Speedwell Forge Lake: refilled last yr, fairly good bass fishing already

[salvelinusfontinalis]

What is considered not very long Dwight?
It's been months now and the trout population is taking a pretty good hit in the meantime.

 

[nomad_archer]

Sasquatch - I agree the Lower hammer is a great put and take fishery and does deserve the three stockings it receives especially considering the amount of fishing pressure that occurs in the first few months of the season.

As of the Upper hammer I will be honest I only fish it once or twice a year from pumping station upstream into the game lands and haven't really done too well or been very impressed so I typically fish elsewhere. I have not gotten into any bass in that stretch of water.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I fished 3 different streams today. I just left that section of hammer.
Unless you are willing to toss a streamer in the deep slow stuff you won't get them.
Kept my limit of bass....
Again

 

[Mike]

Bass are the problem? It's not last summer and fall's low flows and not last summer's heat on top of that? No, it is just the bass?

If the bass are that numerous in the creek and many are 12 inches and up, then I recommend fishing for bass, as that is a pretty good fishery for the time being.

 

[tomgamber]

troutbert wrote:

JeffP wrote:
So who stocked the adult bass?

The OP does raise the question: Where did the big bass come from?

How empty did they let the lake get? I have experienced empty reservoirs after a good snowpack and giving up 20+ inch fish in September after 7 inchers were planted in April. If there was a lot of regrown vegetation its not only possible, its likely. Not sure in the case of this lake.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Fishing it in the winter and early spring was good in fact very good.
When I have gone since the bass stocking it has been poor, very poor.
Most of the trout, what's left, are along the edges of the stream in 2-3 inches of water and have basically abandoned the "deeper" pools that are loaded with bass.
I would say they are the problem and I'm not the only one that thinks this, the population was great before this.

In the meantime, I don't plan on fishing it anymore. If I want bass there is a world class smallmouth fishery in my county.

I missed the part about what you consider an extended period amongst your sarcasm.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I was just going to say the same thing, Sal. It was fine in the Winter (Jan. and Feb.) and April through the first week or so into May.

 

[Mike]

The last bass stocked were stocked almost a year ago.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

It was my understanding it was a private stocking of the lake.

 

[Mike]

I am not aware of any private stocking.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Well I have heard rumors that bass we stocked this year in the lake by some sportsmans clubs.
Either way it doesn't really matter. The bass have migrated the entire way up to old mill road. That's pretty darn far and through the entire system.
I don't know why, I don't know who's exact fish they are but they are there and yes they have caused a pretty good amount of damage to the wild trout population. I do excpect them to leave eventually and hopefully they do not comeback. I also expect the trout population to recover fully in about 5-6 years. I just hope this wasn't the doorway the wild browns needed to really get a good hold on the creek.

Mans best intentions are rarely what the planet intended.....

 

[villeman]

Thought you guys might like this one.

 

[dc410]

I'm with Sal and 'Squatch on this one. I walked a section of the upper Hammer the other day and saw very few wild trout. The trout that I did spot were fairly decent size fish, most of them being Browns and hanging together in groups. I only saw one fish that I definitely could tell was a Brookie and it was a good one too. I also think the one fish I spotted was a stocked rainbow from earlier in the year.

One area I walked was an area that is generally full of rising fish this time of year (the majority always being wild trout). I couldn't even spot a trout and saw no rises in that particular stretch. The only fish I saw were some 9-12" Largemouth Bass cruising around. They seem to be hanging together in groups of 4-6 fish. We may have seen the best of the native brook trout population as I am thinking that when the wild trout do rebound it will probably be predominantly Brown trout.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

It's a dang shame is what it is.

 

[Mike]

Are you saying that you think there are more BT than ST? What makes you think that BT will so quickly replace the existing ST population? Have you seen that occurring in Hammer in the past three years? Are you taking into account the contributions of the tribs, almost all of which are ST streams? How many trout are in the groups of BT?

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Are you saying that you think there are more BT than ST? What makes you think that BT will so quickly replace the existing ST population? Have you seen that occurring in Hammer in the past three years? Are you taking into account the contributions of the tribs, almost all of which are ST streams? How many trout are in the groups of BT?

I cannot speak for dc410 and wont, but here is my insight:

As far as my catch rates, since the bass, yes there are more brown trout. Which by all accounts i think holds weight since i have fished it a good bit since the bass and brown trout are harder to catch than brook trout.

What makes me think the brown trout will replace the brook trout quickly is because the bass are eating the brook trout for sure. Brook trout and brown trout spawn at around the same time in Hammer. The brown trout being slightly larger will have an advantage in both avoiding the bass and taking prime spawn lies.

No i have not seen this occurring in Hammer the past 3 years. Then again, I haven't seen bass in there until this year.

You mean the tribs that have been highly impacted by Lee and Ivan, who have in turn also suffered a major blow to their populations?
I would think their contributions to be negligible at best anymore. Even still if one entered the creek now, im sure it would be eaten in a week.

I dont know how many are in the groups of BT. Even still that is not typical wild trout behavior on Hammer by any means.

My advice is shock it and proves us wrong.
Take the bass with you when you do it.

 

[Mike]

Nature's resiliency will prevail.

 

[dc410]

I honestly have not fished Hammer much this year since the bass have shown up. My above post was in reference to some drastic differences that I observed while walking a portion of the stream recently.

However, I had fished it a good bit in the previous four seasons. I have not noticed any differences in the percentage of species I've caught in Hammer over the past 3-4 years. My catch rate has been consistently about 80%-Brook trout, 20%-Brown trout during 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016. The BT always maintained an average larger size than the ST.

The groups of wild BT that I observed recently were approx. 4-5 fish which I thought was definitely not normal for wild brown trout. These fish generally would be spread out over a much larger area and each one would be occupying a prime lie based on their dominant size. I guess what really stood out as a concern to me was the total lack of younger age class trout that would normally have been observed throughout these areas and just were no where to be found. I imagine that some younger trout could have been holed up in more secluded areas of cover in an attempt to stay hidden from the groups of cruising Largemouth Bass. These are all very unscientific observations but definitely enough to raise a concern on my part for the potential future of the Brook Trout population.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Natures resiliency doesn't account for unnatural situations like 2 stocked invasive species in that creek.
Time will tell but I think at this point is pretty obvious this whole fiasco was not kind to the brook trout.

DC,
My time fishing it this year, after the bass, has turned up 0 juvenile brook trout. Before in the fall and winter, it was loaded with them.
Your unscientific observations are very close to the truth.

 

[nomad_archer]

Which access point are you gentlemen using that have a higher concentration of bass? I would be more than happy to put a few in a frying pan.