Time To Let The Trout Be

714's as long as they last
 
yeah, that is a big part of it also, the "Trim". That is story, by its own.

A word you have not heard for decades. Trim? You got it , or not?
Trim, you can not buy it, its part of you inside. it lives with you and you live with it.

Trim-- a proposal- a theme- a new- a spotlight- a good look.

I fly fished with all the trim I could find! Looked good and found myself alone!

Maxima12
 
The last time I used the word "trim" I was on Spring Break with some buddies down in the Florida Keys. There was a lot of trim out on the beach.
 
Wild_Trouter wrote:
The last time I used the word "trim" I was on Spring Break with some buddies down in the Florida Keys. There was a lot of trim out on the beach.
Click to expand...
That was a term we used back in the 70's. It really was best found on the beaches.
 
wildtrout2 wrote:
Wild_Trouter wrote:
The last time I used the word "trim" I was on Spring Break with some buddies down in the Florida Keys. There was a lot of trim out on the beach.
Click to expand...
That was a term we used back in the 70's. It really was best found on the beaches.
Click to expand...
yes...…. Ft. Lauderdale was known as Trim City......ah the good ol' days...….( Dude!!!!!! was that a different trim I saw you with last night!!!!!)
 
Well the month of June I got my boat up and running. Went back to Spin/Bait casting equipment. 1st time out I got 3 bass (1 keeper). Last Friday I took 2 friends out and one kept egging me on to catch a bass. Sure enough I got dialed in around 10:30 a.m. and ended with 4 keeper size bass and one under for the 5 hours of fishing.

I look forward to fall weather where it will be a little cooler and less people out trying to catch fish.
 
Yo Fred - today I was checking the temp of a FFO part of a state park. At 9:00, it was 73 degrees. Then I found a freshly dead rainbow. There were fresh cleat marks on the bank, so I don't know if the bow expired after having been caught.
 
I went to my R & G club this past weekend but didn't fish since the water temperatures climbed into the 70's by mid-morning. I don't want to stress and have a fish die while landing it that I never intended to keep.

The insects were bad too. I can make a weekend out of watching and listening to water and observing birds. Cigars are pretty effective at keeping insects away.
 
I lost a very good friend to 714's back in the 70's and don't really see them as something to joke or cut up about.

Just saying..
 
Took temps on the ljr today from Bellwood to 305. Above tyrone area, the river was warm to hot; 79-83 (230-4 pm).
At the mouth of a trib above tyrone (72 deg), there were at least 200 trout battling over the cold lane at the confluence, quite an eyeopener. Trout really seemed to be barely hanging on up there.

In the c&r, the temps were ok. Only cars I saw were in the coldest section where it was 67-68 (430 pm). Temp was 73 a little above 305 (530pm), nice to swim in.
 
These marginal areas for wild trout that you have described, which are probably common around the state if people search them out will most likely just get worse in the future unless 1) the main stream above these marginal areas and the tribs thereto naturally become more shaded over time or 2)groups step in with riparian tree plantings if and where they are needed. My greatest concern is that some groups will seek instantaneous gratification by focusing on instream habitat work in streams while the real problem, which will only get worse without more shade in marginal waters is or will be water temp. Two advantages to tree and stake plantings is that they, to my knowledge, do not require permits and it is relatively easy to get large groups of people not necessarily interested in fishing to join in the planting efforts...such as scouts, school groups, church groups, etc. Volunteer manpower is often problematic for instream work.
 
Depending on the watershed, planting a couple hundred feet of a riparian buffer likely has more positive benefits than a few instream habitat structures.
 
Mike:

A segue...

I remember all too well, a summer fishing excursion to the Susquehanna main stem about 10 years ago when the river was low & slow and the water temperature was 93 degrees. I was so shocked I checked it three times, just to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

So I ask, are we really doing the Smallies a favor by targeting them instead of trout when it is this hot? I know the LMB and sunfish can deal with higher temps than SMB, but it seems like nobody worries about the bass as if they are impervious to thermal stress...
 
I also got a similar result near the Clarks Ferry Bridge around the same time period. I felt like I was wet wading in a hot tub. Only caught a couple of small bass and the action was extremely slow...borderline non-existent. I think I bailed after about an hour of that. I always thought that the ideal water temps for smallies was 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. When I got the temp that you did, I too, wondered if they just weren't in survival mode at that point. I know one has to take dissolved oxygen levels into account too. It's entirely possible that the bass were just sulking on the bottom in the deeper parts of the river where temps and DO were much better. If that is the case (Mike ?), I'm content to leave them be as well and go checkout some bluegills.
 
We've discussed the question of the upper temp limit for SMBs many times and the outcome is always the same: there's no consensus such as the 70 degree limit for trout.

I'm in the camp that thinks SMBs really like warm water and are very comfortable in the mid 80s, which is the typical high temp on big rivers in summer. While I won't target muskies at these temps, I find SMBs are pretty happy, although they tend to avoid direct sun and prefer shaded boulders or tree cover as well as being more active in the evenings.

I have found that at temps above about 88 degrees they tend to be less aggressive.

I have never found consistent SMB fishing with water temps over 90 and where I have found such temps it is in the slow water closer to shore which gets heated up by the summer sun. I can usually find temps in the upper 80s out in current on the hottest summer days.

Perhaps there's an upper temp limit where we ought to give 'em a break, however if you're new to river bass fishing, don't go play golf because the river temp is in the 80s. Such temps are normal on our summer rivers.

Smallies like it hot.
 
212 F is too hot for smallmouth
 
"Temperature related trout kills rarely occur all at once; they generally occur incrementally."
I've often wondered why a stream I keep a close watch on loses fish. They just seem to disappear yet I never see them floating. Fishing pressure isn't the cause but it is very marginal water.

Thanks for the information Mike.
 
Using USGS habitat suitability index temperature curves in flowing water for various SMB life stages...

Adults during growing season - post spawning: most suitable temps at 77-84 F and declines to fully unsuitable at 89 F

Fry’s most suitable temps are 74-85 F, suitability curve drops off precipitously to fully unsuitable at 94-95 F.

YOY fingerlings’ most suitable temps 74-84F. Temperature habitat suitability curve drops off to fully unsuitable at 94 F. (My note: some other publications or studies that a colleague once cited as he looked into this indicated mortality around 91-92 F as I recall). Such high temps are likely to result in mortality, not all at once perhaps, but over a period of time as fish health declines.
 
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