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Thread: Chapman Lake Kokes

  1. #1
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    Default Chapman Lake Kokes

    So while I have nothing to do I'm checking out the 2015 Fish Stocking for the lakes'


    I see that last fall the WDFW planted 104k fingerling kokanees in Chapman lake in Spokane county.



    http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01705/wdfw01705.pdf


    SPOKANE COUNTY
    Lake Name

    Chapman Lake 146 OD KOKK 104,880 July


    I know it has had a closed access for a couple of years and when I checked it is still closed.
    So my question is why are we planting a resource that is unattainable to the sportsman?

    http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/114/

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    That's a great question Ridgeratt. One the WDFW should answer for sure. - Alan

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    Why did they only plant 70,000 in Loon then which is one of the best koke lakes on this side and gets a ton of publicity.
    Then again they could have planted some of them in Davis or Deer which both used to have great Koke fishing.

    Horseshoe also has a Koke fishery but none were planted there.

    Seems to be lopsided Logic.

    They could have planted the token 10 - 15 thousand they plant in lakes Sportsman do have access to.

  4. #4
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    I have had time to research this some more and I have found that the WDFW have mismanaged sportsmans funds in planting this lake from 2012,2013,2014 to the tune of 100k fish every year.
    http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/statewide/

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    Ridgeratt - Here is the contact info for WDFW Spokane:

    Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
    State Government Office
    Address: 2315 N Discovery Pl, Spokane Valley, WA 99216
    Phone509) 892-1001

    Give them a call and see what they have to say.

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    Al

    I'm considering an email instead that way it is a hard copy of the response. I do find it appaling that they have planted that many fish in a lake close to sportsman and used the funds from licenses sales to plant this lake.

  7. #7
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    I have sent this to the WDFW:



    April 04,2015



    To Whom This may Concern:
    Washington Dept. of Fisheries & Wildlife

    Subject: Depriving the Sportsman of a resource.


    It appears that the WDFW has not made the best use of Sportsman Dollars in the stocking of Kokanee in Eastern Washington. For the last 4 years stocked a disproportional amount of Kokanee fry in a lake that has no public access since from what I can tell is in the year 2011. This lake is Chapman in South Spokane county.

    My understanding is that the Family has chose to lock the gates and deny access to Sportsman. The WDFW has worked on securing a launch but from everything I can find the talks have stalled and therefore a mute point.

    My question since Sportsman Dollars fund the raising of fish to be planted in the lakes. Why are we funding a Private Fishery to the extent of a 100,000 fry a year in this lake.
    This resource is to be accessible to the sportsman to harvest. The amount of Kokanees planted in the 3 counties of Stevens, Pend Oreille, and Spokane. These are the areas I researched .

    According to the 2015 statistics of the http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/statewide/


    http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01705/wdfw01705.pdf

    The Kokanees Stockings were:

    Pend Oreille County: No fish

    Stevens County: Deep Lake 15,000 Fry
    Loon Lake 70,000 Fry
    Pierre Lake 10,000 Fry

    Spokane County: Chapman Lake 104,880 Fry with No Public Access

    This is 33% more fish than planted in Loon Which is advertised as a top Kokanee fishery in Eastern Washington.

    In the 2014 Stocking Stats: http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01582/wdfw01582.pdf

    Kokanee Stocking were:

    Pend Oreille County: No Fish

    Stevens County: Deep Lake 25,000 Fry
    Deer Lake 25,000 Put and Take
    Loon Lake 50,000 Fry

    Spokane County: Chapman Lake: 100,000 Fry with no public access

    This is 50% more fish than planted in Loon as well.

    In the 2013 Stocking Stats: http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01489/wdfw01489.pdf

    Kokanee Stocking were:

    Pend Oreille County: Davis Lake 25,000 Fry

    Stevens Count: Deep Lake 34,000 Fry
    Deer Lake 25,000 Put and Take
    Loon Lake 100,000 Fry

    Spokane County: Chapman Lake 100,000 Fry

    In the 2012 Stocking Stats: http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01376/wdfw01376.pdf

    Pend Oreille County: No Fish

    Stevens County: Deer Lake 25,000 Fry
    Loon Lake 100,000 Fry

    Spokane County: Chapman Lake 100,000 Fry

    It seems that you have deprived the Sportsman of the State of Washington over 400,000 fish that should have been available to them and not to a Private fishery with no public access. You have also deprived the Local communities of the money that would have been spent to bolster their economy's.

