The overall objective is to restore the kokanee fishery in Banks Lake. In 2002 we implemented an evaluation study to determine the success of hatchery releases of kokanee into Banks Lake.  We are currently evaluating the survival and harvest contribution rates of three different release strategies, spring fry, fall fingerling and yearling net pen releases.  Initial results based on age-2 and age-3 kokanee from four different brood years indicates that fall fingerlings perform best, followed by net pen reared yearlings. Therefore, we discontinued spring fry stocking and will expand on the WDFW fall fry and net pen program. However, to legitimately evaluate these strategies we need to continue to sample the kokanee population over the next several years to quantify how many age 2 to 4 yr-old fish are produced by each release option.  

Walleye predation has been identified as the primary limiting factor to kokanee. Summer hydroacoustic surveys will be used to estimate age class abundance, distribution, and predict fall escapement. Water quality and zooplankton monitoring will continue to identify if sub-optimal conditions occur for kokanee during survival-based studies. An annual creel survey will be conducted to evaluate harvest rates of kokanee and other game fish on the lake.