Sockeye Salmon or Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka)

Kokanee fishing picking up in Lake Pend Oreille

The late summer kokanee fishing has been heating up recently on Lake Pend Oreille. This comes as a nice surprise because Fish and Game biologists were expecting kokanee to be abundant, but also on the small side, and kokanee smaller than about 8-inches long tend to be hard to catch. When fish get over 8 inches and closer to 9 inches, fishing can start to get good.

First sockeye of 2019 arrives at Stanley

The first sockeye of 2019 returned to the Redfish Lake Creek trap near Stanley on Aug. 2. The first sockeye arrived on July 26 last year, and July 27 in 2017.

The fish is among the 53 sockeye that have so far crossed Lower Granite Dam near Lewiston (through Aug. 1), which is the last dam the fish cross before reaching Idaho.

The 2019 sockeye run through Lower Granite so far is below last year’s total of 276 fish, as well as the 2017 total of 228 fish, which was the the lowest return in a decade. It is likely that the returns in 2019 will be lower.

Still time to catch kokanee at Dworshak Reservoir

There’s no better place to be on a hot summer day than out on the lake. If you haven’t been kokanee fishing on Dworshak Reservoir yet, you’re missing out. The kokanee are large, and fairly plentiful. During our trawl survey on July 29, the adult kokanee we caught were typically 12 inches long, with some as big as 13.

Update: Hayden Lake kokanee fishing has been good during summer with fish averaging over 14 inches

Kokanee fishing has been good this summer. Fisheries managers stocked fewer kokanee in the lake in an effort to get larger fish for anglers. Kokanee fishing now represents one of the larger draws to Hayden Lake.

Idaho sockeye at Eagle Hatchery in Eagle, Idaho.

Midway through the run, very few sockeye are returning to Idaho

Fish and Game biologists expected few sockeye to return to Idaho this year, and midway through the run the exact number of Idaho fish returning is difficult to determine because few of the fish have electronic PIT tags that help biologists monitor the adult return.

Striking a balance with Deadwood Reservoir kokanee

If anglers are planning on taking a trip to Deadwood to chase kokanee this summer, they are reminded when the 2019-21 Idaho Fishing Seasons and Rules were adopted in Nov. 2018, the bag limit was reduced to 15, and the possession limit was reduced to 45.