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Thread: Hayden Lake Kokanee

  1. #51

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    Kokanee Hunter you posted "They have basically stocked the lake the same every year" My calculator shows ? based on data in your post, they stocked an extra 50,000 fish in the lake since the original 2011 stocking. that jumps the population of Kokanee from 26.3 fish per acre to 39.5 all looking for food together. and the fact that there are 3 different age class of kokanee, one of which is smaller than the fish they stock, is a whole different argument.. One I will save for the next public input fish and game meeting. and when I say "GREEDY" someone is making money on the parking permits.. and until Hayden Kokanee showed up, the pay to launch machine was unused in the late winter early spring till July. I an not seeing the out of state guys this year either, equals lost local business. sad sad sad
    Quote Originally Posted by KokaneeHunter View Post
    Date Stocked

    Species Type

    Size

    Number
    Stocked

    05/07/2015 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 150,192
    06/06/2014 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 67,388
    06/05/2014 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 82,615
    06/14/2013 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 104,238
    09/24/2013 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 38,750
    06/13/2012 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FRY (0-3 inches) 101,553
    06/15/2011 EARLY SPAWNER KOKANEE FINGERLING (3-6 inches) 99,965


    This is the stocking info for Hayden Lake for the last 5 years. Everyone can have their own opinion but I am not sure how you can say that Idaho Fish and Game is being Greedy! They have basically stocked the lake the same every year. We all want to catch big Kokanee, but I would not blame fish and game. The first few years a fish is introduced to a lake will be the most productive years....i.e. we had great big kokanee, now they are declining in size but these fish should still be nice fat 14-16" fish when they mature. I know that isn't 17-20" but it's not too bad. I think if they knew how to keep them big they would do it. So far this year the ones I have caught have been smaller on average, but they have been 11-13" and they eat good, with nice red meat. Can't say that for CDA or Pend Oreille, those fish have pale meat color and don't have any flavor! I will say that if there is a way to keep the fish size up I am all for it.

  2. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robbie Curtis View Post
    Kokanee Hunter you posted "They have basically stocked the lake the same every year" My calculator shows ? based on data in your post, they stocked an extra 50,000 fish in the lake since the original 2011 stocking. that jumps the population of Kokanee from 26.3 fish per acre to 39.5 all looking for food together. and the fact that there are 3 different age class of kokanee, one of which is smaller than the fish they stock, is a whole different argument.. One I will save for the next public input fish and game meeting. and when I say "GREEDY" someone is making money on the parking permits.. and until Hayden Kokanee showed up, the pay to launch machine was unused in the late winter early spring till July. I an not seeing the out of state guys this year either, equals lost local business. sad sad sad
    To be clear the launch and parking fees go to the city of Hayden not the game dept. IMO the F&G likes all of the additional licenses sold. If this was really a trophy fishery they would sell a lot of license to avid Kok fishermen from out of state. Look at the interest Roosevelt gets in the winter because of the quality of the fish there.
    Take time before time takes you

  3. #53

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    I know the fish at Hayden are smaller - but:
    I don't see how anybody can whine about catching 12-14" kokes at Hayden. If you know your beans you can limit in a couple hours and later in the season they will be bigger yet (If you can suffer the wakeboard boats and jet skis)and you will do even better. No, you cannot compare the quality of the fish to Roosevelt fish but they only allow fish 2 limit - long way for 2 kokes - but a hoot.
    PS: Don't even go there about the rainbow or walleyes.
    Life is too short to complain about fishin. Would you rather be workin?
    Just sayin...

  4. #54

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    Roosevelt Kokanee are another Idaho Fish and game OOPS ! do your research

  5. #55
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    Guess I might as well chime in on this too. First of all I don't think Idaho fish and Game is greedy. Idaho has awesome programs going that I as a Washington resident enjoy. Do I like paying a hundred bucks for a license, no but that is the way it is. Do I like paying DOUBLE for the launch at Hayden and other places in Kootenai County because I am non-resident NO!! That seems overboard to me. But all of that said look at Washington Fish and Game launch sites; no docks and very poor launches in general so we are at the very least getting something for our money in Idaho.

    The kokanee fisheries are cyclical for size in most lakes that have them. Lots of variables cause this. I agree with salmonriverrick the fish at Hayden are presently smaller but look at how many you get to put in the smoker! I do go for the Roosevelt kokes but the two fish limit is hard after all of the effort it takes to get down there. On the other hand it is a trophy fishery to be experienced and I am thankful to be privileged to get to do it. As far as the Idaho F&G oops; I have talked with the fish biologist at Roosevelt and the Idaho kokes are highly identifiable genetically because they are a different strain. They are called "earlies" because they mature a year sooner. That also makes them smaller than the Roosevelt kokes. Very few have shown up in the lower Lake Roosevelt fishery we are currently experiencing. The fish checkers are collecting heads from Roosevelt fish from fishermen to check to see if there are unclipped hatchery fish. They can look at the ear bone and tell if it was really raised in the hatchery.

