Trolling for stripers

[Duayne]

40-90 is a dead zone, at least on the lower end. So above 40 and below 90. Even below 90 isn't great right now water quality wise.

[thunderstorm]

Thanks. Hope to make it down next weekend.

[peter]

Wow. This sounds like when dam was lowered to repair the dam. That was always scary in the fall.

[kstonich]

"40-90 is a dead zone" is this due to the upswing in in temperature or is this a normal pattern as the thermocline starts it change.?

[Duayne]

There are several factors from what I understand. The unusual amount of rain earlier this year means they have had to pull hard earlier than normal, the need to pull quality water to sustain the river and the hotter than normal calm days of late. A cold front with some rain would be great about now. Some higher cool winds to help churn things up wouldn't hurt either. I've seen reports of some floating catfish in the heads of creeks. Some think it is from catch and release, which may be a factor, but I think it is poor water quality compounded by farm chemical runoff. I haven't heard of enough to raise an alarm as of yet. The water quality is suppose to be better mid lake but I've heard of some catfish floating there as well so I'm not sure I have a good explanation.

A die off could happen but let's pray they can hang in there until later this week when we are suppose to see some cooler evenings and not as warm days.

Take all this for what it is, which is a weekend warrior that keeps his ear to the tracks as much as possible.

[peter]

I think the poor water quality (low oxygen levels) at depths this year that Duayne mentions is in large part the result of the sluice gates being opened. Not sure how long they were open but pretty sure it was at least a week back in mid August when I saw them and a lot. lot , lot of water was coming out. The sluice pulls water from much deeper where the colder oxygenated water is where the stripers of size usually hang in late summer. I have no idea why the sluice was open or how long it was open. Duanye is right, the depths he mentions has very little oxygen. It's a dead zone.

When the dam work was being done they opened the sluice in late summer to put colder water in the river I was told and that helped the Trout. I don't remember them being open before the dam work but I could be wrong as I was not down there much before that.

[Duayne]

That is exactly what they are doing. They are still pulling from the sluice gates regularly. They do it around this time every year, but there is usually enough water that it doesn't matter (before and since the dam work). There is plenty of water still this year, just not enough quality water from pulling so early. Our current weather pattern has as much impact as anything.

I have a report of one caught on a down rigger at 60. Seems a little strange based on everything else I am hearing but that's what I was told.