    When I review the link: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/species/9008/

    This list's all of the lakes in Washington that are supposed to have Kokanees in them; even giving a detailed fishing time frame as to when to fish;
    Deer Lake in Stevens county doesn't reflect any opportunities what so ever. But back in the 1970's and 1980's Deer had a terrific Kokanee Fishery with some fish in a 3+ pound range. Davis Lake also used to have a Kokanee fishery that was remarkable.

    I believe that the Sportsman of this state would be better served if the Stocking of Chapman lake was discontinued and those fish planted in lake where they will have access to this resource.

    If you review the current WDFW fish Pamphlet for the years of 2014 -2015 you will find that Chapman Lake is still listed on page 86 showing the 10 fish limit along with the chumming legal disclosure and the icon showing a boat.

    This what the WDFW link tells me about Chapman Lake: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/114/

    I can understand that once the Private land owners closed off the access that you would have stocked it the following year in hopes of reaching an MOU for access. But since that seems to have fallen by the way side.


    Thank you for your time:


    I would encourage you also to contact them and share your views.

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    The part I'm struggling with is 44% of all the Kokanee over the last 4 years allocated for Eastern Washington in Region 1 were released in a private lake with no public access. These fish were paid for by Sportsman Dollars and to be enjoyed by all not a select few.

    This is as close to Social Media as I get. If someone wants to post it on any Media pages I'm ok with that.


    I would encourage you also to contact them (WDFW) and share your views.

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    Downriggeral

    I guess there isn't any interest in this topic from folks here in Washington. Perhaps they just do not care how their license dollars are spent.

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    Ridgeratt

    I read the reply from WDFW on the subject. They said they may have access but don't have enough funding for the project if they do. Apparently the funding is done in June. I don't know how many from our area are on this forum. The Washington lakes forum may be a better place to post this for discussion.

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    So why can't I find this reply?

    Where do I look? Thanks

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    Knowing that this years plant is 3 years away from being harvested, I wouldn't get my panties in that big of a bunch if there was some confidence that issues would be resolved by then.
    2006 Dodge Ram 3500 Dually, 21' North River Seahawk

  13. #13
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    Default Info correct?

    Doesn't seem right. I don't fish Wa. even though resident. Prefer Idaho since I'm on border, but would someday. Hope this isn't true.

    WOW! Just wow! Guess I won't buy that license this year!
    Last edited by stevec; 04-09-2015 at 11:50 AM.

  14. #14
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    Here is the WDFW reply:

    Mr. Fellows,

    Thank you for your inquiry to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding kokanee stocking in Eastern Washington. To help answer the questions you raised, I have copied parts of your email (in black italicized text) and have addressed those pieces individually (in red text). If you have additional questions or comments regarding this issue, do not hesitate to contact me.





    My understanding is that the Family has chose to lock the gates and deny access to Sportsman. The WDFW has worked on securing a launch but from everything I can find the talks have stalled and therefore a mute point.



    You are correct in that the Family closed the old resort and has not allowed public access for several years. However, last year WDFW submitted and presented a Boating Facilities Program (BFP) project through the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). The funds for these projects will be awarded in June 2015. If RCO receives the level of funding they anticipate, the Chapman Lake BFP project will receive partial funding, but not enough to conduct the entire project. The WDFW is exploring alternative funding to compliment anticipated RCO funding as to complete the project. At this point, to say that talks have stalled is inaccurate.



    My question since Sportsman Dollars fund the raising of fish to be planted in the lakes. Why are we funding a Private Fishery to the extent of a 100,000 fry a year in this lake. This resource is to be accessible to the sportsman to harvest.