    As for me I am just thankful to have such great fisheries here in the Northwest. Many thanks to all who make it possible!

    Tight lines all and yes I would rather be fishin' than workin' - Alan

  6. #56

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    Yes, I realize it is 50k more fish per year but it is still close to what they have done in the past, especially when you factor in the amount of fish that are removed by angler harvest (because there are a lot of people fishing for these fish). Give it a month and this lake will be packed on the first nice weekend, heck if the weather is nice this weekend I would be willing to bet that there will be a large number of people out fishing for kokanee. As far a the launch fee, that is city of Hayden. There still are some bigger ones out there, I have caught some in the 14-16" range this year. You can go to Roosevelt and get your 2 fish at 20" for a total of 40" or get 15 fish at 12" for a total of 180"....just saying, you choose.

    As far as the size difference, any thoughts on the difference in them planting fry vs fingerlings?

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by salmonriverrick View Post
    I know the fish at Hayden are smaller - but:
    I don't see how anybody can whine about catching 12-14" kokes at Hayden. If you know your beans you can limit in a couple hours and later in the season they will be bigger yet (If you can suffer the wakeboard boats and jet skis)and you will do even better. No, you cannot compare the quality of the fish to Roosevelt fish but they only allow fish 2 limit - long way for 2 kokes - but a hoot.
    PS: Don't even go there about the rainbow or walleyes.
    Life is too short to complain about fishin. Would you rather be workin?
    Just sayin...
    I guess each persons definition of success is different. My definition of success is not to "get a limit" regardless of what size they are. I own a place on Hayden and practice catch and release most of the time so I do not care how many pounds I end each day with but I am much more rewarded with a 20" fish than 6, 8, 10 or even 20 12" fish. There is more than enough opportunity to catch small fish all over N. Idaho I want to see a trophy fishery.
    Take time before time takes you

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robbie Curtis View Post
    Roosevelt Kokanee are another Idaho Fish and game OOPS ! do your research
    OK I'll bite that worm, what does Lake Roosevelt and Idaho have to do with each other?
    Take time before time takes you

  9. #59

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    this is exactly what I am getting at.
    Quote Originally Posted by clawman View Post
    I guess each persons definition of success is different. My definition of success is not to "get a limit" regardless of what size they are. I own a place on Hayden and practice catch and release most of the time so I do not care how many pounds I end each day with but I am much more rewarded with a 20" fish than 6, 8, 10 or even 20 12" fish. There is more than enough opportunity to catch small fish all over N. Idaho I want to see a trophy fishery.

  10. #60

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    Rich Landers: Wild kokanee drive the limit at Lake Roosevelt THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

