Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

Me too!

Thanks Mark.

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

To date, the fish salvage contractor has been on site 4 days. Obviously, they lost a week due to the hurricane, and had to work around the Nor’easter last week. Below is a the short summary of fish removed:

10/25: 361 fish
10/26: 566 fish
11/5: 731 fish
11/12: 1381 fish

Total Fish: 3039

Most fish were bluegills, with a larger than expected number of black crappie. They were also surprised at the number of LMB removed (~190), but many less white perch than expected (~ 450)

At this point, there is only about 2 feet of water left in the basin, yet still 25 acres of surface area for the fish to move around. They were able to launch yesterday OK, but at the end of the day, they had to winch the boat over ~100 feet of mud to get it out. Short of using a crane, they can’t access the water at this point. The fishing club is insisting they spend a day in the east finger removing any fish that are held by a 2.5 foot weir. That will likely occur on Wed. 11/14. Based on the rate of water removal, the lake should be empty by the 15th, depending what this storm dumps.

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

Great info. Of the fish caught already, were there any Pickerel or Pike...or any more ever-so-common 40" Tiger Muskies? :p

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

They went back to Packanack yesterday,...& spent the morning electro-fishing the north east finger which still had 1-2 feet of water. There were very few fish, and their unit kept tripping, probably due to a metal pipe (or something) under the water. Very frustrating. They pulled out ~160 fish.

Then they mobilized extra crew and one of their Argos to attempt to get into the main lake basin. Before they even tried to pull the boat through the mud, they got their Argo stuck in the mud, still ~50 feet from the water’s edge. It took them about 3 hours to get out of the mud, at which point they abandoned any further attempts to access the remaining water.

Will post total fish #'s / species when I receive them.

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

Fascinating thread. Sorry the lake had to be drained but glad most of the fish were salvaged. As one who fishes the Passaic I'm glad they found a home there.

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

Happened to be in the area over the weekend and I stopped by the lake to see what it looked like.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...on11-17-12.jpg

Saw a bunch of strange marks in the mud, and finally figured out that they were from crawfish that were left without water. Here's one that was still looking for it.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...hem/Mudbug.jpg


Finally got to where the lake emptied into the little stream that runs by the golf course, and found a few dozen large carp that probably won't make it. Don't really know if much can be done about the carp and catfish out in the lake a bit further, and outside of this picture, but these looked like they could have been scooped with a net.
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...randedCarp.jpg

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

The contractor gave it his best effort,............salvaging 3,200+ fish,..........providing some to the Hackettstown State Fish Hatch.

Inevitably, there are some casualities. And, it is illegal to stock carp in NJ

waters.

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

I wasn't commenting negatively Mark, hope that isn't how it is interpreted.

The picture doesn't show it, but there are a couple of very large Koi in that school still, so I guess someone got tired of their goldfish and liberated it, or someone's little pond overflowed. The seagulls are just waiting like buzzards for the inevitable to happen too. Thankfully, this isn't happening in the heat of July and August.

Pretty neat to see all the Christmas Trees that they anchored in that deep section, all still there providing structure for when the lake refills.

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

No, I didn't take your comments, negatively.

I posted that,.......in case someone did.

Re: Passaic River Stocking: Two Bridges to Elmwood Park
 

Packanack Lake Fish Salvage Project
By Chris Doyle, CLM

Packanack Lake is an 88 acre lake located in Wayne, New Jersey. In the fall of 2012, the lake needed to be drained to access and fully repair a damaged valve at the outlet structure. As part of their lake lowering permit, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife required the salvaging of as many fish as possible, a task routinely conducted by Allied Biological using its custom-designed electro-fishing boat. Allied Biological had conducted a fish population study in 2010, and our study revealed an overabundance of white perch and common carp, plus a lack of forage species that were detrimental to the game fish population, and likely contributing to persistent phytoplankton blooms in the water column.
As usual, the project presented numerous difficulties. It took weeks to find a nearby site to restock the fish, due to the presence of the nuisance white perch. It was ultimately determined the Pompton River would be suitable, as the local population of northern pike would happily add stunted white perch to their list of prey items. Two sites needed to be used to access the lake with the boat as the water receded, and equipment was dragged over the mud on the final days before boat access became impossible. Add Superstorm Sandy and an early season Nor’easter snowstorm in the middle of the project, and delays required special extensions to our collecting and stocking permits.
All told, over 4,200 fish were salvaged from Packanack Lake. Several hundred of the fish were turned over to the Hackettstown Fish Hatchery for future brood stock, including largemouth bass, black crappie, yellow perch and bluegill
sunfish. It was surprising how many black crappie were salvaged (~500) and how few white perch (~400), based on our population study data. But even more shocking was the common carp abundance at Packanack Lake.
Over 800 common carp were removed, with most of them between two and three feet long. At an estimated 20 pounds each, approximately 16,000 pounds (or close to eight tons!) of biomass were tied up in benthic feeding common carp. It is well documented how destructive carp can be to a fishery, and the general ecology of a lake. Coupled with the presence of a stunted white perch population (also a benthic feeder, and detrimental to a healthy game fish population), it seems clear that the previous fish assemblage was working against many of our lake management goals at this site. On a pleasant note: pulling a healthy 40 inch tiger
muskie provided excitement for the netters.
Packanack Lake has a rare opportunity to “hit the reset button” on
its fishery in 2013. With a sensible re-stocking program, we are hopeful that in a few short years, the game fish population will be robust, and a reduction in the duration and intensity of phytoplankton blooms will create a suitable environment for the establishment of desirable native plant communities.