Lake Champlain United - Forums

I think, imo, that you will find large forage die-off concentrations that are fresh, are most often due to radical changes in water temperature. Sudden up-wellings, air pressure changes, significant prolonged wind intensity etc, being the greatest culprits. The largest may have been trapped under the ice but are usually not fresh or "dying"

Whats your thoughts on the dye off 'Alwives' affecting the salmon Bight ?

Salmon I’ve cleaned are healthy and stuffed full of small Alewives.
Can’t tell if they’re feeding on the dead ones, but I suspect by the fresh hits on the sides and tails of the Alewives, the Salmon are feeding on the live ones.

popster wrote:Salmon I’ve cleaned are healthy and stuffed full of small Alewives.
Can’t tell if they’re feeding on the dead ones, but I suspect by the fresh hits on the sides and tails of the Alewives, the Salmon are feeding on the live ones.

Post by Off season » Sat May 26, 2018 6:20 am

Whats your thoughts on the dye off 'Alwives' affecting the salmon Bight ?

Based on what Popster is saying about "small alewives", I am guessing that they are 2-3 inch in size (2017,last Year's hatch). There will be the 2018 hatch that will be in the mix in the next 30-60 days.

That 2-3 inch size should be down from 25-50 feet in the water column and that is the range you should be looking for "the right size" bait balls. The adults that are dying were probably caught in a radical temperature change as they were trying to set up in their spawning areas. Large smelt and alewives not spawning will be deeper 60+.

If the Cormorants are daytime feeders, and there is so much forage bait available, than the deeper salmon and night feeders will escape some of the cormorant ravaging. I would suggest that you accept the clue from Popster and look for 2-3 inch bait. Stay away from the surface for now.

In a lake with few or no cormorants, IMO, the dying alewives would be significant competition for anglers seeking those predators that prefer the warmer, shallower spring time water. But the cororants are the x-factor