Porcupine Reservoir, UT Kokanee Salmon Fishing

There are some lakes across the country that have no limit on kokanee salmon. You won’t find that in Utah, but Porcupine Reservoir has a kokanee limit 3 times greater than other locations in the state (limit of 12 kokanee at Porcupine). Porcupine Reservoir can provide some fast and fun kokanee salmon fishing. The latest report is that fishermen are going there and limiting out. In fact, the very last report we heard was that a person caught 20 or more in a day. The kokanee at Porcupine aren’t the biggest, but the fishing is a blast.

I have grown up fishing in Utah, and as I got older, really focused in on kokanee salmon. I’ve been studying kokanee for years now, and have fished for them all across the US, and plan to venture into Canada to chase kokes as well. I work with conservationists, biologists, guides, and regular guys to teach and learn about kokanee salmon. Not only have I fished Porcupine Reservoir, but I also was able to reach out to the state biologists that manage the reservoir to learn from them. Between all that knowledge and experience, I hope to lay out in this article everything you need to know about the kokanee salmon at Porcupine Reservoir.

Why is There a Higher Kokanee Salmon Limit at Porcupine Reservoir

The main reason there is a higher kokanee salmon limit at Porcupine is because there are LOTS of kokanee in the reservoir, and, according to state biologists, the reservoir doesn’t get as much use as it could from anglers. Additionally, the biologists that study this lake said that the kokanee generally run in about a 5 year cycle, where numbers of spawning kokanee go from about 2,000 to 9,000. When there is a smaller population of kokanee, the kokanee grow bigger. Once the population hits about 9,000 it becomes too crowded, and the numbers drop back to 2,000. The goal is to get out of that cycle, and allow more people to catch more kokanee.

There are 2 other main factors that can affect the kokanee population: beavers, and drought. There are a lot of beavers that put up dams in the East Fork of the Bear where the kokanee spawn. Some people have concerns that the beavers could be blocking the access to the spawning waters, which might slow down or stop some kokanee from spawning.

While this might be true, biologists find that kokanee that make it past a dam, the dams actually help the survival of the eggs and the fry. The waters are more calm, and the eggs and newly hatched salmon do better in that environment. If the salmon make it past the dams, the offspring survive. They used to dynamite the dams, but haven’t and are monitoring the effect. Biologists aren’t very concerned though. Because there are so many kokanee, its not a worry that it might adversely affect the kokanee.

Drought can also dampen kokanee populations. Less water, means there is less environment for zoo plankton. Less plankton, less salmon. It’s just a simple equation, and Utah seems to always be in a drought. Even with the drought, the kokanee population at Porcupine reservoir has been thriving.

About Porcupine Reservoir

Porcupine Reservoir is located in East Canyon, up north in Cache County, Utah. It has a water surface of 190 acres, and a maximum capacity of 12,500 acre-feet, with an elevation of 5,381 feet. The lake is popular for fishing, and camping, although there are no recreational facilities. It’s one of the smaller kokanee fisheries in the state, but still a fun location. Kokanee salmon were last stocked in Porcupine Reservoir in 2007.

Boat Ramps at Porcupine Reservoir

There are 3 primitive boat ramps at Porcupine. You can launch most boats there, but you might not want to launch some of the big pontoons or fancy salmon boats that some of the big boys run at Strawberry or Flaming Gorge. That said, I’ve had reports that people very easily launched a 19′ boat there. Having a primitive ramp means that in the extreme drought conditions, you won’t have a cement ledge. The water has to drop a long ways before you can’t get a boat in the water. When some of the other kokanee fisheries in the state become un-launchable, Porcupine is still usually doable. It is easier to launch in the spring when the water is high, but its still fishable the rest of the year.

Where is Porcupine Reservoir

How to Fish for Kokanee at Porcupine Reservoir

The most popular way to fish for kokanee at Porcupine Reservoir is trolling with a downrigger. You’ll want to troll at 1-1.8 mph with a kokanee rig, and I list the most popular gear below for that. You can also jig for kokanee but trolling is definitely the more popular option. You need to find the kokanee, get on them, and then work that school of kokanee until they move on. Then you find them again.

Most Common Depth for Finding Kokanee on Porcupine Reservoir

As it gets warmer, kokanee salmon go deeper. They can be hard to find, but depending on the water temperature, you can find Kokanee salmon from Surface to 50’ with an average being around 30’, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to consistently find them at 30’. Electronics are very important when fishing for kokanee, and Porcupine Reservoir is no exception.

About Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee salmon are sockeye salmon that are landlocked in fresh water. They primarily feed on Zoo plankton and are generally found in larger lakes that can maintain a cool temperature, or have enough depth to maintain a cool temperature. Kokanee are native to many lakes in the western United States and Canada including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho in the United States and British Columbia and Yukon in Canada. Populations of kokanee salmon are also found in Japan and Russia. 

Additionally, kokanee have been introduced to many other lakes in the United States including in those states mentioned above as well as in Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico in the west, as well as in New England, New York and North Carolina in the east. Kokanee have also been introduced to lakes in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada.

Most Popular Kokanee Salmon Rig for Fishing Porcupine Reservoir

I combed through several forums, fishing reports, and social media groups to figure out what most people were reporting having success with. I then test out what people say works the best. Your most common kokanee trolling setups will probably work, but a little refinement and knowledge from locals never hurts. The most popular colors are pink and orange, but lets dig deeper into the specifics.

Most Popular Lure or Hoochie at Porcupine Reservoir

Squid hoochies are the most popular type of lure used on Porcupine Reservoir, though wedding ring lures are pretty popular as well as well. Pink was by far the most popular lure color on the water, with green and orange as secondary choices. Any of the lures below will work well. I personally prefer the double hook kokanee lures, as kokanee strike out of aggression, and the two hooks provides twice the opportunity to hook into a kokanee. I had the best luck with pinks, and recently, had great look with this pink and silver baby from Boone.

Most Popular Dodger at Porcupine Reservoir

There were several popular kokanee dodger colors according to the forums. According to the forums and groups, a pink dodger is the way to go, which makes sense. If you’re running a pink lure, you probably want a pink dodger. People also liked pink combos. Pink and silver, pink and orange, etc. I had good luck with the Rocky Mountain Tackle pink and silver dodger. They also happen to be a Utah company, and its nice to be able to support local fishing companies while hitting the water.

Most Popular Bait for Kokanee At Porcupine Reservoir

The most popular bait to tip the hooks with at the end of your lure or hoochie is overwhelmingly shoe peg corn. Shoe peg corn is a more firm and resilient type of corn that can stay on the hook better and longer than regular sweet corn. The corn can also absorb scent and flavor, and it provides a kokanee something soft to bite into. If they aren’t hit on the first strike, they’re more likely to strike again. I’m a fan of fire corn, which is a dyed and scented corn.

Most Popular Scent at Porcupine Reservoir

Kokanee are extremely sensitive to scents, so many anglers use a scent spray or gel to help both cover the human scent, and attract the kokanee. Gulp maggots or scented shoepeg corn can help cover that scent, but others like adding a gel as well. According to our analysis of the forums, the most popular scent is Garlic. You can scent corn or baits with natural garlic, but that takes forethought. I like to have some of the scent from Pro-Cure in my tackle box in case I haven’t made up some fresh corn before I head out.

Video of Kokanee Fishing on Porcupine Reservoir

This video showcases a good snapshot of the sizes of kokanee on Porcupine Reservoir, as well as how hot the fishing can be on the reservoir.

Other Fish You Can Catch Trolling for Kokanee at Porcupine Reservoir

Brown Trout

There is a healthy brown trout population at Porcupine. In talking to state biologists, they said, “There are the kokanee, some rainbows, and some big brown trout.” In fact, I talked with them for about 30 minutes, and they didn’t ever just say brown trout. It was always big browns or big brown trout.

Rainbow Trout

There aren’t as many rainbows in Porcupine Reservoir as there are kokanee or cutthroat trout, but they’re there, and there’s a chance you’ll hook into one when fishing for kokanee. If you’re looking for table fare, I personally like the taste of kokanee vs rainbow trout, but they’re both a lot of fun to catch. Rainbows are expensive to raise. With the big browns, you need to stock a 12″ trout so they’ll survive, and porcupine isn’t as popular as a lot of other local lakes, so they don’t stock as many rainbows in Porcupine as there are in other lakes.

Utah Kokanee Fishing Regulations

• The state of Utah considers kokanee to be a part of the trout bag limit
• You Cannot have any kokanee salmon in your possession at any body of water from September 10 through November 30
• Bag Limit is a total of 4 kokanee salmon or trout, with additional kokanee bag limits at some specific bodies of water.

Fishing regulations can change at any time, so we recommend that you check on the latest Utah fishing regulations before you hit the lake.

Porcupine Reservoir Kokanee Specific Regulations

Porcupine has an expanded bag limit specifically for kokanee. You can catch a bonus 8 kokanee salmon, but still no more than 4 trout. That means you could catch 12 kokanee, or 4 trout and 8 kokanee, or some other combo like that.

Kokanee Salmon Run at Porcupine Reservoir