Freshwater Fishing News

Along the Atlantic Coast of North America, tidal rivers are popular destinations for fishing and other activities. These rivers often begin life hundreds of miles from the ocean as small mountain streams or minor drainages from swampy areas. At their upper reaches they are entirely freshwater and flow in a single direction.

As these rivers flow towards the Atlantic, eventually they begin to experience tidal flows. Understanding tides and knowing their cycles is essential when fishing for fish in tidal environments. In most areas, fish respond to tidal flow, moving in or out of currents to feed.

Often a river or creek may spread out and form exaggerated curves until eventually the bends touch each other and the river breaks thru. These occurrences form 2 very important structures. First, a new narrow channel emerges where water flows in a straight path. This section acts like a funnel, causing tidal water to rush thru considerably stronger than in other parts of the river.

The other structure that results from a break thru is the abandoned curve, which now takes on a horse shoe shape. In between the new channel and the old path is an island. These areas often become a maze of fallen trees, living cypress trees, stumps, areas of marsh, lily pad colonies and shallow open areas. While these structures area a nightmare for propellers and treble hooks, they usually become important nurseries and feeding areas for freshwater fish.

Fishing the edges of lily pads is productive in most tidal rivers. Species such as largemouth bass, crappie and chain pickerel often hide among the pads, waiting to attack prey that swims near. Buzz baits, frogs and other surface lures often work well, especially models that employ a weedless design.

Cypress trees, stumps and downed logs are excellent structures to fish around in tidal rivers. Largemouth bass, crappie, sunfish and pickerel are all known to orient to these structures, especially during moving tides.

Channel edges and other drop offs can be productive areas to fish. Often fish can be detected with fish finders along these areas, giving anglers clues to which types of techniques are mostly likely to be productive.

Overhanging brush and tree limbs are often productive areas to fish. In tidal waters, species such as largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, black crappie, chain pickerel and others will lurk below limbs waiting to ambush prey that falls into the water below.

Sharp bends in creeks are important areas to investigate. In these areas, currents and depths vary dramatically. During periods of tidal flow, currents race around the curves, creating rips and other areas where water mixes or collides. On the extreme outside of these hair pin curves, steep edges may rise abruptly to shallow areas where little or no tidal movement occurs. These areas offer protection for baitfish and other food sources.

Eddies in tidal rivers can be excellent places to fish. In some rivers, large eddies form in certain areas, carrying baitfish, debris and even kayaks in complete circles. Casting or jigging along the opposing currents can be effective for catching bass, crappie or other fish that prey on hapless smaller fish.

Flats and grass beds can be good spots to fish. These areas offer spawning habitat as well as nursery environments for young fish. Adult fish move in and out of these areas in spring to spawn and may also lurk nearby waiting for young fish or crabs to stray out of protected areas.

Kayak fishermen have a few more options available than power boaters in rivers. Most rivers have small coves, swampy sections or other areas that are shallow and full of obstructions. Although these areas are often shallow and present some challenges to reach, they sometimes hold incredible numbers of fish.

In an effort to improve the fishery in Colorado’s Animas River through Durango and the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, three agencies are working to stock 100,000 rainbow trout in the river annually.

In early July, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe spread the fish in the river from Santa Rita Park in Durango to Bondad about 16 miles south of Durango. The fish were 5-6 inches in size.

The fish stocking is paid for by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as mitigation for the removal of water from the Animas River to Ridges Basin Reservoir, also known as Lake Nighthorse. An agreement on a stocking and monitoring program was developed by the BOR, the Southern Ute Tribe and the DOW.

The fish are being raised at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national fish hatchery in Hotchkiss. An additional 50,000 trout, 10 inches in size, will be raised at the hatchery and stocked annually in the reservoir. Stocking in the reservoir will start this fall.

The stocking and monitoring of the fish will be performed by the DOW and the Southern Ute Tribe.

“We are really excited about the agreement because everyone gets something out of the deal,” said Jim White, DOW aquatic biologist in Durango, “The Southern Utes get a healthier fishery, we get stocking extended into the Gold Medal reach of the Animas River, and the BOR gets some of their environmental commitments covered through our fish survey work.”

The agreement will enhance the cooperative efforts of the tribe and the DOW in maintaining a healthy fishery in the Animas River.

“The agreement allows all parties to decide how best to manage these stocked trout using the information gathered during our coordinated fish surveys,” said Steve Whiteman, director of wildlife resource management for the Southern Utes. “If our current stocking parameters are off in some way, there is now a formal mechanism in place to address problems and do what is best for the resource.”

As stocking efforts continue every year, more and more of the fish stocked will be the whirling-disease resistant strain of rainbows that are being developed by DOW at its hatcheries. Aquatic biologists hope that those fish will begin to reproduce naturally in a couple of years. This is the second year that fish have been stocked in the river.

