Pend Oreille Commercial Fishing Approved

In an effort to restore the Lake Pend Oreille kokanee population, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission has approved commercial fishing for lake trout. Lake trout, or mackinaw, are a major predator on kokanee. The two species have lived together in Lake Pend Oreille in north Idaho for decades, but the balance began tipping against kokanee in the mid-1960s. During that time period, the Army Corps of Engineers modified operations at Albeni Falls Dam downstream from the lake and mysis shrimp were introduced into the lake. Lower winter lake levels resulted in the beginning of a long term kokanee decline. Kokanee numbers crashed in the record flood of 1997. Lake trout, supported by the mysis shrimp, have increased rapidly during the 1990s. Despite recent changes to dam operations to favor kokanee, increased predator populations keep kokanee from responding to the improved lake conditions. The Lake Pend Oreille Citizens Advisory Committee recommended to Fish and Game that commercial fishing of lake trout should be considered as one way to give kokanee a chance. Lifting limits on lake trout in 2000 has not had enough effect. Meeting in Boise December 11-13, the Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to accept the proposal to allow commercial fishing for lake trout on Pend Oreille. Sport anglers will be allowed to sell up to $500 worth of their catch of lake trout to commercial fishers. In another move to encourage reducing of predator numbers in the lake, the rainbow trout harvest fishery on the lower Clark Fork River will be closed when rainbow trout are staging and spawning. A "winter stream season" will be established to allow catch-and-release fishing from December through March, in addition to the general season.