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Author Topic: If this crazy warm weather continues…  (Read 1904 times)

taxid

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If this crazy warm weather continues…
« on: Oct 07, 2017, 05:25 PM »
we won't have much holdover of trout in the few trout lakes we have in northeastern Indiana. Could already be too late. Might be a good excuse to pull the plug on the inland trout program which is to be discussed this winter.

Typically oxygen levels start to drop in September in the thermocline creating stressful conditions for the trout. Years ago we used to see trout come to the surface around labor day with bacteria or fungus on them in the channel near the public access on Clear Lake. Apparently Clear Lake has gotten to the point it can't sustain trout through the entire summer and hasn't been planted with trout for several years.

Oliver lake has had some cisco die offs way back in the 60's and there was one instance where trout were stacked up where a cooler inflow stream on the east side flowed in not that long ago.

Trout can't come up into surface water in the upper 70's for very long when lower levels oxygen levels get depleted without getting severely stressed and eventually expiring. Here we are a week away from the middle of October and there is no significant cool down in sight. When the lakes do finally cool down, and if it's rapid there could  be a significant amount of anoxic water coming up in the deeper lakes. Could cause a fish kill of other species too.

You won't see most of of the dead ones, as from my experience rearing trout -- unlike some other species -- most of them sink to the bottom. I'm sure the eagles on Oliver and Olin could have a field day.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: If this crazy warm weather continues…
« Reply #1 on: Oct 07, 2017, 05:37 PM »
Looks like I really will have to move to Maine in a few years  to keep catching decent holdover trout.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: If this crazy warm weather continues…
« Reply #2 on: Oct 09, 2017, 09:00 AM »
I'd already be moved if it wasn't for the wife. She wants to teach a couple more years to get us completely out of debt even though our mortgage is paid off and there are no car payments. Just put a metal roof on the house and adjoining apartment and garage as the shingles kept blowing off and I want to replace the carpet.

I've always felt like a fish out of water in Indiana. I feel like this state is lagging behind the rest of the country and just doesn't have the opportunities some of the other states have when it comes to fishing. There are some things the INDNR could do to exploit opportunities but it seems they are stuck in staying in the box land.

If we don't move I'm taking month long vacations! 
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

wallydiven

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Re: If this crazy warm weather continues…
« Reply #3 on: Oct 09, 2017, 08:52 PM »
I'd already be moved if it wasn't for the wife. She wants to teach a couple more years to get us completely out of debt even though our mortgage is paid off and there are no car payments. Just put a metal roof on the house and adjoining apartment and garage as the shingles kept blowing off and I want to replace the carpet.

I've always felt like a fish out of water in Indiana. I feel like this state is lagging behind the rest of the country and just doesn't have the opportunities some of the other states have when it comes to fishing. There are some things the INDNR could do to exploit opportunities but it seems they are stuck in staying in the box land.

If we don't move I'm taking month long vacations!
I'm just glad I don't live in Illinois!!

taxid

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Re: If this crazy warm weather continues…
« Reply #4 on: Oct 10, 2017, 04:57 AM »
True and no offense to Illinois residents but it has even less to offer than Indiana. And it's bankrupt! Pretty sad when you have to give your lottery winners IOU's! And the Chicago area has a reputation of being very corrupt along with all the gun violence. 

Well my predictions have come true on the local trout lake. A large group of trout are on the surface in front of an inlet hanging on by a thread. Probably rainbows.  A friend that reported this caught a brown as if it wasn't stressed at all at a different spot. So maybe the browns will make it. As some of us know brown trout have a reputation of being able to handle marginal oxygen and water temps better.

The good news is, the last time this happened in 2008, it was earlier in the year. Perhaps water quality is better after the installation of a sewage treatment system vs. the septic tanks that leech into lakes? 
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: If this crazy warm weather continues…
« Reply #5 on: Oct 10, 2017, 07:05 PM »
Could be a put and take fishery management approach? There are people that just want the numbers. And rainbows fit the bill.

We do need to give the INDNR credit for stocking the brown trout when NEITA discontinued to exist, as no one says the INDNR has to. For several years we didn't get any browns. I believe Neil Ledet, a biologist that is now retired was able to get them from a federal source in Kentucky.

I just found another reason to high tail it out of Indiana. I got a notice that my taxes have nearly doubled. I am now paying more taxes than a comparable property in Massachusetts that has the nickname of Taxachusetts. And our sales tax is higher than Massachusetts!

Our sleazy politicians are running on a platform of not raising our income taxes but they are hammering us property owners! I'm just not seeing what we get in this state for the higher taxes. It doesn't seem like they ever have money for anything.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: If this crazy warm weather continues…
« Reply #6 on: Oct 11, 2017, 10:04 AM »
I don't know of any lakes in Indiana that produce the sizes that Clear Lake did except for Lake Michigan and the St. Joe when the steelhead run. I think you have to drive to Michigan for any chance at bigger inland trout in lakes. Ironically Michigan has cut way back on stocking browns in it's inland lakes and is putting them primarily into Lake Michigan and Lake Huron or in streams and rivers. Some of the mainstay lakes like Crystal and Higgins and others haven't been planted with browns for at least a decade according to their online stocking records.

My source for my trout eggs last December says Tiger Trout (Brook X Brown trout) are tougher than even browns when water quality gets tough but won't grow or gain weight until conditions improve. Read an article by a prof in NY that said tigers are tougher too. I want to believe them, but it seems counterintuitive as they are partly brook trout, which are the most sensitive of brook, brown, and rainbow trout when it comes to water quality. That said, I do know brook trout are tougher of the three when it comes to low Ph. But that's not is issue in our area as are Phs are on the basic side of the Ph scale. And our alkalinity is high enough that drastic Ph changes just don't happen.

I don't see money as an issue if they wanted to try tiger trout. It's just a matter of purchasing the eggs which they already do. If I was a biologist I wouldn't give up on Clear Lake. I would plant some brown trout experimentally. Was also told numerous northern pike may be part of the problem on Clear Lake. The biggest pike over the years I got into mount came from lakes planted with trout.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Re: If this crazy warm weather continues…
« Reply #7 on: Oct 11, 2017, 12:18 PM »
The thing is Tim we don't know what kind of constraints and politics our biologists have to deal with. And I'm sure there is pressure from bean counters that get promoted by slashing and burning --or keeping costs down -- never mind the long term effects.

And our biologists are some of the lowest paid in the nation if not the lowest. I remember when I was biologist aide the same full-time biologist positions in Michigan paid 10 grand more a year. Not sure if that's still the case.

The thing is there needs to be an advocacy group for Indiana anglers to be heard. As long as there is no united voice and those of us that speak up are so few, there is no reason to listen to us by politicians. Politicians start to listen if there are a significant amount of votes to win or lose. Otherwise...
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

 



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