tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post4556296391989106619..comments2024-03-07T08:37:09.517-08:00Comments on Connecticut Fly Angler: A Theory on The Disappearance of Atlantic Salmon in CT RM Lytlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17177569674375245099noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-17795613384043462172017-01-31T20:16:25.064-08:002017-01-31T20:16:25.064-08:00True, stocked salmon parr don't have the perfe...True, stocked salmon parr don't have the perfectly adapted genetics that wild salmon do. But that does not account for the rapid decrease in runs after a few years of what initially seemed to indicate success in getting renewed salmon runs. And though I agree completely that dams spell disaster, the dam on the salmon river should not effect salmon returns there. Not only is the fishway very passable, but in moderate to high water even the face of the dam itself can be passed. If the dams were stopping incoming adults Steve Gephard would be seeing them stacked up bellow the dam when he dives there, and if it was stopping outgoing smolts they would stack up above the dam or just stay in the river and become land locked, neither of which is occurring based on my frequent observations in that location. RM Lytlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17177569674375245099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-41004283082005022652017-01-31T20:09:00.212-08:002017-01-31T20:09:00.212-08:00Thank you, from what I've heard stripers were ...Thank you, from what I've heard stripers were making it farther North than they ever had been before.RM Lytlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17177569674375245099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-32982304722835198482017-01-31T17:30:02.262-08:002017-01-31T17:30:02.262-08:00Interesting write up. However, there is no questi...Interesting write up. However, there is no question that a stocked salmon population will never have the same run as a wild population. The two can't be compared. This is evident not only in the Northeast e.g Merrimack River but also out west. California has been trying to revive a steelhead run in Russian river for almost twenty years only for efforts to be in vain. In my opinion there are always many contributing factors but always two seem to be present; overfishing and dams. "Show me a river with a dam and I'll show you a river without a salmon run.<br /><br />Ps <br />Great blog by the way. Love following it, keeps me going through the winter 😉Jomihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00680367413136889635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-69607902687092814522017-01-27T12:29:50.260-08:002017-01-27T12:29:50.260-08:00Good theory, up north in Canada the stripers are m...Good theory, up north in Canada the stripers are making a return to the coast of New Brunswick (northern) and Nova Scotia affecting the salmon rivers. Some anglers are concerned and some older say they (stripers)are returning as they used to be there. Loss of habitat, ell grass, and reduced prey makes salmon parr and smolt easy targets. Good question for the experts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-52618113173650931482017-01-09T19:45:59.479-08:002017-01-09T19:45:59.479-08:00There definitely was a run of salmon in the Connec...There definitely was a run of salmon in the Connecticut, as Atlantic salmon were found here well before there was any sort of stocking. In all likelihood it was always a comparatively small run as this is right at the southern end of their native range, but clearly there was a run. It may be the case that the native peoples fished primarily for shad being that they were always more prevalent and are a much easier fish to catch with net or spear. RM Lytlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17177569674375245099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-24193768497761295142017-01-09T19:08:06.999-08:002017-01-09T19:08:06.999-08:00The CT River Valley middens, or native american du...The CT River Valley middens, or native american dumps, have been noted to be full of shad bones and absent of salmon bones from what I've read, casting doubt that there ever really was a substantial salmon run, or run at all, in the CT River. I'm no archeologist, just someone who's read up on the topic for whatever that's worth...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08319658607071983576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-79116056052510255502017-01-09T08:47:36.764-08:002017-01-09T08:47:36.764-08:00Unfortunately the only issue here that we can atte...Unfortunately the only issue here that we can attempt to solve right now is the herring runs, and as we know very little about what is happening to them that is a tricky problem that a lot of great minds are trying to figure out . Smallmouth and trout are both popular gamefish and the only way to solve that would be to stop stocking and institute some sort of kill on site policy for browns, rainbows, and bass... which would be wildly unpopular. <br /><br />I am not sure what the optimal range is for salmon parr but I have seen them feeding and thriving when water temps were very near 80 degrees. RM Lytlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17177569674375245099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1271872397720787748.post-27688869912006534142017-01-09T06:32:02.758-08:002017-01-09T06:32:02.758-08:00Intriguing thoughts RM. It's certainly someth...Intriguing thoughts RM. It's certainly something to bring up to a coldwater fisheries biologist to see if there has been any work done in the same direction of thought. If not, perhaps it would help create another avenue for the biologists to consider.<br /><br />Do you know what the thermal range is for salmon Parr? Like you, I have a few streams near home which have runs of salmon. In my case, they are landlocks, and the young are wild fish. But it's amazing to me, how you can go down to these streams to try and catch trout up to about early July when things start to warm, and then you can catch small bass and a host of other sunfish species or fall fish. Amazingly, the "coldwater" fish that you literally cant avoid all summer - salmon parr. The darn stream could be 73 degrees, and you cant "not" catch parr. Its always amazed me. <br /><br />It makes me wonder if Parr are more heat tolerant than adult or even grilse aged fish... come to think of it, perhaps that's why adult brookies suffer greater losses in years like this past one than young, small fish...<br /><br />Any way, thanks for making me think!<br />Be well<br />WillHibernationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06209232417170426487noreply@blogger.com