State Of The Lake 3.30.17
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Lake Pend O'reille State of the Lake meeting put on by Idaho Fish and Game. This public meeting is held annually at the Ponderay Events Center to show all progression made on the lake by IDFG. I greatly encourage anyone interested in the Lake Pend O'reille fishery to attend these greatly beneficial meetings. This blog is meant to re-cap most of the important topics discussed for those who either missed the meeting, or didn't know about it.
Kokanee were first introduced in the 1930's, and historically supported the most popular fishery in Idaho. These Kokanee are an ideal source of food for most water dwelling predators. Gerrard rainbows ( a.k.a. Kamloop) were introduced in 1941 and are a top predator for Kokanee. Since then, our fishery has battled its share of "fishery declining" factors. For the bull trout, the biggest factors are tributary habitat loss and introduced species. Kokanee, however, suffer from not only habitat loss and introduced species, but also hydropower operations. Because of these factors, IDFG are working towards 4 important goals.
- Restore Kokanee population & annual harvest averaging 300,000
- Restore trophy rainbow trout fishery
- Stable bull trout population and harvest opportunity
- Maintain/enhance Westslope Cutthroat trout population
IDFG plan on accomplishing these set goals through hatchery stocking, water management, Kokanee spawning habitat enhancement, tributary habitat enhancement/protection, harvest management, fish passage (through Cabinet Gorge dam) and Lake Trout suppression.
A lot of IDFG's efforts are focused on Lake Trout suppression. Lake Trout are a contesting competitor for our beloved Rainbow Trout, and Bull Trout. Populations must be maintained in order for our fishery to grow. Lake Trout first emerged in the 1990's, but remained in low numbers because there wasn't a strong enough food source to support the juveniles. Once the mysid shrimp population exploded, so did the Lake Trout. IDFG are looking to reduce Lake Trout numbers to what they were in the late 90's, and maintain that low density. This will hopefully occur through contracting a commercial fishing company (Hickey Bros. Research) and continuing the angler incentive program ($15 per head). Gill nets are the primary tool used for Hickey Bros., but deep water trap nets (mesh funnels) also prove to be very effective. Removals of Lake Trout began in 2006 and are funded by Avista and BPA. These programs have cost a total of $7.1 million. From 2006-2016, a grand total of 199,228 lake trout have been removed from Lake Pend O'reille due to Lake Trout suppression strategies.
For all of those who fish for Kokanee on Lake Pend O'reille, the future is looking bright! IDFG found that there are roughly 16 million less than 1 year old, 5 million 1 year old and 12 million 3-4 year old Kokanee in the lake! The hatchery quota was fully met in 2016. 14.7 egg takes took place due to 43,000 early-run and 14.6 million late-run Kokanee. Because of this, 10 million Kokanee fry will be released in Lake Pend O'reille.
Because of IDFG's efforts to restore the Gerrard fishery, the rainbows are growing at an exponential rate. Right now, we are looking at similar growth rates to those fish of 1947 when the state record rainbow was caught out of Lake Pend O'reille.
Avista recently acquired property near twin creek, and will place a fisherman's access parking lot near the Clark Fork River. They are targeting for the parking lot to be ready by July 1st.
Fish and Game recognize walleye as a potential threat to the Kokanee population, and will start research through tagging and telemetry.
In the Pend O'reille River, Largemouth Bass numbers are slowly declining while Smallmouth Bass numbers are increasing. This is mainly because the Pend O'reille River is much better habitat for Smallmouth rather than Largemouth. Because of North Idaho's short growing period for Bass, a 16 inch Smallmouth is approximately 7.8 years old.
Again, I greatly encourage anyone interested in learning about the Lake Pend O'reille fishery to attend these informative meetings.