Floods and fish

[Rbull]

We are getting a lot of flooding here. It got me to thinking, What do the fish do to handle this? Do they wash downstream? How soon do the fish bounce back mentally and physicly from this.

 

[Maurice]

My theory is they move with the current until then find something to relieve the flow like an obstruction, the bottom or un undercut and they hold there. Some do better than other with this.

It definitely mixes it up a bit but I believe the theory of them getting washed downstream like sticks and rocks is bunk.

I believe stockies do poorly compared to resident fish that have lived in a river system a while.

As far as when they bounce back, well, fishing as the water comes down and is still dirty can be fantastic. So they don't all get washed away.

Of course larger systems provide more options as opposed to smaller streams and brooks that can experience scour that wipes most fish out...those that suirvive downstream will move back in to find good feeding lies.

BKIMIHNIWITA

Maurice

 

[dkile]

I am sure there are others with more knowledge, but I don't think big storms and heavy water effect the fish hardly at all. They will mostly settle in close to the bottom and stay out of the heavy flow. It may spread a few out, but not in the way you might think or even hope.

I have fished over streams and caught plenty of fish and then have a huge storm with fast rising water keep you off the stream for a while. I would then come back some time later to see the same numbers of fish in the area.

You will probably find the same fish in the same pockets as you did last week.

 

[JackM]

I agree with Maurice and Dave are saying, but I do think that immediately after stocking, or rather after a few days of hunkering down, a high water event can disrupt the fish and send them downstream in search of better holding areas. If they've been in the stream long enough to find those places of refuge before the high water event, they are not likely to move. It may be a question of how soon after stocking the high water occurs. Just a thought.

 

[Bamboozle]

I have seen results similar to BOTH opinions and observations with stockers providing most of the data.

It really depends on the stream. In my experience; streams with a high gradient that offer less large refuge areas and really get blown out during a flood SEEM to send the fish downstream more than places with larger deeper holes or more level terrain.

One place I fish an hour from home gets REALLY high and fast during a flood. The major honey holes where most of the stockers get placed become VERY spare of fish after an event like this. I was there last week and did great in one hole. I'll be interested to see how I do if I get back there before the scheduled May stocking.

Previous years experience says the fishing should suck after a flood like this while my local limestoners will be fine in a week or so.

The good news is: if we perpetuate the rumor that the fishing will suffer; there will be less crowds. Heck, maybe I'll go to Kettle!

 

[live2fish]

Don't forget about the ones that get stuck in puddles after the tream goes back down. Have seen this a number of times, the creek goes over the banks and the fish move into the flooded area to get out of the current and then get stuck there when the water goes back down.

Also some of those fish have a chance to move upstream.

 

[tomatocan]

I bet it depends on the fish. Stocked trout will move more than wild trout. My dad says browns stay where you stock 'em. Rainbows go all over the place and brookies either get caught immediately or die from degradation of habitat secondary to development. Anyway that is what my dad has said for at least 15 years of running a coop nursery and assisting with the state stockings (in SEPA).

 

[Mark_Griffin]

[color=000000]Below is some scientific info from a NYS DEC study. The horrific flash flooding of 1/96 in the UD System occured during this study. These trout were mostly wild, 15" or larger, and radio-tagged in sizeable rivers, so it doesn't really apply much to small creeks with stocked fish in PA. Still interesting. The dams were low at the time and did not spill so the WB and upper EB did not have really severe flooding.

SCIENCE!!![/color]

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

that study is interesting. i wonder what the 3 fish of unknown origin were and why didnt they know what they were. i dont belive fish move much either, but look at the WB of Octoraro creek. that stream has suffered a few flash floods that receeded quickly. to quick for the trout since two times i can recall that the fish were found dead in the fields beside the stream. they moved that time but forgot to move back into the stream.

 

[Mike]

The NY results are almost exactly the same as those for the PSU stretch of Spruce Creek before and after Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Seventy-five percent of the wild browns (tagged) were found in the same locations pre and post flooding.

 

[Chaz]

A study in 1996 by Bob Carline in WVA, showed that flood events can annililate trout populations, with as many as 84% of the trout population just gone. I've saved the study to my HD, but if you want to read it just go to google and type in Floods and trout. The worst part was that an entire year class was lost. Results probably vary since this study was in the Monogahela National Forest, which has a lot of steep gradient streams.