Effects of Culverts on Fish Passage

If you looked at the press release below you will see that the grant is to study the effects of culverts on fish passage in the St Marys river system.

Turns out that this a problem in many, maybe even most river systems - around here anyway.

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According to Pierre Martel, Resource Management and Public Safety Specialist with Kejimkujik National Park, there are 165 culverts in the park.

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Only 36 of those are on fish bearing streams.

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But get this, recently park staff discovered that of these thirty-six culverts, only fourteen were working as planned, allowing water and fish to pass without interference.
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Fourteen of them were blocked to some degree and eight of them were completely impassable for fish.

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This is in a National Park where people care and will work to repair the problem.

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What the heck is happening elsewhere?

The St. Mary’s River Association (SMRA) Got a $7,500 Shot in the Arm!

"The St. Mary’s River Association (SMRA) in Sherbrooke, NS got a $7,500 shot in the arm recently from the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation (ASCF). The Association is using the funds to identify culverts that interrupt spawning migration and develop a restoration plan for remediation of the river.




Stephen Chase, left, Executive Director of the ASCF, visited the project recently and presented a commemorative cheque to Megan Myer, center, and Dr. Sean Mitchell, right, of the SMRA."

This press release went on to explain:

Poorly placed or non-maintained culverts can interrupt wild Atlantic salmon spawning migrations, restrict access to ideal habitat and food sources, and increase the chance of predation. Previous work in other parts of Nova Scotia indicate that 50-60% of existing culverts are barriers to fish migration.

The St. Mary’s River Association is using its ASCF funding to assess this problem by: evaluating and quantifying culverts as barriers to passage for upstream migratory Atlantic salmon in tributaries of the St. Mary’s River; evaluating and quantifying culverts as barriers to passage for upstream migratory Atlantic salmon in tributaries of the river; evaluating the extent and quality of habitat lost due to impassable culverts; prioritizing culverts for restoration; and developing a restoration plan for culvert remediation.

Contact: Sean C. Mitchell, PhD, Executive Director

Phone: 902-522-2099

E-mail: smitchel@stfx.ca

Fly Line Weight Question From the Mail Bag

Here is an email exchange I thought might make for an interesting discussion. What do you think? Am I full of it or making sense?


Hi Steve;

...Fenwick sent me a beautiful, brand-new AFTM 7-weight rod. I tried it with an 8-weight line and it threw it out beautifully. In your opinion, does it hurt a rod to use a line one number heavier than the specified weight recommended by the manufacturer?... Cheers, Dan

Hello Dan;

My opinion for what it is worth on line weights:

The normal conditions we face here in N.S. with its almost constant wind, defy the guidelines established by another region's conventional wisdom or even the physics of average conditions calculated by rod manufacturers.

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If one uses the low end of the recommended line weight for a rod, one has to overpower the cast with a haul or two which takes away all delicacy of presentation and also promotes fatigue. That certainly re-enforces a tendency towards a sloppiness of fly presentation.

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The result is on an average Nova Scotian day one could expect to miss a lot of chances due to poor line control as the wind blows the cast and bags the line, as well as squandered opportunities because of simply bad presentation - totally missing the target or crashing the fly on top of it .

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In a more moderate climate where wind is less of a factor I believe the lighter the line weight, that will still load the rod, the better the finesse side of the game can be practised and enjoyed.

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For here, my inclination is to go a weight heavier than recommended to load the rod on shorter casts. That will give the power needed, the finesse comes in calculating the line of attack so that the wind will assist in straightening the leader and aiming the cast.

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I suspect that the reason most fish here are caught on wet flies as opposed to dries is not because most of their diet comes in the form of nymphs and other sub-aqueous creatures but rather that the days when a dry fly can be presented with the accuracy and subtlety required for success are so rare as to be remarkable.

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Unfortunately on perfect dry fly days, when they do come, most of us are rigged so heavily because of our constant battle with the wind that we can't really take complete advantage of the unusual conditions.

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Traditions such as "an upstream dry fly being the only really sporting way to take a fish" could never have evolved here because of our climate and topography.

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Other traditions and tactics, that most of us in the fly fishing community cherish as gospel, are equally inappropriate for this area but that's a rant for another day.

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Despite what I said above there is really nothing like a good fish on the lightest possible tackle.

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See ya'
Steve

Fiirst Time Float Tubing for Bass

Had a good day on the water this weekend. My daughter Nancy had been wanting to try float tubing for Smallmouth Bass for the longest time and this Saturday we finally got around to it.

What a hoot! I had forgotten what it is like for someone to try a float tube for the first time.




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Everything from knowing that it is easier to walk backwards in flippers to how to actually get into the thing, it all has to be learned. And then comes the magic moment when their feet leave the bottom and they are free.
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There are the first tentative kicks with the flippers just to see if you really do stay upright and then the big grin. 'Hey this really works and is it ever fun"


Well, it was great fun. I caught a handful of small ones. Nancy caught her share of little ones and one big one. Big enough to give her bragging rights anyway.

If you haven't done it in a while, take your kids fishing. I know that Nancy isn't exactly a kid anymore, to the rest of the world anyway, but I swear in that place, on that day and for those few hours, we were both much, much younger.