Kokanee salmon fill a niche in many Western reservoirs. While rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout occupy the relatively shallow waters, and lake trout take up residence in the depths, kokes reside in between. Because the diminutive salmon feed on suspended pods of zooplankton, they have no effect on a reservoir’s baitfish population. In fact, kokes often become baitfish themselves for gargantuan lake trout and giant northern pike that call the reservoirs home.
These landlocked sockeye salmon are popular with anglers, too. Although the salmon feed on tiny organisms, they readily bite lures. Kokanee salmon are common in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.
While many anglers target kokanees in open water, there’s a smaller cadre who fish for them through the ice.
