Total number of fish caught on Lynn Camp

[Fly_Man_Bill]

Pete Cz,
Thanks for the info. I beleive that people should keep a few fish each year to help the over all quality of fish. Some of the creeks in the Park are pushed to the limits on carrying capacity. I read a report some time ago about catch and release of fish. The person who done the report was a fish biologist out west, in his report he stated that 20 to 30 percent of the fish landed then released would die. Due to mishandling by the fisherman. He was talking about trout in his report. The study was done for 1 year the best I can recall. Most of the fish in the report were between 8 to 12 inches in leangth. He also stated that big fish had a hard time of living after a stressful fight after the hook set. Do you think this holds true for the Park? I personally feel that is a high percentage of fish that die each year.

May God Bless You...

Bill

[PeteCz]

Bill,

Trout lifespans are short in the park for Rainbows and Brookies. Browns are another story, they can live to 8 years, or more. I believe the max lifespan for Rainbows is 5 years and only 3 years for a Brookies. So basically 20-33% of a stream's Rainbows and Brookies will die each year under normal conditions.

I suspect that rough handling by fisherman is probably part of that number. Even still its irresponsible to overplay a fish that you have no intention of keeping. I read somewhere also that a fish that has been taken out of the water for more than 15 seconds has only a 50/50 chance of survival. Which would say that dropping a fish on rock for a picture would greatly diminish their chances for survival, even if you intend to release them back into the water.

That all being said, even dieing fish don't go to waste in the Park's ecosystem. They usually end up as food for other animals or nutrients at the very least. And the carrying capacities being what they are, some reduction of the herd is helpful...

Here is a very interesting study report done by the NPS Biologists on the effects of anglers on fishing populations. http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescienc...hing-study.pdf

This is from the Park's Website:
Fisheries staff have been monitoring fish populations in both high elevation (>3,000 feet) brook trout streams and low elevation (<2,500 feet) large stream systems through the park since 1986. Long term monitoring surveys indicate that fishermen play little to no role in the population dynamics observed in park streams. Major spring floods and summer droughts are the driving forces behind fish population fluctuations seen both in the park and outside the park.

Although most streams in the park are very clear, cold and pollution free, they are not very productive in terms of growing big trout. Most trout in the park grow relatively fast, live only about 4 years, and die due to a lack of food resources. The diversity of aquatic insects in park streams is quite high, but the density of each species is fairly low making food resources for trout scarce. In fact, only 4% of brook trout and 30% of rainbow trout reach 7 inches. Less than 1% of brook trout and 17% of rainbow trout reach 8 inches. Only brown trout, who switch to a piscivorous (fish) diet at around 8 inches, have the ability to live beyond 4-5 years and reach sizes of nearly 30 inches!

One last link: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescienc...fish-facts.pdf

[ChemEAngler]

Originally Posted by PeteCz

Bill,


I read somewhere also that a fish that has been taken out of the water for more than 15 seconds has only a 50/50 chance of survival. Which would say that dropping a fish on rock for a picture would greatly diminish their chances for survival, even if you intend to release them back into the water.

I don't know how accurate the number above is, but that is the reason I don't do the "fish and rod side-by-side on the ground" picture. You have to make your way to the bank, find a suitable location, place the rod and fish in the area, then frame the shot, take the picture, recover the fish, and finally release it. A very time consuming process that is not the most efficient approach. Most of my pictures are quick snapshots while the fish is in my net or I cradle the fish in the net, drop the net, and snap a shot as the net is being retracted up onto my back. Until the camera is powered up and ready for the picture I keep the fish in my net submerged in water. So total time out of the water is easily less than 10 seconds.

Travis

[Fly_Man_Bill]

Pete Cz,

Thank you for the info. It was interesting reading.

May God Bless You...

Bill