Kokanee Salmon ..

[Dr W]

Kokanee Salmon ..

The Kokanee is a tiny cousin of the Sockeye salmon and is most often 10 inches long or so and a giant would be 15 inches long.

Lake Ontario has a good number of King Salmon aka Chinook Salmon that in the right situation can actually top 100 pounds [Kenai river Alaska]

I was wondering what might happen IF New Your or Ontario Provence were to introduce some Kokanee Salmon into several rivers on the lake.

The Kokanee could be a good food source for the kings and we then might see those kings get bigger, really bigger! say in the 60 pound range?

 

I would also like to see some of the Kenai river Species genes imported to the hatchery and added to the genetic mix we not have to increase size as well.

I remember when they introduced the Skymania Steelhead and for a few years we had a few that were spectacular jumpers when hooked, the Atlantic Salmon

has taken their place, and I think we should have more Atlantic Salmon and fewer Cohos stocked personally.

Keep in mind that the Sawbelly forage base in lake Ontario is still fragile and a very cold winter will knock them back and we will lose a big chunk of the forage

base that allows us to have the great King Salmon fishery we have.

 

Dr W

 

[Gill-T]

42 minutes ago, Dr W said:

 

has taken their place, and I think we should have more Atlantic Salmon and fewer Cohos stocked personally.

Keep in mind that the Sawbelly forage base in lake Ontario is still fragile and a very cold winter will knock them back and we will lose a big chunk of the forage

base that allows us to have the great King Salmon fishery we have.

 

Dr W

 

 

Doc, the return on investment for Atlantics are HORRIBLE. They are extremely fragile and not as tolerant of the conditions found in Lake Ontario. That is why so few are stocked. As for table fare.....give me Coho over Atlantics any day. Coho availability is better as more of a year-round fish than Atlantics which usually are only caught in spring. 

 

Pink salmon are present in the St Mary's flow into Huron so runs are possible. I don't think salmon would eat them but Lake Trout definitely would. 

[Lucky13]

"Kokanee Salmon (sockeye salmon)

Kokanee, also called red salmon, are the landlocked form of sockeye salmon. When confined to fresh water, as they are in New York, kokanee are the smallest of the Pacific salmon, rarely exceeding 15 inches in length or one pound. Despite their small size, kokanee are highly regarded sportfish because their orange-red flesh makes a tasty meal.

The kokanee salmon is found in only a few lakes and ponds in New York State. They occur at all depths when water temperatures are cool in the spring and fall, but during summer most of their time is spent in deeper waters where temperatures are below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Kokanee are unusual among the salmonids, as they are highly dependent on plankton for food throughout their life. Their gills have many long, straining filaments called gill rakers, which help them capture planktonic organisms very efficiently.

During the fall, kokanee seek small streams for spawning. At this time, the males attain the brilliant green-head red-body color combination commonly associated with their sea-run brethren the sockeye. Female kokanee exhibit similar colors during the spawning season, but the color is less intense than in the males.

Kokanee may be caught by anglers using small spinners, spoons, and even artificial flies, but one of the most effective methods is to fish with a piece of worm baited on a small hook. A spinner or other attractor should be attached above the worm and hook."

 

NYS dropped Kokanee a few years back, but they persist in a couple of Adirondack Lakes.  While I have read that in some western lakes, Rainbows achieve large size feeding on Kokanee, I have never heard of a predator pretty relationship between Kings and Kokanees.  Kings are herring feeders, that is why they work for alewife control, and according to the biologists, they do not readily go after alternate prey, as do Cohos, Steelhead, Browns and Lakers, which is why the kings are at risk if the adult herring population declines.

 

Obtaining additional fish (genetic material) from other states is not really possible with the disease protocols in place now. 

 

This was a pretty good year for Atlantics returning to the Salmon River, starting in May and continuing through the summer, so while they may not contribute a lot to the open lake fishery, they could be very important to the tributary fishery, if the population continues to improve.   And they are native to the lake.   What tastes good is a matter of personal taste, I have had LO coho in the spring and ADK Atlantics, and I'd take the Landlocked Salmon any day, but of course those fish are feeding on smelt and perch, not oily herring.  

 

 

[ogrob56]

If 100 lb kings eat Kokanee, I'd bet they'd eat one hell of a lot of bateballs first. We are experiencing some of best Lake Ontario fishing in years. Why not leave well enough alone. I don't know how many 30lb kings you have cranked in but a 20 pounder can leave me looking for a tube horse linament.


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[Dr W]

5 hours ago, ogrob56 said:

If 100 lb kings eat Kokanee, I'd bet they'd eat one hell of a lot of bateballs first. We are experiencing some of best Lake Ontario fishing in years. Why not leave well enough alone. I don't know how many 30lb kings you have cranked in but a 20 pounder can leave me looking for a tube horse linament.


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How many 30+ pound kings ?  50+   even a dozen 40+ pound fish in this lake and on in the Kenai river that was 71 pounds . But that was way back in the 1980's when we had the ideal conditions with Saw bellies out the wazoo ! before the crash in the Saw bellies population around 2000 I started fishing kings in 1882 and quit in 2000 and returned last year in hopes of finding a returning fishery

[Bosun Cowboy]

There is no shortage of saw bellies/moon eye in Lake Ontario. The salmon and trout are very well fed in the lake. And I think most of us had plenty of steelhead dancing behind our boats this summer. Fishing has been Awesome !


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[ogrob56]

Thumbs up. "If it ain't broke don't fix it".