Alewife Good or Bad ??

[dickbaker]

Ok? Matt's recent Keeler Bay photo of salmon eating both smelt and Alewife brought up the topic of whether alewife are a benefit to the Champlain trout and salmon fishery?? I've done a great deal of research concerning the alewife migration in the Great Lakes and finally to Champlain. There is no doubt that we will have to accept them! Lots of room for discussion here, including pulling out many of my Lake Ontario trolling alewife spoons?
Big difference between a smelt profile and that of a alewife? Have Champlain experimented with alewife spoons? I'm hoping that my IS trolling with wide bodies live shiners will produce bigger fish during May and even early June?
Dick

[riverrunner]

Benefit in terms of growth and size of fish. Detriment to the survival of spawned fish in the tributarys. Alewives lack a protein called thiaminase (Vitamin B12). Fish spawn, eggs are fertilized, they hatch, and within 24 hours the fry are dead.

[jimbow]

Ok? Matt's recent Keeler Bay photo of salmon eating both smelt and Alewife brought up the topic of whether alewife are a benefit to the Champlain trout and salmon fishery?? I've done a great deal of research concerning the alewife migration in the Great Lakes and finally to Champlain. There is no doubt that we will have to accept them! Lots of room for discussion here, including pulling out many of my Lake Ontario trolling alewife spoons?
Big difference between a smelt profile and that of a alewife? Have Champlain experimented with alewife spoons? I'm hoping that my IS trolling with wide bodies live shiners will produce bigger fish during May and even early June?
Dick

Dick, you may want to consider the #2 along with the #4 and even the super mag Honey bee spoons which were designed with alewives in mine. They have been used with great success on Lake Ontario and Lake Champlain over the years. Run colors appropriate for the depth, water clarity and light conditions and I think you will be on the right track. They come in many colors/patterns and I'm sure Jim M. could help you out with the most popular and productive selections. I, myself have found them to be pretty productive as the water warms a little, hope this helps.

[dickbaker]

thanks Jimbow. Think I will try bigger honeybees in June?
Riverrunner noted that alewife might be the cause of "early mortality syndrome" But Lake Michigan studies have shown that smelt contain only somewhat less thiominase than alewife? I can't find any recent UVM or VF&W studies? Any idea how many salmon are hatchery stock compared to stream and river spawning?
Dick

[Reelax]

In lake Champlain Salmon are 99% hatchery stocked so far.... Hope that may change in future..

[dickbaker]

thanks Matt, Now I don't have to worry about all of my IS salmon coming out of the Lamoille?
Dick

[jimbow]

thanks Jimbow. Think I will try bigger honeybees in June?
Riverrunner noted that alewife might be the cause of "early mortality syndrome" But Lake Michigan studies have shown that smelt contain only somewhat less thiominase than alewife? I can't find any recent UVM or VF&W studies? Any idea how many salmon are hatchery stock compared to stream and river spawning?
Dick

Dick, a good rule of thumb to go by I will start to use the larger alewife shaped Bee's anytime after the surface water temp reaches 60. OR I start seeing them as the predominate forge in the stomach of fish I keep despite temp. Sometimes they will "spit" them up as you bring them in, I find that if alewife are present the fish tend to "gorge" themselves when a large schools are around. I'm very glad to see some forum members sharing the contents of they're catches stomachs, can't get better intel than that, hope more do share that info. I'm not a scientist so I can't answer the other part of your question.

[dickbaker]

Thanks Jimbow. Half a dozen larger bees on the way and I hope to have them in the water the first of
June.
Dick

[karl]

Benefit in terms of growth and size of fish. Detriment to the survival of spawned fish in the tributarys. Alewives lack a protein called thiaminase (Vitamin B12). Fish spawn, eggs are fertilized, they hatch, and within 24 hours the fry are dead.

You are misinformed...B12 is cyanocobalamin, not related to
thiaminase, which interferes with B1 conversion and absorption.

My biggest problem with alwives is their massive die-offs, polluting shorefront properties.

[troutcrazy]

Dude... Thiaminase is an enzyme that breaks down thiamine (vitamin B1).

[dickbaker]

Troutcrazy is correct. Hatchery can compensate for this for salmon but I don't know how it effects lake spawning lakers?
Dick