From: "Jimmy D. Moore" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [VFB] Shocking has its place Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 14:39:42 -0500
Electro shocking has its place. Four years ago, using electro shocking, we removed and re-located, 5,000 pure bred Rio Grande Cutthroats from the Lower Ponil Creek to the Middle Ponil at Philmont Scout Ranch. The South Ponil was in dire straits. The stream was drying up and the flow was intermittent, all due to lack of snow melt and rainfall. The trout were making their last stand in spring holes and at the junction of feeder streams where there was enough cold water to keep them alive.
Middle Ponil Creek gets its flow out of the Val Vidal wilderness area and is 10 feet at its widest and has a much better flow and insect population than the South Ponil. The area we moved them into on the Middle Ponil had been poisoned over a two-mile stretch and had weirs placed at both ends to prevent rainbows and cuttbows from coming in from upstream and also to prevent the 5,000 we transplanted from going up or down stream. Our efforts were all in vain, though for in the summer of 2003 a large forest fire literally sucked the water out of the Lower, Middle and Upper Ponil, killing all but very few of the fish. And, our efforts to save a breeding population of Rio Grande Cutthroats was for naught. We'll do it again someday. However, a year after the re-location we did a survey and found that approximately 95 % of the transplanted Cutts lived through the first year.
JIMMY D
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Steve,
I agree that it is not to be used unless NEEDED to be used. I'd much rather use the good ol' fashioned "look and see" method. However, when you are tagging the fish for release back into the water, or to weigh them and record data on them and such, (again, my humble but overstated opinion) electrofishing is the way to go. As for the high mortality rate, I've not found rates that high - but that is because we used the lowest setting possible and "pulsed" the current for a second, then saw what the group could net, and repeated. If just counting, I agree with you that it's not waranted. It's kinda hard to get a fish to sit still while you go over and tag it, though <G> If only fishing were so easy... but that'd take the fun of the challenge from it.
In any case, I meant no offense, and hope it wasn't received that way. Tight wraps, Pete
________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
--
========================================================
Jimmy D. Moore - Retired Scout Executive, BSA, Moderator Fly Fishing World Email List,Member VFB, HCFF, GRTU, FFF, NAFC - Life Member. Contributor - Texas Fish & Game Magazine. Outdoor Humor Writer. Author of "MOON HOLLER MISFITS" Click URL for info.
http://home.earthlink.net/~rayado/rayadoflyfishingflypatternstips/index.html
VFB member pics: Found in VFB Scrapbook-Click below.
<http://www.virtualflybox.com/scrapbook/index.php>
"Being able to read trout streams is just as valuable to a fly fisherman as the ability to read a defense is to a Quarterback."
========================================================
_________________________________________________________________
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar � get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/
