Two new NC state records; A longnose gar and…a kokanee salmon?
Kokanee salmon are native to the western United States. Those found in Nantahala Lake are a remnant population from a stocking done in the mid-1960s by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission in an attempt to establish the species as a forage fish for other predator fishes in the lake. In lakes, kokanee salmon do not grow very large, generally less than 20 inches in length. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small aquatic organisms, such as freshwater shrimp. Unlike other anadromous species, the Nantahala salmon are unable to migrate to the ocean. Adult fish make a spawning migration up the Nantahala River each fall.
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