LEWISTON, Idaho — Kokanee it is for Soldier’s Meadow Reservoir on Craig Mountain south of Lewiston.
Idaho Fish and Game officials put the future of the fishery to a vote and anglers, by a wide but unofficial margin, chose kokanee over a warm-water fishery.
Joe DuPont, regional fisheries managers for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said about two-thirds to three-quarters of the people who commented on alternatives for the fishery voted for kokanee.
The 100-acre reservoir has already been planted with the first batch of about 8,000 kokanee. Roughly half of them are early spawners, similar to the kokanee population in Dworshak Reservoir and the rest are late spawners, similar to the fish in Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint.
Fisheries officials will conduct tests next year to determine how well the fish are both surviving and growing. Most of the fish won’t reach catchable size until 2016, but DuPont said if they grow quickly, some could be big enough for anglers to catch next year.
“It will definitely provide a unique opportunity for the area,” he said. “It will be the only water body outside of Dworshak Reservoir in the (Clearwater) region where we have kokanee. Hopefully it will do well. The nice thing is we will know in a couple of years and if it’s not working we can always change.”
The department also plans to put a limited number of trout in the reservoir to provide a bank fishery.
Soldier’s Meadow was treated with chemicals last fall to rid it of an overabundance of perch, black crappie and black bullhead. Instead of planting it with rainbow trout, the department decided to ask anglers if they wanted something different.
“We wanted to know what was most desirable from the public,” DuPont said. “It was kind of nice to do. A lot of times we are dealing with native fish and can’t do that.”
