The fish you captured in Fall River was indeed a landlocked kokanee salmon (male in spawning condition). These fish are stocked approximately 20 miles upstream in Wickiup Reservoir for recreational angling purposes. The outlet of the reservoir is unscreened and occassionally fish in the reservoir emigrate into the Deschutes River. The kokanee probably resided in the Deschutes until they matured and were seeking a good spawning location. The cool water and available gravel in Fall River likely brought the kokanee up out of the Deschutes. We do not frequently get reports of this, but yours is the third report this month. Thanks for your interest in central Oregon fisheries. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Brett Hodgson
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Deschutes District Fisheries Biologist
541-388-6363
brett.l.hodgson@state.or.us
Posts
3 comments:
That is friggin' sweet. Props to BL for being the first OTD member with a Salmon under his belt. Jerk!
JG,
Thanks for doing the investigative work to find out what the mystery fish was. Turns out we don't see too many salmon here in Missouri so I feel a little better for not being able to ID it.
wild salmon. good job! can we eat it now? sushi at bl's.
Post a Comment