Though the golden aspen leaves may have fallen weeks ago, colors in the mountains aren’t done changing just yet. Transformed from silver to red with morphing males sporting hooked jaws and olive-colored heads, kokanee salmon in Barker Reservoir, Nederland, Colorado, have returned to the area where they were originally released by the upper spillway.

Related to ocean-going sockeye salmon, kokanee are essentially landlocked sockeyes. They reach maturity between two and five years of age and at high elevation typically grow to be from 12 to 15 inches long. Sockeyes and kokanees are used to make lox and are considered by some to be the best-tasting salmon.

Kokanee salmon have been stocked every year at Barker since 2012. In 2020 alone, the Glenwood Springs State Fish Hatchery released 40,000 2-inch fingerlings there. The state record for kokanee salmon came from Spinney Mountain Reservoir, weighing in at six pounds, 13 ounces.

Locals Mark Kuban and his son Max were back to try their luck for the second year in a row. Angling within a narrow two-week window beginning around Halloween when the fish congregate, other fishermen were sporadically landing salmon with lures. The kokanees weren’t trying to eat the offerings but rather were attacking them – salmon are highly territorial and aggressive during spawning season, often fighting other males for the breeding rights to females.

Snagging is legal from October 1 through December 1 and is the most reliable method of ensuring a full creel.

Ace Hardware in Nederland sells fishing licenses and can provide the gear needed and even offer a few pointers.

The generous limit for kokanees is 10 fish per day.

Armed with miniature snagging hooks, Mark and Max pulled in fish averaging 10 to 12 inches.

Male kokanees outnumbered females by a 3-to-1 ratio. Smallish in size but big on flavor, in no time at all their stringer was chock-full of fresh kokanee salmon destined for the dinner table.