kokanee in Pierce, Thurston, King Counties

[Toni]

I have mainly fished, in recent years, Clear Lake, Alder Lake, and American Lake. American has been an up and down kokanee lake. Some years great and others not. It has been known for large kokanee (17-20 inches) but that usually means there are fewer of them.
Clear Lake as Larry Phillips said to me "is consistent." It has smaller kokanee than American. Its normal is usually 10-12 inch fish during the season. Last year we saw fish to 14 inches toward the end of the season.
Alder Lake has a 10 koke limit plus 5 trout. Its kokanee are about 9-11 inches.
Last year Meridian was doing very good for kokanee.
King County Sawyer Lake?
King County Wilderness Lake?
Summit Lake for kokanee I don't know. Anyone?
Ward Lake in Thurston county?

But this year American has had a few smaller kokanee 12 inch. At Clear there are a lot less kokanee but bigger. The smallest I caught was 13 and the biggest 14.5 inches. Alder Lake seems to have smaller kokanee this year.

I haven't seen as many reports from Meridian. Any kokanee?

Summit seems to be doing OK.

Is anyone thinking, like me, that kokanee fishing has changed like salmon fishing in the ocean?

[Mike Carey]

Definitely lakes go through cycles for kokanee. Chelan of course is the perfect example also.

Reporting on various lakes also goes through cycles. We'll get lot's of interest and reports, then anglers move on to something else. It's like what's the hottest fad in fishing going on. After 18 years of running the site it never ceases to be of interest to me.

[Toni]

Ah; but Clear Lake has been consistent. For more than 30 years according to Ron. The WDFW guy Larry Phillips ( for area 6)thought it was consistent. Last year saw the water level lowest in 30 years (someone who lives on the lake)

[Bay wolf]

Reports don't correlate to fish, and fish don't always generate reports...

I followed (chased) reports, only to find I was a day late and a fish short. And I've fished places that not a whisper was reported on and had banner days..

I can say with some certainty that reports do generate pressure, and that may be why the trend to stay tight lipped is on the rise. Just saying.

I will add that I, for one, am very thankful for your reports Toni. I have gained a lot of insight and valuable information from them. Thank you!

[Sideburns]

I did well at Meridian last year, and this year..... well I think I caught the only "NWFR reported" Koke on the lake this season. It was also the largest and fattest Koke Ive caught on that lake. And that was way early in the season for such a chunk. Oddly the meat wasnt very good though. 6 trips and one Kokanee! Even D.J. cant catch a Kokanee on Meridian this year!
I think that the recent odd weather has effected their food source. or, could be disease, and only the largest fish survived?
Most of the lakes in my area also have massive algae bloom this year too.

As far as Sawyer goes, wdfw plants a massive amount of Kokanee fry in there every year, have been for many years.
Ive trolled the lake dozens of times for them and never have caught or heard of one caught... Except for Amx, Hmm. I think Amx is behind this somehow, to feed his pet bass....

[jd39]

Does seem a bit tougher this year on the lakes I fish most, no idea why. Know there are cycles but can't seem to figure out what drives them. After a pretty wet and normal winter I thought kokanee fishing would pick up this year over last year on most lakes. The year before that, the winter was warm and dry, spring started in like mid-February and we had record low water everywhere. The opposite happened and fishing this year is slower for kokes, shows what I know.
I fish Angle, Meridian, American and Clear for kokes. Haven't tried Clear this year yet though. Angle hasn't been consistent for kokes for about 4 years now. Some good days here and there but nothing consistent for me there in awhile. It's close so I still try it a lot. American has been pretty good. Meridian has been the most consistent until this year came around.
Would really like to get out to Roosevelt and fish those trophy kokes but can't seem to find the time.

[Hunter757]

Its hard to say what is going on and be correct, I try to fish as many lakes as I can just to see if somewhere new I can produce kokanee. I have not tried Clear lake this year and the reports well everyone is tight lipped or no fish to report?

American is here today gone tomorrow and the next day lights out, but the water is 72 degrees already and that is warm. Fished Summit and biggest fish so far for that lake for me and others from what I have read. Water is warm there as well but fishing is pretty good. Alder has been slow for me but I have not given it another go lately so time for another trip but others have tried with little success and smaller fish.
Meridian and Angle have seen very very few reports? No fish or no sharing? Hard to say, does sharing a good trip = more guys coming to fish your lake = yes but let face it guys you can't eat them all and others love to catch fish and WDFW put's enough in the lakes for more then just a handful of guys and gals that only share with a handful of friends. Sometime removing some fish allows the remaining fish to grow larger and you get to fish for them as most guys will fish other lakes but not all the time as distance plays a part. Look at Roosevelt super large kokanee and guys are making trips but the fish are still getting bigger and people are still catching fish and sharing there experience with others.
So bottom line share don't share no matter to me I am going to keep fishing lakes that have Kokanee in them and I will keep sharing my luck and what I use to catch them and how I am catching them. Its fun to see other reports that have mimic what you use or how you fish and see them have wonderful luck fishing that is what this life is all about.

Keep your lines tight and your lips loose and will all enjoy the great outdoors and what it has to offer.

[Rocketvet]

Kokanee fishing for me started as a new hobby last year. Most my success was at Merwin and Yale. Although a newbee I definitely have put some time and effort into fishing over the last year with lots of new gear, tackle and even a new (to me) boat. Merwin has definitely been tough this year and I've been there 3 times without limiting. Summit is definitely been better for me this year than last with bigger fish and bigger numbers. The lice are a bummer but the meat is good. Ward Lake gave up a few last year, haven't tried this year. Tiny lake for trolling. I was skunked at Lake Stevens but we got a late start and I think it was just a weird day for bites. Chelan is always a productive lake of course. I'm dying to get to Roosevelt as others are. American kinda grossed me out last year as I went later in the summer and it was filled with garbage complete with some drug syringes at the launch. Guess I'll have to give it another try. Clear lake was a rodeo of ski boats and tough fishing. I'm eager to try Alder again but I haven't seen any stellar reports.

As far as sharing experiences I try to post as often as I can but sometimes time does not allow it. There are plenty of fish to be had out there and I enjoy hearing others experiences, good and bad. Good luck out there everyone!

[Hunter757]

Rocketvet, Welcome to NWFR and kokanee fishing. That is not a normal thing for American lake and very odd to hear, but I would say give it another try as the fish are starting to turn on and have a good size to them. I myself have wanted to fish Merwin but I have only seen three reports online and it would seem the bite is turning on there now?

Sounds like you hooked on Kokanee so welcome to the club and yes please if you can find the time to post a report it always helps out others, especially when the drive is over two hours for a shot at some kokes. Tight lines and thanks for your thoughts.

[Sideburns]

Rocketvet, sounds like your Koke habit is worse than mine! Im on year 2 or 3, and havent been getting my fix nearly enough this year. Thanks for the run down of your fishing experiences though. I'm a bad nw fisher, and dont post much when I have a bad trip..... Im sure Im not the only one, and this tends to appear that nobody is fishing, or keeping the fish to themselves.