2013 Anderson Ranch Fishing Thread

[Lunddude]

I'd be very interested to hear what the biologist says. From past experience I know an over population can cause small fish because of a lack of food. Not sure if that is whats going on here though. Did water levels come up any?

Water level is about 20' down from full pool, probably the lowest I've seen it for this time of year. The dock is in @ Curlew, you can also launch @ Pine & Deer Creek.

 

[Lunddude]

Well I got a chance to speak with my friend Scott Stanton whose a fish biologist with F&G for the Magic Valley region. According to Scott the problem with the size of the kokanee @ Anderson is due to over population.

Idaho F&G has not run the fish weir @ Anderson since 2009 & will not be running it again until 2014 due to cost. Scott claims it cost F&G about $20K a year to run the weir @ Anderson. When F&G did the fish counts last year in August 2013 they estimated the kokanee population then @ 4 million. Yes folks, those giant 8-9 inchers you are now catching are this years spawners sad to say.

Scott also confirmed what I already knew & that is the decrease in fish size started showing up last year & from the sound of it will only get worse for 2014. If we want to catch kokanee @ Anderson the size of the kokanee in Arrowrock & Lucky Peak then we need F&G to manage it better. We as fisherman need to decide do we want to go out & catch 25 7-9 inch fish, or 6 17-19 inch fish. I know I would rather spend my time & $$$ fishing for better Quality fish then Quantity. So PLEASE, anyone fishing Anderson this year "DO NOT" throw back any of those 8-9 inch kokanee, take as many as you can home with out exceeding your limit (25) or possession limit (50) per licensed angler.

Scott welcomes any input such as fishing reports from anyone fishing for kokanee @ Anderson this year. Scott can be reached @ (208) 324-4359

 

[redmanjr1]

Thanks for the update Lunddude. I was afraid that over population was the culprit. Reminds me of Dworshak years ago. I agree that we need to keep our legal catches but problem is that it won't make a dent in the population unless the lake is over populated with fishermen (and fisherwomen). I'll keep going and catch as many as I can...small ones taste as good as the bigger ones. Tight lines.

 

[Mojo]

I would suspect that this years water situation will HUGELY affect the kokanee at Anderson Ranch. By the end of the year that lake will be very low, and there will be a lot less foor for the kokes. In a couple of years the size should be way bigger, if we ever get enough water to fill the lake again..

 

[Lunddude]

Very true but the bottom line is we NEED F&G to manage the kokanee @ Anderson if we want a better quality fishery for kokanee.

 

[Lunddude]

Thanks for the update Lunddude. I was afraid that over population was the culprit. Reminds me of Dworshak years ago. I agree that we need to keep our legal catches but problem is that it won't make a dent in the population unless the lake is over populated with fishermen (and fisherwomen). I'll keep going and catch as many as I can...small ones taste as good as the bigger ones. Tight lines.

I know we won't put a dent in the population by keeping those 9" spawners but every little bit will help. I was tossing them back thinking they had to be next years fish but I was wrong. If I do fish Anderson again this year it won't be until August & I will be keeping them.

 

[warrenh67]

IDFG has been stocking up to 250,000 fish a year in Lucky Peak. Now if those fish cost as little as a dime each, that's way more than the $20K to run the wier at Anderson. And the fishing experience at Anderson is far superior to the multiple wakes, and heavy water skiing, jet skiing at LP. And with the wier in place, Anderson has produced 15 inch plus fish consistently. I've been fishing it since 1969 and 25 fish limits of 15 inch fish are possible. We need to let IDFG know that Anderson has been and should be a viable fishery.
One alternative might be to declare a surplus fishery this year from the backwaters to just below the weir and let people snag up to 25 fish a day, 50 for a weekend. At least get some good from the stunted fish.

 

[Mojo]

IDFG has been stocking up to 250,000 fish a year in Lucky Peak. Now if those fish cost as little as a dime each, that's way more than the $20K to run the wier at Anderson. And the fishing experience at Anderson is far superior to the multiple wakes, and heavy water skiing, jet skiing at LP. And with the wier in place, Anderson has produced 15 inch plus fish consistently. I've been fishing it since 1969 and 25 fish limits of 15 inch fish are possible. We need to let IDFG know that Anderson has been and should be a viable fishery.
One alternative might be to declare a surplus fishery this year from the backwaters to just below the weir and let people snag up to 25 fish a day, 50 for a weekend. At least get some good from the stunted fish.

As soon as you legalize snagging in one area, it will become rampant. Heck it already is, and is is illegal.

