{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Fish Kill in the SNP section of the Hazel River?

Not a bad idea, if it's clear that a certain population is having a rough time.  The larger park streams should still be in decent shape.  50% of what some of them were 3 years ago is still a healthy, fishable population. Other streams that maybe don't have as much deep pool habitat could be almost completely missing a year class or two, and this upcoming fall's reproducing class could depend on just a dozen or two fish.  I probably wouldn't fish a stream where that appeared to be the case (more than once, anyway).

One positive thing about a situation where fewer adult trout are around is the young are able to move into prime lies and get more food, so growth rates and survival rates increase.

On Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 2:11:05 PM UTC-5, Andrew Chaney wrote:

That's very interesting (and sad). That also explains my the reduced productivity in some of the more reliable streams I've fished in the last couple of years. 2+ years ago, I would be hard pressed to catch less than 20 brook trout per outing on my favorite streams in favorable weather. Doing the same thing last fall resulted in maybe 6-7 fish per trip at best. Maybe it's time for me to focus more on bass or something for a season or two.

On Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 11:30:40 AM UTC-5, Bob Richey wrote:

Yeah, as much as 50% decline in some streams according to the ranger.  We were talking about how in a particular stream, two years ago I wasn't catching many fish, but that the ones I caught were big (for brookies in the SNP) and then last year I didn't catch many at all and he said "yeah, they're all dead."  A couple of good years and they come back though.

On Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 11:24:00 AM UTC-5, Andrew Sarcinello wrote:

That makes a lot of sense to me. Drought plus winter cold in the mountains = major ice problems.  The smaller the volume of water, the quicker it freezes.  This winter has probably been really rough in terms of ice.  

On Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 10:26:43 AM UTC-5, Bob Richey wrote:

I was talking to a park ranger about brook trout recently and he mentioned that the past three years have been bad breeding seasons for brookies.  Anchor ice and drought had really impacted the number of fish that have survived.

On Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 2:03:07 PM UTC-5, Andrew Chaney wrote:

I first fished the upper section of the Hazel River (from the point the park begins to the two decent sized falls upstream) a few years ago. It wasn't the most productive stream in the area, but I was still able to land a handful of brook trout. I've since been back a handful of times with similar results except the last two times I went.

The 2nd to last time I fished there (about a year and a half ago) I didn't catch anything and didn't see any trout. I didn't think much of it at the time and moved on to an nearby stream and had better luck.

I returned this last weekend after a few warm days culminated in the beautiful weather we had last Saturday. I fished the entire SNP section of the river and not only did I not catch anything, I also did not see a single trout, fallfish, dace, or other minnow. Every pool, seam, and eddy looked completely devoid of life. The water itself was crystal clear, however. I've fished all over the SNP for more than 15 years and I've never seen anything like it in an SNP stream that was big enough for fish.

So, has anyone had any luck on the Hazel River recently? If not, are there any known issues with that stream?

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