Lurking in McPhee Reservoir are schools of kokanee salmon who have been tricked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in order to make it to your dinner table.
Raised as small fry in a fish hatchery on the Dolores River, they are released to the river and swim 6 miles to McPhee.
The non-native type of sock-eye salmon grow to adults and live for three to four years surviving mostly on a diet of plankton.
“They’re a great fish because they don’t prey on other fish, and don’t compete with other fish. They don’t concentrate mercury, so are safe to eat,” said CPW fish biologist Jim White.
And for the benefit of the public, they are trained to return to their origins during spawn, swimming up the river and into a raceway and holding pond at the Dolores fish hatchery.
“They imprint on the water at the hatchery, and come back to us,” White said.
Every fall, the trapped adult fish — which have gone through a bizarre metamorphosis that turns them bright red-orange and extends their lower, toothy jaw — are scooped up and distributed for free at Joe Rowell Park in Dolores.
“We came from Bayfield to check it out,” said Ali Craig. “It’s a good deal, and worth it to come over. A fish dinner would cost you $10 to $15 in a restaurant.”
Smoking them is the best, said Dolores resident Rich Patch.
“I’ve tried frying, grilling and baking them, but the smoker is the way to go for the best flavor,” he said.
Linda Schrimer makes croquettes out of them, a hit at her dinner parties.
“I add garlic, celery, and pickles and make patties, then freeze them,” she said. “For company, I take them out and fry them up for appetizers.”
This year, the fish are especially large, weighing in at over a pound each and a foot long.
CPW technician Pete Deren said that higher lake level added habitat and biomass in the reservoir, which benefited the salmon.
“The reservoir had been low, allowing vegetation to grow on the shores and exposed lake bottom, then it filled this year, and the drowned plants added nutrients to the system,” he said.
Kokanee have been introduced to many reservoirs in Colorado because they do so well. Parks and Wildlife hatcheries harvest the eggs and share them with other lakes and hatcheries.
Without the hatchery, only 2 percent would successfully spawn on the McPhee system, White said. Every year, 185,000 young kokanee are released into the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir.
River otters also love kokanee and have discovered the easy meal at the fish hatchery north of Dolores. This year, an electric fence was installed to repel them. Kokanee continue to spawn up the Dolores River. The snagging season on the river above McPhee runs from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31 with a bag limit of 10 fish per person. A valid fishing license is required.
