M-ville over the weekend

[richyd4u]

Hadn't had the stomach to return to Minersville since we slaughtered them on the fly rods this spring (and ever spring before that). I knew it would be a  sight seeing the low water levels and fish kill off...and it was. We camped there over the weekend, and the weather was beautiful. My oldest daughter and I set out on the kayaks the first evening and immediately hooked into two very large and powerful Wipers...they are so fun! My daughter was able to get hers up to the kayak after a long battle, but I had the net and was nearly to her when it regained some strength and made one last run and broker her off. We were bummed we didn't get a pic, but it was around 6 lbs or so. My Wiper hit me and gave some awesome drag-screaming runs and then came unbuttoned. As soon as we had hooked those two fish, they disappeared, as wipers tend to do...always moving. We ended up with no trout that evening, we threw everything at them too...including fly fishing. Water was very off-colored and very shallow. Next day I went back out to try and recreate the wipers, but after hours of casting and trolling, nothing....did manage 3 healthy 17" bows coming back into the ramp on a kastmaster. While I was over cruising the damn, I saw an old guy knocking the trout dead on powerbait. Now, I'm not one to ever throw powerbait, but I will if it's the last resort for my kids to catch some fish. So, went back to the camper, got the kids (I have 3 girls) and the wife and we made the hike over the damn and got 3 poles in the water. It was non-stop action from that point on until we had to leave. The kids had a blast! The fish fought hard, just like the always do there. All the fish were 15-17", fat and sassy. As I suspected, the lower water and warm temps killed the biggins off first, and the younger classes have mostly pulled through to this point. Loved seeing a lot of snow up on the peaks above Beaver, just hope it continues through the winter and into the spring so we can start the many year process of getting these fisheries back. It was beautiful up there though. 

[wiperhunter2]

Sounds like a fun weekend. You don't think those bigger bow were caught and kept earlier in the year?

[Cowboypirate]

My wife will often talk me into tossing PB, too. She told me one time it was sure hard to catch all the fish while watching me practice casting

[Panchodog]

The dwr had this in their report last week.....

Minersville Reservoir (Blue Ribbon): ★★★

Fall Forecast: Though the reservoir level has been low most of the year, emergency changes aimed at reducing the density of fish have prevented significant die-offs. With the end of irrigation season nearing, the reservoir level will slowly begin to rise and algae blooms will die back. Trout will begin feeding more aggressively, especially following tough conditions this summer. Look for fair to good fishing during the fall. (Oct. 4)

[richyd4u]

Sounds like a fun weekend. You don't think those bigger bow were caught and kept earlier in the year?

I'm sure some were...but judging by all the large carcasses surrounding the lake, I'd say many more died related to conditions.

[wiperhunter2]

Sounds like a fun weekend. You don't think those bigger bow were caught and kept earlier in the year?

I'm sure some were...but judging by all the large carcasses surrounding the lake, I'd say many more died related to conditions.

Well that's too bad, hopefully we can have a good Winter and the lake can start rebuilding it's population. Any signs that the wipers had a similar die off?

[Saltslam]

Such a shame we have had drought conditions for the last few years. Last year Minersville was as good as any lake I've fished for size and numbers in my life, and I'm no spring chicken. We were even killing it through the ice on jigs both jigging and dead sticking. Hopefully with more water over a few year period it can return to similar greatness.

[richyd4u]

Sounds like a fun weekend. You don't think those bigger bow were caught and kept earlier in the year?

I'm sure some were...but judging by all the large carcasses surrounding the lake, I'd say many more died related to conditions.

Well that's too bad, hopefully we can have a good Winter and the lake can start rebuilding it's population. Any signs that the wipers had a similar die off?

Didn't see any wiper carcasses...and the two we hooked into were doing very well. The smallies are doing fine as well. We've had a great start to the winter snow pack, just hope it continues and repeats for a few years.

