up the streams their skin becomes leathery and their flesh mushy. Kokanee are a landlocked form of the sockeye or red salmon, prized for its table qualities. But during the spawn, when its flesh is mushy, the salmon lacks flavor and is not desirable for sport fishing or eating. The color of the fish starts to change while it is still in the reservoir, but it usually doesn't begin to get mushy until it has been in the stream for awhile. So, fish the reservoirs but leave the kokanee alone when they are in the streams. There is another good reason to leave the fish alone when they are spawning up the streams. Kokanee are difficult to raise in hatcheries, but their natural reproduction rate is excellent at both the Gorge and Porcupine. Most trout caught in Utah were raised in hatcheries and are caught within a year or two of the time they were planted, as part of a "put-and-take" management program which is very expensive. But the kokanee have actually been increasing in numbers as a result of natural reproduction. When they are allowed to spawn they improve fishing in Utah and save all of us money! To protect the fish, many spawning tributaries are closed to fishing in the fall. Check the current proclamation for details. Kokanee have become an extremely popular sport fish at the Gorge, accounting for about as much action as the rainbows. The fish are fairly easy to catch and reach 17-20 inches by age four, when they are ready to spawn. A few spawn when they are five, and so are a bit larger. The Utah record kokanee went five pounds, five ounces and was caught in the Gorge in 1984. Kokanee have reproduced so well in Porcupine and Moon Lake that they sometimes overpopulate the reservoir. Mature fish there have averaged only eight or nine inches. DWR biologists are experimenting with natural controls to help improve kokanee populations. Kokanee were stocked in East Canyon Reservoir, but poor water apparently prevented them from doing well. Kokanee are caught throughout the year, with June being the most productive month. Ice fishing for kokanee is popular at Porcupine and Causey — if you find a school you can really haul in the fish. The Gorge is so big and deep that it is hard to find the fish during the winter. Kokanee, like rainbows, are plankton eaters. They do not feed on smaller fish. They do go after small attractor lures and will also take worms and salmon eggs. Most are taken trolling bright red or orange lures. Look for them about 10 feet deeper than you would expect to find rainbows — generally about 40 feet this time of year. Kokanee are so effective at straining plankton out of the water they they can compete effectively against the chubs and suckers which cause such turmoil in Utah's lakes and reservoirs. Studies show that kokanee can be used to help prevent trash fish from taking over a reservoir —thus leveling out the boom-and-bust cycle which has been repeated so often in Utah waters. Small kokanee also make a favorite meal for lake trout and the aggressive native Bonneville cutthroat. Part of the plan for managing Strawberry reservoir involves allowing kokanee to compete with the trash fish. Smallmouth bass and Bonneville cutts prey on both trash fish and small kokanee. A prize game fish and an excellent management tool... the kokanee is a real winner. |
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