Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  For the past few weeks, fishermen have been pulling Kokanee salmon out of Barker Reservoir by the hundreds. All it takes is standing below the weir bridge at the inlet and dangling a jig over the waterfall pond where the pink fleshed fish are spawning.

A Lakewood couple with a string of the Kokanee and a few trout added to the mix looked forward to their fresh caught fish dinner on Sunday. The high rate of fishing success has lured locals and people from the plains who understand the spawning habits of the Kokanee.

In 2012, Kokanee salmon was released into Barker, Beaver Creek Clear Creek and Dillon Reservoirs in the mountains. These land-locked sockeye salmon, unable to migrate to the ocean, are smaller than their relatives who are ocean run, but still similar to the sockeye.

Before they spawn, they are silvery-sided with a green or blue back and white tips on the ventral and anal fins with little spotting. When they begin spawn the males turn a bright to olive green on the heads with bright red bodies and a hooked jaw .The females are less vibrant and they retain their pre spawn shape. A mature Kokanee is about 12-18 inches.

Barker Reservoir is a prime location for the salmon who like oxygenated open water that does not warm up over 60 degrees. They feed on zooplankton and small fish and insects. The Kokanee made their first run to the inlet in the Fall of 2014.

Fishing for the spawning fish has restrictions: the use of live fish bait is prohibited; the limit is 10 fish and snagging is not permitted. A fish hooked anywhere but the mouth has to be released.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife said the November, 2014 first run resulted in the harvest of hundreds of fish. Before that they had no idea whether the stocking program would be a success.

Fortunately, the plan worked and a run of salmon should continue.

The DOW suggest the best way to legally catch running Kokanee salmon at Barker Reservoir is to: “Build a rig with a 3-way swivel, dropper weight, and 4-6ft leader attached to a hook tipped with and an egg pattern, a corkie. This is a tried and true method long used by salmon anglers in the Pacific NW . If the hook is lodged anywhere besides the mouth, the fish has been snagged, and must be released.”

Kokanee spawn from early August through late December. Fish that have been stocked return to their release point.  Females build nests on gravel bars, with both sexes defending the nest.

Once the eggs are laid and fertilized they are buried beneath the gravel. Most kokanee die within a week after spawning. Fry emerge in April through June, then move downstream to mature in the reservoir. The largest kept Kokanee salmon caught by angling in Barker was 27.5 inches, six pounds 13 ounces.