Tacoma Power plants up to 500,000 kokanee in Alder Lake each spring to provide you with fishing opportunities.

Kokanee are landlocked sockeye salmon that live in Alder Lake for two to three years before spawning in the area's streams.

We began stocking kokanee in Alder Lake in 1999, although releases of kokanee historically took place at Alder Lake in the 1950s. As a result of Tacoma Power’s plantings, Alder Lake provides excellent kokanee fishing.

We are currently studying the fishery to learn how to make it more successful.

Tacoma Power's fisheries staff collects information from Alder Lake anglers and performs spawning surveys of Alder Lake tributaries. The information collected helps biologists make decisions for the future of the kokanee fishery.

Learn more

Headed to Alder Lake to fish? Download our kokanee fishing brochure.