Will another recod Kokanee be caught here?

[NW Outdoors Radio]

I had the fortune of fishing Wallowa Lake last year the same day the new world record Kokanee was caught out of the lake. Too bad I was helping my wife and daughter catch a bunch of rainbow trout at the State Park that day!

So here's the question. Will another record kokanee be caught out of this lake? More importantly, why do you think so?

Looking forward to the responses -

JK

 

[RunWithSasquatch]

I think there is potential for such a thing. But I wonder if we will start seeing a trend of smaller fish being pulled from that fishery. Lots of publicity, and talk= more pressure= more fish being taken out of the lake= less opportunities for a kokanee to become a toad daddy.

 

[capblack]

i believe the record was broken twice last year, so its obvious it holds some of the biggest, so why couldnt it happen again? i doubt seriously that the one caught was the biggest in the lake. thats one of the things that keep people fishing. not knowing exactly what you might catch. i wish i was closer to wallowa, i love kokanee fishing. welcome to the forum, Brian

 

[capblack]

I think there is potential for such a thing. But I wonder if we will start seeing a trend of smaller fish being pulled from that fishery. Lots of publicity, and talk= more pressure= more fish being taken out of the lake= less opportunities for a kokanee to become a toad daddy.

thats not true, the fewer kokanee in a lake, means they get bigger. if it was over run with population, the fish would stay smaller

 

[halibuthitman]

These fish are physicaly responding to lake conditions the same way as an ocean fish responds to ocean conditions, the kokes in that lake have increased to these sizes due to a bloom of a high nutrient fresh water shrimp, if the shrimp hold out, the kokes will remain big, if the shrimp diminish, expect to see the same in the fish. I think the record breaker is still in there, it takes a talented or very luck fisherman to land such a large soft mouthed fish that have pretty good spunk... im sure the record has shook a hook a couple times- Brad

 

[NW Outdoors Radio]

I guess if you are talking about numbers you also have to figure in other species (rainbow trout), competition, fishing pressure, forage for the fish, etc., etc. It's all very confusing for the simple-minded man I am. I do know this though - Fish sizes and populations tend to run in cycles. I'm guessing time will tell if this lake is at the top of this cycle or if the fish will continue to get bigger!

 

[troutdude]

Welcome to the forum NWOR.

That lake actually spit out 3 or 4 record sized fish in a row last Spring/Summer. One thing is for sure...with all of the publicity that it got in the media--it will be SWAMPED w/ fishermen and women this season!

I'd bet that we'll see another record or two at least, come from those now infamous waters.

 

[skunk]

The only thing is...there is a max size that one such said Kok can ever reach, now who knows what size that is so I'd say the possibility is still good.

 

[beaverfan]

These fish are physicaly responding to lake conditions the same way as an ocean fish responds to ocean conditions, the kokes in that lake have increased to these sizes due to a bloom of a high nutrient fresh water shrimp, if the shrimp hold out, the kokes will remain big, if the shrimp diminish, expect to see the same in the fish. I think the record breaker is still in there, it takes a talented or very luck fisherman to land such a large soft mouthed fish that have pretty good spunk... im sure the record has shook a hook a couple times- Brad

Halibuthitman is pretty much right on, but I would add that biologists believe these same mysis shrimp will lead to the deteriotion of the fishery at Wallowa.

Record kokanee at Wallowa Lake comes with a down side | OregonLive.com

So yes it's likely that another one will be caught but it's entirely possible that the fishery is/will be rapidly declining over the coming years. There are quite a few big ones but not nearly as many small ones as there should be so it's something to think about. And the mysis shrimp have caused quite a few Kokanee lakes to fail.