Post by yihunt on May 23, 2010 6:57:14 GMT -4
Tiny lakes supplying plenty of largemouth bass
By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 23, 2010
What's that old saying about good things coming in small packages?
That certainly applies to largemouth bass fishing in a couple of local, and relatively tiny lakes.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission biologists from the agency's area 8 office in Somerset have been busy this spring studying the fish populations in area lakes. They've examined five to date: Acme Dam, Mammoth Dam, Lower Twin Lake, Peters Township Reservoir No. 2 and Indian Creek Reservoir.
Of those, Mammoth and Acme stand out.
Mammoth -- the 20-acre centerpiece of a Westmoreland County-owned park of the same name near Norvelt -- produced more bass than any of the other waters.
Rick Lorson, the area 8 fisheries manager, said state standards rank a lake as a "quality" bass water if biologists find 35 bass per hour of trapping, with seven of those exceeding 12 inches and two exceeding 15 inches.
Mammoth exceeded those guidelines and then some, said Mike Depew, a fisheries biologist in area 8. Biologists captured 194 bass per hour there, with 158 of those longer than 12 inches and 29 longer than 15. The biggest largemouths seen topped out at about 17 to 18 inches.
All of that's quite a change from the past.
"The last time we surveyed the lake, maybe about 10 years ago, we only saw one or two bass over 11 to 13 inches. The rest were all stunted," Depew said. "But we put Big Bass regulations on the lake several years ago and they seem to be really working. There is a good number of larger fish in there."
General statewide regulations allow anglers to keep six bass of at least 12 inches per day in a season that runs from June 12 to Sept. 30. In waters in the Big Bass program, the season is the same, but the limit is four fish of at least 15 inches per day.
That doesn't mean the bass fishing at Mammoth is easy. The lake is already weed-choked enough to be causing anglers some problems, Depew noted. Biologists may talk to the county later this year about doing a drawdown over the winter or taking other steps to kill some of that vegetation.
Acme Dam, meanwhile, produced fewer bass than Mammoth, but some bigger fish.
A 25-acre lake in Westmoreland County's Chestnut Ridge Park near Acme, it "looked really good" for bass, Depew said. Biologists handled 63 bass per hour, including 26 over 12 inches and 21 longer than 15. The biggest bass seen stretched a nice 21-plus inches.
"There were a lot of fish, a lot of fish over 12 and 15 inches, and even some over 20 inches," he said. "It's definitely a place worth doing some bass fishing."
The other three lakes were less impressive as bass waters, for different reasons.
Lower Twin Lake's "bass population is extremely dense," Depew said. Biologists handled a whopping 324 largemouths per hour at the 40-acre lake near Greensburg.
"But on the flip side, most of them were in the 7- to 11-inch category. It seems the population is pretty much stuck in that range," Depew said.
Of all those bass, only 30 per hour exceeded 12 inches and only two exceeded 15. The biggest largemouths seen reached just 16 inches.
The bass tend to be even smaller at Peters Township Reservoir No. 2 in Washington County. Biologists handled 151 bass per hour there, but just six per hour were longer than 12 inches and just three per hour were longer than 15. Biologists did see one 18-inch bass and one 21-incher. But most were 6 to 10 inches and skinny.
That indicates the fishery has declined since the lake was last surveyed in about 1998, Depew said. He attributed that to one specific cause.
"We found gizzard shad in the lake for the first time," he said. "And it looks like they've been there for a couple of years. They seem to have impacted panfish populations, as well as the bass, because shad will outcompete those other species for food early on."
The shad likely got into the lake from a fishermen's bait bucket, he said.
Finally, at Indian Creek Reservoir -- also known as Mill Run Reservoir - along Route 381 near Mill Run in Fayette County, the problem was not fish being too small. It was fish, period.
The lake is more than 100 years old, Depew said. It's filled in with sediment, some of it from acid mine drainage, over that century. That's impacted the amount of available habitat remaining, he added.
The result is that, aside from hundreds of suckers, the lake holds relatively few gamefish.
Biologists handled just 20 largemouths. Most of those were big - 14 to 21 inches, on average - but overall numbers were down.
