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Newsflash |
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Eastern-Mid Atlantic September 7-12, 2008, Clarksville, VA
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Upcoming Events |
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State Casting Kids Finals August 30, 2008, Orange, VA
Junior State Championship August 16 & 17, 2008, Smith Mountain Lake
Children's Miracle Network, Smith Mountain Lake, Parkway Marina October 5, 2008
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Summer Conservation Tips
As we approach the hottest days of summer and the busiest time of the tournament and recreational angling season, I would like to recommend a few tips for hot weather angling. Following these suggestions will benefit you, the fish you catch, and your fellow anglers.
1. As temperatures rise, so does the mortality rate for those fish we catch. To help improve the odds that your fish will live to be caught and enjoyed another day, fill your livewell early in the day. The earlier you fill it, the cooler the water will be and the more dissolved oxygen the water will hold.
2. Do not fill your livewell until your boat is in open water. Avoid the water around marinas and boat launchs as it may have become stagnant or contaminated. Also avoid water in shallow areas – it may be warmer and contain less oxygen.
3. When water temperatures rise above 75 degrees Fahrenheit, switch your livewell pumps to ‘recirculating’ and start adding ice to the water in the livewell. By doing so, you avoid pumping the warmer water from the lake into the livewell and, instead, start recirculating the water whose temperature you are controlling by the addition of the ice. A 10 degree increase in water temperature will increase the bass’s metabolism by 20%, thereby increasing its oxygen needs, while at the same time, the warmer water will hold 10% less dissolved oxygen.
4. Fish excrete ammonia as one of their waste products. On a hot day, a limit of fish held in a livewell could excrete enough ammonia during a tournament day as to make the level of ammonia in the water fatal for those fish. To avoid this, flush and refill approximately half of the water in your livewell every few hours. If water temperatures are higher than 75 degrees, remember to add ice again.
5. Fish acclimate to the chemical composition of the waters in which they live. Abrupt changes in those chemicals can be harmful, if not fatal, to bass. To avoid this, never fill your livewell with water from any source other than the lake you are currently fishing.
6. As we spend more days and longer days on the waters this summer, we are likely to take more food and drinks on our boats with us. Please adopt a pollution standard that backpackers and hikers have used for decades: If you pack it in, pack it out! In other words, don’t throw your trash in the water. As you finish with a drink container or sandwich wrapper, put the waste in a stowage bin in your boat. Leave it on the open deck, and your next run down the lake will likely leave your trash in the water. Once your angling day is over and you are back at the ramp securing your gear, dispose of the trash in an approved receptacle, not in the ramp parking area.
7. Once your day is finished and your boat and gear are secured, please check your boats and trailers for any vegetation that may have hitched a ride. Cleaning all of this plant material from your boat and trailer will help prevent transporting an unwanted species to another body of water.
Have a fun and fish-filled summer and I will…
See you on the water,
Robert Blankenship, Conservation Director
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Conservation
