Increasing Ririe Koke Limits?

[OvidCreek]

OK I am not intending to start a war here; only a discussion, and I am just wondering other peoples views on koke limits at Ririe. As we all know the Ririe kokonee population is a well planned effort by fish and game. 100,000s of kokonee are planted each spring, which in my opinion is a great deed for fisherman. I know when winter hits it is one of the top discussions on this board about Ririe koke fishing. Some people get into them every time, and some take a few trips. With all the fish that are planted I was wondering how many are actually caught, released, die naturally, never see a hook ect. Continuing with this I know some places like Northern Idaho waters use to have limits even up to 50, until predatory fish put a huge dent into them. (Maybe this will be Riries problem too, referring to the Walleye situation.) Places near Stanley have 10-20 koke limits. So is it practical to say that Ririe could possibly support a 8-10 koke limit? Here is where I am asking for opinions; not suggesting new policy. First of all I agree with the old saying if its not broken don't fix it, but in turn are too many fish just going to waste if not harvested? How many of us have had those 20-50 fish catch and release days at Ririe? Please know I would still fish Ririe even if it was two koke limit. I am just curious of your opinions, and believe me if six is what it needs to be I support that.

Thanks,

OvidCreek
[signature]

[windriver]

I am with the if aint broke dont fix it crowd. I have not done well for Kokes so far this winter. Just bad luck so far. However, even when I am into them good I can not see a need to take more than six per person home. There have been times when my wife and I have kept our twelve and they become a couple of meals or smoked Koke snacks. I am one who just likes eating the fish fresh, so I look forward to harvesting them when I can. I just personally don't like freezer burnt fish. On the other hand there are some people who like eating fish on a more regular basis that may be able to utilize more fish.

Windriver
[signature]

[DeeCee]

Kokanee populations at Ririe probably could not support an increased limit. Ririe is not a real fertile reservoir(mesotrophic) and kokanee populations are limited on food availablity thus keeping their numbers down. In northern Idaho in the 50's and 60's upwards of one to two million kokanee were caught without hurting the fish population due to excellent lake shore spawning conditions thus supporting a 50 fish limit (recently 25 fish limit). Now I believe Kokanee fishing in Lake Cour d' laine has been closed. Things are messed up up there for know.

Mackay Reservoir might support a higher limit some years but it would be confusing to the public if the limit had to be dropped some years. Also in wild spawned populations like Mackay they have population swings or cycles that drive fisheries bioligists nuts because they can't control the population total. A few years great fishing then a population crash and then over three or four years the population is good again. Kokes in Ririe are stocked but it depends on the year's food supply if the stocking survives well enough to support a good fishery. Variability is the name of the game. Also walleye are water wolves. It's a big question whether thay will seriously damage the kokanee fingerlings stocked there. Also walleye evolved with perch in their native habitat back in the upper Midwest. We could see the perch fishery seriously decline in Ririe.[:/]

DeeCee
[signature]

[curt69]

What would happen if they neutered some of the kokenee so they wouldn't have the urge to spawn and Die . Just keep growing and growing . I would love to catch a 4 to 6 pound Koke . Curt G.
[signature]

[Belasko]

I have to agree w/ windrivers thoughts on this topic. 6 fish per person is enough for a meal or two. As for curts question about fixing the fish so they get bigger rather than die, I believe it's a genetic programming that at a certain age they release hormones that start the spawning process and eventually kills them. I'm not sure making them sterile would stop that.
[signature]

[curt69]

They have had success with king salmon in some of our northern lakes like Cordalane and Priest . Some get as big as 40 to 50 pounds because they don't Spawn . I think they planted a few in Ririe about 10 years ago . Curt G.
[signature]

[davefishman]

I spoke with some people at the fish and game office that said they planted some non-spawning kokes in there a couple of years ago. If it works, we should see some of them this year or next.
[signature]

[OKIFIDO]

Interesting ideas. I would love to be able to take 10 or 12 kokes home since I can't go fishing as often as I would like, but not at the expense of causing the population to dwindle. I like the idea of growing them bigger by planting non spawners, then 6 fish at twice the size would be fine. The bottom line is, they are good eating and fun to catch. I think I could live on good fish and give up beef and chicken if I had to. I know my doctor would agree that it would be better if we all ate more fish. I worry that the word is getting out about the Kokes in Ririe to people who never knew they were there nor how good they are. I've talked to a lot of people lately who didn't know what Kokanee were and had no idea we have them in Ririe and Palies. If the fishing pressure for Kokes increases I wonder how it will affect the current fishing dynamics. Maybe we should keep quiet about them?
Why couldn't Fish and Game introduce fresh water shrimp into some of our local waters so we could grow fish like Henry's and Chesterfield? From what I've been told it is these fresh water shrimp invertebrates that make the fish so fat and the meat so red and firm. Just a thought.
[signature]

[DeeCee]

The king salmon in Idaho's northern big lakes get to 40 and 50 lbs by eating kokanee, you might say the kokes are large protein bites. Kokanee do grow to a maximum of five or six lbs but with a large consumption of zoo plankton which Ririe has in much smaller quantities.

Good idea on sterile (triploid) kokanee. While they wouldn't live any longer to grow bigger, putting the energy that would normaly go into reproduction would then be channeled into bigger bulk, at least in theory if not in fact.

DeeCee
[signature]