What Do Think About The Mild Winter We Had And Its Affects On 2012 Fishing Season ?

[CamG14]

Hi,

I have been wondering how this past winter, being milder than one I have ever seen before will affect our 2012 fishing season.

Do you think it will be better or worse ? or perhaps have no effect at all.....

One of the things I was thinking about is the thousands of perch that would have been caught during ice fishing. They are still in the water. Could this mean that the fish that perch eat are out numbered ? and the fish that eat perch will have lots of food ?

Also will there be more bugs, flies, frogs and other animal / insects for fish to feed on making them not as hungry and aggressive ? Or will there be less this year making them hungry and aggressive ?

Just curious as to what others are thinking.....

Thanks,

Cam

[hammercarp]

The water is low already, it is going to get worse.

The Niagara will be tough for me to fish this summer because the warm shallow water in Erie will produce a huge crop of algae. This will end up going down the Niagara. I think I will leave the carp alone there until next year.

Generally speaking though he faster the water warms up the better the carpin will be .

[larry b]

I've caught way more crappie this spring than years past which is pretty cool.Notice some weeds starting to come up so that means the good numbers for crappie are coming sooner.I hope we don't get the algae bloom like last year!came in hard right after bass opened last year

[smerchly]

Cam .....There wasn't any fish caught on Erie through the ice but many anglers limited out from their boats all winter , so the numbers are probably close .The lack of snow means very little runoff and some places are very low already . We may have less skitters and black flies with small ponds and running creeks all dried up .....but look out for the ticks ! Many fish may not reach their spawning areas this spring due to low water levels inland . Weed beds and algae may cause problems in many places and if the summer is hot , we may have to fish deeper waters in some of the regular spots we fish .

[bigdog]

Just a few points to add...I think that even though the 2012 fishing season will be affected, be it positively or negative, I can't wait until a few years from now. The lack of ice, as pointed out already, won't cause as large of a kill off of weaker fish. Now that may seem like a positive, however the eco system relies on that kill off to manage the numbers. Now the weaker fish may be able to spawn and produce weaker offspring. Not only that, the fish that would normally get killed off are now competing for food sources as well.

On the plus side, and this where I get excited, because of the lack of hard water on Erie and the warmer winter season, it creates a longer growing season for bass (and other species) which, in a few years could turn into some massive bass. Hopefully the healthy, bigger bass will cannabilize some of the weaker offspring and keep the numbers in check. Man, I love nature.

And one more negative, which has been already mentioned, is lack off perciptation and melt water run off. Water is low, and going to get a lot lower. So I urge everyone to try and conserve as much water as possible this year. And quit buying bottled water, quit giving the big bottling companies excuses to mine our freshwater sources...drink beer instead!!! (Just kidding, drink responsibly!)

[Snags]

I would wager this will be a good thing for the pike, bass, and muskie ... with the warmer temps in the water hopefully they will be off of their spawning beds by the time the seasons open ...

As long as the temps do not get too hot too soon I do not think the algae will be bad. If the water levels are down ... it will pose a problem come fall for the spawning fish trying to get upstream.

[pop-vlado]

I've noticed an increase in the amount of pike this year. Also, the fish have been putting up great fights. The catfish and even the suckers are just full of energy. Still waiting to see what the effects are on the other fish.

[jesse]

I think it will be same old fish population maybe going deeper,sooner but the weeds & algae will get very thick.Better put some heavy braid on the curado!

[Icehut]

Great Lakes are projected to be down by 2 feet. Low winter precip, no spring runoff would suggest low rivers and higher water temps this summer. This could mean an awesome early spring brown trout year, downside being the chance of serious fish kills come the dog days of August. Of course this is all speculation; I'd love to hear what an expert from the MNR predicts.

[miller]

alot if fish spawning early and theres going to be some real pigs. chinooks were already caught in march, alot of rainbows have spawned and dropped back to the lake, some real pigs of browns and chinooks have been caught so for great lakes fish i think there's gonna be some real hogs this year because they are starting the feedbag early

[niagarangler89]

As has already been mentioned, due to an unseasonably mild winter, many watersheds in southern Ontario are already at below-average levels. I noticed the Thames River in London was extremely low for this time of the year, so I checked out the UTRCA website to see what they had to say about it. Here's what I found:

While most people enjoyed the past winter’s lack of snow and warmer overall temperatures, one impact of the unusual weather is becoming evident in the Thames River and its tributaries.

The Upper Thames River Low Water Response Team (LWRT) has declared that the Upper Thames River watershed is in a Level 1 Low Water Condition.

Low water conditions are evaluated by looking at several indicators, including precipitation over the past three months, and stream flows over the past month.

Precipitation from January to March was well below the normal range across the watershed. By the end of March, stream flows were also significantly below normal for this time of year.

“We had a really unusual winter,” said Mark Shifflett, Senior Water Resources Engineer at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA). “Precipitation was below normal and temperatures were above normal, so any snow that we had melted quickly. The result was we had no significant accumulation of snowpack in the Upper Thames watershed this winter.”

The melting winter snowpack typically feeds into rivers and streams in late winter and early spring, contributing to high flows at this time of year. Flows usually drop in the summer.

“There is concern that these dry conditions may continue and worsen in the summer months, when water demands are higher,” explained Mark.

A Level 1 Low Water Condition is part of a three-tiered advisory system used in Ontario to inform the public of local low water conditions. Level 3 is the most severe low water advisory level.

The Upper Thames LWRT includes representatives from agencies and industries across the watershed, including municipal government, the UTRCA, and several provincial ministries, as well as the local golf course, agricultural, and aggregate sectors.

The Upper Thames watershed includes the communities of Mitchell, Stratford, and St. Marys in the north, and Woodstock, Ingersoll, and London in the south, as well as surrounding rural areas and smaller communities.