Anglers in this region are wild about kokanee. This species attracts a terrific amount of attention. They pursue kokanee pretty much year-round on Lake Chelan. The promise of really big kokanee on Lake Roosevelt has them trolling around in conditions that most people would consider just too severe to even think of venturing outdoors. The fact that we often have sunny skies in the wintertime is one of the reasons that boaters will launch and run around chasing what they will know to be fish of just 10 or 11 inches long. It is not unusual to see more than a few boats on Lake Roosevelt when temperatures are in single digits. They figure its worth it if they can get a kokanee that could weigh 3 pounds. Kokanee anglers will travel great distances to try their luck. In our area they may not have to travel far to find kokanee. There have been attempts to establish kokanee fisheries in lakes like Wapato, near Lake Chelan, and more recently in Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. Keep your fingers crossed. We’ll know if kokanee plants on Fish Lake will pan out in a few years. Wouldn’t that be great!
Some years kokanee can be dinky on Lake Chelan. But that doesn’t keep Josh and his Dad Brian Anantatmula off the water in the winter.