Kokanee begin to measure up at Dworshak

Kokanee fishing is picking up on Dworshak Reservoir.

In 2022, the population was so high that kokanee were very small, measuring just 7.5 inches on average during July surveys. The smaller fish were difficult to catch and didn’t yield much of a fillet for those anglers who could get them to bite. Although abundance remains high this year, the fish are bigger than last year and angler catch rates have improved over the last couple of weeks.

In a short three-hour outing last week near the Elk Creek arm, Idaho Department of Fish and Game staff boated eight kokanee, all measuring between 8 and 9 inches.

In preseason forecasts, Fish and Game speculates there will be a high abundance of 3-year-old kokanee in the reservoir this year. To get an idea of whether this is the case, staff took scales from the kokanee they caught to estimate age by counting growth rings. Five of the eight fish were 3 years old, which is a good early indication that there is a substantial 3-year-old component in the population this year.

In reports from anglers, there are moderate-to-high catch rates with some boats catching limits in a few hours when near a good school of fish. Sizes have ranged from 8 to 10.5 inches.

Most anglers are still fishing the lower end of the reservoir below Dent Bridge, but the adult kokanee will soon begin their upstream migration toward spawning grounds. By the beginning of August, expect to see the largest concentrations of fish above the Grandad Bridge. Although the kokanee are still on the small end for Dworshak, they’re big enough to be worth firing up the smoker or getting out the canner.

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Eli Felts is a fisheries biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.