FLW this weekend

[Guest]

Based on the rainfall, the majority of it fell in the upper reaches of the watershed, vs down the lake.

So, the runoff might be strictly up the rivers

[Stump bumper]

I think the most important park of this stop for the FLW is that they make their number one money provider happy since that is their reason to fish. The people on this forum fish for the love of fishing, you tour for an entirely different love. So since this where the really big checks are written I don't see any reason for the PROs to complain. If they had no sponsors and fished Falcon and top producing lakes all the time for fun with there own money like the rest of us they would not be PROs.

So the real question in my mind is, do stripers in the lake reduce the number of zeros on that Walmart check?

[Guest]

Looks like the West Fork has crested, barring any additional rainfall.

[Notropis]

J-Doc, There is lots of documented data gathered from fish population samples on Beaver Lake. The problem is finding cause and effect in a dynamic system that can change drastically from year to year. Having studied the lake for 28 years, all I can offer is my best read on the lake gathered by comparing scientifically conducted fish population samples with water quality and historical water inflow and lake level information. There are so many variables that effect fish populations that it's virtually impossible to narrow it down to just one or two factors.

Some of the key factors I've learned regarding the bass population:

High water (especially a year that stays high through the summer) is the engine that drives bass production in Beaver Lake. Bass fingerlings, largemouth bass, in particular, don't do as well in low water years mainly because of a lack of nursery habitat. High water years always create the strongest year classes of bass and the fastest growing individual fish.

The frequency and timing of the high water years is also extremely important. The best scenario is high water every 3-4 years. Too close together causes competition and sometimes suppression of fingerling production by the previous year's fish (intermediate bass).

Slow individual fish growth is a historic problem for bass in Beaver Lake (especially spotted bass). I think the main problem is slow growth exhibited by bass in their first year, especially in low water years. It's not unusual in low water years for spotted bass and to a lesser extent, largemouth, to only grow 3-5 inches long in a year. Compare that to growth in sustained high water (8-10 inches and more) and you begin to see the problem. Small fingerling and yearling bass have to stay close to shore to keep from being eaten, while the bigger ones can roam out in deeper water and take advantage of the threadfin shad at a younger age. I believe that the fingerlings spawned in low water years are a major contributor to the number of small bass in Beaver Lake.

Regarding studies on Beaver Lake concerning stripers and what they eat:

Several stomach content analysis studies were done the 80's and early 90's on Beaver Lake in conjunction with striped bass tournaments and early gill net studies. The studies overwhelmingly demonstrated the stripers preference for shad (over 90%) with crayfish being their next highest preference. In the winter the threadfin shad were the most common forage found in their stomachs which is easy to understand since the threadfins are sluggish due to cold water temps and easy prey in the winter.

I hope that gives you some information to go on. Beaver Lake is a very dynamic system and a decent bass lake but is more suited to the open water species of fish that can take better advantage of it's primary forage at an earlier age.

Again, just my humble opinion.

[JohnF52]

Based on the rainfall, the majority of it fell in the upper reaches of the watershed, vs down the lake.

So, the runoff might be strictly up the rivers

The rivers will likely soon return to normal. That surge on West Fork was caused by a short downpour in Fayetteville that led to street flooding. Look at Town Branch tributary graph. It drains all of south Fayetteville. The White below the West Fork mouth is subject to sudden rises due to paved areas in Fayetteville. Danger to waders if they don't get out quickly.

[Guest]

The rivers will likely soon return to normal. That surge on West Fork was caused by a short downpour in Fayetteville that led to street flooding. Look at Town Branch tributary graph. It drains all of south Fayetteville. The White below the West Fork mouth is subject to sudden rises due to paved areas in Fayetteville. Danger to waders if they don't get out quickly.

Exactly, the lightning from that storm woke me up before daylight. I could hear the small hail pelting down on the pavement.

On the drive to work, I noticed how swift & nasty the West Fork looked.

[Feathers and Fins]

Jason there is proof. Read the paper I sent you.

[Quillback]

I wonder if anyone has fished big craws for stripers?

Thanks for the input, Notropis.

[J-Doc]

I wonder if anyone has fished big craws for stripers?

Thanks for the input, Notropis.

I have not but I'm tempted.

I pulled a fully intact craw out of a striper stomach last summer. Must have eaten it just prior to getting caught. Good color indicator and size of Beaver Lake crass. I was surprised to see it there but then I remembered tarpon love crabs. So I could see striper eating craws.

[Quillback]

I remember reading somewhere that salt water stripers will eat lobster, did a search and found some interesting info. Makes sense they would eat craws in freshwater.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/gone-fishin%E2%80%99/2012/08/new-research-lobster-predators-gulf-maine