03-18-2009, 04:10 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Here is a TubeDude history lesson, at least as much as I can recall at my advanced age.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Near the end of a long drought, about 2003/2004, Yuba was drained down to a few carp filled mud puddles, to allow work on the dam. Some of the other fish (walleyes, pike, catfish) escaped upstream in the Sevier River and survived until water returned in late 2004.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Once the lake had water, trout were planted to provide an "instant fishery" until other species could rebuild their populations. No walleye, pike or catfish were planted. But, through Rocky Mountain Anglers and DWR, a bunch of perch were planted, both to provide future angling potential and to become a food source for the walleye and pike.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the short absence of predators, fathead minnows from the Sevier River found Yuba a great place to breed. Their population exploded and they filled the lake. You could see big clouds of them everywhere in the shallows. The rainbows ate lots of fathead minnows and grew big and fat...fast. By late fall of 2005 we were having 20 to 30 fish days on trout from 4 to 6 pounds...with some pushing 8 pounds. Fantastic.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That same fall we were also catching lots of small pike...in the 16" to 20" range. Evidently a few big spawners had survived in the river and had done their thing in the spring. A few perch were showing up too, especially for folks fishing for trout near the bridge. Again, the minnows were everywhere and the perch and trout were glutting. No walleyes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The following spring a few walleyes showed up in the DWR netting survey, along with a surprising number of perch. And, anglers fishing for trout were catching smaller trout and more perch. In fact, trout fishermen complained that perch were becoming pesky. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By fall of 2006, the perch were everywhere around the lake, and there were fewer and smaller trout. The fathead minnows were also disappearing and were hard to find anywhere. The exploding perch population was sucking up the last remaining fatheads and the trout were having a tough time making a living. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On one of my exploratory trips in September 2006, prior to the RAC meeting at which I lobbied to get perch fishing opened a year earlier than scheduled, I caught over 200 perch in only a couple of hours. And, to put a punctuation mark on it, I caught perch that had been feasting on the latest planting of trout fingerlings (see pics). So, first the perch ate all of the trout's food (fathead minnows), then they ate the baby trout. DWR declined to open Yuba for perch until 2008.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the meantime, the carp population has exploded too. Bajillions of those buggers and they are actively competing with perch and walleyes for the available forage (baby perch). The walleyes have had a tough time establishing the huge populations hey did in the past. The northern pike population seems much larger, in proportion, than it has been in the past, and big northerns eat small walleyes a lot. So, the walleyes are getting it from both ends. The other fish eat their groceries and the top predators in the lake eat the walleyes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am interested to see what the results of the DWR netting surveys are this year. But, based upon angler reports and conversations I have had with biologists and Yuba specialists, I can make a couple of rash predictions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. The perch population is big, and seems to be at a stable point of producing enough offspring to feed the masses...without crashing...YET.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. The northern pike population is probably bigger than the walleye population...and will get bigger this spring with the high water flooding the brush for them to have a good spawn.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]3. The walleye population is not as large as anglers would hope. There are a lot in the lake, but as long as there is a good forage base, they will be more difficult to catch in numbers. The biggest hauls of walleyes in the past have been during the years just before a big crash...when the food supplies were almost gone and feeding was very competitive.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The apparent good news is that it looks like Yuba is going to be full for all of the upcoming spawning activity. Good for the perch, walleyes, pike and catfish. Unfortunately, also good for the carp. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We who have fished Yuba through several boom and bust cycles have come to know that you have to take advantage of the abundance when the lake is healthy, but to not be surprised when a drought year...or greedy water users...drop the water levels and start the bust cycle.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yuba is a big mud bowl, with little natural structure. All of the fish rely on the water getting up into the weeds and brush that grow in during low water periods. A difference of a few feet in overall lake depth, at spawning time, can make a major difference in the health and ecology of the lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That is the short answer. The long one remains to be seen.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]PS...there are still a few 'bows in the lake, but they are all running scared and many of the survivors have big slash marks on their sides. Pikes loves troutskis.