Smallmouth Bass Meetings with PFBC

[jayL]

This is, by far, the biggest conservation worry in the state IMO. To hell with all of the trout streams. This river is dead, and it's an absolute shame. I wish it got the support that a dead trout stream would.

I'm 25, and even I have "back in the day" stories about the glory years on the susq. It was honestly mind boggling. It was world class.

Had to vent about that. Here's hoping the glory years return in my lifetime.

 

[troutbert]

As I said in an earlier post, Bob Clouser was telling people that he was seeing changes in the river from deteriorating water quality and that he was very concerned about it at least as far back as 1995. To be specific, September 1, 1995. (I take notes!)

At that time, it is likely that the water quality was deteriorating to the extent that someone with good observational skills and a lot of time spent on the water could notice the changes, but not bad enough, yet, that it caused fish kills from bacterial outbreaks. That came later, as water quality continued to decline, and when the poor water quality conditions coincided with a low, warm spell in summer 2005, that put conditions over the "red line" and the bacterial infections slammed the smallmouth population.
All IMHO.

 

[Mike]

I should point out for clarification purposes only that students of the Susquehanna YOY SMB problem should not continue to cite 2004 as being a year in which year class strength was poor or failed. There were no YOY surveys on the Susquehanna in 2004, at least not the lower Susquehanna, and I don't believe so in the rest of the river either. Somehow, the absence of an index for that year has repeatedly been interpreted as a value of zero for that year. The Schuylkill River provides the only YOY insight as to what may have taken place in 2004 in the lower Susquehanna. It turns out that YOY SMB production in the lower Susquehanna correlates well with that in the Schuylkill. The Schuylkill YOY SMB surveys were done in 2004 and the year class produced was about average. So, the suggestion here is that the lower Susquehanna YOY index in 2004 may have been about average, but we'll never actually know.

 

[Fishidiot]

Thanks Mike.
My recollection was that 2003 and 2004 were years with high water levels in the river and, noticing the lack of an entry for 2004 on the PFBC bar graphs for SMB YOY, I assumed that YOY would have been low that year and that the annual survey was skipped due to predictable outcome. As it turns out, the PFBC graph for YOY in the North Branch does contain a graph point for 2004 (maybe this was an estimate rather than an actual survey?) and it indicates an average year in the North Branch:

http://fishandboat.com/images/fisheries/afm/2009/4x11_05nbr.htm

It seems to me that there is pretty good correlation between YOY index in the North Branch with the lower main stem. If so, this would, obviously, bear out your suggestion of an average year relative to the Skuke YOY.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Just had my 7 weight out on the river tonight. Wet waded back to shore dangerously from my favorite rock ledge at about 9:15 p.m.

I used to spinfish this same spot 8-9 years ago and there would be maybe 10 other guys fishing within sight of me. I would just hammer them on a berkeley purple power pulse worm, carolina rigged. Tonight it was just two other cars, and everone is after the huge catties out there.

I'd catch 15 maybe 20 nice big smallies, a walleye or two, and about a dozen redeyes, throw in a sunny or two.

I saw very little surface activity tonight and caught only one small sunny on my 7 weight.

I have had my 7 weight for a year and a half now and have yet to catch a smallmouth on it from the river. I've onlt used it a few times but still come on.

I had a job back then with a one hour lunch break. It was just enough time for me to drive 15 minutes to my favorite spot fish for about 20 minutes catch one or two bass and go back to work.

I couldn't dream of that now.