05-20-2004, 03:38 AM
[size 2]Smallmouth bass fishing in Virginia's rivers may be a little slower than normal this year. This is a natural occurrence and related more to climate than anything else. Fisheries biologists with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries have been monitoring smallmouth bass populations for several years. One of the things we have learned is that the numbers of fish tend to fluctuate from year to year, depending upon how many young fish were produced the previous year. It appears that in many of our rivers, the amount of water during the spawning season affects how many young bass are produced that year. When we have normal flows in May and June, we get a lot of fish. If the water is too high or too low, fewer bass are produced. [/size]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica"][size 2]Based on our records, we haven't had a normal year (in terms of water flow) for several years now. Depending upon the particular river, the last good spawning year for smallmouth bass was 1997 or 1998.What all of this means to the angler is that there aren't a lot of young fish in our rivers right now. There are still a lot of fish out there, but not compared with some years in the past. [/size][/font]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica"][size 2]In spite of this, there is some good news. There are still a lot of pretty nice fish out there from the good smallmouth spawning seasons in 1997 and 1998 (as well as in 1993 and a few of these fish are still around). The fish that were born in 1997 and 1998 should be 12 -17 inches this year, or maybe even a little bigger. The fish from 1993 should be approaching 20 inches. [/size][/font]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica"][size 2]So, while you may not catch 50 smallmouth per day, you have a better than average chance of catching a pretty nice fish or two. Hopefully, we will get more normal water levels in the next couple of years and get another great spawning year. In the meantime, don't be too disappointed if you don't catch as many fish as you have in some years. This condition won't be permanent, and you might hook into some bigger than normal fish.[/size][/font]
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[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica"][size 2]Based on our records, we haven't had a normal year (in terms of water flow) for several years now. Depending upon the particular river, the last good spawning year for smallmouth bass was 1997 or 1998.What all of this means to the angler is that there aren't a lot of young fish in our rivers right now. There are still a lot of fish out there, but not compared with some years in the past. [/size][/font]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica"][size 2]In spite of this, there is some good news. There are still a lot of pretty nice fish out there from the good smallmouth spawning seasons in 1997 and 1998 (as well as in 1993 and a few of these fish are still around). The fish that were born in 1997 and 1998 should be 12 -17 inches this year, or maybe even a little bigger. The fish from 1993 should be approaching 20 inches. [/size][/font]
[font "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica"][size 2]So, while you may not catch 50 smallmouth per day, you have a better than average chance of catching a pretty nice fish or two. Hopefully, we will get more normal water levels in the next couple of years and get another great spawning year. In the meantime, don't be too disappointed if you don't catch as many fish as you have in some years. This condition won't be permanent, and you might hook into some bigger than normal fish.[/size][/font]
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