2007 Limits Proposed for Coeur d'Alene Lake

In an ongoing effort to restore the kokanee fishery quickly, Idaho Department of Fish and Game is proposing a limit of 6 kokanee and Chinook salmon combined in Coeur d'Alene Lake for 2007. Reducing harvest on kokanee and increasing harvest on Chinook salmon to reduce predation pressure is needed right now to allow the kokanee fishery to bounce back quickly. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will be meeting in early November to consider the rule change. The kokanee fishery in Coeur d'Alene Lake is currently closed to protect the weakest year class of spawners on record. Age 2 kokanee that will spawn next year are also the lowest on record and a limit reduction from 25 to 6 is needed to prevent anglers from harvesting too many fish during the coming year. The kokanee fishery typically starts in the southern end of Coeur d'Alene Lake in April and lasts into November. Kokanee are expected to be large again, up to 16 inches by fall, so without some changes, few fish would be left for spawning. Chinook numbers are also high right now. The annual chinook redd (spawning nest) count was completed on October 2 and 141 redds were counted in the Coeur d'Alene river and 16 in the St. Joe. IDFG biologists will be culling 57 of the redds and leaving 100 redds to provide 40,000 wild smolts to maintain the chinook fishery. No hatchery chinook will be stocked in 2007. Good numbers of chinook salmon are currently in the lake from improved hatchery stocking and higher wild escapement in tributary streams from 2004 through 2006. An estimated 65,200 smolts from 2003 produced the bulk of the Chinook fishery in 2006 and the record redd count. Chinook smolt numbers in 2004, 2005 and 2006 were 77,000, 62,300 and 71,200, respectively. A higher limit on Chinook salmon in 2007 will help to reduce predation pressure and allow kokanee to rebound quickly, while still maintaining a Chinook fishery for the future. Kokanee and Chinook salmon limits in Coeur d'Alene Lake for future years (the normal regulation cycle starting in 2008-2009) will be considered during the normal scoping process that begins during the spring of 2007 and is finalized with Commission action in November 2007. Anglers can provide input on the proposed limit change on kokanee and Chinook to regional fisheries biologist Mark Liter by e-mail. The e-mail address is mliter@idfg.idaho.gov. Comments must be received by October 20, 2006.