To date I have only heard of 3 Kokanee being caught at Nantahala during the 2017 season(none larger than 14"). Most of the fishermen/fisher women who targeted the Kokanee, including myself are targeting other species and/or have moved on to fish other lakes. I have heard of a number of larger trout being taking at the lake possibly a result of the blueback herring added to their diet.

Trout fishing at Calderwood reservoir has been hot for me especially in the vicinity of Calderwood dam trolling spoons and spinners 5' to 15' down.

Getting back to the Kokanee, the state and local concerned fisher persons are going to try to monitor the upcoming spawning run up the Nantahala River late September through October. That should give us an idea of about how many kokes are left in the lake. Perhaps the tenacious Kokanee will rebound in future years. The Kokanee and blueback might be able to coexist but the size of to kokes will probably be much smaller than the large ones that have been harvested to last 10 years. Less people targeting them might also help them rebound. It will also be interesting to see what the state will do for the Kokanee and Nantahala Lake in the future. With all the bluebacks present is a trophy trout lake in the future? Next spring I plan to target the kokes in hope of a rebound but the rebound if any might take several years.

I would appreciate any information regarding the fate of the kokanee or Nantahala Lake.