What's going on with the Payette Lake fishery

North Fork Payette River weir

Since 2022, Fish and Game has operated a fish weir on the North Fork Payette River spawning grounds.

Approximately half of the returning fish are passed upstream to spawn naturally, while eggs are collected from the remaining fish and reared in hatcheries before being stocked back into the lake.

Fish have been reared at both Mackay and Cabinet Gorge hatcheries, allowing biologists to compare performance between facilities. So far, it does appear that some rearing strategies may perform better than others.

Natural reproduction

Natural reproduction remains the foundation of the Payette Lake kokanee fishery.

During the population collapse between 2007 and 2014, natural reproduction was what kept the population from disappearing entirely.

Recent evaluations indicate that in lower-abundance years, naturally produced fish make up a substantial portion of the population - further highlighting some variability in survival of stocked fish. That finding highlights the importance of maintaining healthy spawning habitat while continuing to refine stocking strategies.

Captive broodstock

Captive broodstock represents the newest tool available to managers.

A portion of the fish collected at the North Fork Payette weir each year are retained at Grace Fish Hatchery and raised to maturity. The first generation of those fish spawned last fall, and their offspring will be stocked into waters across Idaho this year.

Approximately 1 million fingerlings will be stocked statewide, including 250,000 destined for Payette Lake.

For more information on the Captive Broodstock program, read this article .

Looking ahead

Fisheries management is rarely about finding a single solution. It's about continually learning, adapting, and making decisions with the best information available.

While kokanee fishing is undoubtedly slower this year, the long-term picture is much different than it was just a decade ago. Spawner abundance has rebounded dramatically from the population collapse of the early 2000s, lake trout body condition has recovered, and anglers are catching some of the largest kokanee and trophy lake trout the lake has produced in decades.

We'll continue monitoring the kokanee population, evaluating the performance of different stocking strategies, and refining the management program as we learn more. We may experience one or two slower years of kokanee fishing now and again, but that does not mean recovery has failed.

Our goal hasn't changed: provide a healthy, sustainable kokanee population while maintaining one of the finest trophy lake trout fisheries in the West.

Good fisheries don't happen by accident. They require long-term commitment, constant adaptation, and patience. We're committed to doing that work so you can enjoy incredible fishing opportunities on Payette Lake.