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Near the end of a long drought, about 2003/2004, Yuba was drained down to a few carp filled mud puddles, to allow work on the dam. Some of the other fish (walleyes, pike, catfish) escaped upstream in the Sevier River and survived until water returned in late 2004.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Once the lake had water, trout were planted to provide an "instant fishery" until other species could rebuild their populations. No walleye, pike or catfish were planted. But, through Rocky Mountain Anglers and DWR, a bunch of perch were planted, both to provide future angling potential and to become a food source for the walleye and pike.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the short absence of predators, fathead minnows from the Sevier River found Yuba a great place to breed. Their population exploded and they filled the lake. You could see big clouds of them everywhere in the shallows. The rainbows ate lots of fathead minnows and grew big and fat...fast. By late fall of 2005 we were having 20 to 30 fish days on trout from 4 to 6 pounds...with some pushing 8 pounds. Fantastic.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That same fall we were also catching lots of small pike...in the 16" to 20" range. Evidently a few big spawners had survived in the river and had done their thing in the spring. A few perch were showing up too, especially for folks fishing for trout near the bridge. Again, the minnows were everywhere and the perch and trout were glutting. No walleyes.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The following spring a few walleyes showed up in the DWR netting survey, along with a surprising number of perch. And, anglers fishing for trout were catching smaller trout and more perch. In fact, trout fishermen complained that perch were becoming pesky. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]By fall of 2006, the perch were everywhere around the lake, and there were fewer and smaller trout. The fathead minnows were also disappearing and were hard to find anywhere. The exploding perch population was sucking up the last remaining fatheads and the trout were having a tough time making a living. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]On one of my exploratory trips in September 2006, prior to the RAC meeting at which I lobbied to get perch fishing opened a year earlier than scheduled, I caught over 200 perch in only a couple of hours. And, to put a punctuation mark on it, I caught perch that had been feasting on the latest planting of trout fingerlings (see pics). So, first the perch ate all of the trout's food (fathead minnows), then they ate the baby trout. DWR declined to open Yuba for perch until 2008.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the meantime, the carp population has exploded too. Bajillions of those buggers and they are actively competing with perch and walleyes for the available forage (baby perch). The walleyes have had a tough time establishing the huge populations hey did in the past. The northern pike population seems much larger, in proportion, than it has been in the past, and big northerns eat small walleyes a lot. So, the walleyes are getting it from both ends. The other fish eat their groceries and the top predators in the lake eat the walleyes.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I am interested to see what the results of the DWR netting surveys are this year. But, based upon angler reports and conversations I have had with biologists and Yuba specialists, I can make a couple of rash predictions.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]1. The perch population is big, and seems to be at a stable point of producing enough offspring to feed the masses...without crashing...YET.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]2. The northern pike population is probably bigger than the walleye population...and will get bigger this spring with the high water flooding the brush for them to have a good spawn.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]3. The walleye population is not as large as anglers would hope. There are a lot in the lake, but as long as there is a good forage base, they will be more difficult to catch in numbers. The biggest hauls of walleyes in the past have been during the years just before a big crash...when the food supplies were almost gone and feeding was very competitive.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The apparent good news is that it looks like Yuba is going to be full for all of the upcoming spawning activity. Good for the perch, walleyes, pike and catfish. Unfortunately, also good for the carp. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We who have fished Yuba through several boom and bust cycles have come to know that you have to take advantage of the abundance when the lake is healthy, but to not be surprised when a drought year...or greedy water users...drop the water levels and start the bust cycle.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yuba is a big mud bowl, with little natural structure. All of the fish rely on the water getting up into the weeds and brush that grow in during low water periods. A difference of a few feet in overall lake depth, at spawning time, can make a major difference in the health and ecology of the lake.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That is the short answer. The long one remains to be seen.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]PS...there are still a few 'bows in the lake, but they are all running scared and many of the survivors have big slash marks on their sides. Pikes loves troutskis.[/#0000ff]
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