How Will Rainiest Oct. On Rec. Affect Nov. Stream Fishing?

[cwc87]

I think the high water is great. No gigging pressure. It displaces fish more evenly. The bottoms won't be so littered with leaves. Crankbaitn gonna be great. The water temp came up a little. New structure for fish to live in. Little crayfish washed in from all feeder creeks. Yea it is mother nature's way!!!!!!!!

[Flysmallie]

I think it will help just because a good flushing always seems to help. But I don't worry about it too much either, if I get a chance to fish I go, period. Nice waether is for sissies .

[brownieman]

I think the high water is great. No gigging pressure. It displaces fish more evenly. The bottoms won't be so littered with leaves. Crankbaitn gonna be great. The water temp came up a little. New structure for fish to live in. Little crayfish washed in from all feeder creeks. Yea it is mother nature's way!!!!!!!!

You are right on 100% sir.

Not just crayfish there is an influx of all sorts of little critters...plus the fish can forage around in areas that are generally not reachable.

Nothing much better for a stream now and then than a good flushin...only drawback I can see is it may make the bite a little toupher...don't imagine they have as hard a time keeping their bellys full...just my take on it, not worth much most of the time, lol.

later on

[Al Agnew]

From my experience excessive rainfall will help recharge the springs but not for as long as one would think.

For them to have the output they have in years past would literally take decades of excessive rainfall. I have personally done some research concerning stream flows, spring outputs, watersheds, aquifers, etc.

I don't have the answers neither can I explain the decline with the exception of where it all leads back to in many cases...'Too Much Pressure'. Old Mother Earth is struggling to keep up with mankind itself.

All our futile attempts to control her are apparantly not getting much good results. Hate to quote this guy but "Hows That Workin for Ya"...if you know of whom I speak, lol.

later on

I agree...the springs will come up, and stay up for a while, but will go back down unless we get good rain on a consistent basis. And I think that one explanation for the springs not flowing as much as they once seemed to do might have to do with the amount of development in their watersheds. The more development, the faster water runs off. The faster it runs off, the less it has a chance to sink into the ground and eventually reach the aquifers. So a heavy rain these days brings up the springs fast with the greater amount of water entering the aquifer through major sinkholes and such, but that influx soon subsides and the hills don't continue to feed water into the aquifers after the rain and initial runoff is over.

[eric1978]

Well I did actually have some opinions, but I wanted to hear all yours first. cwc87 and brownieman pretty much covered my thoughts on it. Along with more forage and the little kick (or at least lingering stability) in water temps, I also think we'll be benefited by a few extra weeks of a little color in the water. I think all the precipitation may delay the "wintertime crystal-clear river makes for spooky fish syndrome" a little, and keep the fish somewhat more active later in the season. At least I hope!

[Wayne SW/MO]

As far as springs go, when the shallow aquifer gets low its harder for heavy rains to refill them. Most of them don't have vents large enough to allow the to displace air rapidly. when they are normal it doesn't take much water to refill, but when they get low it's a long slow process to catch up.