1.53 million landlocked salmon released to promote recreational fishing – VVNG.com

CALIFORNIA – As part of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Hatchery Program’s mission to support fish conservation, angling opportunities and the California economy, CDFW released 1.53 million Chinook and Kokanee salmon fingerlings into reservoirs in 17 counties this spring.

More than 992,000 Chinook salmon were released into 13 reservoirs in Northern and Central California, from Trinity Lake in Trinity County to Pine Flat Reservoir in Fresno County.

An additional 538,000 kokanee salmon were released into 13 reservoirs, including Shasta Reservoir in the north and Shaver Lake in Fresno County in the south.

These stocked landlocked salmon species serve the popular sport fishery and occupy a unique ecological niche: they thrive in the deep, cold waters of these reservoirs. They differ from anadromous salmon in that they do not migrate to the sea but reproduce in the reservoirs in which they are released.

Fish are stocked at 2 to 3 inches in size and are intended to serve as a “lay and grow” fishery that will support the recreational fisherman for years to come. By stocking fish when they are younger and smaller, they can feed on natural prey and grow in an open environment. Successful lay and grow fisheries, such as landlocked salmon, allow fish hatcheries to greatly increase the total number of fish that can be bred and stocked in a given year, as well as the number of waters that can be stocked. These landlocked salmon are too small to hook with most fishing gear, but reach a catchable size in two to three years.

“These fish provide an excellent opportunity for recreational sport, with Chinook salmon recently caught in lakes like Berryessa and Folsom weighing nearly 10 pounds,” said Jason Julienne, a senior environmental scientist who oversees CDFW's salmon hatchery operations in the Sacramento Valley.

The state record for inland king salmon was caught in Trinity Lake in 2013 and weighed 20 pounds, 15 ounces. The state record for kokanee salmon was caught in Lake Tahoe in 2013 and weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces.

All Chinook salmon released inland are “triploid,” or sterile, and unable to reproduce, to protect naturally reproducing salmon populations below reservoirs. Chinook salmon inland are raised from Chinook eggs collected during the spawning process at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville.

Kokanee salmon are the land-based version of the sockeye salmon native to the Pacific Northwest. The kokanee salmon stocked by CDFW are the offspring of kokanee salmon eggs collected and fertilized by fish migrating from Stampede Reservoir in Nevada County to the Little Truckee River to spawn. These fish are stocked as “diploids,” meaning they can reproduce naturally. Several reservoirs, such as New Bullards Bar Reservoir in Yuba County and Whiskeytown in Shasta County, support natural reproduction of kokanee salmon. Other waters, such as Bucks Lake in Plumas County and Trinity Lake in Trinity County, no longer host kokanee salmon farms because their self-sustaining populations are sufficient to support the fishery without additional stocking efforts.

Because kokanee salmon typically require cold, meltwater-fed tributaries for successful spawning, there is little risk that kokanee salmon will successfully reproduce outside of these large reservoirs and form schools in anadromous waters inhabited by native salmon and steelhead trout.

Anglers are reminded to check the 2024-2025 California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations to find out the daily bag and possession limits for landlocked salmon in the waters they plan to fish. Most waters have a daily bag limit of five fish and a possession limit of 10 fish. However, certain waters, including Bucks Lake in Plumas County, New Bullards Bar Reservoir in Yuba County, Pardee Lake in Amador County, and Trinity Lake in Trinity County, have a daily bag limit of 10 landlocked salmon and a possession limit of 20. The bag and possession limits for landlocked salmon are separate from the possession limits for trout.

Waters where Chinook salmon were caught inland in spring 2024

• Shasta Reservoir (Shasta County)
• Trinity Lake (Trinity County)
• Lake Oroville (Butte County)
• Folsom Lake (Sacramento/Placer/El Dorado counties)
• Lake Almanor (Plumas County)
• Spaulding Reservoir (Nevada County)
• Lake Berryessa (Napa County)
• Don Pedro Reservoir (Tuolumne County)
• McClure Reservoir (Mariposa County)
• Pine Flat Reservoir (Fresno County)

Waters where landlocked salmon were caught in spring 2024

• Shasta Reservoir (Shasta County)
• Whiskeytown Lake (Shasta County)
• Boca Reservoir (Nevada County)
• New Bullards Bar Reservoir (Yuba County)
• Hellhole Reservoir (Placer County)
• Little Grass Valley Reservoir (Plumas County)
• Pardee Reservoir (Amador County)
• Stampede Reservoir (Sierra County)
• Union Valley Reservoir (El Dorado District)
• Lake Berryessa (Napa County)
• Bass Lake (Madera County)
• Don Pedro Reservoir (Tuolumne County)
• McClure Reservoir (Mariposa County)
• New Melones Reservoir (Calaveras/Tuolumne counties)
• Shaver Lake (Fresno County)

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