As we approach the time of year when there is more wishing than fishing I thought the readers of this forum would find the following impromptu observations of two "veterans" insightful. They are responding to a report being compiled locally and in my opinion are both very qualified to do so. I concur with the assessments.
The first is from Mark Binsted
I have written the email Shad Report for the National Capital Chapter of TU since at least 2005. I grew up fishing for shad at Fletcher's Cove.
I don't understand the A rating for American shad. We saw an overall decline in the run at Fletcher's Cove area last year. Meanwhile, for years there has not been funding for Jim Cummins and the ICPRB to count shad at the base of Great Falls, so I don't think we know if there has been a sustained recovery in the Potomac Gorge after the initial success following the installation of the fish passageway at Little Falls. Jim continues to do very well harvesting shad down near Mount Vernon and young of the year counts are good--results representing schools of shad that spawn locally and do not continue upstream, according to Jim. I don't know if DC fisheries counted shad in our area when they shocked last spring.
It is true that last spring (and a couple before) we had some huge catches of American shad over a period of a few days, with the fish concentrated in one small section of Fletcher's Cove. Those peak days were among the best ever for a few anglers. At the same time, many of the great "shad holes" going back to the 1960s (and before) came up empty. This tells me that that the fish were not widespread throughout the cove and could be choosy about their holding areas due to lack of competition. The idea that many American shad may no longer desire to hold in Fletcher's Cove and instead move upriver is not supported by any anecdotal evidence from anglers.
When I was a teenager the run was not in great shape but still lasted reliably from mid-April to mid-June. In recent years we have seen fish arrive as early as late March but worry that the best will be over by the first week of May. Also, the evening spectacle of spawning American shad in the Fletcher's area has been sadly missing.
The Potomac is apparently doing better than all other east coast rivers, so perhaps you are grading on the curve. I would lower the grade to reflect the uncertain condition of the upper section of the run. I'm quite sure that Jim would agree that work remains to be done.
Hickory shad probably do deserve an A. Their recovery from about a handful of catches in the early 70's to the bonanza we see now is unbelievable. It is fascinating that hickory shad have pulled this off at the very time that herring are in rapid decline. I believe the Potomac now has better run of hickories than the Rappahannock. Incidentally, many anglers continue to incorrectly identify our particularly large roe hickory shad as Americans.
I think your grades for striped bass and white perch are probably fair, at least from the standpoint of Fletcher's Cove. The perch have been no better than C for some time. The run of giant stripers was down last March but good runs of smaller fish arrived in May. The run continuing well into June seems to be a thing of the past.
I will copy this email to Dan Ward and Alex Binsted of The Boathouse at Fletcher's Cove. Dan stays on top of the white perch run but won't get this before the evening. Alex and Mike Bailey are on the river as much as anyone and carefully follow the striper run.
Mark Binsted
And then Danny Ward
Dan Ward here, chiming-in on this subject. I've watched the fishing scene from Fetcher's Cove since the late 1960s and have a perspective based not only on my own fishing experience but also from innumerable contacts, conversations and observations. I would say that Mark's assessment is "spot-on" regarding the species in question.
The true state of the American Shad run in the Potomac is a perplexing question. While some recent "young of the year" samples have been encouraging, the behavior and abundance of the adult fish is another question. While Jim Cummins is able to catch a fair number of "ripe" spawners in one specific location well downstream of the tideline, there have been very few fish caught at Fletcher's over a much compressed time frame in the spring for many years now. The situation now in no way resembles the historical abundance of shad we saw at Fletcher's, even during the "don't touch the water" years of the '60s and early 70's. As Mark indicated, the runs back then lasted eight weeks or more. While I'm aware the biologists have to do their thing, the irony is that with the ban on commercial fishing in effect for so long, it is difficult to get any idea of how many shad are making it up the Potomac. And while in the movie "Field of Dreams" they did indeed come, unfortunately in the case of the improved fish ladder at Little Falls, they built it yes, but they don't seem to be coming. Certainly a stray shad, dead or alive would be caught or seen above Little Falls during the spring or summer if many fish were climbing the ladder. One can still hope that over the very long term, shad will start to use the ten mile stretch of water above the falls. Hope springs eternal after all.
Having said all this, I must add that Jim Cummins is a true hero in my book. His dedication and super-human work in the interest of the shad is remarkable. Few people could match and maintain that kind of devotion. It is sad to think that so much hope, dedication and hard work is held hostage to the intercept fishery that our fearless government officials seem incapable of regulating.
Regarding the white perch, I would say that the grade of "C" is a generous one. It has been at least 10 years now since a truly good run of perch has appeared at Fletcher's. And from talking with numerous customers and friends who fish the lower Potomac, the situation downstream is dire also. As with the shad, the white perch used to spread-out over the entire river at Fletcher's and be available from early March to mid-May. Now we are lucky to see three weeks of spotty schools, mostly down river in the deep water just above Key Bridge. (Something about the river bottom there really attracts the diminished schools of perch that make it to D.C.) Plenty of theories "float" around as to why there are so few perch. Is the still regular release of sludge and chemical residue from the Delacarlia plant a culprit? Or could it be that the greatly reduced numbers of herring schools reducing the attractiveness of the area to the perch? Perch feed heavily on the spawn of the herring, so in my hunch, less herring spewing out roe equals less perch there to feed. Are stripers and big blue catfish now desperate for food in light of the decimation of the menhaden and herring populations? Since perch are early life spawners, I keep hoping for a quick turn-around and some good springs of perch fishing. So far, not happening.
Since striper is a regulated seasonal activity in D.C. nowadays, it is a touchy subject to address. People do go out and try to catch the rockfish in the early spring around Fletcher's. And judging from the results the last couple of years, there are very few fish left in the population. Just a handful of large fish were caught and while there were schoolie stripers during the mid (natural) season, once the legal season arrived with the hot weather, catches of keeper sized fish were few. During the 1980's and 90's there was a population of several year classes of rockfish that grew bigger and bigger with each season. People often told me that the fishing at Fletcher's was much more productive than in the Bay. Those fish are gone now. The Bay seems to be experiencing at least a slight revival, but again, with the base of the food pyramid crumbling, who knows if the prospects look bright? Happy memories of day-break fishing for rockfish in a spot we call "The Parlor" are just that, memories. Those mornings were in late May, June and even July. It was really a social event as well as fishing. Now, no fish, no Friday morning social club. Sad for the fish, sad for the anglers.
I hope this adds a bit of empirical perspective to your research. Thank you for your concern and work.
Dan Ward
The Boathouse at Fletcher's Cove
http://www.tpfr.org
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