I think a better plan is for the F&G to utilize volunteers to set up and operate the weir, and then train folks from this forum. I know there would be a ton of support from all of us, and who wouldn't want to spend a weekend camping up there and sorting fish to go to the hatchery and letting a few up the river to spawn. We could also separate out a bunch of fish and donate them to food banks, the prison, or whatever...

 

[Lunddude]

As soon as you legalize snagging in one area, it will become rampant. Heck it already is, and is is illegal.

I think a better plan is for the F&G to utilize volunteers to set up and operate the weir, and then train folks from this forum. I know there would be a ton of support from all of us, and who wouldn't want to spend a weekend camping up there and sorting fish to go to the hatchery and letting a few up the river to spawn. We could also separate out a bunch of fish and donate them to food banks, the prison, or whatever...

Sounds like a great idea to me.

 

[D_Luck]

As soon as you legalize snagging in one area, it will become rampant. Heck it already is, and is is illegal.

I think a better plan is for the F&G to utilize volunteers to set up and operate the weir, and then train folks from this forum. I know there would be a ton of support from all of us, and who wouldn't want to spend a weekend camping up there and sorting fish to go to the hatchery and letting a few up the river to spawn. We could also separate out a bunch of fish and donate them to food banks, the prison, or whatever...

I'm game! I love it out at anderson, and I'd be happy to help make it as good fishing as it is pretty

 

[Lunddude]

I'll be putting a call into Scott tomorrow to see what he thinks about putting together a volunteer program to help run the weir @ Anderson. I'll post he's views on this matter as soon as I know something. I've been working with Scott the last 6 years as a mentor for the youth waterfowl hunts IDF&G puts on @ the Hagerman WMA. Maybe a group of volunteers from this forum could work together to make Anderson a great kokanee fishery again. Let's hope so!

 

[Allyn S]

Keep us informed. I would be willing to donate some time for the cause. 1 weekend to put the wier in, and a month worth of weekend volunteers to release the F&G quota seems like something we should be able to coordinate.

On a side note about processing smaller fish. Has anyone used the special catfish pliers to try and skin small kokes like you would a catfish? 9" is to small to screw with fillets but if you could evicerate and skin then cube, might be a way to use them for canning. Figure the bones would just melt down on fish that small. Never tried it but think it might work.

If the volunteer thing ended up a go I might be over there. If that happened I would take some time to try and put a dent in that 4 mil. pop. and fill the pantry with canners. Save the good ones for BBQ and smoked.

 

[Lunddude]

Just got off the phone with Scott Stanton @ IDF&G & he was very interested in hearing that some of the guys from this forum would be willing to help out with the weir @ Anderson Ranch. Scott says the weir operation runs from mid August to mid October and needs to be managed 24/7.

Since IDF&G are not planning on running the weir @ Anderson until 2014 I'm pretty sure the volunteer program probably would not be taking place until that time unless we could convince IDF&G to start it back up this fall. My name is already on the list as a volunteer, anyone else interested in helping out with this program should contact Scott Stanton @ IDF&G (208) 324-4359.

If anyone would like to contact me direct to talk further about this program & any ideas you might have, please feel free to call me @ (208) 720-7250

 

[TonyP]

Does anyone have an updated report on Anderson, location, gear, size etc....may head up next week

 

[holtz]

Nothing going on at Anderson, My brother and I were there Sunday and nothing, we changed our gear multiple times and nothing. We put in at deer creek and trolled from there down to the dam and nothing. We then went into a little cove area and caught a couple of really small trout and decided to call it a day, it was very disappointing . I had much better luck at lucky peak on Saturday.

 

[Mojo]

Does anyone have an updated report on Anderson, location, gear, size etc....may head up next week

Lots of little kokes. 9" is the standard right now. fish across from Curlew with wedding rings, and make sure you run snubbers...

 

[spoons]

lots of little ones., I put in at curlew and fished just to the left Saturday night and Sunday morning. those little ones kept me busy the entire time. if a pole was not getting a bite it was because they already stole my corn and I missed it. definitely use small light gear if you want to get them in the boat

 

[cromedogg33]

I've never fished koke's at Anderson. Anyone have any tips on some of the better places? I'll be up there next weekend.

 

[warrenh67]

I see where IDFG planted 35,000 fall chinook at Anderson in May. That might help the size issue in a couple of years. If they grow like they did when they planted them before, it gives a whole new dimension to tackle choices.

 

[gdub]

I'd like to head to anderson next week, but I'm a little new to the lake, when people speak of curlew, are they talking the back side of anderson near Pine?