New waters for kokanees

[doitall5000]

I saw on the news tonight, they planted 2 or 3 inch kokanees in ROCKPORT. let's spread out the boaters, I'm all for that.  I'd say three years growth and it could begin. Let's hop more plantings to follow.

[Gone Forever]

Rockport, East Canyon, Jordonelle, Electric, Enterprise, Lost Creek...As Rainman said, "lots of em". Great fish that not only provide sport and are delicious, they provide a wildlife viewing opportunity for non fishers that will encourage them to not resist funding for these kind of projects.

[sliverslinger]

Great news!

[Mildog]

It was only two years after kokes planted at Jordanelle and it was on for nice sized kokes and good fishing. Rockport should follow a similar path I would guess, seems to have lots of food, Rainbows do well. I would expect the Kokes to do well also!!
Mildog

[DailyAngler]

Starvation too, for a few years now

[2knots]

It was only two years after kokes planted at Jordanelle and it was on for nice sized kokes and good fishing. Rockport should follow a similar path I would guess, seems to have lots of food, Rainbows do well. I would expect the Kokes to do well also!!
Mildog

Have you heard anything about the kokes spawning in the rivers or creeks running into the Nelle. The piece I saw on the new plants looked like they planted in the streams so hopefully they imprint to the stream and return to there for spawning.

[a_bow_nut]

It was only two years after kokes planted at Jordanelle and it was on for nice sized kokes and good fishing. Rockport should follow a similar path I would guess, seems to have lots of food, Rainbows do well. I would expect the Kokes to do well also!!
Mildog

Have you heard anything about the kokes spawning in the rivers or creeks running into the Nelle. The piece I saw on the new plants looked like they planted in the streams so hopefully they imprint to the stream and return to there for spawning.

My brother is working in the Victory Ranch area and last fall they were working down by the river and he said that there were salmon all over in to pools that had spawned out and were dying off. Hopefully there is some good recruitment from these spawns and numbers will stay up in the lake.

[2knots]

It was only two years after kokes planted at Jordanelle and it was on for nice sized kokes and good fishing. Rockport should follow a similar path I would guess, seems to have lots of food, Rainbows do well. I would expect the Kokes to do well also!!
Mildog

Have you heard anything about the kokes spawning in the rivers or creeks running into the Nelle. The piece I saw on the new plants looked like they planted in the streams so hopefully they imprint to the stream and return to there for spawning.

My brother is working in the Victory Ranch area and last fall they were working down by the river and he said that there were salmon all over in to pools that had spawned out and were dying off. Hopefully there is some good recruitment from these spawns and numbers will stay up in the lake.

That good news if they are on the way to a self sustaining population

[Kent]

I don't mind kokanee being planted in lots of reservoirs, but I would also sure like to see sterile macks planted in several local reservoirs.

[Mildog]

I went up and checked the river above Jordanelle last fall, there were quite a few kokes spawning. I have not heard and have no idea if there has been any successful return from the spawn in the river. I would be interesting no know if the DWR has any info on that.
My guess is that the return in negligible not sure why but that’s my guess.
I still have a theory that Jordanelle is not going to be as good as the last 3 years for Kokes.
I may post something on that later after another trip or two to try and get into them. Here are a couple pics I took, there were a number of pools that had kokes spawning in the hundred yard stretch I looked at. It was hard to get pics unless the sun angle was right so I just took a couple.
Mildog out

[wiperhunter2]

I went up and checked the river above Jordanelle last fall, there were quite a few kokes spawning. I have not heard and have no idea if there has been any successful return from the spawn in the river. I would be interesting no know if the DWR has any info on that.
My guess is that the return in negligible not sure why but that’s my guess.
I still have a theory that Jordanelle is not going to be as good as the last 3 years for Kokes.
I may post something on that later after another trip or two to try and get into them. Here are a couple pics I took, there were a number of pools that had kokes spawning in the hundred yard stretch I looked at. It was hard to get pics unless the sun angle was right so I just took a couple.
Mildog out

Well that is great news, I think if even a few can have a successful spawn, they will over time increase their numbers, just like The Berry. Even at the Berry the DWR stocks a lot of kokes there. IMO of all the lakes they are stocking the kokes in, Jordanelle has the best chance of being a success, because of the size and depth of the lake, time will tell.

