This is an e-mail from Rob Mottice, Biologist with the Tennessee Aquarium to Mike Jolley, the TWRA Officer who is conducting the electroshocking study of the Chickamauge Tailwaters.
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From: Rob J. Mottice
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 4:37 PM
Subject: Chickamauga Tailwaters Smallmouth Bass Fishery
Hey Mike!
The group of local fishermen who have an interest in better managing the smallmouth fishery just below the dam as it relates to the presence of spotted and largemouth bass just might be on to something. Back in 1991 when we were stocking our largest freshwater tank (Lake Nickajack Exhibit), we tried repeatedly to house those 3 species in that exhibit. It is the second largest freshwater tank in the US; but even in that amount of space, the smallmouths still got out-competed for food by the spots and the largemouths. Even though no empirical data was recorded, it seemed as though the aggressiveness of the spotted and largemouth basses on the smallmouth during feeding times was not based on specie but more on size. If all 3 species were located in an area where food entered the water, the largest either spotted or largemouth would “bully” the smallmouth out of the way to get to the food; and in most cases, it was the spotted. Consequently, we had to eliminate the “smallies” because of the aggressiveness of the other two species.
I don’t know how far down stream from the base of the dam your survey work occurs, but there is a small area – river mile 469.0 – that Dr. Mark Schorr of UTC and I have sampled for years with his Limnology and Ichthyology students. I teach the Electrofishing portion of his labs using our boat shocker. Due to easy shoreline accessibility for Mark teaching seining and hoop net retrieval while I’m out on the water, we work in the first slough down stream of the boat ramp at Riverpark. It is easily visible from the boat ramp, and it is the one with the rock jetty that parallels the channel. The students, who are in my boat, learn all about how a boat shocker works and how to do survey work with one. Once our runs are finished, we take the fish to the shoreline where the others are working, and teach the students how to ID fish, measure them (we only do TL’s), record the data and then release the fish. Mark at a later date works up the data and creates an electronic file which I am sure he would be more than happy to share with you. His E-mail address is [email protected]. If nothing else, it might be interesting to compare the two assemblages of fish (tailwaters vs. downstream). Even though we rolled-up a 5 lb. smallmouth in that slough last week, we have collected extremely few in that area in the past.
Please feel free to use any of my observation information above. If you think my presence at the next meeting would be helpful, I would be more than happy to attend.
Cheers!
Rob
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From: Rob J. Mottice
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 4:37 PM
Subject: Chickamauga Tailwaters Smallmouth Bass Fishery
Hey Mike!
The group of local fishermen who have an interest in better managing the smallmouth fishery just below the dam as it relates to the presence of spotted and largemouth bass just might be on to something. Back in 1991 when we were stocking our largest freshwater tank (Lake Nickajack Exhibit), we tried repeatedly to house those 3 species in that exhibit. It is the second largest freshwater tank in the US; but even in that amount of space, the smallmouths still got out-competed for food by the spots and the largemouths. Even though no empirical data was recorded, it seemed as though the aggressiveness of the spotted and largemouth basses on the smallmouth during feeding times was not based on specie but more on size. If all 3 species were located in an area where food entered the water, the largest either spotted or largemouth would “bully” the smallmouth out of the way to get to the food; and in most cases, it was the spotted. Consequently, we had to eliminate the “smallies” because of the aggressiveness of the other two species.
I don’t know how far down stream from the base of the dam your survey work occurs, but there is a small area – river mile 469.0 – that Dr. Mark Schorr of UTC and I have sampled for years with his Limnology and Ichthyology students. I teach the Electrofishing portion of his labs using our boat shocker. Due to easy shoreline accessibility for Mark teaching seining and hoop net retrieval while I’m out on the water, we work in the first slough down stream of the boat ramp at Riverpark. It is easily visible from the boat ramp, and it is the one with the rock jetty that parallels the channel. The students, who are in my boat, learn all about how a boat shocker works and how to do survey work with one. Once our runs are finished, we take the fish to the shoreline where the others are working, and teach the students how to ID fish, measure them (we only do TL’s), record the data and then release the fish. Mark at a later date works up the data and creates an electronic file which I am sure he would be more than happy to share with you. His E-mail address is [email protected]. If nothing else, it might be interesting to compare the two assemblages of fish (tailwaters vs. downstream). Even though we rolled-up a 5 lb. smallmouth in that slough last week, we have collected extremely few in that area in the past.
Please feel free to use any of my observation information above. If you think my presence at the next meeting would be helpful, I would be more than happy to attend.
Cheers!
Rob
