Trawling for smelt and alewives

[raz]

State surveys forage fish on Lake Champlain
WPTZ video:

http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-yo ... index.html

[Sleepswithdafishes]

Very interesting!!! Thanks for posting Gerry!! Pretty much as thought !! Sleeps

[Gecha (Gerry)]

Thanks for the posting.... always good to learn what is going on.

[Hairbone]

thanks for the link

[plantstone]

Huh. An interesting time for the lake, and for long time fisherman. Though, from my understanding, there are more larger fish caught these days. Tied into the alewifes? I understand forage fish are a necessity, but since our population of salmon/ trout are stocked, does being of reproductive nature matter (other than trying to create a sustaining population, which hasn't happened in a while) Bummer that the original baitfish are being overcome. Hoping for the best with our fisheries and lake. Most interesting post.

[Trackertroller]

Thanks Gerry for keeping us up on the latest, very good info. Though I must admit we pulled in a few lakers this year the heaved up some big smelt.

[fishhuntadventure]

Interesting to see it underway.

Curious however, as to people trawling in champlain. I thought that was illegal. F&W can trawl, but the fishermen troll. Tomato, Tamahto? I remember a juice-jawed Mainer on a boat out of Rockland telling how workin' fishermen trawled; rec fishermen troll.

Alewives: nobody ice fishes for them, either.

[raz]

I understand forage fish are a necessity, but since our population of salmon/ trout are stocked, does being of reproductive nature matter (other than trying to create a sustaining population, which hasn't happened in a while) Bummer that the original baitfish are being overcome. Hoping for the best with our fisheries and lake. Most interesting post.

Forrest...here is what I understand. Our fisheries biologist milk our salmon-ids for egg and sperm to hatch fish in the hatchery. If those adult fish consume too much alewife in their diet the off-spring have a thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency which causes Early Mortality Syndrome. The little fry die not too long after hatching. To combat the thiamin deficiency, biologists must bath the fry in a solution of thiamine, which the fry absorb, recover, and live a normal life until one of us spoon feeds it.
So, the diet of alewife's seems to increase the size of our fish but on the other hand it takes a lot more time and money to hatch, bring to health, raise, and release those fish. (Eating more of our fishery budget than pre-alewife times).

I think I got it right...someone chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.