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Such a shame we have had drought conditions for the last few years. Last year Minersville was as good as any lake I've fished for size and numbers in my life, and I'm no spring chicken. We were even killing it through the ice on jigs both jigging and dead sticking. Hopefully with more water over a few year period it can return to similar greatness.

I know, right! M-ville has been money for many years, especially at ice-off. I guess we will see this next spring how many biggins survived.

[castnshoot]

There has been a steady die off going on at Minersville going back to late spring.

Plus people bait fishing pulled a ton of fish out, including Bass and Wipers.

That being said I think the decision made by the Biologist to pull the Trout regs was a good move, and may have worked to save a base population of Trout.

There does seem to still be a pretty good base of 2 year old fish in the lake.

The 3 to 4 year old fish that we have all been enjoying so much did not fair nearly as well.

With Minersville’s standard stocking of 10 to 15 thousand 10 inch fish come late fall, plus some luck on the moisture front we should be on track for a good recovery.

Maybe next time they let people take Trout and use bait they might put in place a no take rule on Bass and Wipers while people are allowed to use bait.

[PBH]

castnshoot -- I think you'll find that the bass and wipers are going to be in the same shape as the trout. I think that the emergency regulations they put in place did exactly what they hoped, and we'll see good fishing again next spring for all species.

The wipers will be just fine. Lower numbers of fish in general will mean that those fish will grow FAST. Fast growth = big fish. You'll see big wipers again next summer. And the small mouth were probably due for some increased mortality as well.



A few of you have mentioned that Minersville has been really good "for the last few years". The truth is, Minersville has been amazing going back to the 90's. The only real "bad" years have been years with poor water. It's really an easy solution out there, and Beaver County has finally latched on to this -- when we have good water in Minersville, the fishing is also good.

[Big Sky]

Without a significant amount of rain/snow this winter Minersville will not be much of a fishery next year. The water is very low and will continue to decrease until October 31st. Remember that on November 1st the regulations will be back in place and the bait-masters crew will have to find somewhere else to fish. One of my greatest fears is that a bunch of chubs will be flushed into the lake once they quit irrigating. I'm not sure there is enough of a predator base left in the lake to keep them in check. The river above and below Minersville is full of chubs just waiting to find a new home. The last few years the various bass species and larger trout really kept the chubs in check. I'm not sure that will happen now. Only time will tell.

[castnshoot]

Big sky, it’s not likely Chubs will ever be an issue at Minersville again. A bigger fear is some fly fishermen introduce some “ Golden Trout” into the water shed.?

[Big Sky]

Big sky, it’s not likely Chubs will ever be an issue at Minersville again. A bigger fear is some fly fishermen introduce some “ Golden Trout” into the water shed.?

Have you not seen the amount of chubs in the river above the lake??? They will 100% be back.

[castnshoot]

PBH, I agree with with you for the most part. I think helping the predators out during the bait fishing free for all might not be a bad idea.

At least it would alleviate Big Sky’s fear of Chubs.

I think they made the right move this summer. They have Minersville dialed in, only thing missing is water.

[wiperhunter2]

Big sky, it’s not likely Chubs will ever be an issue at Minersville again. A bigger fear is some fly fishermen introduce some “ Golden Trout” into the water shed.?

Have you not seen the amount of chubs in the river above the lake??? They will 100% be back.

What a lot of folks don't realize is what eating machines wipers are. They are right up there with walleye. At one point Starvation had the same problem with chubs as Minersville once had but over time that chub problem was removed. IMO the wipers will do the same thing, the only reason that had not happened already is because the chubs retreated up the river but as you said, when that flow shows down, they will be back in the lake, or at least some of them will. Those smaller chubs that go back in the lake this Fall and Winter will be a good source of protein for the wipers this Winter

[castnshoot]

There are always tons of chubs in the river above and below the lake.

Like Wiper hunter pretty much said,, those chubs would be a weekend snack even for the wipers still in the lake now.

Chubs are are no longer an issue at Minersville.

