Dworshak Reservoir Kokanee Update
by
Sean Wilson
Kokanee fishing has been good this year on Dworshak Reservoir. If you haven’t been out, or are thinking of going again, you still have time, but don’t wait. As adult kokanee get ready to spawn, they migrate up the reservoir. In a typical year, most of these fish will be up around Grandad or even higher by late July. However, during trawl surveys last week, we found adult kokanee were still scattered throughout the reservoir. Trawl catches of adult kokanee near Dent and Elk Creek were similar to those above Grandad. The fish were a little bigger than in an average year, with most between 10 and 11 inches, but occasionally as big as 12. Although these fish could still be found lower in the reservoir recently, they likely won’t stay there much longer. As the spawning urge gets stronger, expect them to move to the upper reaches of the reservoir quickly.
In recent years, there have been fewer kokanee in the reservoir, and sizes have been above average. Expect that to change in the coming years, as age-1 (next year’s fish) and fry dominated the trawl catch. It will take some time to generate estimates of just how many of these fish are in the reservoir, but catches were unusually high. As such, anglers should expect fish numbers to be up in the coming years, but fish size to be down.
These kokanee were caught recently near Magnus Bay, trolling with two rods for about four hours.