Post by mwardncsu on Jul 6, 2016 14:40:50 GMT -5
Below are the tallys of the 2016 Stocking. Ken Ulrich, Operations Chair in the Smith Mountain Striper Club, oversaw the stocking at several drop-offs this year. The process was a bit different in 2016 than in past year - previously there were two, maybe three trips to the lake in which stripers were stocked in multiple locations per trip. However, the new hatchery manager in place at Vic Thomas Hatchery desired to make more frequent runs to one, or a smaller number of, locations - with less fish on the truck at a time to help maximize the health of the fish.
We received fish from Brookneal/Vic Thomas and also from King & Queen hatcheries this year. These fish were all "Roanoke strain" as I understand it (last year we stocked with Bay resident fish in an attempt to determine if there is any genetics issue playing into our lower than average growth rates). Part way through the stocking I received word that it was uncertain if we would receive our target of 300K due to poor yields from the grow-out ponds this year - in years with a lot of rain / cloud cover there often is not enough algae production to provide the food needed for the fry - which leads to poor yields. However, DGIF was able to juggle some things, cut out some smaller stockings at some secondary priority lakes and redirect some fish from King & Queen hatchery to Smith Mountain Lake. In all we received around 317 thousand stripers form 1" - 1.5". Sounds like a lot, but remember there is a VERY high mortality in the 1st year. Target stocking has been around 300K the last number of years. Some years back we received 400-450K, but there was a concern that the striper population was too large for the available forage base and risked potential of another crash, so it was reduced to the 300-350K/year range.
Stocking totals across sites are below - there were some additional above plan stocked in the upper Roanoke due to the forage base that was measured by DGIF when doing bait sampling.
We received fish from Brookneal/Vic Thomas and also from King & Queen hatcheries this year. These fish were all "Roanoke strain" as I understand it (last year we stocked with Bay resident fish in an attempt to determine if there is any genetics issue playing into our lower than average growth rates). Part way through the stocking I received word that it was uncertain if we would receive our target of 300K due to poor yields from the grow-out ponds this year - in years with a lot of rain / cloud cover there often is not enough algae production to provide the food needed for the fry - which leads to poor yields. However, DGIF was able to juggle some things, cut out some smaller stockings at some secondary priority lakes and redirect some fish from King & Queen hatchery to Smith Mountain Lake. In all we received around 317 thousand stripers form 1" - 1.5". Sounds like a lot, but remember there is a VERY high mortality in the 1st year. Target stocking has been around 300K the last number of years. Some years back we received 400-450K, but there was a concern that the striper population was too large for the available forage base and risked potential of another crash, so it was reduced to the 300-350K/year range.
Stocking totals across sites are below - there were some additional above plan stocked in the upper Roanoke due to the forage base that was measured by DGIF when doing bait sampling.
Date | Site | # Released | Avg Size (in) | Avg # / lb | Hatchery | Roanoke | Blackwater |
6/11 & 6/30 | Penhook | 37,743 | 1.0 | 1,718 & 2,535 | VT & KQ | 37,743 | |
6/14 | Scruggs | 31.240 | 1.5 | 1,562 | VTFCS | 31,240 | |
6/30 | Rt 655 | 35,744 | 1.0 | 2,535 | VTFCS | 35,744 | |
6/30 | Our Place Marina (Craddock Creek) | 35,490 | 1.0 | 2,535 | KQFCS | 35,490 | |
6/14 | Anthony Ford | 31,240 | 1.5 | 1,562 | KQFCS | 31,240 | |
6/25 | State Park | 30,915 | 1.5 | 1,718 | VTFCS | 30,915 | |
6/25 | Hales Ford Bridge | 30,915 | 1.5 | 1,718 | VTFCS | 30,915 | |
6/16 & 6/27 | Indian Point | 27,643 | 1.5 | 1,562 | VTFCS | 27,643 | |
6/29 | Pleasure Point | 25,098 | 1.4 | 2,024 | VTFCS | 25,098 | |
6/16 | Moormans | 31,240 | 1.5 | 1,562 | VTFCS | 31,240 | |
Totals | 317,268 | 1.3 | 1864.22 | 212,541 | 104,727 |