[BPturkeys]

Over the last few years the DWR has been dumping 200K-300K very small Kokanee into Strawberry every spring. My question is, is there any verifiable info, fish counts, etc that tell us how many or percent of these fish survive to catchable size or any other information about growth rate, general information like "current numbers of", etc, etc??

Also, why aren't some Kokanee allowed to grow to a more survivable size in the hatcheries before planting?

 

[wyoming2utah]

Generally speaking, stocking loads of very small fish is much more economically efficient than raising fish to larger sizes and stocking fewer. My guess is that the survival rates are sufficient to meet needs or they are monitoring the returns to find better ways of supplementing the population.

 

[TPrawitt91]

w2u hit it right on the head. Same deal with tiger muskies. They release tons of little ones to grow rather than pay to grow them in tanks. Win Win since existing fish populations get a bit more bioavailable food, and survival numbers of the stocked fish aren't any worse than when they grow them bigger before release.

 

[Catherder]

I could be mistaken, but it seemed that due to kokes specialized feeding needs (zooplankton), the hatcheries have to stock them at that size because the young (but older) fish don't do so well in a hatchery setting eating the usual fish chow.

 

[DallanC]

I could be mistaken, but it seemed that due to kokes specialized feeding needs (zooplankton), the hatcheries have to stock them at that size because the young (but older) fish don't do so well in a hatchery setting eating the usual fish chow.

+1

-DallanC

 

[taxidermist]

A Kokanee's life span is typically 4-7 years old. They will return to the stream where hatched within that time (3-4 years) to spawn and die. I don't think it would be money well spent on raising a fish for 2 years, just to have it live in a lake for another 1-2 years to eventually die.

 

[backcountry]

I'm willing to share cohort and age data IF people share with me reliable ways to find & catch them.

I'll be generous that way.

 

[TOgden]

w2u hit it right on the head. Same deal with tiger muskies.

The difference with the tiger muskies is they can only keep them in the hatchery for so long before they start eating each other.

 

[taxidermist]

The difference with the tiger muskies is they can only keep them in the hatchery for so long before they start eating each other.

Kinda like what happened when COVID ran wild a couple years ago.

 

[Daisy]

A Kokanee's life span is typically 4-7 years old. They will return to the stream where hatched within that time (3-4 years) to spawn and die. I don't think it would be money well spent on raising a fish for 2 years, just to have it live in a lake for another 1-2 years to eventually die.

Somewhere in this statement, you have a flaw in your logic.

 

[wyogoob]

I have a coupla Utah friends that catch nice kokes through the ice at Strawberry.

I'm not making this up, I have friends.

 

[BPturkeys]

Do they do "fish counts" in Strawberry and if so what data is collected? Are the numbers in "fish per acre foot" or something like that?
I have read where the numbers of returning hatchery(Ocean) salmon is as low as .05-1.0 percent when released as smolt, I wonder if those numbers are about the same for Strawberry Kokanee?

I could be mistaken, but it seemed that due to kokes specialized feeding needs (zooplankton), the hatcheries have to stock them at that size because the young (but older) fish don't do so well in a hatchery setting eating the usual fish chow.

Now that makes a lot of sense. Thanks

 

[jlofthouse16]

The DWR planted some Kokanee out here in the Porcupine Reservoir. Well, the small mouthed buggars won't take a hook, so the only way to catch them is wait till they go upstream to spawn and catch them with a dipnet! (Illegal) What a waste of resources. Give me some Rainbows.

 

[DallanC]

The DWR planted some Kokanee out here in the Porcupine Reservoir. Well, the small mouthed buggars won't take a hook, so the only way to catch them is wait till they go upstream to spawn and catch them with a dipnet! (Illegal) What a waste of resources. Give me some Rainbows.

There've been fishing reports of kokanee from Porcupine posted here. They dont seem to get very big, but certainly still fun to catch.

Kokanee are filter feeders, they eat zooplankton in the water, they don't eat bugs or other things normal trout eat. Its an entirely different kind of fishing. They are territorial so you are trying to piss them off into striking a lure. You also need to concentrate on the water column and where they want to be. I've found the most success fishing specific water temperatures, at whatever depth that will be at. Zooplankton also dislikes sunlight so feeding kokes will follow them deeper into the water as the sun gets higher.

I run a go-pro on the downrigger ball and have spent hours watching presentations of lures and their behaviors. Its quite entertaining and very instructional. I've posted a few videos here over the years.

-DallanC

 

[jlofthouse16]

DallanC, have you fished Porcupine reservoir out in Avon, Cache County, Utah?

 

[taxidermist]

Somewhere in this statement, you have a flaw in your logic.

Please....Expound on the flaw. I'm always open for correction in the hopes of bettering knowledge.

 

[Daisy]

A Kokanee's life span is typically 4-7 years old. They will return to the stream where hatched within that time (3-4 years) to spawn and die.

You are basically correct that Kokanee spawn and die when they 3-4 year old fish. Sometimes you will get a 2 year spawner, and rarely a 5 year old fish. Hard for those fish to get to 7 years old if they are dead.

 

[jlofthouse16]

Out here in my country there is a fish farm. They raise Rainbow Trout. I went to work for them and worked for many years for them. It is called "Whites Trout Farm" My point in bringing this up is that I know about Rainbow Trout. I know very little about Kokanee, except as I noted earlier. They are not a game fish, they are a nuisance.

 

[wyoming2utah]

The DWR planted some Kokanee out here in the Porcupine Reservoir. Well, the small mouthed buggars won't take a hook, so the only way to catch them is wait till they go upstream to spawn and catch them with a dipnet! (Illegal) What a waste of resources. Give me some Rainbows.

So, because you're inept at catching them with a rod and reel, you feel like they are a waste? That's funny...

 

[jlofthouse16]

So, I am inept. Well, you are finished! Have a nice day!