What kind of Kokanee in GR

[Lip Ripper]

I have heard several people say that the Kokanee in GP are Sockeye. I was raised in Alaska and caught many a Sockeye, these fish don't even look like them. # 1 Sockeye salmon don't have spots on them. The fish in GP look more like a Coho with spots on the back and in the tail. The Chinook have a more pointed head and black mouth with spots. I did get this from Oregon Fish and Wildlife it is very interesting. But they don't say what kind of Kokanee that are planted in GR.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/HOP/...alls%20HOP.pdf

[Fallriverguy]

Those kokanee most likely originated from Suttle Lake, which is only one of two lakes in Oregon with native Kokanee populations. It is my understanding that most all of the Oregon lakes were planted with Kokanee from Suttle lake.

The number and size of gill rakers in the GP fish identify them as Sockeye.

[Lip Ripper]

I fish several lakes for Kokanee in Oregon. I think I will do some close research on the ones that I catch next year. I am not sure if Oregon Fish & Game can tell you what kind they are. I think it would be interesting to know. Look at the Kokanee in the Utah Flaming Gorge those are definitely Sockeye.

[HiTechKoke]

Don't be confused by the spotting on the Kokanee in the inland lakes. They can have spots on their backs and a little down the side some times. Some will have it and some don't. You will even see some spots on the tail and dorsal fin but they are usually pretty muted. I have dozens of pictures of Kokanee that have a lot of spots and their is 0% chance here in California at least that they are Coho's. What is fun is when you have a lake with Kings in it you can get some Kokanee that you will almost think are Kings until you get them aboard.

Kevin

[HOOKED ON KOKANEE]

There is only one kind of Kokanee. They are landlocked Sockeye Salmon - period. If you know sockeye, you know the basics about salmon. But there is a distinctive kind of sockeye with a distinctive name: the kokanee. It distinguishes itself from other sockeye by being non-anadromous. That is, it doesn't go from fresh water to salt and back again; it spends its whole life in fresh water.

Aside from that detail, it is very much like other sockeye, with one other little difference. Where other sockeye have grown to about twenty-four inches when they are finished with their seagoing careers and return to fresh water to spawn, the mature kokanee is normally much smaller.

The name kokanee apparently comes from Shuswap, a language of the Salish family spoken in south central British Columbia, Canada.

[Lip Ripper]

I know that land locked salmon are called Kokanee. So if this is the case why are some Kokanee bright red with no spots what so ever and others turn just pink and have spots all over there back and tail. I saw this at Green Peter this year more so than in the past and I have fished it for 18 years. And they are not Chinook,are they a cross bread?

[HiTechKoke]

I always enjoy a good conversation about Kokanee spotting. Spotting is just not a good indicator to distinguish for Kokanee at least. It's not uncommon to see some with or without int he chrome or spawning stage. I love the spotted ones personally, in the chrome or red form, and the spawners can go either way and when in the boat/fishbox for a while will lose those spots pretty quickly. GP does have Kings in it so if you were thinking they could be Kings and wanted to count gill rakers to be sure it is a Kokanee vs a King for example that is one absolute way to do it if you were thinking maybe it was a King.

My unscientific response to spotting would relate to why some people end up with freckles and some don''t.. probably in the genes and also with some environmental factors thrown in.

Somewhat related and topical some California DFG biologists were confused on Kokanee vs Kings in Folsom Lake, Ca. where they are trying to re-establish a Kokanee population and they can't find them every year. Turns out Kings have been spawning and the small fish being caught that were thought to be Kokanee were actually Kings. The comparison samples they used from another lake for some small spawners, non red, you would have thought were Kings by the photo and typical spotting for Kings but they were Kokes. In the end the gill raker count determined this and not the visuals as these smaller immature fish sure looked like they could be Kokes but were not so DFG had to retract earlier analysis.

Here's a few pictures from my late season trips the last few years to show what we see in Lake Berryessa and various degrees of spotting.

If you have some pictures to view that would be awesome.

Kevin

[Lip Ripper]

Very nice pictures and I see what you mean by some have spots and some don't. I was born and raised in Alaska and lived on a lake that is the second biggest Sockeye spawning ground in the world. And the Sockeye do not have spots and I have caught thousands of them. So this is what I based my thoughts on the Sockeye not having spots but these are a salt water fish. So evidently when they are land locked in fresh water it is obvious their is a change on some fish. Now as far as the king salmon goes there is no comparison between the Sockeye and King. The king has a longer and narrower head and a black gum line. It is very easy to tell the difference on them. Any way spots or no spots they are fun to catch and are great eating how ever you fix them. thumbsup
Sorry but I don't have any real close up pictures.

[HiTechKoke]

I should have qualified my post in that the confusion between the species was when they were at the 10-11 inch juvenile size.... there's a great pic of one of them I can dig up and post where there were not enough distinguishing marks to distinguish it as Koke or King. Agreed on the table fare... I still love them the best out of any freshwater species.