Kokanee Lakes and Reservoirs in Oregon

Best Fishing Places for Landlocked Sockeye Salmon

Jul 18, 2009

The kokanee is a sockeye salmon that spends it entire life cycle in fresh water. They are good fighters, great eating and, in these top waters, incredibly plentiful.

Kokanee angling can be fickle one day, fabulous the next. Be prepared to try different angling methods.

In Oregon as elsewhere, “kokes” thrive where they have cold water and plentiful zooplankton – the tiny critters that make up the bulk of landlocked sockeye diets.

Many of the top kokanee lakes are clustered near the middle of the state, so that region is covered separately in Best Kokanee Fishing Lakes in Central Oregon. But that leaves plenty of other hot spots in the Beaver State. By angling zones, here are some of the best.

Wallowa Lake Angler Beats State Record Again

Wallowa Lake may not wow you with numbers – and in some years you definitely will have your work cut out to reach the 10-kokanee limit. But these kokanee can rival their ocean-going kin for size. That’s because Wallowa contains a nonnative freshwater shrimp that become a buffet line for craftier adult fish. In fact, a few successive state records were caught here, including a 6-pound, 12-ounce fish, that held the record since 2001.

The 2009 season was shaping into another big-fish year, with several kokanee caught within 6 ounces of the record by early June. Bill Knox, an assistant district fisheries biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife office in nearby Enterprise, landed one of those lunkers on a Swedish Pimple jig baited with a maggot. “It wouldn’t surprise me if someone caught the state record (at Wallowa) this year,” he said.

And, in fact, a month later Jerry Logosz landed a 7-pound, 1-ounce kokanee at Wallowa to claim the new state record. Logosz trolled an Apex Kokanee Killer lure in kokanee red finish (from Hot Spot Lures) behind a Shasta Sling Blade Dodger.

“Most people troll for them,” said Gina Barstad, owner of Wallowa Lake Marina. She said pulling flashers ahead of a Mack’s Lure Wedding Ring or Worden’s Spin-N-Glo lures also is popular.

Mark Moncrief of Tri-State Outfitters thinks a national record might be lurking in Wallowa Lake. He already had 140 kokanee (and counting) that were at least 20 inches long landed from his boat by late July in the 2009 season, including a handful between 5 pounds, 14 ounces and 6 pounds, 8 ounces.

There’s a catch, of course. For one, the actual number of kokanee caught in 2009 was well down from past years. And, worse, Knox and other biologists fear that the shrimp, while forage for big kokanee, are a long-term threat to kokanee. Other lakes with this type of shrimp that also have lake trout (mackinaw)and kokanee have seen precipitous drop-offs in kokanee populations, although that problem occurred faster elsewhere and Wallowa Lake's fate is uncertain, Knox said.

Wallowa also has a very popular rainbow trout fishery, and a few anglers go after those big lake trout.

Also in the Northeast Zone: Olive Lake has plenty of smallish kokanee and good numbers of rainbow and brook trout.

Small but Plentiful Kokanee in Southeast ZoneODFW fish biologist Roger Smith would give Lake of the Woods, a big lake between Medford and Klamath Falls, the nod among kokanee lakes in his district. It sports decent numbers of decent-sized kokanee (to about 11 inches). The lake also has stocked rainbows and some big brown trout, as well as yellow perch, brown bullheads and some largemouth bass.

Fourmile Lake – Its self-sustaining population of kokanee used to run thick but small at about 10 inches, tops. But now that lake trout have been stocked in Fourmile, the growing mackinaws are cutting into the kokanee numbers. At least the remaining kokes are running larger. There also are brook and rainbow trout in this deep, high-mountain lake near Lake of the Woods.

Miller Lake – A fantastic fishery for big browns, along with some rainbows, off Highway 97 near Chemult, but its abundant kokanee often are overlooked and under-fished. Perhaps that’s because they also happen to be quite small.

Heart Lake – Unless you’re already in Lake County, this one probably isn’t worth the drive for small kokanee and an occasional nice rainbow trout.

Green Peter Reservoir Is Western Oregon’s Top Kokanee Spot

If you’re tired of hearing about salmon as an endangered species, go to Green Peter, where everyone wants you to take home the 25-kokanee limit … and then come back and do it again tomorrow (as long as you don’t waste these tasty fish). Some years the kokanee might be too abundant at Green Peter, when they are running pan-sized. Other years produce kokanee to good size, said Greg Graham, president of Kokanee Power of Oregon, a nonprofit that supports trout and salmon lake fisheries.

Graham likes to troll Shasta Tackle Company’s Cripplures and Humdingers, as well as hootchie-type lures. Buddies who prefer jig fishing like the Gibbs Minnow, he added.

The reservoir, southeast of Albany, also is planted with rainbow trout and has some largemouth bass.

Other Kokanee Lakes in the Willamette River Zone

Northwest and Southwest Zones Offer Fewer Kokanee ChoicesOregon’s two western zones are renowned for runs of anadromous chinook and coho salmon, but lake lubbers will find kokanee (and other game fish) in the following:

Oregon is a state wealthy with both lake fishing and salmon fishing. These top kokanee lakes bring the two together with some of the scrappiest fighting, most numerous and best eating fish around.

Additional Resources for Kokanee Fishing in Oregon

The copyright of the article Kokanee Lakes and Reservoirs in Oregon in Freshwater Fishing is owned by Eric Apalategui. Permission to republish Kokanee Lakes and Reservoirs in Oregon in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.