Tracking Cda Salmon

Fishing

Enough chinook salmon were captured in Wolf Lodge Creek to produce the eggs for 30,000 young salmon that will be restocked into Lake Coeur d’Alene next summer.

Another 24,000 chinook fingerlings are expected to be produced naturally in the lake, said Jim Davis, Idaho Fish and Game Department fisheries biologist.

Of the 133 chinook that came into the department’s trap, 76 percent were fish produced naturally in the lake.

The largest fish was 37 inches long and weighed 21.6 pounds. The average weight was 10.8 pounds.

Half of the trapped chinook was given to the Coeur d’Alene Food Bank. The other half went to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s elders assistance program.

The department has several ways to keep track of the lake’s chinook fishery. One barometer is the annual Big One Derby. Of the 508 participants interviewed this year, 70 percent were Idaho residents. The average fishing trip was eight hours. The catch rate was 60 hours per chinook.

, DataTimes