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Whatcom Lake Report
Whatcom County, WA

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08/30/2008
Trolling
Rainbow Trout
Attractor
Other
Flasher
Noon
08/30/2008
3
2099

I heard that this lake was full of Kokes and just had to give it a shot since we were in the area. The launch at the North end of the lake is 4 lanes and free! Headed out to the deeper part of the lake and started trolling a wedding bad style spinner rig behind some flashlights and had hook-ups at 30" down. These were some small fish, about 7" to 8", and were quickly released. We kept trolling South and went progressively deeper and using larger lures. Silver seemed to be the color of the day and we continued to catch small Kokes and also noted that some of the larger fish had sea lice. In all we brought 10 to the boat and kept the largest 2, which were about 10" long. I'll have to investigate the sea lice issue as this implies that the lake may contain an actual run of adult Sockeye.


Comments

JT26
8/30/2008 10:31:00 PM
Good job out there.
Did you get a pic of the sea lice?
Smalma
8/31/2008 6:00:00 AM
No sockeye - Anadromous fish have not had access to Whatcom for 1,000s of years. There are significant falls on the outlet.

Suspect that the "sea lice: reported were parastic copepods; you can see one in the close-up at the corner of its jaw. This is a common parasite in freshwater areas. Typically it is found at the base of fins, in the gills and throat/mouth. At infestatins usually seen generally not a problem for the fish.

BTW - Lake Whatcom has a hatchery that has been the source of kokanee planted throughout the state and much of the rest of the country.

Tight lines
Curt
Mike Carey
8/31/2008 9:23:00 AM
Hey Smalma, do you have any knowledge of possible lakers in Whatcom?
Smalma
8/31/2008 3:25:00 PM
Mike -
It is my understanding the lakers were planted in Whatcom (as well as a number of other lakes) in 1895. They were caught in Whatom for a number of years. The last documented catch I could find was more than 60 years (ago around WWII). There was a report of a laker caught in the mid-1970s but when I ran it down it turned out to be a nice cutthroat (aobut 9#).

Thatr is about all I know.

Tight lines
Curt
G-Man
8/31/2008 3:58:00 PM
With some in site from Smalma I was able to identify the parasite as a fresh water gill louse. see the link http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/diseases/copepod/
Looks a bit like sea lice but there are enough differences to make a positive ID. Not surprisingly they seem to take a shine to Kokanee and have made themselves a real nuisance in reservoirs located in the Rockies.
Mike Carey
8/31/2008 7:35:00 PM
Thanks smalma, one of those urban myths - it's nice to know the history.
SWJ
8/31/2008 10:19:00 PM
What is a flashlight?
G-Man
9/1/2008 1:43:00 PM
SWJ,

I think I got the spelling wrong, it is a gang troll made by Mack's Lure check out the link: http://www.mackslure.com/Results.asp?category=8
A bit less drag, spins at lower speeds and won't twist your line as the blades are set to counter rotate.
SWJ
9/1/2008 7:04:00 PM
Thanks G-Man for taking the time to answer my question and give me a link to check out. That's nice of you. Take care now.
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Phone: (509) 687-0709