So I asked Jim about his take on the shad run to date. His response below
Even on the James the Game and Inland Fisheries crew are just starting to pick up ripe female Ashad, and usually by this time they are about 1/2 way through their egg collections.
A good thing about this past weekend's freshet, they typically trigger the runs, especially when accompanied by significant warming. So this weekend holds some promise.
A bigger question on the eventual strength of the entire Ashad season is how many entered the Ches Bay to spawn if day-length cues (which don't vary) and Gulf-stream water temps cues were out of normal variation. The season tends to be light if those didn't sync well. I consider the mid-late Feb time frame to be the key, that is when the shad typically start entering the Ches Bay. This year the Gulf-stream was just a little bit warmer than "normal," based on satellite derived surface temps, which are all that are readily available over a broad scale. Yes, we had a cold winter here, but much of the Atlantic had relatively warmer than normal temps. Note, "normal" is only based on satellite data taken since 2002, so 13 years is not a long time period.
I am not hedging, merely describing the situation.
But this year it was only slightly warmer, so I predict we will have a decent run. Also, most data on the Potomac's shad population is showing a continued increase, so that should help.
Why you guys are not seeing that at Fletcher's is a mystery, I think the best answer is that due to the Brookmont Dam fishway they are not having to hold as much in that area as they did in the past.
In closing, we all can probably use a little more time to get all of our gear ready.
That's about it.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
-- Hi Guys,
Yep, so far it is a ssssslllllllllllooooooowwwww spring. Even on the James the Game and Inland Fisheries crew are just starting to pick up ripe female Ashad, and usually by this time they are about 1/2 way through their egg collections.
I also hear via Phong Trieu that herring have only recently started showing up in the Anacostia. that is several weeks late.
This past weekend Brad Harley caught 2 buck Ashad near Ft Belvoir in some catfish nets.
I have heard nothing more other than your very helpful reports.
This past weekend Brad Harley caught 2 buck Ashad near Ft Belvoir in some catfish nets.
I have heard nothing more other than your very helpful reports.
We must be patient.
I am not planning on starting our collections until after the 18th, about a week late, and I may have to push that back a bit more unless we hit some much warmer weather.
I am not hedging, merely describing the situation.
But this year it was only slightly warmer, so I predict we will have a decent run. Also, most data on the Potomac's shad population is showing a continued increase, so that should help.
Why you guys are not seeing that at Fletcher's is a mystery, I think the best answer is that due to the Brookmont Dam fishway they are not having to hold as much in that area as they did in the past.
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/b2789f7a-a882-4892-ba02-fb3f5bf945de%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment