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Got another break in the weather action today and the fishing sure did respond. Water temps were 54F. Kept hearing about kokes further uplake, but haven't been able to collect a limit in the lower lake. That finally changed today....
Kokes were hovering close to the surface and most of my fish came from just 15 ft. I used planer boards and snap weights to target shallow fish. I tried a lot different tackle but all of my kokes and and a several bows came on a RMT dodger in Fusion chased by a squid in double glow pink. Boat speed was 2-2.2 mph. I had quite a few hits early and lost some small kokes boat side. The bumper crop of Age-2 kokes (10-14 in) was still evident and hopefully anglers will use good catch and release methods this upcoming season allowing those fish to reach Age-3 and 4.
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As the western skies turned ominous, I shot towards shore to see if the smallmouths were out of hibernation. I only fished for 30-minutes and landed three around a pound and one fiesty 2-lber using a Rapala Xrap.
Hope it helps, Ryno
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Good job Ryan
[fishin][fishin]
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[cool][#0000ff]Sounds like spring has sprung at Da Gorge.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hey, how about the whirling disease thing with the kokes? We had this article in the Salt Lake Tribune over the weekend.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][url "http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/outdoors/51811862-117/salmon-disease-gorge-kokanee.html.csp"]LINK TO ARTICLE ON KOKES[/url][/#0000ff]
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Thanks for the report Ryan, sounds like some good news for a lot of anglers that are headed up there soon. I'm also glad to see the smallmouth are still hanging in there despite the burbot.
I see your name all over that article that TubeDude had a link to in the Tribune. Sure hope you are right, I would hate to see another fish that has problems because of Whirling disease. Do you think the kokes have a resistance to WD like Brown trout?
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Yeah, not good but it wasn't that much of a surprise either. We've got whirling disease in the drainage all around us, so it was only a matter of time. We do disease inspections annually on kokanee that run up Sheep Creek. Nine of the sixty fish tested were positive in last September's sample. We're still not completely sure whether they are picking it up in their short stay in Sheep Creek as young-of-the-year or after they recruit to the reservoir. We'll be looking to try and determine prevalence in reservoir fish this upcoming season.
Kokanee are obviously susceptible to the disease but not as much as rainbow trout. In searching the literature, I've found very little info on substantial impacts to kokanee salmon populations. Yeah, it's another bullet, but I'm hopeful it's not a lethal one. They just don't seem to get a break, do they?
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Well, WYGF sure has some concerns about the smallmouth bass population on their end of the reservoir. With the high concentrations of burbot and all the competition and predation they inflict on smallies, they have noticed a decrease in the abundance of small bass. In the Canyon reach (UT) we haven't seen the explosion of burbot and smallmouth bass haven't shown a noticeable change either. There's lots of them, that's for sure. This is a great time of year to target them down here though, when the small ones aren't as active and the big ones actually have time to respond to your lure! Plus a limit of the small ones makes a good meal, fish tacos are my choice.
I would also hate to see another impact to the FG kokanee population and hopefully we don't. Whirling disease hasn't been the end of the world in UT, and we haven't had the major impacts like they have in MT and CO. Kokanee from Porcupine Reservoir tested positive in 1994 and it still maintains a viable fishery. I'm also hoping it's a Sheep Creek issue and not something from in-reservoir too. About 95% of the Gorge's kokanee production is a result of in-reservoir spawning. The remaining 5% is Sheep Creek and the Green River. If production is limited by WD in Sheep Creek, it should have minimal impacts on the population as a whole. Unfortunately kokanee are susceptible, but not as much as rainbow trout. Another plus.... At this point, we'll just have to wait and see.
Regardless, it once again underlines the importance of cleaning and drying our fishing equipment when we move from water to water. It's unfortunate, but we just can't treat these waters like we used too and we've all got to take part in keeping the waterways free of disease and AIS.
Hope it helps, Ryno
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