Cle Elum Limit Reduction - blame me!
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 5:03 pm
I spoke earlier this week with John Easterbrooks, Regional Fish Program Manager for the Yakima Region, which includes Cle Elum lake. Specifically, I was concerned about the future of the kokanee fishery as I read that the lake was no longer being stocked with kokanee and they were really focusing on getting the sockeye to become a harvestable run.
John was incredibly helpful and informative. He told me some interesting facts. He said WDFW had stopped stocking Cle Elum in 2007 and that the kokanee my wife and I caught were in fact sockeye smolts that had acclimated to the lake, either not able to find the smolt escape pipe, or, deciding to stay in the lake. He said the lake has no natural reproduction of kokanee that WDFW is aware of. So these kokanee are actually kokanee/sockeye. Pretty interesting stuff!
Then he dropped a bombshell on me. He said that after seeing a fishing report posted online of a guy holding up a nice stringer of kokanee, and reading the report that this guy, Carey, and his wife had caught a bunch of nice, fat kokanee, that he had decided to amend the emergency rule change to reduce the lake limit to statewide rules of five fish, including trout. He said he felt that since the kokanee were so healthy sized that five a day was plenty. He also indicated that by making the lake limit 5 trout, including kokanee, it now allows anglers to take up to five lakers a day. WDFW definitely would like to see the laker population reduced significantly to protect the sockeye smolts.
I laughed and told him that report was from me and my wife. We fished 7/2 and the amended emergency reg was posted 7/11. I had no idea this web site had such influence, LOL!
John was incredibly helpful and informative. He told me some interesting facts. He said WDFW had stopped stocking Cle Elum in 2007 and that the kokanee my wife and I caught were in fact sockeye smolts that had acclimated to the lake, either not able to find the smolt escape pipe, or, deciding to stay in the lake. He said the lake has no natural reproduction of kokanee that WDFW is aware of. So these kokanee are actually kokanee/sockeye. Pretty interesting stuff!
Then he dropped a bombshell on me. He said that after seeing a fishing report posted online of a guy holding up a nice stringer of kokanee, and reading the report that this guy, Carey, and his wife had caught a bunch of nice, fat kokanee, that he had decided to amend the emergency rule change to reduce the lake limit to statewide rules of five fish, including trout. He said he felt that since the kokanee were so healthy sized that five a day was plenty. He also indicated that by making the lake limit 5 trout, including kokanee, it now allows anglers to take up to five lakers a day. WDFW definitely would like to see the laker population reduced significantly to protect the sockeye smolts.
I laughed and told him that report was from me and my wife. We fished 7/2 and the amended emergency reg was posted 7/11. I had no idea this web site had such influence, LOL!
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