    Chapman Lake continues to be managed by the State of Washington to have a fishery available when WDFW secures long-term access. (More on that later in this response.) In the meantime, although motorized boats cannot be launched at the boat launch in the closed resort at this time, users are entitled to access the lake via foot traffic through the neighboring Department of Natural Resources (DNR) property and fish the lake during the open season. Although not ideal circumstances, limited access is still provided until an access agreement has been reached.



    It seems that you have deprived the Sportsman of the State of Washington over 400,000 fish that should have been available to them and not to a Private fishery with no public access. You have also deprived the Local communities of the money that would have been spent to bolster their economy's.



    Information about WDFW fish stocking processes will help you understand that this is not the case. District Fish Biologists plan fish allotments, or the number of fish to be stocked in each water, with hatchery staff. Once allotments have been decided, hatchery staff grows the required number of fish and stock them at the appropriate time in those waters.



    The other kokanee lakes in this Region, such as Deep, Loon, Deer, and Pierre, are not deprived of fish, but receive the total number of fish that the District Fish Biologist has allotted for them. If the District Fish Biologist decides, at some point in the future, to cease kokanee stocking at Chapman Lake, those fish would not be raised, divided up, and stocked into those other lakes. Rather, the biologist would instruct hatchery staff not to raise those fish to begin with.



    When I review the link: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/species/9008/

    This list's all of the lakes in Washington that are supposed to have Kokanees in them; even giving a detailed fishing time frame as to when to fish; Deer Lake in Stevens county doesn't reflect any opportunities what so ever. But back in the 1970's and 1980's Deer had a terrific Kokanee Fishery with some fish in a 3+ pound range. Davis Lake also used to have a Kokanee fishery that was remarkable.



    The link you provided above directs you to our Fish Washington website. You are correct in that this page includes the lakes where particular fish species, such as kokanee, can be found. On each specific lake page, the fishing calendar provides information on when anglers can expect the best fishing to occur on the most popular species found in the lake. If a lake contains a species, but that species may not be the most popular, it may not receive its own line in the calendar, but will be mentioned as another “species you might catch”. Such is the case with kokanee in Deer Lake in Stevens County. On this website, lakes such as Deer, that list kokanee as a species you might catch, does not necessarily infer that fishing will be sub-par for that species.



    I believe that the Sportsman of this state would be better served if the Stocking of Chapman lake was discontinued and those fish planted in lake where they will have access to this resource.



    Kokanee populations are different than trout populations in that there is at least a two-year lag time between when kokanee fry are stocked, and when they grow large enough to be caught by anglers. Because of that fact, it is important to maintain consistent kokanee year class strength. One or two missing year classes could result in gaps in the fishery that would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to recover.



    At this point in time, WDFW remains optimistic that anglers will have motorized boat access to Chapman Lake in the future. The kokanee that are stocked into Chapman Lake are fairly small (~200 fish per pound) and require little cost to raise (less than 2 cents per fish). This is a relatively low cost to ensure that when access is regained, an intact kokanee fishery will be present for anglers to enjoy. The WDFW has already suspended trout stocking in that lake. If public access cannot be worked out, kokanee stocking would also be suspended. As noted earlier, if kokanee stocking were discontinued at Chapman Lake, those fish would not be added to any other lake, but would simply not be raised in our hatchery to begin with.



    Again, thank you for your inquiry.



    Regards,



    Randall Osborne

    District 2 Fisheries Biologist

    Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

    2315 N. Discovery Place

    Spokane Valley, WA 99216

    (509) 892-1001 ext. 302

    trout_westwa - Copy

    www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by SuperD View Post
    Knowing that this years plant is 3 years away from being harvested, I wouldn't get my panties in that big of a bunch if there was some confidence that issues would be resolved by then.
    Well SuperD I'm aware of when these fish will be in the harvest pool but the fact that they have planted the same amount for the 3 previous years and kept Sportsman locked out is what troubles me!!! Also the fact that they plant more fish in this lake than what they plant in a lake that is advertized as the top Kokanee lake in Eastern Washington.