    By Rich Landers
    richl@spokesman.com
    (509) 459-5508


    Thanks to Idaho, Anglers have been hooking a bumper crop of kokanee in Lake Roosevelt since last year. Unfortunately, they’ve had to release most of the delicious land-locked sockeyes.
    “Almost every one we catch has an unclipped adipose fin,” said Clarence Rief, a Davenport-area kokanee enthusiast, who said he’s concerned about the waste.
    “We can keep only fin-clipped hatchery kokanee. But I know a lot of those fish we’re releasing don’t survive.”
    Colville Tribe biologists have tested and linked the increase of kokanee in Roosevelt to the rebound of Lake Pend Oreille kokanee, which are unmarked. Fishermen can keep up to five kokanee a day from the Roosevelt, the Columbia River reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam, but only two of them can be unmarked.
    The rule was established to protect Roosevelt’s wild strain of kokanee, said Chris Donley, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife inland lakes manager.
    The situation is similar to restrictions on fishing for salmon and steelhead elsewhere in the region.
    “We want hatchery fish to be caught, but we have to regulate to protect the wild fish,” he said. Rief caught Washington’s record kokanee, 6.25 pounds, from Roosevelt in 2003. But the kokanee fishery has had many ups and downs since then. Net-pen releases of kokanee ended around 2005 in favor of direct releases from the Spokane Tribal Hatchery.
    Production of kokanee from the tribal hatchery has been dramatically reduced in recent years, from about 500,000 in 2010 to about 200,000 in 2013.
    Last year, no kokanee were produced and released into Roosevelt because of a disease outbreak, said hatchery manger Tim Peone.
    This year, about 85,000 kokanee will be raised, fin-clipped and released, he said.
    “When we were releasing smaller fish, predators like walleye and bass got most of them,” Peone said.
    “By raising fewer fish to larger sizes – four to a pound this year – we hope to get more fish into the angler creel.”
    This year marks a new program in which the hatchery kokanee will be“triploids,” that is, sterile. Peone said this should help them grow larger faster and be more resistant than previous hatchery fish to following their sea-running instincts and heading downstream through Grand Coulee Dam.
    “These fish will be released at Fort Spokane-Seven Bays area and will be showing up in angler harvest by July,” he said.
    “Our goal is for 100 percent harvest. We want these fish to be caught.”
    Less emphasis on kokanee stems from years of research showing that Roosevelt kokanee are a poor investment of fisheries mitigation funding from the Bonneville Power Administration for impacts caused by Grand Coulee Dam. Changes in dam operations have increased drawdowns in many years, leaving the eggs of naturally spawning kokanee high and dry.
    Hatchery kokanee were found to be significantly impacted by predators or flushed downstream. The money is better spent, researchers say, on raising rainbow trout in net pens.
    But some hatchery kokanee effort continues because the tribes have a cultural link to salmon and the fish support other wildlife. In addition, anglers love to catch and eat them.
    The increase of kokanee in Lake Roosevelt starting last year is the result of kokanee restoration in Lake Pend Oreille as well as good numbers at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Donley said.
    Fish researchers working with the Colville Tribe have been able to link fish from the big schools in Roosevelt to upstream Idaho sources, he said.
    “They’re not the big 19- to 21-inch kokanee that Roosevelt anglers are used to,” he said. “They’re smaller fish, running 14-16 inches.
    “There’s a lot of them. Good fishermen can catch 20 a day and they’d like to keep more of them, but the Idaho fish are unclipped.
    “If we had a way for anglers to positively ID the Idaho fish, we’d let them keep more of them, but we have to protect the Lake Roosevelt-origin wild kokanee.”
    Donley said he understands the frustration of anglers who catch mostly unclipped kokanee.
    “I went through it while fishing this winter, too,” he said. “We’d get into massive schools where we could catch kokanee at will, but it’s no different than Puget Sound chinook: the number of wild fish – the lowest abundance stock – drives the limit.
    “There are more kokanee in Roosevelt than we’ve seen in a long time. Only a fraction are marked.”
    Limits could be changed, possibly on the basis of size, if this year’s abundance of kokanee became consistent, Donley said.
    “But this could be just a one- or two-year event,” he said.
    Responding to anglers who say the kokanee they release aren’t surviving, Donley is direct: “Catch two kokanee and stop,” he said. “Go on to other fish. If it’s in the summer and you’re going deep to catch kokanee, troll closer to the surface after you catch two unclipped kokanee and you’ll be in the rainbow zone.”
    The challenge for fisheries managers is getting anglers to value the fishery as it is. The option is a flat two-kokanee limit, as it is downstream in Lake Rufus Woods.
    “You can reduce hooking mortality on kokanee by releasing them in the water and avoiding a net which just knocks scales off,” Donley said.
    “But the best way conserve what we have is to catch two and stop.

  11. #61
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    It's been kind of interesting at Roosevelt this winter. We have not been catching the smaller fish attributed to Idaho. I wonder if they have grown up? The fish we are catching are 18 to 21" and ALL non fin clipped ( wilds). I have not talked with anyone who has caught a clipped one and that begs the question where are they? I totally agree with catching the two "wild" kokes and quitting or changing up tackle and moving away from the kokes to chase the beautiful rainbow. This is too nice a fishery to damage by bad catch and release practices. Bend the barbs down if you must.

    If the current bumper crop of nice kokes are from Idaho....thanks for the great fish. I buy an annual Idaho license too so I support both states fisheries.
    Alan

  12. #62

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    Have not seen any recent post about Hayden Kokanee.?!. Did all of you cry babies finally give up on them or are you just tired of bitching about decent fish?

  13. #63
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    Obviously maybe you should go out on the lake and get your own report because there is no reason to be reacting that way on this Web site we are all here to help each other and have a good time on the water.I am sure there are a lot of other people that feel the same way .

  14. #64
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    Interesting that someone expresses their opinion and Negative Nedly takes offense. Thin skin!
    Last edited by clawman; 03-28-2016 at 11:41 PM.
    Take time before time takes you

  15. #65

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    yes what he said
    Quote Originally Posted by Lund troller View Post
    Obviously maybe you should go out on the lake and get your own report because there is no reason to be reacting that way on this Web site we are all here to help each other and have a good time on the water.I am sure there are a lot of other people that feel the same way .