Only thing put in the lake so far this year is 4500 wipers....

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Does anyone want to tell the ( real ) story of how chubs got in Beaver river drainage to start with.

[Big Sky]

The chubs have been kept in check by the wipers and it is a success story at Minersville. However the majority of mature sized wipers are no longer in Minersville, hence the reason for my concern. The 4000+ wipers they did put in are smaller than a lot of the chubs. So it will be a year or two before they have any affect on the chub population.

[wiperhunter2]

The chubs have been kept in check by the wipers and it is a success story at Minersville. However the majority of mature sized wipers are no longer in Minersville, hence the reason for my concern. The 4000+ wipers they did put in are smaller than a lot of the chubs. So it will be a year or two before they have any affect on the chub population.

I respectfully disagree, even the original post on this thread tells the story that there are plenty of bigger wipers left in the lake to take care of any chubs that will come back in the lake this Fall and Winter. Wipers over 14" will eat plenty of young of the year chubs and a 6 lb wiper can eat all but the largest chubs, up to 10 and 12". Here is the part of the post I was talking about:

richyd4u
 My oldest daughter and I set out on the kayaks the first evening and immediately hooked into two very large and powerful Wipers...they are so fun! My daughter was able to get hers up to the kayak after a long battle, but I had the net and was nearly to her when it regained some strength and made one last run and broker her off. We were bummed we didn't get a pic, but it was around 6 lbs or so. My Wiper hit me and gave some awesome drag-screaming runs and then came unbuttoned. As soon as we had hooked those two fish, they disappeared, as wipers tend to do...always moving.

[Big Sky]

The chubs have been kept in check by the wipers and it is a success story at Minersville. However the majority of mature sized wipers are no longer in Minersville, hence the reason for my concern. The 4000+ wipers they did put in are smaller than a lot of the chubs. So it will be a year or two before they have any affect on the chub population.

I respectfully disagree, even the original post on this thread tells the story that there are plenty of bigger wipers left in the lake to take care of any chubs that will come back in the lake this Fall and Winter. Wipers over 14" will eat plenty of young of the year chubs and a 6 lb wiper can eat all but the largest chubs, up to 10 and 12". Here is the part of the post I was talking about:

richyd4u
 My oldest daughter and I set out on the kayaks the first evening and immediately hooked into two very large and powerful Wipers...they are so fun! My daughter was able to get hers up to the kayak after a long battle, but I had the net and was nearly to her when it regained some strength and made one last run and broker her off. We were bummed we didn't get a pic, but it was around 6 lbs or so. My Wiper hit me and gave some awesome drag-screaming runs and then came unbuttoned. As soon as we had hooked those two fish, they disappeared, as wipers tend to do...always moving.

The 4446 wipers they put in on 8/12/2021 were 2.16" long. They will have little to no effect on the chubs this coming year. While there are some mature wipers still in Minersville, they are darn few and far between. Seriously when was the last time you fished there or talked to anyone that has seen a school of more than 20 fish in there in the last month? Good luck finding anyone that has seen a significant boil on there in the last month or two as well. I see the lake pretty much every day and I haven't seen a single significant boil in months.

[castnshoot]

A one year old Wiper is 12 to 14 inches,, one of the fastest growing fresh water fish in their first year.

At the end of year 2 they will be 18 to 21 inches.

They are a really big beneficiary of what is knows as Hybrid Vigor. That is what makes them such a great tool at Minersville.

Not much in Minersville for them to boil on. Crawdads for the most part for the Wipers,, they do gorge on trout eggs in the spring, and of course a nice desert of Brown or Cutthroat fingerlings from time to time.

With the current management program there is no need to worry about chubs in Minersville.

I see Minersville from my front porch quite often, also fish it quite often, not to mention first hand reports from a regular line up of fly fishermen from all over the country who hang out at my house when I am not there.

Praying that this is the view looking back at the house from out on the lake come this June.