Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Nantahala Lake salmon

Two state records for the kokanee salmon were broken within a day of each other.

Mark Swann of Black Mountain reeled in his 2.48-pound record-breaker on Aug. 3 from Nantahala Lake. The next day, Levi Towery of Forest City, caught a salmon from Nantahala that topped Swann's by two-tenths of a pound, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said in a news release.

Towery, 9, caught his 2.68-pounder, which measured 18.4 inches in length, using a Browning rod, with a 6500C Ambassador reel and a Doctor Spoon lure.

Nantahala Lake is the only spot in North Carolina where kokanee salmon are found. The fish, which is native to the western United States, was stocked in the lake in the mid-1960s by the commission as a forage fish for predator fishes. The stock has become a target for anglers.

The salmon do not grow very large, generally less than 20 inches in length. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and on small aquatic organisms.

For a list of all freshwater fish state records in North Carolina, visit the commission's Web site at www.ncwildlife.org.

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