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Published: 2009

Total Pages: 54

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The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife implemented the Banks Lake Fishery Evaluation Project (BLFEP) in September 2001 with funds from the Bonneville Power Administration, and continued project tasks in 2008. The objective was to evaluate factors that could limit kokanee in Banks Lake, including water quality, prey availability, harvest, and acute predation during hatchery releases. Water quality parameters were collected twice monthly from March through November. Banks Lake water temperatures began to increase in May and stratification was apparent by July. By late August, the thermocline had dropped to 15 meters deep, with temperatures of 21-23 C in the epilimnion and 16-19 C in the hypolimnion. Dissolved oxygen levels were generally above 8 mg/L until August when they dropped near or below 5 mg/L deeper than 20-meters. Secchi depths ranged from 3.2 to 6.2 meters and varied spatially and temporally. Daphnia and copepod densities were the highest in May and June, reaching densities of 26 copepods/liter and 9 Daphnia/liter. Fish surveys were conducted in July and October 2008 using boat electrofishing, gill netting, and hydroacoustic surveys. Lake whitefish (71%) and yellow perch (16%) dominated the limnetic fish assemblage in the summer, while lake whitefish (46%) and walleye (22%) were the most abundant in gill net catch during the fall survey. Piscivore diets switched from crayfish prior to the release of rainbow trout to crayfish and rainbow trout following the release. The highest angling pressure occurred in May, when anglers were primarily targeting walleye and smallmouth bass. Boat anglers utilized Steamboat State Park more frequently than any other boat ramp on Banks Lake. Shore anglers used the rock jetty at Coulee City Park 45% of the time, with highest use occurring from November through April. Ice fishing occurred in January and February at the south end of the lake. An estimated total of 4,397 smallmouth bass, 11,106 walleye, 371 rainbow trout, and 509 yellow perch were harvested from Banks Lake in 2008. No kokanee were reported in the creel; however, local reports indicated that anglers were targeting and catching kokanee. The economic benefit of the Banks Lake fishery was estimated at $2,288,005 during 2008. Abundance estimates from the hydroacoustic survey in July were 514,435 lake whitefish and 10,662 kokanee, with an overall abundance estimate of 626,061 limnetic fish greater than 100 mm. When comparing spring fry, fall fingerling and yearling net pen release strategies of kokanee, 95% were of hatchery origin, with the highest recaptures coming from the fall fingerling release group.