"If you don't mind not catching too many fish, so long as they're big ones, it would be a good place to try, but that's it," Depew said.
If instead you prefer fishing where you can enjoy some consistent bass action, with a shot at a real trophy largemouth mixed in, the answer is clear: Mammoth and Acme dams are the places to go.
"They were definitely the best of what we've seen so far this year," Depew said.
Lakes supply more than bass
Largemouth bass aren't the only fish swimming in the five area 8 lakes surveyed so far this year. Panfish and catfish were spread out across each to varying degrees.
Acme Dam, for example, is home to an awful lot of brown bullheads, with some yellow bullheads mixed in, Depew said. Biologists caught more than 140 bullheads exceeding 12 inches over a two-day period, with many of those going 15 and 16 inches. Some yellow perch up to nine inches were also caught.
"Acme would also be a good place to take the kids fishing, as we handled a ton of 6- to 7-inch bluegill and pumpkinseeds," Depew said.
The panfish also looked good at Lower Twin Lake. Biologists saw an abundance of 7- to 8-inch bluegills and pumpkinseeds, 8- to 10-inch perch, and lots of black and white crappies in the 9- to 10-inch category, with a few trophy 12- to 15-inch crappies mixed in.
The panfish at Indian Creek Reservoir were, like the bass, scarce overall. Biologists handled black crappies from 10 to 14 inches and perch from 7 to 13 inches.
Indian Creek Reservoir held nice brown bullheads, too.
The bluegills and crappies at Peters Township Reservoir No. 2, though, were small and unimpressive, Depew said, while panfish catches at Mammoth Dam were spotty. Biologists did see a few crappies up to 14 inches there, though.
And one thing that was missing from most of the lakes? Channel catfish.
The Fish and Boat Commission has been stocking channel cat fingerlings - fish an inch or two long - at Acme, Mammoth, Lower Twin and Peters Township Reservoir No. 2 for years. But the surveys didn't turn up any.
Biologists plan to try a new survey technique this year, returning to each of the lakes to look for channel cats after the water warms up. But it's also quite possible the young catfish are simply being eaten by the bass in each lake, Depew said.
By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 23, 2010
What's that old saying about good things coming in small packages?
That certainly applies to largemouth bass fishing in a couple of local, and relatively tiny lakes.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission biologists from the agency's area 8 office in Somerset have been busy this spring studying the fish populations in area lakes. They've examined five to date: Acme Dam, Mammoth Dam, Lower Twin Lake, Peters Township Reservoir No. 2 and Indian Creek Reservoir.
Of those, Mammoth and Acme stand out.
Mammoth -- the 20-acre centerpiece of a Westmoreland County-owned park of the same name near Norvelt -- produced more bass than any of the other waters.
Rick Lorson, the area 8 fisheries manager, said state standards rank a lake as a "quality" bass water if biologists find 35 bass per hour of trapping, with seven of those exceeding 12 inches and two exceeding 15 inches.
Mammoth exceeded those guidelines and then some, said Mike Depew, a fisheries biologist in area 8. Biologists captured 194 bass per hour there, with 158 of those longer than 12 inches and 29 longer than 15. The biggest largemouths seen topped out at about 17 to 18 inches.
All of that's quite a change from the past.
"The last time we surveyed the lake, maybe about 10 years ago, we only saw one or two bass over 11 to 13 inches. The rest were all stunted," Depew said. "But we put Big Bass regulations on the lake several years ago and they seem to be really working. There is a good number of larger fish in there."
General statewide regulations allow anglers to keep six bass of at least 12 inches per day in a season that runs from June 12 to Sept. 30. In waters in the Big Bass program, the season is the same, but the limit is four fish of at least 15 inches per day.
That doesn't mean the bass fishing at Mammoth is easy. The lake is already weed-choked enough to be causing anglers some problems, Depew noted. Biologists may talk to the county later this year about doing a drawdown over the winter or taking other steps to kill some of that vegetation.
Acme Dam, meanwhile, produced fewer bass than Mammoth, but some bigger fish.
