Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Evaluation Program; Meadow Creek vs. Lake Whatcom Stock Kokanee Salmon Investigations in Lake Roosevelt, 2001 Annual Report.

Lake Roosevelt has been stocked with Lake Whatcom stock kokanee since 1989 with the primary objective of creating a self-sustaining recreational fishery. Due to low return numbers, it was hypothesized a stock of kokanee, native to the upper Columbia River, might perform better than the coastal Lake Whatcom strain. Kokanee from Meadow Creek, a tributary of Kootenay Lake, British Columbia were selected as an alternative stock. Matched pair releases of Lake Whatcom and Meadow Creek kokanee were made from Sherman Creek Hatchery in late June 2000 and repeated in 2001. Stock performance between Lake Whatcom and Meadow Creek kokanee was evaluated using three performance measures; (1) the number of returns to Sherman Creek, the primary egg collection facility, (2) the number of returns to other tributaries and (3) the number of returns to the creel. Kokanee were collected during five passes through the reservoir via electrofishing, which included 87 tributary mouths during the fall of 2000 and 2001. Chi-square analysis indicated age two Meadow Creek kokanee returned to Sherman Creek in significantly higher numbers when compared to the Whatcom stock in 2000 ({chi}{sup 2} = 736.6; d.f. = 1; P < 0.01) and 2001 ({chi}{sup 2} = 156.2; d.f. = 1; P < 0.01). Reservoir wide recoveries of age two kokanee had similar results in 2000 ({chi}{sup 2} = 735.3; d.f. = 1; P < 0.01) and 2001 ({chi}{sup 2} = 150.1; d.f. = 1; P < 0.01). Six Lake Whatcom and seven Meadow Creek three year olds were collected in 2001. The sample size of three year olds was too small for statistical analysis. No kokanee were collected during creel surveys in 2000, and two (age three kokanee) were collected in 2001. Neither of the hatchery kokanee collected were coded wire tagged, therefore stock could not be distinguished. After two years of monitoring, neither Meadow Creek or Lake Whatcom kokanee appear to be capable of providing a run of three-year-old spawners to sustain stocking efforts. The small number of hatchery three-year-olds collected indicated that the current stocking methods will continue to produce a limited jacking run largely composed of precocious males and a small number of three-year-olds. However, supplemental creel data indicated anglers harvested two-year-old hatchery kokanee 30-45 days after release. Supplemental creel data should continue to be collected to accurately evaluate hatchery contributions to the creel