Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409080056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
What it found in Smith Mountain Lake this summer is startling.
Last year's count showed 13,000 fish per acre, which included all species and sizes, from shad to stripers. This year's preliminary figure is 2,500.
``That is an extreme drop in number of fish,'' said Mike Duval, fisheries biologist supervisor for the game and fish department.
Before anyone said, ``This explains why I haven't been catching many fish lately,'' hear Duval out.
``A lot of that is represented by small fish, the real small shad and stuff just out of the larva stage,'' he said.
In fact, Duval credits a good bit of the plunge to a winter die-off of threadfin shad. The threadfin is an important food source for game species, such as stripers, black bass and crappie. They don't grow as large as gizzard shad, which means they remain bitesize much of the year, and they spawn twice a year in some impoundments, an act that provides a second surge of food for sport fish. This makes them a dandy forage fish.
There is a big negative, though. Threadfins, a native of Mexico, aren't winter hearty.
Cold weather last winter apparently did them in, even through there weren't reports of dead fish around the lake, Duval said. Not like there were at Kerr Lake, where the waves and breezes raked dead threadfins into silver windrows.
The threadfin is a new species for Smith Mountain, documented by fish biologists last year. The bulk of them were in the Roanoke River arm of the lake. They are a common species farther down the drainage. Duval believes bait fishermen introduced them to Smith Mountain.
There also appears to be a smaller numbers of young gizzard shad this year in Smith Mountain, said Duval.
The pounds of fish in the lake - the biomass - hasn't changed that much, he said, which means catchable size fish remain about like last year.
So how will all this impact what's on the end of an angler's line?
For one thing, you aren't likely to see very many schools of shad feathering across the surface of the lake this year, Duval said. That will impact surface fishing.
Of greater concern, there is less food for stripers, black bass and crappie.
``The growth of those fish may slow down for next year,'' Duval said.
What's more, some of the game fish born this year may experience poor survival. That already appears to be the case for black bass. Spring samples revealed good numbers of black bass, but summer samples showed poor spawning success. ``That may be a function of the threadfin or it may just be that conditions weren't favorable for black bass,'' Duval said.
``That shouldn't be a problem in the near term; however, if we see the trend continue for a couple of years we will ask the question, `What's going on here?'''
As for the threadfin shad, there was not a total eradication. The species can bounce back rapidly with the help of a mild winter, Duval said.
ANOTHER SHOT: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is discussing the use of bismuth shot for waterfowl hunting. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries met in Richmond Wednesday and gave its support to the proposal.
Ever since the feds outlawed the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting, sportsmen have been looking for alternative to steel. Bismuth is reported to be non-toxic and have better shooting qualities than steel.
If final approval is given by federal and state officials, bismuth could be legal by mid-December.
NEVER TOO OLD: Bill Skewes of Bluefield tied a national American Water Skiing Association slalom record in the men's VI division at Lake Holly. He is 67.
by CNB