Northwest Fishing Reports

Apparently, the Yakama Nation/WDFG are removing lake trout in Cle Elum Lake with gillnets. They have a page on facebook showing some of the fish that have already been killed. Anybody aware of any public hearings held on this issue before they started removing the fish?

why? what are the issues around this?

skagit510 wrote:why? what are the issues around this?

They eat too many kokes

That is wrong on so many levels. How do the gill nets distinguish between a laker and a bull trout?

Good comment, they don't. Native lota lota also hang out where the lake/bull trout live and are also trapped. A more common sense approach would be to manage Cle Elum like Chelan so you can release the bull trout back into the lake alive and then keep all the lake trout for harvest.

what are lota lota, and are the lakers native, are the kokes native?

Lota lota are better know as freshwater ling or burbot. I'm not to sure if the original Cle Elum strain of sockeye still exists, however salmon of various species ran up river, into the lake and beyond prior to it being dammed.

There's a sockeye reintroduction effort underway there. Probably removing the lakers to cut down on smolt predation. According to the article i read kokanee are no longer stocked due to the reintroduction effort as well.

This what I could find on it from WDFW
"Seven miles northwest of the town of Cle Elum. Fishing season is open year-round, but there are no boat launch facilities after mid-summer due to excessive reservoir drawdown.

This large storage reservoir gets light fishing pressure and is a fair producer of 8- to 12-inch kokanee, with trolling the most effective technique. The lake is no longer stocked with kokanee, instead there is a sockeye salmon restoration effort underway and there may be additional emergency regulations issued to protect adult sockeye during the summer/fall (check with Yakima Regional office for updates).

The lake supports a burgeoning lake trout (mackinaw) fishery and the WDFW encourages anglers to harvest these non-native exotic fish in order to benefit native sockeye salmon and bull trout populations in the area. Lake trout up to 20 lbs have been taken. Deep water trolling and jigging techniques during the spring and early summer are effective. The lake has a 12-inch minimum size limit, two fish daily limit for trout.

Burbot are also available. Check the regulations pamphlet for details. "

It appears that the WDFW isn't helping but U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other Yakima Subbasin partners. From Facebook page Yakama Nation Fisheries Jan. 24th

I will miss fishing the macks but what the heck sockeye taste way better. But gillnetting is rather odd IMO surely there are better ways in this day and age. I am all for us restoring salmon to our lakes that they once were in. However I am just really confused with the whole fact of who owns what and who does what they want? my fishing licenses fee goes to someone and these days I have no clue to who?

Well that didn't work out.

Just wait, the next will be gillnetting Lake Chelan, first ya gotta get rid of the Maks, then the kings, then they go for the Sockeye (Kokes) because they've been gillnetting for subsistence for ever.

After they clean out the Maks in Cle Elum, they'll be going for the Sockeyes/Kokes, mark my words. It always starts with helping....

Maybe the gillnetters should be helped like the jet sledders are helped on the OP.........

Bodofish wrote:Just wait, the next will be gillnetting Lake Chelan, first ya gotta get rid of the Maks, then the kings, then they go for the Sockeye (Kokes) because they've been gillnetting for subsistence for ever.

After they clean out the Maks in Cle Elum, they'll be going for the Sockeyes/Kokes, mark my words. It always starts with helping....

Maybe the gillnetters should be helped like the jet sledders are helped on the OP.........

I like the idea of having a killer sockeye fishery on Cle Ellum. I also think that it would be fun to catch macks. But this is another slippery slope that makes me uncomfortable. And you know how I feel about gill nets.

The state would limit the season on Sockeye in Cle Elum to only a few days in September jusy like they do at Wenatchee Lake. Also, you won't be able to launch a heavy boat in September on Cle Elum anyway because of the drawdown. I wonder if Cle Elum will still be drawn down for irrigation of the lower valley?

I launch anytime the lake isn't frozen. My boats is 22' overall. There will only be fish that get trucked in, there's no fish ladder. When I talked to the State Bio, they were just trying add new genetics to the Koke population so stocking would be unnecessary.

Last Sept we pulled one truck out who got stuck on the beach and a cat had to pull another who buried over the axles.

Well that's just bad drivers IMO. My ford 150 would pull out my TJ which weighed over 5000lbs no problem. It does pay to get out and check the dampness of the sand and make big turns.