walleyemaxx
05-26-2010, 09:25 AM
Hi everyone,
Here's an article by the DNR on how the drought is affecting our fisheries.
SPOONER - Eight straight years of drought in northern Wisconsin is causing many people to ask what is happening to the fish, wildlife and recreation dependent on water.
A 12-month drought cumulative effects scale -- known as the Palmer Drought Index (exit DNR) -- shows below average precipitation again for 2010. The May index has northern Wisconsin in the moderate to severe drought category.
The water deficit crosses most of the northern part of the state. Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Manager Dennis Scholl said the Rainbow Flowage in Oneida County is down 13 feet while Deep Lake in Washburn County is down 15 feet, one of the worst examples of the lack of precipitation. Most water bodies in the north are affected.
While no one can control the weather, Department of Natural Resources staff say low water cycles are a natural occurrence, and that there are different ways that fish, wildlife and humans adapt to the cycles. Shoreline owners have a key role in protecting fish and wildlife when water levels drop.
Fish
DNR Fisheries Biologist Dave Neuswanger says a primary adverse impact of the drought on fish is that clearer, weedier water favors largemouth bass over walleye, which are competitors for food and also prey on each other.
Wisconsin anglers prefer walleye over largemouth bass by an almost 2:1 margin. But during drought conditions, lakes can become clearer, as surrounding wetlands dry up, because wetland filtration tends to leave a dark stain to the water discharged to lakes. These conditions favor largemouth bass over walleye. Walleye do best in shaded low-light conditions and so in clear, shallower lakes walleyes have less habitat with a comfortable light level. This makes walleye less efficient as predators and more vulnerable to predation by largemouth bass, which thrive under clear-water conditions.
Even some former waters renowned for walleye production like the Chippewa Flowage will become largemouth bass lakes if a change is not made in angler harvest patterns in response to the drought and new environmental conditions, Neuswanger added.
As for fishing, fish managers say it does not necessarily become easier to fish as fish are squeezed into less water, because an angler’s bait must compete with the prey species, minnows and bug life that also are squeezed into that dwindling waterway. However, in other cases, such as trout streams, low water levels can concentrate fish in deeper pools, which can make them more vulnerable to exploitation. Fish manages look to anglers to exercise restraint in such cases, especially in Class 1 trout streams with naturally reproducing fish populations, where future fishing opportunities could be harmed by overharvest.
I don't agree with the DNR's assesment about the flowage totally, but we do have a problem. And that problem can be fixed with proper management. It seems to me that the DNR is using the drought as an excuse to convert the Chippewa Flowage into a bass lake. That's shamefull.
The Chippewa Flowage is still premier Walleye water. Instead of making excuses, the DNR should work tirelessly to keep it that way.
Walleyemaxx
Here's an article by the DNR on how the drought is affecting our fisheries.
SPOONER - Eight straight years of drought in northern Wisconsin is causing many people to ask what is happening to the fish, wildlife and recreation dependent on water.
A 12-month drought cumulative effects scale -- known as the Palmer Drought Index (exit DNR) -- shows below average precipitation again for 2010. The May index has northern Wisconsin in the moderate to severe drought category.
The water deficit crosses most of the northern part of the state. Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Manager Dennis Scholl said the Rainbow Flowage in Oneida County is down 13 feet while Deep Lake in Washburn County is down 15 feet, one of the worst examples of the lack of precipitation. Most water bodies in the north are affected.
While no one can control the weather, Department of Natural Resources staff say low water cycles are a natural occurrence, and that there are different ways that fish, wildlife and humans adapt to the cycles. Shoreline owners have a key role in protecting fish and wildlife when water levels drop.
Fish
DNR Fisheries Biologist Dave Neuswanger says a primary adverse impact of the drought on fish is that clearer, weedier water favors largemouth bass over walleye, which are competitors for food and also prey on each other.
Wisconsin anglers prefer walleye over largemouth bass by an almost 2:1 margin. But during drought conditions, lakes can become clearer, as surrounding wetlands dry up, because wetland filtration tends to leave a dark stain to the water discharged to lakes. These conditions favor largemouth bass over walleye. Walleye do best in shaded low-light conditions and so in clear, shallower lakes walleyes have less habitat with a comfortable light level. This makes walleye less efficient as predators and more vulnerable to predation by largemouth bass, which thrive under clear-water conditions.
Even some former waters renowned for walleye production like the Chippewa Flowage will become largemouth bass lakes if a change is not made in angler harvest patterns in response to the drought and new environmental conditions, Neuswanger added.
As for fishing, fish managers say it does not necessarily become easier to fish as fish are squeezed into less water, because an angler’s bait must compete with the prey species, minnows and bug life that also are squeezed into that dwindling waterway. However, in other cases, such as trout streams, low water levels can concentrate fish in deeper pools, which can make them more vulnerable to exploitation. Fish manages look to anglers to exercise restraint in such cases, especially in Class 1 trout streams with naturally reproducing fish populations, where future fishing opportunities could be harmed by overharvest.
I don't agree with the DNR's assesment about the flowage totally, but we do have a problem. And that problem can be fixed with proper management. It seems to me that the DNR is using the drought as an excuse to convert the Chippewa Flowage into a bass lake. That's shamefull.
The Chippewa Flowage is still premier Walleye water. Instead of making excuses, the DNR should work tirelessly to keep it that way.
Walleyemaxx