Nantahala fall, winter, spring

[Inthebox30lbs]

I never see any reports for the colder seasons. Does anybody mess with the kokes in fall spring, or winter?
Scott

 

[trollmonkey]

I would like to try the lake in different seasons ,but I'm about two hours away . If I can get in a few trips, I usually hit a trout lake in Jackson Co. Harpoon used to hit Nantahala in April and had some productive trips. If only there was time(and money) to fish as much as I wanted to. I haven't really heard of anyone fishing there much in cool weather.

 

[rgarbar]

Winter fishing Nantahala

I never see any reports for the colder seasons. Does anybody mess with the kokes in fall spring, or winter?
Scott

Nantahala Lake is very low this year because of the drought. Launching a boat can be very difficult as you run out of dock and ramp(and that pestilent wind). The drought goes on with no end in sight. The drought may have a significant impact on the spawning run as well. All in all the 2016 season was poor. No one I know caught a koke over 16". I pulled my boat out of Nantahala the end of August and have been trailering to Cheoah and Calderwood and have been doing very well trolling for trout. Plenty in the 12" to 16" range and quite tasty(much better than Kokanee). If you are persistent I think you can catch them in the winter months but they will be spread out all over the lake and the water column. I like them boxed and bracketed in the thermocline in the warmer months.

 

[trollmonkey]

Hey Ron , Are you still in the mountains or back in Florida? Hope your place was spared any damage. I'm hoping to hit a lake again toward the end of this month,probably Cedar Cliff or hopefully Apalachia. Take Care Mark

 

[Inthebox30lbs]

Do you guys think this upcoming year will be a good year with all of the smaller fish in the population/caught this past summer. This is the year the major drawdown occurred 4 years ago correct to work on damt? That might explain the lack of 4 year old fish.
Scott

 

[trollmonkey]

I think the 13"-16" fish were the 4 year olds .We caught 7 kokes Aug 20 that were going to spawn this year.Males and females well on their way with large egg skeins and developed nads. The heat and sparse rainfall the last few summers have been rough on our coldwater fisheries. I don't know how this affects plankton levels ,but the fishing has been pretty tough from midsummer on . The kokes we got in Aug were 85'-90'down ,I would have figured they would be around 70'-75' inn a normal year in Aug . The ones we caught were very healthy but no where near as fat as those we've got in the past. The hot temps may have driven them so deep early maybe it's been more difficult for them to feed efficiently.

 

[rgarbar]

The Nantahala river flowing into the lake is the lowest I have seen. This will have an impact on any salmon trying to get up there to spawn. Very low at the RT 64 bridge at Standing Indian and Rainbow Spring. The predators and poachers will have a field day.

 

[Inthebox30lbs]

Has any one witnessed any spawning this year? I wonder if the drought has delayed the run, and this burst of rain might see a push of fish. I was told some have seen spawning Kokes in dec. just curious
scott

 

[rgarbar]

Has any one witnessed any spawning this year? I wonder if the drought has delayed the run, and this burst of rain might see a push of fish. I was told some have seen spawning Kokes in dec. just curious
scott

The kokanee would have spawned over a month ago. How quickly the eggs will hatch depends on water temperature – colder water means slower development in the egg. At 7.8 0 C the eggs will hatch in 60 days but at 4.7 0 C they will take 97 days to hatch. These eggs/larva will be very vulnerable under the current extreme drought conditions and the possibility of heavy rains in the near future. Fortunately the upper Nantahala river watershed is pristine and remote. The kokanee are tenacious and I hope enough of them survive this years extreme condition.

 

[trollmonkey]

Any fire problems??

Hey Ron ,Were any of the fires near your house? I'm working in Andrews in two weeks .It will be interesting to see the Gorge. Take care ,hope you're doing well.

 

[rgarbar]

Hey Ron ,Were any of the fires near your house? I'm working in Andrews in two weeks .It will be interesting to see the Gorge. Take care ,hope you're doing well.

No fires but plenty of smoke especially when the nearby gorge and Winding Spring road was on fire about 2 weeks ago. The lake was really down and not looking good for the kokanee. Wanted to stay up at the lake but the air was too Smokey and we headed back to FL. Good to see you recovered from the accident and back to work.

Ron