Alder Lake has had a 10 kokanee limit for years in an attempt to reduce the population and allow the remaining fish to grow larger on the limited plankton available. Today I saw the classic example where fish are maturing at 9",
because koke are forced below the plankton growth by high temperatures that stunt their growth. My best three were 11".

The first thing I did at 0600 (the gates at Alder Park were open) was to motor out into 100' of water and run the thermometer down. At 80' it was 67 degrees. The koke are starting to turn, 9" fish with egg development, and they are schooling. It would be beneficial if every koke fisherman would go as often as possible and catch a 10 fish limit. This would reduce the population and allow remaining fish to grow larger, which is what the State is trying to do.

Although smaller, they were running rather than jumping and still fun to catch. The best places were the bay straight out from the launch and the bay to the left of the launch. Most were marked between 15' and 40'. Even with surface water at 75 degree, some were surfacing for bugs at 4:00pm. The last two times I was here the best bite period was 10am to 4pm.

Mike Carey

8/18/2012 6:03:00 PM

great report, thanks. I still have Alder on my radar screen for September. Gotta hit Merwin first though, JoAnn loves that lake.

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