[Mildog]

I went up and checked the river above Jordanelle last fall, there were quite a few kokes spawning. I have not heard and have no idea if there has been any successful return from the spawn in the river. I would be interesting no know if the DWR has any info on that.
My guess is that the return in negligible not sure why but that’s my guess.
I still have a theory that Jordanelle is not going to be as good as the last 3 years for Kokes.
I may post something on that later after another trip or two to try and get into them. Here are a couple pics I took, there were a number of pools that had kokes spawning in the hundred yard stretch I looked at. It was hard to get pics unless the sun angle was right so I just took a couple.
Mildog out

Well that is great news, I think if even a few can have a successful spawn, they will over time increase their numbers, just like The Berry. Even at the Berry the DWR stocks a lot of kokes there. IMO of all the lakes they are stocking the kokes in, Jordanelle has the best chance of being a success, because of the size and depth of the lake, time will tell.


Here's a hint to my theory for Jordanelle that might hurt Koke fishing this year and beyond. Too many hungry mouths that don't exist elsewhere.  Introduced piscivorous predators that are now big enough to eat small Kokes, Namely Wipers, Tiger Musky, Splake, Cutthroats and the existing Smallmouth and Browns. In the early part of the process when Kokes were fist planted the predators were not big enough to impact it, they are now. I hope I'm wrong! I will post more on this later in another thread

[Gone Forever]

The spawn will be somewhat successful due to the inlet river and it's length combined with the spawning habitat. That is the criteria, not size or depth although those are considered as the depth must be enough that oxygenated cold water remains in the water body during the summer months. Many Utah impoundments are canyon reservoirs so they are deep enough even if small.
The inlet is what matters most though if any kind of self recruitment is to be attained. The Provo above Jordonelle is long, as is East Canyon Creek, the Weber River above Rockport...
Those long inlet streams provide the spawning habitat and may even provide additional egg stock for hatcheries. The added Koke lakes also add security to the program. If something were to happen at the berry like a big fire upstream that acidified the waters and added silt to the river making the hatchery useless for a few years the DWR could strip eggs from these other places and keep the program going.

[Joe_Dizzy]

Here's a hint to my theory for Jordanelle that might hurt Koke fishing this year and beyond. Too many hungry mouths that don't exist elsewhere.  Introduced piscivorous predators that are now big enough to eat small Kokes, Namely Wipers, Tiger Musky, Splake, Cutthroats and the existing Smallmouth and Browns. In the early part of the process when Kokes were fist planted the predators were not big enough to impact it, they are now. I hope I'm wrong! I will post more on this later in another thread

Good point. Jordanelle does have that "model home" feel to it at the moment... almost every gamefish in Utah swims here.

I am curious to see the long term effects of Kokes in all these small reservoirs. Many are steep-sided with limited food shelves and subject to massive draw-downs which forces cyclical (negative) impacts on the base of the food pyramid. Kokes are filter feeders so their presence in large numbers really eats into the zooplankton population. On a mega-fertile, large lake like Strawberry balance can be achieved, but on smaller reservoirs with limited carrying capacity, maybe the effects on other species become real.

As you eluded to... the food pyramid gets quite narrow at the top, for a reason.

[EyLayo]

I don't mind kokanee being planted in lots of reservoirs, but I would also sure like to see sterile macks planted in several local reservoirs.

If I read correctly in the other thread, one of the Bear Lake biologists said they started planting macks in new waters. Causey and Stateline were mentioned.

[doitall5000]

I'm thinking jordanelle has Way to many different predators, let's limit the numbers please.

[wall3y3]

Has anyone caught any in Starvation yet?  Been thinking about a trip out there to give it a shot.

[stan55]

I have. Don't expect a Strawberry experience but you can catch them. Same lures and tactics as the Berry work. Area by the dam and then towards the US 40 bridge have had them. Never picked up more than a couple but marked some decent schools of them. Usually 30 to 40 ft down over 60 to 80 foot depths.

[wall3y3]

I have. Don't expect a Strawberry experience but you can catch them. Same lures and tactics as the Berry work. Area by the dam and then towards the US 40 bridge have had them. Never picked up more than a couple but marked some decent schools of them. Usually 30 to 40 ft down over 60 to 80 foot depths.

Thanks Stan!

[catchinon]

I don't mind kokanee being planted in lots of reservoirs, but I would also sure like to see sterile macks planted in several local reservoirs.

If I read correctly in the other thread, one of the Bear Lake biologists said they started planting macks in new waters. Causey and Stateline were mentioned.

Which lakes did you have in mind, Kent?