I have noticed that on a lot of the kokanee I have caught in ririe they are missing some of there gill plate. Some of them have it on both gills and some just on one. It can be as much as 1/4 to 1/2 of there gill plate. Out of every 5 or 6 fish i have caught there is usually at least one with this. Has any one else noticed this? Any one have any idea what is causing this?
Thanks
Jim[fishin]
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Just indications of a hatchery kokanee vs's non hatchery
kinda like when a steelhead has a hole punched in its gill plate meaning it has been to the hatchery and released again.
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I have caught quite a few with the gill plates clipped. Not sure why they would since all Kokes in Ririe are planted.
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I never noticed this. I guess I will have to look closer.
Windriver
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I never thought about hatchery fish. Makes scents now.
Thanks
Jim[fishin]
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Not all Kokanee in Ririe are planted. There is a fairly healthy population of Kokanee that spawn up Willow creek. I try to go up there and watch them spawn every summer, and no I do not fish (more like snag) them while they are trying to spawn, sometimes its enough just to watch.
And I have noticed the missing portion of gill plate this winter also. I also thought this was probably due to being from a hatchery. Maybe when they dumped them in the lake they rubbed their gill plate along the dump tube or something. Or just being crammed into hatchery tanks damaged the gills somehow, kinda like how hatchery rainbows always have worn down tail fins.
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That seems to be a common issue. We find a lot of fish like that at Lucky Peak, Arrowrock, and Anderson Ranch. Not positive what causes it, but hatchery rubbing makes sense to me.
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The fish and game actually told me and about 8 other guys out there one day that they clip the gill kinda like a adapose fin on a steelhead... and yes there is plenty of "wild" kokanee in ririe but this year in the 25 - 30 ice fishing trips i made for kokes i bet 80 - 20 were hatchery compared to wild. and some days when that "wild" school comes through you couldnt buy a hatchery koke..
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So is that how you tell a hatchery koke by the gill plate missing? If so I would say that there is a very good population of wild koke. Most of my fish have had there gill plate intact.
Jim[fishin]
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Is this something new that F&G is doing ?
I have caught them trolling in the summer and in the fall when they are spawning and never noticed this before.[fishin]
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I have no idea if this is new or not. This is just something I have noticed this winter.
jim[fishin]
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I've noticed it the last 3 yrs that I've fished there, but this year has had more of them. Still less than 50% of my catch though.
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