kokanee strawberry fish stocking information

[wiperhunter2]

Always good to go to the source when one has a question.  I asked Alan Ward how they planted the kokanee when Strawberry was frozen and this was his reply:

"Kent,

The bulk of our Kokanee get stocked into the streams at any time that they are stocked, so we cut a hole in the ice at the bridge on the Strawberry River by the Visitors Center, and ran the pipe straight through the hole into the water.  We have done this in the past as well, and the fish held for observation have done very well going in that time of year.  These fish also move out of the streams and into the reservoir very quickly.

The long version is that we are conducting some studies on kokanee survival when stocked at different times.  There is some evidence that stocking them early (under the ice) may be advantageous, and another study that indicated later stocks (early summer) may actually do better.  Therefore, we are stocking our kokanee this year at three different time periods (with three distinct marks on them) to see if there is a clear advantage to any specific stocking time.  Hope that helps.

Alan"

Thanks Kent for reaching out to Alan, to get the rest of the story. I had feeling that was likely what they did, cut a hole in the ice there at the river, nothing else makes much sense. I wonder if they used a chain saw or just an ice auger hole , not that it matters much.