A 25-acre lake in Westmoreland County's Chestnut Ridge Park near Acme, it "looked really good" for bass, Depew said. Biologists handled 63 bass per hour, including 26 over 12 inches and 21 longer than 15. The biggest bass seen stretched a nice 21-plus inches.
"There were a lot of fish, a lot of fish over 12 and 15 inches, and even some over 20 inches," he said. "It's definitely a place worth doing some bass fishing."
The other three lakes were less impressive as bass waters, for different reasons.
Lower Twin Lake's "bass population is extremely dense," Depew said. Biologists handled a whopping 324 largemouths per hour at the 40-acre lake near Greensburg.
"But on the flip side, most of them were in the 7- to 11-inch category. It seems the population is pretty much stuck in that range," Depew said.
Of all those bass, only 30 per hour exceeded 12 inches and only two exceeded 15. The biggest largemouths seen reached just 16 inches.
The bass tend to be even smaller at Peters Township Reservoir No. 2 in Washington County. Biologists handled 151 bass per hour there, but just six per hour were longer than 12 inches and just three per hour were longer than 15. Biologists did see one 18-inch bass and one 21-incher. But most were 6 to 10 inches and skinny.
That indicates the fishery has declined since the lake was last surveyed in about 1998, Depew said. He attributed that to one specific cause.
"We found gizzard shad in the lake for the first time," he said. "And it looks like they've been there for a couple of years. They seem to have impacted panfish populations, as well as the bass, because shad will outcompete those other species for food early on."
The shad likely got into the lake from a fishermen's bait bucket, he said.
Finally, at Indian Creek Reservoir -- also known as Mill Run Reservoir - along Route 381 near Mill Run in Fayette County, the problem was not fish being too small. It was fish, period.
The lake is more than 100 years old, Depew said. It's filled in with sediment, some of it from acid mine drainage, over that century. That's impacted the amount of available habitat remaining, he added.
The result is that, aside from hundreds of suckers, the lake holds relatively few gamefish.
Biologists handled just 20 largemouths. Most of those were big - 14 to 21 inches, on average - but overall numbers were down.
"If you don't mind not catching too many fish, so long as they're big ones, it would be a good place to try, but that's it," Depew said.
If instead you prefer fishing where you can enjoy some consistent bass action, with a shot at a real trophy largemouth mixed in, the answer is clear: Mammoth and Acme dams are the places to go.
"They were definitely the best of what we've seen so far this year," Depew said.
Lakes supply more than bass
Largemouth bass aren't the only fish swimming in the five area 8 lakes surveyed so far this year. Panfish and catfish were spread out across each to varying degrees.
Acme Dam, for example, is home to an awful lot of brown bullheads, with some yellow bullheads mixed in, Depew said. Biologists caught more than 140 bullheads exceeding 12 inches over a two-day period, with many of those going 15 and 16 inches. Some yellow perch up to nine inches were also caught.
"Acme would also be a good place to take the kids fishing, as we handled a ton of 6- to 7-inch bluegill and pumpkinseeds," Depew said.
The panfish also looked good at Lower Twin Lake. Biologists saw an abundance of 7- to 8-inch bluegills and pumpkinseeds, 8- to 10-inch perch, and lots of black and white crappies in the 9- to 10-inch category, with a few trophy 12- to 15-inch crappies mixed in.
The panfish at Indian Creek Reservoir were, like the bass, scarce overall. Biologists handled black crappies from 10 to 14 inches and perch from 7 to 13 inches.
Indian Creek Reservoir held nice brown bullheads, too.
The bluegills and crappies at Peters Township Reservoir No. 2, though, were small and unimpressive, Depew said, while panfish catches at Mammoth Dam were spotty. Biologists did see a few crappies up to 14 inches there, though.
And one thing that was missing from most of the lakes? Channel catfish.
The Fish and Boat Commission has been stocking channel cat fingerlings - fish an inch or two long - at Acme, Mammoth, Lower Twin and Peters Township Reservoir No. 2 for years. But the surveys didn't turn up any.
Biologists plan to try a new survey technique this year, returning to each of the lakes to look for channel cats after the water warms up. But it's also quite possible the young catfish are simply being eaten by the bass in each lake, Depew said.