Big Spring Electro fishing video

bigslackwater

bigslackwater

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Jul 7, 2011
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Big Spring Electro

This is interesting to watch since I know the section well. I have a few thoughts on this but I'll let you watch and see what your reactions are!!!







Edited by afishinado: Embedded all 3 videos
 
Thanks for sharing. BTW, there are 3 videos and the last one shows the results. No audio unfortunately.
 
Hey, we know that guy. :)

Watching a survey of Big Spring, which I've done many times, is an amazing experience as the number of fish in that section is stunning.

Nevertheless, watching any PFBC electro-survey is always interesting and often reveals far more wild trout than we knew were in a particular stream. It can really be an eye opening experience and has convinced me that there can often be a lot more wild trout in a riffle or under a piece of cover than meets the eye.
 
Yesterday while fishing Muddy I nymphed a section of pocket water that looked real fishy and after 45 minutes of working every square inch of it I was stunned that I didn't get a bump. Then I saw a fish rise to a bouncing caddis and switched to a dry and in the next 1.25 hours I landed 10 trout and lost/missed another 15 or so. I was stunned by how many fish were in that section when just an hour earlier it was like the dead sea.
 
It looks like a lot more work is involved in shocking a stream than I had imagined. They were turning up some very impressive trout though!
 
I thought it was a new nymphing technique.
 
I've been told many times by folks at the PFBC that one of life's simple pleasures for them is being told by anglers that a section is devoid of fish days before a shocking with results like this.

That being said, what I got from these videos was:

1. Shocking is more effective than fly fishing.

2. If one was a truck chaser in their formative years, following the "shockers" to the "fin clipping/dumping" spot may satisfy your primal urges.
 
That is a fake video with stunt fish, I know for certain there are no fish there, I've visited that stretch a few times. Next thing you'll show us a video of people landing on the moon.
 
Next person that goes off about grip and grin photos should watch the last video.
 
McSneek wrote:
Next person that goes off about grip and grin photos should watch the last video.
Click to expand...

Amen.
 
McSneek wrote:
Next person that goes off about grip and grin photos should watch the last video.
Click to expand...

Was about to say the same thing. If half the guys on this forum saw another member using a non-rubberized net and then handling the fish the way they are handled in that video they would be climbing up on their soap boxes to preach.
 
Very interesting videos. Does anybody know if there is any trout mortality as a result of the survey? And I thought they were trying to get the rainbows out. Why did they put them back?

 
I have helped with some electro-fishing crew here in Shenandoah National Park. It is certainly an interesting and eye-opening experience.
 
While it is always best to avoid unnecessary harm to trout, this was necessary harm in the name of science. Trout are not as fragile as many make them out to be. I am sure there is incidental mortality from this survey process, but I think we can chalk it up to being worth it.
 
salmo wrote:
And I thought they were trying to get the rainbows out. Why did they put them back?
Click to expand...

The PFBC does not currently have a policy to remove rainbows from BS (they did in the 1970s, which is a different story, but these videos are recent).

There was discussion a couple years ago about allowing harvest by anglers, but this was rejected.

They put the fish back because the purpose of the survey was to study the fish population structure, not alter it.
 
I'd like to thank the moderator who updated my post with all three videos!

Since no one has brought it up, I'll say it... We all talk about being stealth and not spooking fish. Big Spring is one of those creeks where I consider the fish to be on the higher end of the spooky scale. These guys are like a bulls in a China shop!!! The electro shocker doesn't seem to have a crazy amount of range to it (maybe 10 feet?) I'm surprised the fish aren't darting upstream before they can get to them. It's amazing how many fish are holding right at their feet when they get zapped!!!
 
I think they are darting upstream of them....to cover....which they bury into. They probably stay there no matter what since that cover has never let them down before. That is, until the wand catches up haha.
 
Very interesting videos. Does anybody know if there is any trout mortality as a result of the survey? And I thought they were trying to get the rainbows out. Why did they put them back?



The answer is yes. There is certainly mortality and on this stream more than others. What some fail to recognize is how far the undercuts go. If your not getting all the stunned fish out under the cress or undercuts then I'm sure you know the answer. I see them day after surveys dead all the time.

I also noticed something I thought was weird but just may be coincidence. After the shocking of the RT they seem to get an orange tip to the dorsal fin. It was after a shocking I noticed but have not been back in a while to see if it was on any other fish.
 
IdratherbePhishing wrote:
I also noticed something I thought was weird but just may be coincidence. After the shocking of the RT they seem to get an orange tip to the dorsal fin. It was after a shocking I noticed but have not been back in a while to see if it was on any other fish.
Click to expand...

It's a coincidence. The orange dorsal edges (and the orange bellies) are a natural feature that is fairly common on smaller RTs in this stream.
 
That guy releases fish just the way I do.
 
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