The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has recently completed the release of 634,430 kokanee salmon fingerlings released into 13 lakes and reservoirs throughout the state.
Kokanee were introduced into California waters to provide diverse recreational angling opportunities for anglers and have become an extremely popular sport fish. They are typically smaller than the landlocked Chinook salmon with the average size about 12 inches.
Due to the continuing drought conditions making it difficult to obtain kokanee eggs within the state, this year’s allotment was supplemented with eggs provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The landlocked version of the sockeye salmon, the kokanee (pronounced coke-a-nee) spends its entire life in fresh water. Instead of migrating to the ocean, adult kokanees inhabit large lakes before returning to their natal streams or gravelly shorelines to spawn. Like all Pacific salmon, kokanee die after spawning, the whole life cycle taking from three to seven years.
The fish were planted in the following waters:
Boca Reservoir
Bullards Bar Reservoir
Donner Lake
Hell Hole Reservoir
Lake Tahoe
Little Grass Valley Reservoir
Stampede Reservoir
Union Valley Reservoir
Lake Berryessa
Bass Lake
Don Pedro Reservoir
New Melones
Shaver Lake
CDFW typically stocks between 800,000 – 1,000,000 fingerlings annually in 18 waters statewide.
source: California Department of Fish and Wildlife