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.  Evaluating the survival and harvest contribution rates of three different release strategies, spring fry, fall fingerling and yearling net pen releases indicated that fall fry survived the best followed closely by net pen yearlings.  Spring fry survival was poor.  Therefore, we will work to discontinue spring fry stocking and will expand on the WDFW fall fry and net pen program. In addition, we will begin night and day, open water stocking of fall fry and compare survival to the adult life stage. 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.  

A summer hydroacoustic surveys (July) will be used to estimate age class abundance and distribution of limnetic fish species (target verification with limnetic gill netting survey). Fall Walleye Index Netting (FWIN), along with boat electrofishing, will be used to monitoring the walleye population in October. The FWIN survey will also allow us to monitor the fish assemblage as a whole. Adult kokanee will be collected during the FWIN survey to collect otoliths to determine stock specific survival. 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 and monitor harvest rates of kokanee and other game fish on the lake.

Lake whitefish removal efforts will begin as a pilot study during the first year and expand in out years if feasible. Lake whitefish are the primary competitors with kokanee for zooplankton prey.  Reducing lake whitefish biomass will reduce their predatory impact on zooplankton.  Gill nets and trawling will be tested to determine temporal and spatial catch rates and impacts on bi-catch.  Walleye are the top end predator on kokanee in Banks Lake. We will research biological models to help estimate the appropriate recreational harvest rates for walleye, while reducing the predatory impact on kokanee.  These two measures will help reduce stressors on the kokanee stocked into Banks Lake and increase survival and fitness with the ultimate goal of providing a popular kokanee fishery in the lake.

Two net pens will be moved from the north end of Banks Lake (Electric City) to a new site north of Steamboat Rock State Park.  This site will provide deep water habitat upon release and remove fish from the current location which poses a risk for entrainment through the reversible pumps into Lake Roosevelt.  Also, the pens are currently in an area of the lake that has a high density of predators (walleye and bass).