So I really enjoy fly-fishing and am an amateur on my best days.
Work has taken me to the Beaver River corridor in NYS.
I did my best for some Brookies or Browns but all I kept getting was these guys!.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20727/20150902_174628.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20727/20150902_175537.jpg)
No complaints, it was a nice way to spend the late afternoon early evening.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20727/20150902_173818.jpg)
they were hitting at the base of the falls. and even upstream.
I suspect the water is too warm in August and most of the Trout have migrated to deep pools further down river.
Dan
I wish I could have joined you. River fishing is shut down here due to the drought.
we are pretty dry here but not like you folks,
D
Just curious, but what part of a drought causes the fishing to be shut down?
Looks like some very pretty country.
Quote from: beenthere on September 02, 2015, 09:01:47 PM
Just curious, but what part of a drought causes the fishing to be shut down?
The water is low and warm so the fish being cold blooded are very stressed. They are having a tough enough time surviving long enough to reach the spawning grounds without the added pressure. Many are being stranded in pools where they are very vulnerable.
Drought? What drought? Dad said when he was a kid the water got so low they had half grown bluegills that did not know how to swim. Said if you caught a catfish it would be covered in ticks and fleas.
Looks like a lot of fun. I took the 3 granddaughters (3,7&9) Saturday morning perch jerking and they caught 50-60 little sunfish and bluegills on 10' cane (actually fiberglass) poles. We had fish flying everywhere. I stayed busy baiting hooks and removing fish. Got done we staked them out on a submerged log in a holey 5 gallon bucket I use for that purpose. I will use them for catfish bait starting Tuesday after the Labor Day crowd clears the area.
They closed the rivers here to trout, salmon, steelhead and sturgeon because of water temp, that includes the Columbia. Lots of oversized sturgeon floating belly up around here.
Sooo... better to just let them die rather than catch them for eating?
Sounds like the management plan for our forests... let the trees be killed by bugs and burned by fire rather than have some harvest plans in place (i.e. which have not been in place for the last 50 years).
I don't understand that mgt. plan, but do realize it is the "reality" of the day.
When they are in that condition they are not fit to eat. With any luck more will survive and reproduce.
Its not a question of letting them die, its not allowing fishing for them because they can't handle the stress of being fought then released in warm water. Fishing is still allowed for trash fish and walleye and bass.
Brook trout are more sensitive to water changes than rainbows. They like to be in cold water to. If you go to a shallow lake in these parts in a hot dry summer the brook trout congregate at cold springs feeding into the lake. So cold it's like ice cubes, quite literally. I've seen brook trout at these springs even if their back fin was bare to the air. Warm water is low in oxygen. See how you feel in an environment with low oxygen. I bet you would not feel like fighting, except trying to get more oxygen. ;D