Wahleach Project Water Use Plan Wahleach Reservoir ... - BC Hydro

Kokanee spawners
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Jones Creek
Flat Creek
Boulder Creek
yr2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Figure 17. Total enumerated kokanee spawners by location in Wahleach Reservoir,
2001-2006.
4.7 Gillnetting and Minnow Trapping
Fish species captured in Wahleach Reservoir include rainbow trout (O. mykiss),
kokanee (O. nerka) and cutthroat trout (O. clarki clarki). Threespine Sticklebacks
(Gasterosteus aculeatus) were captured in the minnow traps.
The gillnetting in 2004 and 2005 was conducted in June, while in 2006 sampling was
completed later in the year in October. This resulted in substantially different catch
results between 2004/2005 and 2006. In 2004, a total of 298 fish were caught for a
CPUE of 2.29 fish·net hr with cutthroat trout being the most numerous with 138
caught (46% of the total catch), followed by rainbow trout (40%) and kokanee (13%)
(Table 4). In 2005, the number of fish caught was 211 for a CPUE of 1.81 fish
fish·net hr, similar to the catch in 2004, but with rainbow trout being the most
numerous species with 109 caught (52% of total catch), followed by cutthroat trout
(26%) and kokanee (23%). Fish catch in 2006 was less than half the numbers
observed in 2004 and 2005, with a total of 69 fish caught for a CPUE of 0.68 fish·net
hr, approximately 33% of the catch rates of 2004 and 2005. The species distribution
of the catch in 2006 was similar to the proportions observed in 2004 with rainbow
trout accounting for 55% of the total catch, followed by cutthroat trout (28%) and
Wahleach Reservoir Fertilization Project, 2004-2006.
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