DOW and Southern Ute biologists will conduct surveys in the river to determine how many of the stocked fish are surviving.

The BOR began pumping water from the Animas River into the reservoir in 2009. Agency officials expect that the reservoir will be filled to capacity by mid-summer 2011.

source: Colorado Division of Wildlife

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar have announced joint scientific research projects that address the effects of climate change on freshwater systems and sensitive aquatic species in the northwestern and southeastern United States.

“Addressing the challenges of climate change will require new tools that enable our leaders to develop successful strategies,” said Vilsack. “This research will provide tools and information to help ensure that aquatic ecosystems in the Northwest and Southeast remain healthy in the face of climate change.”

“Conserving our nation’s fisheries and aquatic ecosystems will be a challenge as climate change continues,” said Salazar. “These collaborative research projects will provide the science and technology needed by the Interior Department and other natural resource managers to plan for coping with these challenges, especially in sensitive aquatic environments.”

Salazar noted that these projects are an early indication of the kind of science and management support that will be generated by the Interior Department’s regional climate science centers, which will be established in the Northwest and Southeast later this year. “Collaborative science targeted at managers needs is our agenda,” Salazar said.

The multi-year $500,000 joint USDA-DOI projects, which will be carried out by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) scientists, will make use of existing data, field studies and modeling to better understand the effects of climate change on aquatic ecosystems. Information from the project will help guide science-based land-use decisions by federal agencies and others engaged in long-term planning for climate adaptation.

In the Northwest, a region known for its abundant supply of cold and clean fresh water, the project’s goal is to identify how climate change will affect water temperature, quality and quantity, as well as the likely effects of increasing and more fluctuating water temperatures on coldwater-dependent fish such as trout and salmon.

Regional climate change will likely cause altered hydrology and water temperatures, vital components of water quality and healthy life cycles for species such as Pacific salmon, trout and chars, which depend on coldwater habitats. At the same time, little is known about existing and potential impacts of climate change for stream temperature in the Pacific Northwest. With a better understanding these factors – temperature and altered water flows – experts will be able to help guide land-use decisions by federal and state agencies planning for climate adaptation in the area.

In the Southeast, the project’s goal is to develop tools managers can use to minimize the effects of climate change on aquatic ecosystems and the coldwater-dependent species in them, as well as on related ecosystem service such as drinking water quality and wildlife-based recreation. The scientists will refine and combine climate and hydrologic models for the region that will help resource professionals assess how land-use and water-management decisions will affect coldwater fish species such as brook trout, and the transition from coldwater fisheries in the mountains to warm water fisheries in the lower-lying Piedmont area.

source: USDA

On July 15, 2010, California state and federal fisheries experts arrived at Butte Creek, expecting to capture and transport 75-80 spring run Chinook salmon which were  stranded along their spawning route.

They captured and relocated 123. The salmon, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, had stopped their migratory journey through the lower reach of the river because of rising water temperatures.

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) combined efforts to rescue the fish. Staff netted the salmon, implanted radio transmitters in 22 of them and moved them upstream to cooler water, so they can continue their spawning migration.

“Due to the extremely low number of returning fish this year to Butte Creek, every fish is important,” said Joe Johnson, DFG Fisheries Supervisor. “We didnt expect to find 123 fish, but we were prepared. We tagged all of them and place radio transmitters in two groups of fish in two areas. We want to find out how many of these stranded salmon will survive to spawn, and what the results are for this type of rescue.”

Snorkel surveys conducted at the end of June only recorded 300 salmon in this area, instead of an expected 3,000 to 5,000. A variety of factors may have delayed or altered the normal migration timing and pattern, including a late spring and cold high flows out of the Yuba River.

The water in the Butte Creek pool where the fish were stranded is significantly warmer than the rest of the river, creating a thermal block that causes the migrating salmon to dive to the bottom in search of cooler waters. As long as the water remains warm, the fish will not move forward. This particular spot on the river has been a trouble spot for spring run salmon in previous years.

DFG fisheries staff and NOAA biologists solved the problem by setting seine nets to capture the stranded salmon. Biologists then used dip nets to capture fish out of the larger seine net and place them in a net pen.

Each fish, some of whom weighed up to 30 lbs., was carefully moved from the net pen in dip nets by a line of workers to transfer the fish up a steep bank. The fish were then loaded into a hatchery truck and transported up river for release, thus moving them around the warm water thermal block.

This year, for the second time, DFG, NOAA and staff from the University of California, Davis implanted a percentage of the rescued salmon with radio tracking devices, while the rest were tagged with small, external colored tags. The trackers will enable biologists to monitor how rescued fish behave after being rescued and if they contribute to the overall salmon population.

source: CA DFG press release