  16. #66
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    2 days - no fish!
    I have been on Hayden twice in the last 10 days and not had a bite! Color me frustrated. Surface water temp is up to 44. and I am marking fish all over the water column but can't get a bite. The only common item I've used is a garlic scent I picked up at the Big Horn Show a couple of weeks ago. Could that cause fish to turn off?
    Last edited by clawman; 03-31-2016 at 07:08 PM.
    Take time before time takes you

  17. #67

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    Lots of variables involved, are you long lining or fishing lead core or maybe down rigger? And what are u applying scent to corn maggots or ??? And do u use a doger or flashers ? Hoochies or wedding rings or just beads? When fishing is good it is good but when the fish are picky they can be tough. I shortened up a leader on a hoochi rig by three inches today(after fishing 2 hours with no fish ) and it was game on the rest of the day I fish Hayden most days come say hi I have a small green Jon boat I will help you if I can.

  18. #68
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    Robbie;
    Thanks for the perspective, yes there are a lot of variables. I have a place on Hayden so fish there quite a bit and have never been skunked there much less 2x. My curiosity was if anyone else had garlic scent turn the fish off. Usually it is a pretty good one on Hayden so I don't know if that could have been the problem or what. The small hatch that comes on this time of year is just getting started. There were a few swallows out, many more to come. That is when I like to pull long lines on the surface.
    Take time before time takes you

  19. #69

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    no i have never had scent turn off the bite. but with that said, I have had batches that are too weak and some that are too strong. and I have not had good luck with Garlic Slam Ola powder. but still feel your skunk problem is somewhere else. its just hard to diagnose with out knowing or seeing exactly what you are doing. for all i know you might be fishing 3 feet off the ball at 20 feet ? I will admit Monday and Tuesday the fish on Hayden took a 360 degree turn for me and it took me two days of switching back and forth from dodgers to flashers and hoochies and wedding rings to get back to catching fish with some consistency. hope this helps

  20. #70
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    My buddy fished last weekend so this is a late report, but I figure dated info is better than no info. Apparently the bite was limited and all over the board. Marking fish at various depths between 25 and 80 feet, but had a hard time getting fish to commit. The most productive gear of the day was a pink and green wedding ring with a chartreuse smile blade behind pop gear and 2oz long lined 150' behind the boat. Had hoochies out but didn't land any fish on those and they fished for 2 days. Water temp was between 44 and 46 degrees in various places around the lake. Ended up with 5 fish total, but the bite didn't really turn on until the late afternoon.

    Probably a few more weeks of warm weather to bring the temp up and these fish will be alot more active and schooling.

  21. #71

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    Fished Hayden the last week and limited on all days. Fish are all over but I like to fish high (30') in the early morning and then drop to where I mark them. They are generall schooled heavy in the morning so I mark the schools with a sidefinder and they are generally in the top 30'. Boat traffic scatters them or sends them down so then the search begins. I've been using a flame apex 1.5 and slaughtering them, regardless of depth. We were fishing at 140 yesterday afternoon and getting good results with them.
    Biggest key to enticing the fish for us is tuna corn. No other scent has even come close. Also have been varying trolling from 1mph to 2mph with most bites from the bigger fish being at the higher speeds. Fish have been good sized, the biggest this week 16" and most averaging 13". The last 2 person limit we took weighed 22 pound gutted. Not bad for a canner load...
    Pet peeve: Wake surfers. Is there a gene that they have (or do not have) that makes those people inconsiderate of others or do they just lack the common sense it takes to realize that wakeboarding in a crowd of fishing boats pisses us off ?
    I personally think there should be an open season...

  22. #72
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    Thanks for the report salmonriverrick. The spring must make morons of some people. We were fishing in the Salmon Derby yesterday on CDA Lake and a Donzi go fast boat with a buddy following in another boat went between us, our side planer and the shore which was very close. They were going at least 50+. They were kind enough to let us load up first at the launch this afternoon. Probably couldn't figure out my non verbal attack today, kindness when I should have been rude seems to confuse people. Can you explain tuna/corn?

    Thanks - Alan
    The Experiment Must Continue

  23. #73

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    Tuna/corn : Drain a can of shoepeg and add a can of tuna in larger container (I use glass) mix well and let sit at least overnight. I prefer the tuna with oil, it seems to hold scent longer...

  24. #74

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    hey Al, you should keep that out of the spokesman review!

  25. #75
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    Thanks salmonriverrick, kinda thought that might be it.
    KokaneeHunter - I have never given the Spokesman Review any info. If they had any at all they got it from my posts on Northwest Fishing Reports. I don't recall any info ever posted on scents. I will reply to PM's if asked however. - Alan

    The Experiment Must Go On.

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