Yesterdays efforts went pretty well. We used both backpack and barge electrofishing equipment to remove two tanks of fish from the canal. We recovered mostly large carp, but also got bass, suckers, catfish, sunfish, and one large (~25”) female walleye. The guys worked hard as we removed probably 500 + lbs of carp!
We are planning to work the canal below Dam 5 tomorrow. Volunteers can meet us at the Dam 5 parking lot at 9:00 am. This area of the canal has really receded so we will be using backpack units. I think 5 or 6 guys would work for tomorrow.
Ive been getting out alot lately and the river has been fishing tough. Solid quality fish..but the numbers are WAY down. Very concerning as Im not seeing the quantity of bites and chunky 2.5-3.5lbrs I normally see. I have however already seen 2 sweet CHUNKY C classes. One went deep into the 5's and the other fish went just under 5 ( boga showed it at 5 but Ill call it 4.75 to be safe)
One fish came off a burned jerkbait and the other off a tube in HEAVY flood waters.
My jets in the shop so Ive been bumming rides off a buddies jet and rowing my raft when water levels allow it.
Ill get the pics up as soon as Muskalungee hooks me up.
A little late on this report, but had a great trip last week on the big river with CannonExpress. The weatherman was calling for 50 degree temps with 20MPH sustained winds....and he was right for once. We launched at around 11AM and made the quick trip to the first spot. It looked like it was going to be calm(er), but it wasn't....the wind was ripping all day. My first cast of the year (for smallies) produced a hit....I almost didn't know what to do b/c I wasn't expecting it. I really wasn't ready at all, and poor Chris though I had a monster b/c my drag was so loose. :D It ended up being a chunk 14", I'm not complaining.
We fished for another 4 or 5 hours, and hit the usual pre-spawn spots. The wind made everything more difficult, but we ended up with 8 or so in the boat. The biggest of the day being Chris's 20.25" beast (which I almost knocked off with the net).
The pattern was simple. If you noticed the wind was dying down..CAST...count to 3...and set the hook! While the wind made for difficult fishing, the lack of fish certainly enabled us have some awesome conversations and fellowship. That was a trip I will probably remember for the rest of my life. Thanks for letting me tag along Chris, it was a blast.
-Mike
It is getting close.... Another couple weeks and we may be able to get serious!!!!
REB9
Made it out for a few hours this afternoon with my buddy Joss. I canceled the trip last night b/c the weatherman said it was going to snow all night and I didn't want to get stuck at a slick ramp. I was a little disappointed when I woke up and saw we didn't get a drop of rain or snow. So, I called up Joss and off we went.
Of course as we approached the ramp it started to sleet. And it didn't let up pretty much the entire time. But we were there, and we were going to fish. We made the long trip up river, and fished for about an hour and a half before it it started to get dark. The river was HIGH and muddy, with debris all over the place. Tough conditions for sure, but I wouldn't trade it b/c it was just nice to get out. We didn't get a bite (except for some nice keeper logs), but that's OK. Good Times.
Muskalungeeee!
Noticed that this map also labels the old rubble dam at seneca breaks as "dam 2". I had read that it was built by Native Americans before European settlers arrived. I figured dam no 2 was the washington aqueduct dam-great falls dam, and dam 1 must be little falls dam. (?)
Many interesting features are marked, like old mills, canals, roadbeds, and some named holes, boatramps, wading areas (most not near roads or parking??), rapids, riffles, dams, historic sites, and roadways.
Well, if you haven't noticed I haven't been around much the past month or so. Work has been crazy, and I've been averaging around 70 hours a week...and that doesn't leave much "spare" time. I haven't seen my family much, let alone even though about going fishing. But that was going to change this weekend.
Mrs. Muskalungee told me I could fish in the AM, so I planned on getting up and taking the boat out before sunrise....but not getting home until after midnight on Friday kind of put a dent into those plans and I slept right through my alarm.
I ended up getting to the river around 1130 or so, and met up with TheDuder and Doug as they were packing in it for the AM. They had a fairly productive AM, and gave me the pattern and off I went to see what I could do. First of all, it just felt great to get out. But it was also great to get out all by myself. I don't fish much by myself b/c I enjoy the fellowship part of fishing...but there really is something to be said for just being out there by yourself every once in a while.
All in all I ended up with 25 fish or so, with the biggest going 18" (and she was a fighter!). Most of the fish came on Jerks but some came topwater, jack's worms and a few on the grub (including my one walleye of the day, 18"). Oh yeah, I got a chance to see Dan's (Spotthogg's) new Synder rig....WOW. That is all I can say about that one. I have some more to right on my trip, but no time to do it today....so stay tuned.
-Mike
While fishing with OGbudha on Monday AM, we saw a sick fish bobbing up and floating down past his boat. Budha maneuvered the boat so I could get close enough to net it and we captured this video:
I sent the video to Jeff Kelbe (Shenandoah Riverkeeper) to take a look at, and he sent it on to the appropriate folks. He believes that it is probably Columnaris Bacteria, and in a converstation Budha had with some folks that fish the UP this is something that is seen when the water temp starts to rise. This was confirmed by a quick google search which returned this article from 2005: (http://www.fish.state.pa.us/newsreleases/2005/smb_skin.htm)
"The specific stress factors associated with the current smallmouth bass infections are hard to pinpoint, but most likely include high water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels. Columnaris mortalities are known to occur when water temperatures exceed 65 degrees"
Please keep an eye out, if you begin to observe sick or dieing fish, please contact the Shenandoah riverkeeper (Jeff Kelbe):
http://potomacriverkeeper.org/shenandoah/?cat=9
Muskalungeeeeeee!
-Mike
Worked with Lyall8 today on the river. We got well over a dozen in the boat today. Sizes ranged from 12-20.5 inches. Got a decent largemouth to take a tube 16" and fat. BUT the BIG NEWS was a 20.5 " smallie that was just as fat as could be...it went 5pounds on the boga scale!! It was great to finally break over the 20" barrier. I have 12 fish this year over 18 but none over 20 until today.It was a great day. Pics will be posted by Muskalungee tommorow.
-TL
