Good news and bad news

According to this week's DNR fishing report, the fisheries service will be releasing 20,000 striper fingerlings split between Tridelphia and Rocky Gorge. That's the good news. Now for the bad.... The WSSC will have a 33% draw down on Tridelphia next year to work on the dam. The lake will be closed to all recreation for two years.

[Cowpokey]

I thought they were closing it for repairs "this" year. Maybe the funding got held up, or the schedule changed. At any rate, they gotta do what they gotta do. Rocky Gorge will get a lot more pressure...which can't be good either.

[perchy]

Rocky Gorge is opening more mooring stakes @ supplee lane next year to accommodate for this, according to WSSC. Expect more boaters all around at RG.

[RustedAngler]

two years is quite some time for those stripper to get plenty big....mark your calendars and plan for hawgs in two years

[CAGE RATTLER]

I wouldn't expect a bunch of monsters in 2 years. I believe their growth rate is only 2 inches per year.

[archeryrob]

Once they get bigger you can expect the Crappie and other smaller fish population to take a fairly good hit. Liberty used to be renown for its Crappie fishing and since the stripers got large its no where near it used to be.

The same is true out here on the Upper Potomac. I remember 25 years ago and fishing it as a young guy. You could make a day of catching sunfish alone. Their numbers are down and fishing with a #1 or 0 inline spinner used to return 50 to 75 fish a day easy. Now you'd be lucky with 25 to 30 and normally quite smaller than before. All so the Tiger Musky can make a few picture with few guys and the DNR says the fisher is better, I do not agree. We also used to have a Maximum size fishery up here for bass. You could keep bass under 12" but none over 12" and fishing was better. Guys complained it was not right they could only keep 5 10" - 11" fish so the DNR changed it. Now you catch mostly under sized bass all day long with a few good ones. Some days its hard to catch 5 fish over 12", not that I am keeping them. I used to like to catch the sunfish, they taste better than Bass anyways.

I don't see most changes as good, just pleasing the loudest voices. I bet in a few years you will catch stripers, but your over all catch in the reservoirs will be reduced and smaller kid size fish will be reduced quite heavily.