schreckstoff

Thanks Gambler.
 

We were in Chaumont today putting egg traps in. Temps were 44 in shallow bays, 48-49 out in the middle. Hope they make it through tomorrow’s storms!

If anybody is willing, could you share what the water temperatures you are seeing in chaumont bay?
 

We are gearing up again to study Cisco a Whitefish spawning , the weather is, per usual, a pain in the a$$.

This year we are continuing to monitor the effects of the substrate edition and knew this year We are trying some new experimental  ways to remedy spawning habitat. As always , if you have interest, questions ,or our gear annoys you don’t hesitate to reach out on PM here or email or text.

 Thanks,

bw

Mdreams,

There is decent evidence to suggest LkOnt actually is further along the timeline of the mussel invasion than LM or LH, (but not as far along as LkErie) LO has  had abundant mussels deep for decades. In LO Round Goby predation has a big influence on mussels that are shallow (<250 ft) but the deepest dreissenid mussels seem to continue to grow/survive. The higher nutrient loading  and faster water residence time in LO compared to LM and LH might be LOs saving grace for fish productivity.

Of course nothing definite, just my current take on the situation ,

BW

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/n5KjDnoyhpF3MQm5/?mibextid=WC7FNe
 

Here is the link to TVO today docs. 
 

These film makers are awesome! They have also helped us observe Deepwater Sculpin nests in ~350’ of water and Cisco spawn behavior. 
 

 Facebook page “All Too Clear Film” has more beautiful footage.
 

This thread is awesome. Lots of interesting ideas. 
 

How about density or in this case density dependent individual size? Across every fish species & population I have ever worked on I can not think of any that do not get smaller when density goes up and get bigger when density goes down. Alewife in LO is a great example, higher density, growth and size decline relative to when density is lower. This happened when the lake had a phosphorus concentration of 20 ug/L AND when it was 5 ug/L. Food and genetics definitely have an effect at times, but density seems to be a consistent driver of fish size
 

Just another factor to think about!

https://www.theconservationangler.org/blog/40-year-spending-spree-can-salmon-recovery-learn-from-history
 

An interesting read, good lessons to try not and repeat. 

Sorry, didn’t read the batteries part. I have a little experience with Battle Born with internal heaters and random brand from Amazon that was 1/2 the BB cost (w/o heaters). All have held up so far, but December is when they really get tested.

Nice eye!

Seems like similar conditions as in Lake Huron, low and declining phosphorus concentrations, mussels explode and exacerbate the nutrient decline, high predator density keeps munching down the older Alewives. In that state it only takes a cold spring or two to yield low /no prey fish reproductive success, and prey base is gone. 

Im curious, is anyone catching any Keuka Cisco or know of anyone catching them ?

https://nysfola.org/wp-content/uploads/CSLAP/cslrpt19keuka.pdf
 

based these numbers, which are a bit hard to decipher, but it does not look like the lake has the nutrient concentration (phosphorus) to maintain very much fish biomass, especially if there is any harvest. 

https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/disease/fibromas
 

New lamprey spawning sites develop and weather constantly messes with treatments effectiveness. If you want to help, you might consider making region 7 and Cape Vincent bios & managers aware you are observing above average small lamprey on Mexico Bay-Oswego BT this spring.
 

RE: lazy control teams - in my 15 years I’ve observed Lk Ont DFO lamprey control field teams to be among the hardest working and most dedicated in the Great Lakes. US and CA field teams of all types were ready to work in 2020 but were ordered to ‘stand down’. Administration risk tolerance, not field crew effort-desire, caused the treatment pause.

For added reference  the surface buoys to the East of Oswego are out from Alcan or stacks region and the west site is out in front of Ford Shoals.

Heads up to trollers. There are emergence traps on the lake bottom and surface marker buoys approximately 5 miles east and 5 miles west of Oswego in ~100 ft of water.  We experimentally released surplus Bloater eggs at these 2 sites a month ago and are now evaluating if any survived and hatched. We used large, flagged, hi-flyer  buoys to maximize visibility and tried to keep the floats in as small of an area as possible. Plan is to sample these spots for approximately one mouth.

There are NO nets of any kind, the sampling gear is catching 1/2” larval fish. There are lines on the bottom and heavy anchors so probably best to not troll too close and risk snagging.

happy to answer any questions or concerns and thank you for steering clear!

bw

pics are from Brewster Mass. It was awesome to see how many people were visiting to just watch the herring run upstream. Super cool old fish ladders.

Those pics are awesome thanks for sharing!

Cool thanks, makes sense.
 

We are trawling the Youngstown transect (just east of bar) and finding Smelt , Alewife ,Goby , and lakers at all depths, 65ft - 250ft so far. 

Any stomach contents to report?

I use windfinder, best I’ve found so far but I’m always interested in what others use. 
 

Started looking this page for waves : https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/emf/waves/WW3/loww3.html

the buoy data is nice if and  when it finally gets in the water. 
 

north winds blow!

I love Vibrax spinners ! 

Taughannock was do able on Sunday in Great Laker’s 19’ Sea Nymph CC. had to stay on the south side going under the bridge. 
 

Oswego is extra low, the sand gravel  power loading bar is skinny in places there

Oswego open, has been 1-3 boats out weekdays the past few weeks.

Thank you LOCBA & Rob for the opportunity.

If anyone has any specific questions or topics they would like to discuss please let me know on this thread or via a private message (PM). I’ll be prepared to provide research updates on Lk. Ontario prey fish population dynamics and native fish restoration science.

See you Tuesday!

A good read thanks for sharing Lucky! It’s interesting to see the forethought in Monroe Co planning. 

Cool video. Does it say what lake they are talking about?