M
Mike
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- Joined
- Nov 10, 2006
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Three 2-man crews and one 3-man crew in combination pulled approx. 2.7 tons of fish from trap nets and loaded them onto hatchery trucks on Thur and Fri. Biomass was measured by displacement on the trucks (tanks are calibrated). Filled 2 standard size hatchery trucks each day. Those loads were primarily comprised of black crappies, although there were a number of gizzard shad, bluegill, and white suckers. Beyond that there were a few largemouth bass, some large channel cats, and some carp, green sunfish, pumpkinseeds, white crappie, golden shiners, brown bullheads, yellow bullheads, and white catfish. Prior to that, 2.5 days of electrofishing yielded a little over 500 largemouth bass, about 50% of which were 15 inches and longer, with the largest being 20". These were plump, healthy bass!!! (see sample on PFBC web page...regional fishing reports, SE region, Lancaster Co). Including the bass, about 3 tons of fish were moved. The electrofished bass were placed downstream in Hammer Creek and in Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. The truck loads of trap netted fish went to the Susquehanna in various locations.....Falmouth, Highspire, Lake Clark (Long Level), and the Wyoming Valley. Netting will resume this coming week with nets being pulled on Tuesday and Wednesday. Work later in the week depends on water levels or fish abundance. As an indication of fish abundance, net catches did not decline from one day to the next, but largemouth bass catches via electrofishing declined by the third effort.
PS Once again the inefficiency of a fishing rod, as I often mention regarding trout angling, was demonstrated with respect to bass fishing this time. Anglers had a nick-name for Speedwell...."Deadwell lake." In large part it was because many (most) caught very little and many (most) bass anglers were frustrated by the lake's bass, assuming the population was small. As with trout electrofishing in streams that anglers often complain about or say are overharvested, the bass electrofishing revealed an exceptionally robust population of legal size fish (15 inches and over) for an approx 100 acre lake. Frankly, I could not have asked for more. Clearly, it was another case of anglers needing to refine their techniques rather than blaming low or no catches on a lack of fish.
As for the carp, few have been captured yet despite their abundance in the lake. They are certainly getting concentrated as the lake comes down, so carp action may still be a possibility. Some seemed to be congregating at the point where the stream's flow meets the lake's margin, which keeps changing as the lake loses water at a rate of 1 ft. per day without rain (or snow melt).
PS Once again the inefficiency of a fishing rod, as I often mention regarding trout angling, was demonstrated with respect to bass fishing this time. Anglers had a nick-name for Speedwell...."Deadwell lake." In large part it was because many (most) caught very little and many (most) bass anglers were frustrated by the lake's bass, assuming the population was small. As with trout electrofishing in streams that anglers often complain about or say are overharvested, the bass electrofishing revealed an exceptionally robust population of legal size fish (15 inches and over) for an approx 100 acre lake. Frankly, I could not have asked for more. Clearly, it was another case of anglers needing to refine their techniques rather than blaming low or no catches on a lack of fish.
As for the carp, few have been captured yet despite their abundance in the lake. They are certainly getting concentrated as the lake comes down, so carp action may still be a possibility. Some seemed to be congregating at the point where the stream's flow meets the lake's margin, which keeps changing as the lake loses water at a rate of 1 ft. per day without rain (or snow melt).
