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BASIC INFORMATION:
River sampled:
Cape Fear River
Fisheries Biologists conducting sampling:
Michael Fisk
Justin Dycus
John Ellis (US Fish and Wildlife Service)
Date of sample:
April 21, 2015
Area(s) of river sampled, and water temps:
Lock and Dam 1 (Rock Arch Ramp) 66 F
Lock and Dam 2 67 F
Boat ramp(s) used to access river:
Lock and Dam 1 (Rock Arch Ramp)
Lock and Dam 2
Species (spp) information:
· Spp. captured:
American Shad
Striped Bass
· Numbers by spp:
American Shad = 80
Striped Bass = 34
· Size range by spp:
Males 14-19 in
Females 18-21 in
Males 14-26 in
Females 21-30 in
· Max size for spp:
American Shad 21 in, 4.2 lbs
Striped Bass 30 in, 12.2 lbs
· Sex ratio by spp:
Females = 49
Males = 31
Males = 21
Females = 13
· Were the fish tagged?
Striped Bass were tagged with external anchor tags and internal PIT tags. There are rewards up to $100 for the submission of the anchor tags. If anglers encounter a striped bass with an external tagged striped bass, cut the tag before releasing the Striped Bass and either call NC Division of Marine Fisheries at 1-800-682-2632 or online at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/report-tag-online to report the tag for a reward.
ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS:
River level and other water quality observations (turbity, etc.):
The river was around 11,000 cfs at Lock and Dam while sampling this week. The water was very turbid as a result of all the rain in the watershed.
Weather conditions on sampling date?
Conditions were sunny and warm.
Your observations of other people fishing on the river:
No anglers were observed fishing.
Comments to anglers about your sampling results, and fishing-related conclusions that can be drawn from your data:
The river is up and muddy from all the rain which makes conditions for fishing around the Lock and Dams tough. However, the Striped Bass are becoming more abundant at Lock and Dam 1 where 28 of the 34 sampled were found at this location. The size range of Striped Bass sampled this week is much larger than previous weeks. The average weights of the male and female Striped Bass sampled were 4.5 and 7.5 lbs. American Shad are continuing to be sampled at each Lock and Dam with some fish showing physical signs of actively spawning. Lock and Dam 3 has been closed to the public for most of this week due to high river flows. The river peaked on April 22 and will remain higher than normal for the next week because of flow releases from Jordan Dam upstream.
Cape Fear River Creel Survey Update
USFWS Biologist John Ellis and NCWRC Fisheries Biologist Justin Dycus netting Striped Bass at the Rock Arch Rapids on April 21, 2015.