Rainbow and Brook Trout
Rainbow and Brook Trout
Background
Rainbow Trout
Resident rainbow trout are thought to be native to the Coquille River basin in a few isolated locations despite releases of hatchery rainbow trout. In the past. legal-sized hatchery reared rainbow trout have been released in all forks of the Coquille River system, Powers Pond, and Squaw Lake to provide recreational fisheries. These releases of legal-sized rainbow trout generated short-term fisheries in the spring. The practice of stocking rainbow trout in the Coquille River other than in isolated ponds was ended in the mid 1970s due to the potential negative impacts on wild cutthroat trout and winter steelhead. Cutthoat trout releases were ended in 1986. At the present time legal-sized hatchery rainbow trout are released only in Powers Pond and Squaw Lake providing recreational fisheries.
There are a few isolated population of rainbow trout located in various areas in rivers on the South Coast to the south of the Coquille River. We have not done extensive enough sampling in the Coquille River system to draw conclusion about isolated populations. Further information on these upstream populations is needed. A reproducing population of rainbow trout has been reported in Camas Valley in the upper reaches of the Middle Fork of the Coquille River above the falls, although they may be the result of past hatchery releases (there have also been reports of German brown trout in this same area). If any reproducing native rainbow trout populations are found elsewhere in the future, they will be given special protection under the Wild Fish Management Policy.
Brook Trout
Resident brook trout are not native to the Coquille River system. Historic information on the introduction of brook trout into the Coquille River system is not available. Hatchery reared brook trout are not presently being released in the Coquille Watershed.