Accidental Kokanee and the Big Turn

[Bodofish]

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" say a couple weeks ago on Lake Cle Elum. We were rounding up a limit of Maks. We had just finished hauling in a nice 10# Mak and we were at the end of the "bang zone" and began a big wide turn out in the middle of the lake. Now bear in mind we are fishing for Maks so we're trolling 5 and 6 inch spoons in brass and perch colors. We pass the apex of the turn and when my presentation goes through it, there is a violent take down. I turned to my accomplice and exclaimed "that's no Mak!". As we got it a little closer it went aerial and all we could see was a red stripe. I was about to jump out of my skin thinking about the 5# rainbow one of the locals had shown me. I slowly worked him jumping and diving to the boat. The net was poised and the fish was scooped. As we looked I said, “that’s not a rainbow.". It was the biggest Kokanee I've ever seen in person. Dark green and red down the side with a generous hook nose, this Koke was almost as big as any of the Socks I had harvested from Baker Lake in the preceding weekends. I have to guess at 7-8 pounds as we had him in a C&R rubber net and wanted to release him as soon as possible. As we released him he began to dribble a little bit. In our haste to release him we missed getting a picture. In the end, not the biggest fish I've ever caught but I can say without a doubt at this point in time one of the rarest and one I'll never forget. I can only hope for the future and keep my fingers crossed the Kokes become a self-sustaining fishery and I can catch another Koke bigger than a stocker rainbow.

For those that have been paying attention, slot limits have been placed on the Koke's to promote spawning and creating a sustainable population in the lake.

[Lotech Joe]

Way to go Bodo. Thanks for returning him to the lake. Many would have kept him.

[G-Man]

Bodo,

You most likely hooked into a sockeye that they are trying to re-introduce to the system. I't be nice to have another Baker Lake/Lake Wenatchee type fishery.

Action: Adopt a maximum size limit of 14 inches total length for retention of kokanee (landlocked sockeye salmon) in Cle Elum Lake and Cooper Lake.

Effective date: Immediately through Oct. 31, 2011.

Species affected: Kokanee

Locations: Cle Elum Lake (Reservoir) and Cooper Lake in Kittitas County.

Reason for action: The Yakama Nation and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are continuing the pilot study for reintroduction of anadromous sockeye salmon in the upper Cle Elum Basin that began in 2009. This year approximately 3,000 adult sockeye salmon trapped at Priest Rapids Dam on the Columbia River have been released into Cle Elum Lake. An additional 500 sockeye have been transported to Cooper Lake near Salmon La Sac. The outlet of Cooper Lake (Cooper River), flows into the Cle Elum River upstream Lake Cle Elum. A percentage of the fish will be released with radio-tags so they can be tracked to understand their pre-spawning behavior and later this fall when they migrate into the upper Cle Elum River and upper Cooper River to select spawning habitat. Very few, if any, anadromous sockeye will be smaller than 16 inches, and few landlocked kokanee are greater than 12 inches; therefore, a 14-inch size threshold will allow the kokanee fisheries in both lakes to proceed this summer without inadvertently harvesting valuable sockeye dedicated to the reintroduction effort.

Other information: The kokanee daily limit in Lake Cle Elum remains the same (16 kokanee, no min. size); see Page 90 in the 2011-12 sport fishing rules pamphlet. The daily limit for trout (including kokanee) remains five fish in Cooper Lake.

Information contacts: Eric Anderson, District 8 Fish Biologist, (509) 457-9301 (Yakima) or John Easterbrooks, Regional Fish Program Manager, (509) 457-9330

[Bodofish]

Well I guess that explains it! I missed the part about introducing the adult Socks. Hehehehe, none the less, the buck was about ready to spew, hope he had a target. I'm not really sure how starting an anadromous run is going to work unless they are planning to do the truck thing. In case anyone has missed it there is a dam and no fish ladder. It'll end up like the Lake Wenach Socks..... gross....