    Downriggeral. I never got a response from them is yours because I fat fingered the email addresses and listed you as well? If so Thank you for the post.

  16. #16
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    Hmmmm.....don't know why you didn't get the post. Glad I could help out.

  17. #17
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    This was published in the Spokesman Review today!!

    http://www.spokesman.com/outdoors/stori ... pman-lake/



    OUTDOORS

    OutdoorsStory
    THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015
    Public access issues remain for Chapman Lake
    By Rich Landers
    richl@spokesman.com
    (509) 459-5508
    Twitter Facebook Reddit

    Chapman Lake is in Spokane County.
    Related stories
    Hundreds of lakes open Saturday for lowland trout season
    Chapman Lake, a once-popular trout and kokanee fishery south of Cheney, will remain closed to drive-in public access this season.

    After decades of providing sportsman access, owners of the former Chapman Lake Resort locked the gates in 2011 on the only road access to the lake.

    The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has continued to stock kokanee in the lake on the prospect of being able to develop a public road and access through adjoining state property. Getting the necessary funding and permits has stalled the work.

    Meanwhile, only the owners of lakeside cabins have been able to get fishing boats onto the lake.

    The public can access the lake by foot through the Department of Natural Resources property, said Randall Osborne, district fisheries biologist.

    “The department submitted a Boating Facilities Program project through the Recreation and Conservation Office,” he said. “The funds for these projects will be awarded in June 2015. If RCO receives the level of funding they anticipate, the Chapman Lake project will receive partial funding but not enough to conduct the entire project.”

    He said the agency is exploring alternative funding to complete the project.

    The other kokanee lakes in the Spokane region, such as Deep, Loon, Deer and Pierre, continue to get the number of hatchery fish the biologists estimate they can handle.

    The state continues to stock the lake with kokanee so it will be ready for sportsmen as soon as access is acquired.

    “Kokanee populations are different than trout populations,” Osborne said. “There is at least a two-year lag time between when kokanee fry are stocked, and when they grow large enough to be caught by anglers. It is important to maintain consistent kokanee year class strength. One or two missing year classes could result in gaps in the fishery that would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to recover.

    “The kokanee that are stocked into Chapman Lake are fairly small and require little cost to raise – less than 2 cents per fish. This is a relatively low cost to ensure that when access is regained, an intact kokanee fishery will be present for anglers to enjoy.”

    The state has suspended trout stocking in Chapman. If public access cannot be worked out, kokanee stocking also would be suspended, he said.

    PUBLISHED APRIL 23, 2015, MIDNIGHT in: 2015 fishing, fishing, outdoors

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  18. #18
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    I grew up living in Spangle and fished that lake a lot as a kid/teen, I remember Oly (sp?) and his newspaper cash register system, you would buy a candy bar and he would go to a certain spot in the stack of papers and make change! I never really gave it much thought until later but I have always wondered just how much money was in there when it burnt, I remember seeing stacks and stacks and stacks of newspaper EVERYWHERE. Good memories there!

    On to the subject at hand, The situation is definitely frustrating but looking at it from a prospective of, as long as they are still trying to provide access and the project is not dead in the water, having catchable size fish available when if and when it does happen I think would be important. Say they stopped stocking it in 2012 and in 2016 finally got the ramp in and started stocking it again, there would be no fish to catch until 2019 at the earliest. By their estimate of .02 per fish, the have been spending $2000 per year with the hopes of gaining access again sometime in the future. As far as putting those available fish into other bodies of water, (not that I think all biologists and WDFW are the smartest people in the world), but to have healthy fish populations they need to have adequate food. Certain bodies of water can support larger populations than others, the last thing you would want is an over populated lake full of starving, skinny 8-9" koks. Yale reservoir (West side) is a good example, they do not stock it and its all natural reproduction, there are soooo many fish that the fishing is usually great (like fish in a barrel usually) but the quality is crap, they don't have enough to eat and there are not enough predators in the lake to keep the population in check. Great lake to take kids to for fast and furious action but with other lakes nearby producing 13-15" fat football shaped Kokanee its hard to want to go catch those little ones.
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