In light of the recent flooding

[jfrith]

Just wondering with all the recent major flooding we are having, what effects does this have on stream fish populations (smallmouth, largemouth, walleye, etc.)? What about non-native species like trout in our Ozark streams? And also where do these species seek refuge during these extreme flooding events? I think this topic might have been discussed a year or so ago but I couldn't find the post. Anyway, thanks for any insight you can provide.

 

Joe

[Haris122]

Good topic. I'm kind of curious myself.

[Al Agnew]

The fish evolved to handle flooding, even cold weather flooding, so this flood shouldn't affect them too much.  Trout didn't evolve in these streams, so might be scattered a lot more than bass or walleye would be.  After floods on upper Current River I've found trout stranded in little pools back in the brush away from the river; you hardly ever see that with bass.

One of the things you look for when searching for smallmouth wintering pools is a place adjacent to the pool where they could get out of the heavy current of a flood.  A small creek coming in, even just a ravine in the hillside along the pool, or a deep indentation in a bluff line above water level when it's normal, makes a pool more likely to be a wintering spot according to many anglers.  Certainly the fish move to places where they are sheltered from the current, which are often places that are high and dry normally, either out in the flooded fields on the other side of the tree line, or anywhere else they can find where the current is slower.  Can you imagine the power they would have to fight if they just hunkered down in the middle of what was normally a pool, or behind a rock in the main channel?

[Norm M]

 the forage this time of year tends to be more fish than crustacean/macro invert up in Illinois. The forage can't handle the increased flow so they move to areas like Al mentioned . The predators follow. Find the food , you'll find feeding fish .

 

 Don't get hung up on bottom type or natural vs manmade cover .  They don't care if it's a rock or the bumper from a 63 chevy pick up .

[fishinwrench]

I hate it when people say "find the food and you'll find the fish",  that is such bulls#it.   There is way more food than there is fish so finding forage doesn't help find your target fish one bit....Hell we can ALWAYS find baitfish.  

You may not find bass where there is no forage, but you can definitely find forage where there are no bass.  Happens all the time.

[Al Agnew]

Well, yes, in warm weather and normal water levels there is food almost everywhere in Ozark streams--the least food is in deep, slow water, and that's where fishing is usually the most unproductive.  Floods, however, change things.  The normal forage relocates to get out of the current.  Things that usually live on dry land like worms suddenly find themselves in the water.  So the bass move to where that stuff is.

But I'm not sure a flood this time of year is quite the same.  I suspect the fish are moving to the same places as the forage, but not so much to eat as to survive.  Finding the food there is a bonus that they may or may not take advantage of.

[Haris122]

I went to Lake 33 at Bush Wildlife today near the spillway, and fishing from the bank there I saw 3-4 fish dead in the marshy grass. Must've got stuck when the lake levels dropped. Pretty sure there were more had I looked really closely. But I guess in that instance the spillway causes the water to recede faster too. Wonder what percent of the fish that venture out into floodplains end up getting stuck there. A few weeks back I saw what looked like a pile of Fish on the Illinois side of the Mississippi in a flood plain that had drained. I would've figured they somehow should know when to head back on time. 

[Norm M]

4 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

Well, yes, in warm weather and normal water levels there is food almost everywhere in Ozark streams--the least food is in deep, slow water, and that's where fishing is usually the most unproductive.  Floods, however, change things.  The normal forage relocates to get out of the current.  Things that usually live on dry land like worms suddenly find themselves in the water.  So the bass move to where that stuff is.

But I'm not sure a flood this time of year is quite the same.  I suspect the fish are moving to the same places as the forage, but not so much to eat as to survive.  Finding the food there is a bonus that they may or may not take advantage of.

 From my experiences , it's "easier" to catch fish early on in the high water process . It seems to taper off for a bit after the initial "success" if any is had. My friend ,  Phil and I theorize it's due to the slower metabolic rate this time of year . There have been enough exceptions to this over the last two decades that I realize that there are no hard and fast rules that I can discern. The only thing to do is got out and try , if this sort of fishing appeals to you .  It's definitely not for every one but I enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to learn something .

 

 I agree with Al , that it is mostly about survival .