
Spawning Kokanee at Crane Prairie Reservoir

Life Cycle of Kokanee Salmon
The spawning fish are remarkable in themselves, but an understanding of their 4-5 year life cycle can add to one’s appreciation. Interestingly, the adults all return to spawn in the same stream in which they were hatched 4-5 years earlier. But it’s not the same fish returning each year, since the adults die after spawning. The kokanee that show up in Crane Prairie’s tributaries in a given year are also not all of the lake’s adult fish, but just the one-quarter to one-fifth of the population whose 4-5 year life cycle compels them to spawn that year.
In the spawning tributaries, the fish require gravel substrates, where the female can scoop out a shallow nest (called a redd) by digging with her tail. She will lay from 200 to 2,000 eggs, which are then fertilized by a male kokanee, after which they both die. The fertilized eggs develop in the gravels during the winter months, hatching into tiny alevins in February. These alevins don’t need to eat, as a yolk sack provides all their nutrients until they mature into fry and emerge from the gravels. As the fry emerge, they’re immediately swept downstream into the lake, where they subsist on plankton near the lakeshore. As they develop into parrs and smolts, these fish migrate into the colder and deeper waters of the lake, where they mature into adult silvers.
Upper Deschutes Spawning Site
The
Cultus River Spawning Site
The most accessible spot to view spawning kokanee on the Cultus River — and a good place to look for bald eagles preying on the fish — is at the old Cultus River crossing, just off the Cascade Lakes Highway (see map download). Because it’s primarily a spring-fed river,
Quinn River Spawning Site
Arguably the most beautiful and intimate setting to see spawning kokanee at Crane Prairie is at Quinn River, on the west side of the reservoir (see map download). From a gravel parking area at the south end of the Quinn River Campground, one can follow the signed Osprey Point Trail for 30 yards south to the river’s headwater springs.
Download (PDF, 607 KB): Photos of Kokanee Spawning Sites
Download (PDF, 565 KB): Map of Kokanee Spawning Sites
DISCLAIMER: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, but the authors do not guarantee that it is either current or correct. The reader assumes full responsibility for any use of this information, and is encouraged to exercise all due caution while recreating.