Ririe Report

[maghunter]

Male Kokanee get a hooked jaw when they spawn. A kokanee is actually a land locked sockeye salmon. They are a strange fish, they actually don't hit a lure or jig to eat it, they are territorial and don't like stuff getting into thier way. I have witnessed some large male Sockeyes on their spawning bed tear a rainbow trout into pieces that a fishermen was reeling in. They are plankton eaters (mostly water fleas) and just swim around swallowing water and filter out stuff to eat. Because they don't eat anything that can fight back they have virtually no bone structure to their jaws, you have to be careful not to rip the hook right through them. But when they get ready to spawn their jaws harden up and get hooked, they grow some really nasty teeth. They are arguable the best eating fish. The meat is dark red and flaky. As for the size you won't find any wall mounters in Ririe, I've never bothered to measure them but they are probably around 13" or so. I should mention that when they turn red they are not good to eat. The meat turns white and mushy. So if you see them spawning just catch and release.[]
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