Wa & Oregon Game and Fish Article March

[Stradic]

Did anyone else see the "kokanee" article about American Lake in the March WA/OR Game and Fish. The fish on the first page centerfold has a very peculiar dorsal...Much like a pen raised trout.. Kokanee are generally fry planted thus giving them the entire lake to grow where fin nipping doesn't occur. Kinda silly to have a trout on the front page of that article... Here is a great dorsal shot of a local kok to compare.

 

[eenakoK]

I saw that fish and thought the same exact thing. I will post a picture of it tonight when I get home to compare.

 

[eenakoK]

 

[Salt Patrol]

Guys,

This fish was caught on a Roostertail on a flat line in early June on American. I was doing one of my very rare kokanee fishing trips why salmon fishing was slow. We caught several fish then this one hit. When we landed it I thought it was a trout too at first, but was told it was a kok by a very long time American Lake hi profile angler.
The pictures along with many others were sent in for Terry to use in his article. Trout or kokanee it had great red meat and tasted great!
See you on the water

John

 

[eenakoK]

Guys,

This fish was caught on a Roostertail on a flat line in early June on American. I was doing one of my very rare kokanee fishing trips why salmon fishing was slow. We caught several fish then this one hit. When we landed it I thought it was a trout too at first, but was told it was a kok by a very long time American Lake hi profile angler.
The pictures along with many others were sent in for Terry to use in his article. Trout or kokanee it had great red meat and tasted great!
See you on the water

John

John -
It is a great fish! must have been a great fight on lightweight tackle. Thanks for joining this great site!

 

[Kokanee-Toni]

oops

Guys,

This fish was caught on a Roostertail on a flat line in early June on American. I was doing one of my very rare kokanee fishing trips why salmon fishing was slow. We caught several fish then this one hit. When we landed it I thought it was a trout too at first, but was told it was a kok by a very long time American Lake hi profile angler.
The pictures along with many others were sent in for Terry to use in his article. Trout or kokanee it had great red meat and tasted great!
See you on the water

John

"very long time American Lake hi profile angler" was pulling your leg, John-Salt Patrol. It is a very nice fish but not a kokanee.
I thought it looked like a steelhead so I asked a fish biologist for that area Larry Phillips what he thought: "Rainbow trout. Also, this fish was stocked into to lake as an adult as evident by the eroded dorsal fin. Although dorsal erosion can be caused by fin nipping when trout are reared in high density ponds, its more commonly the result of wear from cement rearing tanks. Nice kokanee in the first pics. Hope we see some of those this year. "

 

[kokanee_slayer]

Guys,

This fish was caught on a Roostertail on a flat line in early June on American. I was doing one of my very rare kokanee fishing trips why salmon fishing was slow. We caught several fish then this one hit. When we landed it I thought it was a trout too at first, but was told it was a kok by a very long time American Lake hi profile angler.
The pictures along with many others were sent in for Terry to use in his article. Trout or kokanee it had great red meat and tasted great!
See you on the water

John

Nice Looking Fish John !!!!

 

[Kokanee Kid]

Nice trout. Post should be moved to non kokanee reports!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Stradic]

Thanks Kokaneetoni for getting to the bottom of it.. When I look at that fish I think what a sad portrayal of the American Lake KoKanee. The Kokanee were so beautiful last year they really were....As a new angler or seasoned veteran looking to an article for tips and tricks I would be disappointed that the author cant even identify the species he is writing about.That is most likely a Trout Lodge fish even our state hatcheries produce a better looking specimen. I will add a report to keep everyone happy...

Fished American for a few hours this afternoon....Water temp 43 to 44. I caught some awesome rays and one trout.

Kokanee Slayer did you hook into any back in February? I know I saw you one Sunday!

 

[kokanee_slayer]

Kokanee Slayer did you hook into any back in February? I know I saw you one Sunday!

Stradic, I hooked a few Bows but no Koks.

 

[TrollNFisher]

Man I think it's a big troutkanee first one I've seen in American.laugh hyst

 

[dutch]

Kokanee??

I thought the head also did not look quite right, sure didn't look like the Merwin fish.

 

[washingtonlakes]

LOL. How does a magazine publish a cover picture on fishing kokanee and use an obvious-not-kokanee picture. As a regular on my site would say "wow".

 

[Kokanee-Toni]

Does anyone know if the magazine was contacted about this erroneous picture?

 

[gfakkema]

When I first saw the pic in question, my first reaction was "why are they showing a picture of a steelie?". After thinking about this for a bit, I am reminded of an article that I have from Fishing & Hunting News regarding American Lake. It shows different areas and tactics for a variety of species. But the one that really caught my eye was a tidbit on "Landlocked Steelhead". Now, I am no expert (far cry from an expert, actually), but I was not aware that there was even such a thing as a "landlocked steelie". A rainbow is a trout that stays in the lake. A steelhead is the same fish (dna wise, because steel can have bow offspring and vice versa) that is ocean run. So, by that logic, isn't a "landlocked steelhead" just a rainbow trout?
Anyway, by the looks of the pic, I would have to say that's what I would imagine a "landlocked steelhead" to look like. It does look different than a rainbow in my mind, with the lack of spots and all. So maybe they do exist in American...I just had never seen or heard of one.