Wyoming Game and Fish has a message for anglers: Kokanee salmon catch rates are expected to be down in 2023. Kokanee population estimates show a decline of over 50 percent when comparing estimates from 2021-2022 to estimates from 2016-2019. The decline is believed to be caused by small lake trout having a diet high in kokanee salmon. If the lake trout population is around 130,000 and they each consume 10 kokanee yearly, that’s 1.3 million lost to predation in just one year. Fishery managers knew they were in trouble last fall when Utah managers could not meet their egg quota for early runs at Sheep Creek and Wyoming managers did not collect any eggs due to their being a complete absence of late run kokanee. Still, it is believed that between Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery and Tillett Springs Rearing Station, they will still meet the upcoming stocking objective of 1.65 million kokanee.
