schreckstoff

Seems to me that eliminating ice scour which we could assume should normally “scour” spawning habitat, could have a negative impact on species that evolved to depend on that, scoured habitat. The Niagara situation could be similar to how the Oswego River locks&damns debris booms act to reduce the natural input of woody habitat into LO. Native sculpin ‘would’ use that wood to spawn (pun intended). I always ignored the ice boom chatter, seems like there might be more to it than I thought.

Mmmmmm Canadian bacon! RE: why biggest kings tend to come from the north shore- I continue to think the idea that the feeding and growth conditions are more optimal is the most likely contributor, like how the biggest fish always take the prime feeding spot in a stream. I know the idea of density dependent growth is not as fun to think about but if king density on the North Shore is on average lower than the south shore that also might account for some of the size differences . When the creels are done in the same year, aren’t the catch rates a little bit lower on the North Shore? as a fish scientist, I am definitely curious about it., but you’re right Yankee I don’t think I have seen anything specific on size differences in any reports, other than the tagging data from years ago that showed a portion of the big Kings caught on the North Shore were US stocked I bet if the angling community wanted more information on the age and source of the biggest kings from the derbys & tournaments, and they took it upon themselves to collect scale samples, an accurate length and weight, and even a tissue sample, I bet those samples would get worked up and data reported on. As Dr Demming noted “In God we trust, others bring data “ . just a thought

BW prediction: 33.7 lbs Bluffers (maybe Cobourg) What do you think will be the biggest and from where? I definitely love Gills satellite pics and LLs puzzles but I am ready to be ON THE WATER!

JPK , GillT, thanks for the heads up, especially on A888! I sent some emails, hoping to call later. Rosenthal from the upper west side ? Anyone know the backstory on this? Where is the motivation for Hells Kitchen to care about the states pheasant program?

Mdreams, There is decent evidence to suggest LkOnt actually is further along the timeline of the mussel invasion than LM or LH, (but not as far along as LkErie) LO has had abundant mussels deep for decades. In LO Round Goby predation has a big influence on mussels that are shallow (<250 ft) but the deepest dreissenid mussels seem to continue to grow/survive. The higher nutrient loading and faster water residence time in LO compared to LM and LH might be LOs saving grace for fish productivity. Of course nothing definite, just my current take on the situation , BW

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/n5KjDnoyhpF3MQm5/?mibextid=WC7FNe Here is the link to TVO today docs. These film makers are awesome! They have also helped us observe Deepwater Sculpin nests in ~350’ of water and Cisco spawn behavior. Facebook page “All Too Clear Film” has more beautiful footage.

This thread is awesome. Lots of interesting ideas. How about density or in this case density dependent individual size? Across every fish species & population I have ever worked on I can not think of any that do not get smaller when density goes up and get bigger when density goes down. Alewife in LO is a great example, higher density, growth and size decline relative to when density is lower. This happened when the lake had a phosphorus concentration of 20 ug/L AND when it was 5 ug/L. Food and genetics definitely have an effect at times, but density seems to be a consistent driver of fish size Just another factor to think about!