This is great topic and I wish Ryno would chime in, but here's some things. You can look up catch and release survival rates about many species. Some do well, some do not. You are also assuming that when a Koke swims away, then it must be O.K. How do you know it wont die a day, week, or month later ?? Also how long do kokes last in your live well ?? An hour at the most, a lot of times 5 minutes. I have had lake trout in my live well for 6 hours and could have released them. I'm not knocking any one for catching a bunch of fish and releasing them. I'm just sayin' that everyone who catches and releases fish, some are going to die. I have said this many times, if you are that concerned about the well being of fish, then dont go fishing !!
I'm reluctant to reply as this has been discussed many times in the past, but a couple of anglers/members asked me to at least post my thoughts. Unfortunately there's really no right or wrong answer to the dilemma until some study or data shows what the impacts are. Here's my thoughts and here we go....
I first started thinking about the C&R issue in 2007-08, taking my own personal notes while fishing, and also looking at kokanee captured in reservoir trawls, spawning traps in Sheep Creek, etc (continuing too). To this date, I have
never handled a kokanee with a hook scar or damaged mouth or gill structure(s). Just out of curiousity, does anyone else see wounds or scars in their catch? As described here, it's obvious that many kokanee are caught and released, kokanee have extremely soft mouth parts, so hooking wounds or scars should be quite evident. I should also point out that I see them quite often in lake trout, rainbow trout, and smallmouth bass (in order of frequency), while working and fishing on the Gorge. Therefore my
personal theory is kokanee C&R mortality is very high. The way I choose to approach this issue is to catch my limit of kokes and move on to another species. I'm not saying that's what everyone should do, but with my appreciation and understanding of the kokanee fishery, that's what I choose to do. Also understand that I'm a generalist- I just like to catch fish, whether it's lake trout, rainbow, smallmouth bass, burbot, or kokanee.
In my literature reviews I have found "zero" data on C&R mortality for kokanee, but as you know a lot of other sportfish species have been studied multiple times. The closest I could come-up with is sockeye, but those studies were directed at spawning fish, which as we know are much tougher when making their final push to produce offspring. A study is needed, and it's been proposed a number of times, and hopefully it's in the near future.
I understand the desires to harvest bigger fish. A 3-year old kokanee measuring 14-17 inches isn't nearly as impressive or filling as a 4-year old measuring 18+ inches.
Note: they all taste good though. But also remember there are certain years, like this one, where the 3-year old kokanee is more abundant, so it will take a lot of C&R to get a limit of 4-year olds.
On a final note, not all fish mortalities "float". If the fish comes from shallower depths or comes up on it's own or slowly, it can expel the gas in its bladder during the fight and upon release easily swim down to it's preferred depth to die later. Mortality as a result of C&R is also not immediate. Depending on the what the fish has gone through (based on other trout studies) it can take a few hours or days. Fight time, change in depth or water temperature, hook damage, net type, and even time spent exposed to air (which air temperature also influences) all play a role in the fish's ability to recover from the battle it just encountered. Anglers should also consider the fish's recovery time and how that increases it's likelihood for predation while it's in the recovery state.
Once again, I just wanted to provide my opinion on this topic and my personal approach to the issue, due to my concerns and passion for this awesome kokanee fishery.
Hope it helps some, Ryno
