Heard there were 100’s floating on top this morning. 
Sure hope this weather pattern changes so they can cut back on running water this month. Looks like the dissolved O2 content down deep is already well below the norm.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
Question from my wife, Liz:
Think back to the previous fish kills which are and/or could be attributed to lower/depleted Oxygen levels in the lake …
Did Herring die easy/quick in the days leading up to and/or before the fish kills???
If so, maybe that’s (the quick dying Herring) a warning of what’s coming (massive fish kill due to lack of O2) …
Think Canarys in a Coal Mine
it’s my Wife’s fault we HAVE to fish now!!!
2005 Sea Pro 2100cc / Yamaha 150hp 4-Stroke
It def doesnt look good. And hey look its raining again…we might be looking at struggling to find keepers again like it was a few years ago. All 18-20".
I know the corp probably paid for the oxygen systems in the lakes in the savannah river system. Wonder what has kept sceg from putting on murray. SCEG seems to have tried to work with the fishery some in the past…shoot I would be willing to pay an extra 5$ on my electric bill to help fund in. I am sure it probably costs millions and is costly to maintain. Shoot take a 1$ from all dam walkers and ramp users…
I really hope it doesnt get real bad but it just Aug 6th…
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
There were A LOT of folks fishing yesterday. Hopefully the floaters are a result of throwbacks and/or fish that came unbuttoned during the fight.
Lawcrusher/liz bring up a good point. As fragile as herring are, you would think you would see thousands of them floating as well if it were an oxygen issue.
War Eagle 754 Ducks Unlimited - Yamaha 75
Not sure that Herring have the same swim bladder issues that Striper do … Meaning, I think that Herring would sink when they die versus Striper who may blow up before sinking … But I’m not sure about all that … Although I am sure that more fish will eat a full sized Herring much easier than even a small to medium sized Striper which may also explain why you don’t see massive Herring kills versus Striper kills …
Since we’re on topic … Is it only Striper floating or will we see other types of fish also?
it’s my Wife’s fault we HAVE to fish now!!!
2005 Sea Pro 2100cc / Yamaha 150hp 4-Stroke
It’s my understanding that the larger stripers need both colder water and O2 to survive. I could be wrong, if so, someone please correct me. Once the colder water gets depleted of O2 the largest stripers usually will be distressed first. I’ve also heard that in the colder water dieoffs only 1 out of 10 actually float to the top. So if this is a fish kill from lack of O2 then 100 floating means 900 died and sunk. Again, someone correct me if I’m wrong. Also, on a positive note, the stripers that bit for Fog and myself yesterday in 80’ didn’t seem in any way to be distressed by a lack of O2.
As far as the other species in the lake go they can handle the higher water temperatures of a normal summer with no major problems. There are still a lot of largemouth, catfish, perch and bream in fairly shallow water. The bigger stripers can’t handle the warm water. That is atleast in part why they go so deep.
My uncle lives in Raleigh NC and on Jordan lake 2 years ago they basically lost all there striper population and had to start over. That lake is similar to Wateree and very shallow compared to Murray. One good thing about Murray is it’s very big and deep so maybe the striper can find some holes with good oxygen levels.
quote:
Originally posted by Spoonmaster… Also, on a positive note, the stripers that bit for Fog and myself yesterday in 80’ didn’t seem in any way to be distressed by a lack of O2.
…
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>I’ve been fishing around the same depth and they seem to be a bit lethargic with the way they hit sometimes, but I was looking at them pretty close and other than a little red under the belly, they didn’t really appear to be particularly stressed. Not to the point of being close to dying for sure.
Like Jack said, hopefully there is some other explaination for the unusual amount of dead fish he saw this am.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
Like I’ve said before, a hot,dry summer isn’t bad for Murray stripers. This wet pattern we’ve had is the last thing they need. Hopefully, the floaters aren’t a sign of bad things to come!
Xpress HB-22
175 Yammy Jammer
Time for another Spoonmaster question. I did notice that none of the stripers Fog and I caught had anything in their stomachs other than the herring we used for bait. Is this common in summertime fishing, or possibly a symptom of stress from depleted O2? Or, did we just catch the hungry ones?
In the old days we always used to check the fishes stomachs to see what they were eating. You’d be amazed what was in some big stripers stomachs. One large striper, years ago, had a largemouth around 3/4 lb. and a hand sized crappie in it’s stomach when it hit a big bucktail cast into a school. Was that a fluke occurance or have you guys seen similar things?
I dont check the stomachs unless I can feel something pretty big in there. Most of the time when fishing downrods in the summer the fish throw up most of what is in their stomachs during the fight to the boat. I have had them get in the boat and decide to fill my boat with bait they had been eating.
as far as what is in their stomachs, I havent seen anything weird but I have seen sime BIG baits. Pulled a 14" gizzard out of a 22# fish. After talking to the taxidermist who did the 35# fish we caught at the hill had 2 monster gizzards in its belly and had another 12" gizzard half way to the stomach, which u am guessing was ours…no bait isbtoo big for a hungry big striper…
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
Former guide saw a “at least” a 30# striper floating yesterday as well as a lot of 23-24" fish.
Herring sink…
When they had the kill on the Hill(pre O2 system installed)…a biologist stated over 60% of dead stripers sink.
Time to break out the 7 weight:smiley:
“There is something about hunting those fish that will stick with me and my future fishing plans like a bad case of striper herpes”
-SCOF
I just noticed on the charts that the bottom temperature is about 5* warmer than it was last year at this time. The bottom O2 was just above 3 at this time last year and is 2.2 now. If I remember correctly, the 2007 fish kill started in early September. This could be really bad
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
I’ve been wondering when the last big kill was to go back and check the readings. After seeing you post I went back and tried to see what the data showed for that year around this time, but it does not go back that far. You can view back to 2008, but not 2007.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
I have checked the stomach of many stripers caught “cut-baiting” and found 20+ pieces of herring chum. Not very unusual. It normally means you have thrown your chum too far past your cut bait.
Rick K
Striperskiff,
That data is there, just not in graphical format. If you select “Table” or “Tab-separated” in the output format you can go back as far as you want.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/sc/nwis/dv/?site_no=02168500&agency_cd=USGS&referred_module=sw
Looks like we O2 was 2.7 this time in 2007, We just dropped down to 2.1 today (Mean). On a positive note my boss said he had a large school of striper schooling in right off his dock today. he lives on the lexington side in from Bomb.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
I saw seven floaters, all big fish, on my way back to Lexington from Irmo. Most were on the Chapin (north) side of the towers. There was a lot of water near the dam that I couldn’t see due the the wall there. I hope these were fish that broke lines or got off near boats. If not there may be a big dieoff coming. Let’s hope not.
quote:
Originally posted by steelytomLooks like we O2 was 2.7 this time in 2007, We just dropped down to 2.1 today (Mean). On a positive note my boss said he had a large school of striper schooling in right off his dock today. he lives on the lexington side in from Bomb.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
It still doesn’t look good. In 07, there were alot of fish schooling on top. They are simply seeking forage in well-oxygenated water. However, they will not be able to stand the heat. We really need an o2 system like on CH and Cherokee, Tennessee to avoid these conditions. Here’s hoping and praying we can get through this with minimal damage! Hold on fish for another month!
Xpress HB-22
175 Yammy Jammer
I’ve only heard of those systems, not been on a lake with one. Do they run year round or only during critical conditions? I’m sure a lot of engineering goes into them, but are they basically a perforated pipe on the lake bottom and a pump sending down air?